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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:05APPLAUSE
00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown Studio
00:34on the very day that, way back in 1976, 40 years ago,
00:37the launch of high-speed trains,
00:40the intercity train and the intercity 125, took place.
00:44Extraordinary, the day of the high-speed train had arrived.
00:48And, of course, nowadays, train travel is so popular.
00:52I think it's doubled, Rachel, over the last 10 or 15 years.
00:56Actually, I once did a thing... Do you know that Room 101?
01:00Yeah. And you have to rant on about something.
01:03I ranted on about the amount of announcements on trains,
01:07how they go on and on and on about taking your luggage with you
01:11and the name of the... All this carry-on.
01:13Anyway, ever since then I've been tormented by the guard
01:16who would turn up at the table and say,
01:18-"Well, was that one all right?"
01:20There's a few things like that. They're always cold.
01:22And the one I used to commute from Essex to London,
01:25that train is called the Vomit Comet on Friday night
01:28because everyone goes out in the city after work
01:30and then gets one of the last trains home.
01:32And you can imagine why it's been so named.
01:35How awful. They hose it down later on that night, I suppose.
01:39Yeah. Anyway, let's move on here.
01:42Rachel, we've got a Ken Ogukwu here from Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.
01:47Had a great, great first game yesterday.
01:49Came through strongly with a score of 109 points.
01:53Tremendous performance. Well done. Well done. All right.
01:56And you're joined today by Jamie Smith.
01:59Jamie from Ipswich runs an outside catering business.
02:03Are you just in Ipswich or working in Ipswich or all round the county?
02:06All over Essex. All over the eastern counties, really.
02:08Sometimes go into London a little bit.
02:10Good for you. And you're a big cricket man.
02:12Love my cricket.
02:13Off for... You watched the Ashes in Australia.
02:15Yeah, I went in 2010.
02:17It was probably one of the best experiences of my life.
02:19Went on my own. My best friend lives over there,
02:22so that was great. Why not?
02:24And you also strolled across Sydney Harbour Bridge.
02:27Yes. Amazing. Was it good fun?
02:29Very good fun. High up. Good-looking city.
02:32Very good-looking city, yeah. I'll make it there one day.
02:35Anyway, there we are. Well, welcome, Jamie. Thank you.
02:37And to Kenna. Welcome back. Let's have a big round of applause.
02:46And over the corner, of course, Susie.
02:49And once again, the wonderful Pam Ayers. Welcome back, Pam.
02:52Thank you, Nick. That was a cracking poem yesterday.
02:54More today. You're a great guest. You're a great guest.
02:57Now, then, to Kenna. Let's get down to business. Letters game.
03:00Hello, Rachel. Hi, Kenna.
03:02Can I start with a consonant, please?
03:04You can indeed. Thank you. Start today with Y.
03:06I don't know.
03:10Audience, I don't know.
03:12Another consonant, please.
03:14L
03:16And another one?
03:18R
03:20And a vowel?
03:22E
03:24And another vowel?
03:26You're getting me out of there. I
03:29And another one?
03:31A
03:33And a consonant?
03:35P
03:38And another consonant?
03:40L
03:42And another consonant, please?
03:44And the last one? M
03:46And here's the countdown clock.
04:17MUSIC STOPS
04:19Hey, Kenna.
04:21I think I've got a seven.
04:23A seven. And Jamie?
04:25I think I've got a seven.
04:27Hey, Kenna.
04:29Impaler.
04:31And Jamie Smith?
04:33I have impaler as well.
04:35How's that? OK. Any more impalers?
04:37We didn't have that one, actually.
04:39No, we didn't. We're impressed.
04:41We have, however, got an interesting one.
04:43Lamprey.
04:45Eel-like. And they've got those sucker mouths.
04:47Yeah, they've got a sucker, like a leech at the front end, I think, haven't they?
04:51Lamprey. Very good.
04:53Seven points apiece.
04:55Jamie, let us go.
04:57Good afternoon, Rachel. Afternoon, Jamie.
04:59Could I have a consonant to start with, please?
05:01Thank you. Start with S.
05:03A vowel?
05:05U
05:07A vowel?
05:09I
05:11Another consonant?
05:13N
05:15A vowel?
05:17O
05:19A vowel?
05:21U
05:23Consonant?
05:25R
05:29And a con... A vowel, sorry.
05:31And lastly, A.
05:33Stand by.
05:41CLOCK TICKS
06:07Jamie, I'm going to go with a six, please.
06:10I'll try a six.
06:12Coins.
06:14Kenner.
06:16I've got corns, Q-O-R-N-S.
06:18I think it is capitalised and...
06:22Yes, it's a trademark, so it's got a capital Q, I'm afraid, Kenner.
06:26Sorry about that.
06:28Coin, architectural term, absolutely fine.
06:30External angle of a wall or building.
06:32Indeed. Well done.
06:34And in the corner?
06:36Well, I know people pronounce this in all sorts of different ways,
06:39but I think it's quinoa.
06:41Is that right, Susie?
06:43And that's seven.
06:45If you put an S on it...
06:47It's a maths noun, but using our food rule
06:49that you might like to order a couple of quinoas in a...
06:51stretching it a little bit, but in a restaurant, possibly.
06:55Thank you. All right.
06:5713 plays Ekenna's seven,
06:59and it's Ekenna's numbers game now.
07:01Right.
07:03Rachel, can I have one large and five small, please?
07:05You can indeed. Thank you, Ekenna.
07:07Here are your numbers, and for the first time today,
07:09your numbers are eight, six, seven,
07:13eight, four, and 50.
07:16And the target?
07:18327.
07:20327.
07:37ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
07:53Yes, Ekenna?
07:55Just 325.
07:57Two away. Jamie?
07:59I have 327.
08:01327. Right. Jamie?
08:0350 x 6.
08:05300.
08:07And I believe if you add all the others together, that's 27,
08:09which makes 327.
08:11Eight and eight and four and seven.
08:1327. Perfect. Well done.
08:15APPLAUSE
08:17Well done.
08:19Wow.
08:21Jamie on 23, Ekenna, seven,
08:23as we turn to our first Tea Time teaser,
08:25which is Dan Green.
08:27And the clue.
08:29Dan shouldn't cross when the lights are on green.
08:31He'll do this.
08:33APPLAUSE
08:40Warm welcome back.
08:42I left with the clue,
08:44Dan shouldn't cross when the lights are on green.
08:46He'll do this.
08:48And the answer is, in danger.
08:50He'll endanger himself and, more importantly, others in danger.
08:54So, 23, Dan Green,
08:56as we turn to our second teaser,
08:58which is Dan Green,
09:00as we turn to our second teaser,
09:02which is Dan Green.
09:04So, 23 plays, Ekenna, seven,
09:06Jamie's on 23 and it's Jamie's letters game.
09:10Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
09:12Thank you, Jamie. T.
09:14And a consonant?
09:16F.
09:18And another?
09:20S.
09:22And a vowel?
09:24O.
09:26And another?
09:28E.
09:30And a consonant?
09:32G.
09:34And a consonant?
09:36K.
09:40And a consonant?
09:42And the last one?
09:44R.
09:46Come on, Dan.
10:00MUSIC PLAYS
10:16Jamie?
10:18Only a six.
10:20And Ekenna?
10:22Six.
10:24Jamie?
10:26Grouts.
10:28What have we got?
10:30Tofu.
10:32Not very brilliant.
10:34But we've also got one that sounds absolutely horrible.
10:36We've got foreguts.
10:38What's that?
10:40The upper part of the gut coming up towards the mouth.
10:43They are your foreguts.
10:45We wish we hadn't said that.
10:47I do, rather, yeah.
10:49There is a slightly nicer one.
10:51I'm not sure if you'll approve of this because it's quite new.
10:53But it's a seven.
10:55Which is to look yourself up on a search engine
10:58and see what comes back.
11:00Look into yourself.
11:0229, page 13.
11:04And, Ekenna, let us go.
11:06Rachel, can I have a consonant, please?
11:08Thank you, Ekenna.
11:10B.
11:12And another one?
11:14S.
11:16And another one?
11:18N.
11:20And a vowel, please?
11:22E.
11:24A.
11:26And another one?
11:28I.
11:30And another vowel, please?
11:32E.
11:34Consonant?
11:36G.
11:38And another consonant, please?
11:40And lastly, R.
11:42Stand by.
11:54ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
12:16Ekenna.
12:18Seven.
12:20A seven, yes, Jamie.
12:22Bandy and braise.
12:24Absolutely fine.
12:26There we go.
12:28And in the corner, can we match that?
12:30I think we have got two good ones.
12:32We've got brained.
12:34Yes.
12:36And for eight, yes, brandies.
12:38Oh, that's better.
12:40Yeah.
12:42APPLAUSE
12:46Excellent. 36 to 20.
12:48And, Jamie, numbers game.
12:50You can, indeed. Thank you, Jamie.
12:52One large and five little.
12:54And this time the numbers are eight, four, one, five, two,
13:00and the large one, 100.
13:03And the target, 647.
13:05647.
13:07ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
13:20ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES
13:38Jamie. 647.
13:40Ekenna.
13:42648.
13:44So, Jamie.
13:46So I've done the 100 plus the eight.
13:48Four plus the two.
13:50Four plus two for the six.
13:52Multiply that. 648.
13:54And take away the one. 647. Lovely.
13:56Well done. Well done, indeed.
13:58APPLAUSE
14:02So, 46 to Ekenna's 20,
14:04but there's still time, a lot of time,
14:06as we link to Pam.
14:08Now, then, Pam, what have you got for us this afternoon?
14:10Well, I'm thinking about being a parent today, Nick,
14:13and I'm going to do one little poem and one slightly longer.
14:17This one is about how pleased I was when I had a baby son.
14:22My baby's eyes are bluer than yours.
14:25He's got much more hair and he's stronger.
14:28He's ever so bright and he sleeps through the night
14:31and if I were to, I'd say mine is longer.
14:35I swear it's the truth, mine is cutting a tooth
14:39and he's obviously going to be tall.
14:42It's hard to explain, now I've looked at your...wine,
14:47why you bother to have one at all.
14:51So that's the first one.
14:53And the second one I wrote after I went to see my son play rugby
14:57when he was about 17.
14:59And I didn't recognise him because he looked so grown up
15:02and he had one of those big sort of skull caps on
15:05and a mouth guard and padded shoulders.
15:07I didn't even know it was my own son.
15:10How can that be my baby?
15:12How can that be my son?
15:15Standing on a rugger pitch more than six feet one.
15:19The steam is rising from him.
15:22His legs are streaked with blood
15:24and he wears a yellow mouth guard in a face that's black with mud.
15:30How can that be my baby?
15:32How can he look like that?
15:35I used to sit him on my knee and read him Postman Pack
15:39and those little ears with cotton buds I kept in perfect shape
15:44but now they're big and purple and they're fastened back with tape.
15:50How can that be my baby?
15:52When did he reach that size?
15:55What happened to his wellies with the little froggy eyes?
16:00His shirt is on one shoulder but it's hanging off the other
16:04and the little baffled person at his feet is me, his mother.
16:10APPLAUSE
16:17Lovely stuff. Well done.
16:2046-20. Jamie in the lead and let's see what McKenna's going to do now.
16:24Let us go, McKenna.
16:26Right, can I have a consonant, please?
16:28Thank you, McKenna. N
16:30Another one?
16:33Z
16:34And another one?
16:36S
16:38And another one?
16:40D
16:42Can I have a vowel?
16:44A
16:45And another one?
16:47U
16:49And another one?
16:51O
16:53And can I have a consonant?
16:56T
16:58And another consonant, please?
17:01And the last one?
17:03R
17:05Time's up.
17:32MUSIC STOPS
17:35McKenna, six.
17:37And Jamie?
17:39Seven.
17:41McKenna?
17:42Outran.
17:44Outran and?
17:45Astound.
17:46And astound.
17:47Very nice.
17:48Very good.
17:49Very good.
17:50Excellent. Now, Pam?
17:52We are in the arid wastes. We've got tundras, which is seven.
17:56Yes.
17:57And?
17:58Rotundas.
18:00Rotundas, yes. Which is eight.
18:02Very good. That's eight.
18:05Well done. Now, Jamie.
18:07Letters game.
18:09Consonant, please.
18:10Thank you, Jamie.
18:11W
18:12And another?
18:15R
18:16And another?
18:18S
18:19And a vowel?
18:21E
18:22And another?
18:24A
18:26And another?
18:28U
18:29And a consonant?
18:31N
18:33And another?
18:35G
18:37I'll finish with a vowel, please.
18:39And finish with I.
18:42And here's the Countdown Clock.
18:44Countdown Clock
19:15Yes, Jamie?
19:16I have an eight.
19:17An eight.
19:18I have an eight.
19:19I have an eight as well.
19:20All right.
19:21Jamie?
19:22Swearing.
19:23And?
19:24Swearing.
19:25You're swearing too?
19:26All right.
19:27APPLAUSE
19:31Thank you, McKenna.
19:33Now, any more swearing?
19:34Yes, there's a lot of swearing going on today.
19:36We've got swearing as well over here.
19:38Yes.
19:39And we've also got guineas, which is a nice sort of old-fashioned word now, isn't it?
19:43Guineas.
19:44Guineas, yes.
19:45Yes, the coin.
19:46Excellent.
19:47And now, with the score standing at 61 to Jamie,
19:49McKenna on 28, it's McKenna's Numbers Game.
19:51Good luck, McKenna.
19:52Rachel, can I have two large and four small, please?
19:55You can indeed, thank you, McKenna.
19:57Two large, four little coming up for you.
19:59And for this round, the numbers are seven, ten, nine,
20:04another nine, and the large ones, 25 and 75.
20:09And the target, 724.
20:12724.
20:43McKenna.
20:45724.
20:46Thank you, Jamie.
20:47724.
20:49McKenna.
20:5075 by ten.
20:52750.
20:54Added nine over nine.
20:56Is one.
20:57Add that one to the 25.
20:59For 26.
21:01750 minus 26.
21:02Perfect, 74.
21:04Thank you, Jamie.
21:05Almost exactly the same, I did 75 times ten minus the 25,
21:09and the nine over the nine is the one.
21:11Exactly the same, yeah.
21:12There we go.
21:13APPLAUSE
21:18So, Jamie's still maintaining his lead
21:20as we turn to our second tea time teaser, which is I Do Lousy.
21:25And the clue, I do behave in a very lousy fashion at times.
21:29I do behave in a very lousy fashion at times.
21:32APPLAUSE
21:46Welcome back.
21:47I left with a clue.
21:49I do behave in a very lousy fashion at times.
21:52And the answer is...
21:54odiously.
21:56Odiously.
21:5738 plays 71.
21:5971, Jamie on 71, and it's Jamie's letters game.
22:03Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
22:05Thank you, Jamie.
22:06F
22:07I'll have a vowel.
22:09A
22:10And another.
22:12E
22:13And a consonant.
22:15D
22:16And another.
22:18X
22:20And a vowel.
22:22A
22:24And a vowel.
22:26I
22:27And a consonant.
22:29T
22:30And another.
22:31And lastly, R.
22:33Stand by.
22:58MUSIC STOPS
23:05Jamie?
23:06I have a seven.
23:08And Ikenna?
23:09Just a six.
23:10And that's six.
23:12Tirade.
23:13A tirade, indeed.
23:15Jamie?
23:16Radiate.
23:17To radiate.
23:18Very nice.
23:19Yes. Very good.
23:20We've got a word which you could have used to describe
23:22how my mother felt about Elvis Presley.
23:24We've got fixated.
23:26Really?
23:27Yeah.
23:28Now, Susie, anything else?
23:30No, that was our single seven.
23:32Very good. All right.
23:3478 to 38, Andy, Ikenna.
23:36Letters game for you.
23:38Rachel, can I have a consonant, please?
23:40Thank you, Ikenna.
23:41S
23:42And another one.
23:44T
23:45And another one.
23:47G
23:49And another one.
23:51T
23:53And a vowel this time.
23:55E
23:56And another one.
23:58I
24:00And another one.
24:02O
24:04And a consonant.
24:07R
24:09And another vowel this time.
24:13And the last one, E.
24:15Stand by.
24:25MUSIC PLAYS
24:48Yes, Ikenna.
24:50Seven.
24:51Seven, Jamie?
24:52Seven also.
24:53Yes, Ikenna.
24:54Yes.
24:55And, Jamie, distort.
24:57Can we match that seven?
24:59I think we've probably got an eight,
25:01which might describe a pony at a Gymkhana with rosetted.
25:05Yes, rosetted.
25:07Very good.
25:09APPLAUSE
25:15So, there we go.
25:16Susie, you're on.
25:18Your special origins of words.
25:20And today?
25:22I'm going to give you a bit of a whirlwind tour of milk,
25:25at least milk in language terms.
25:28And I'll start with the galaxy and, indeed, the Milky Way,
25:32because the idea of the whiteness of the Milky Way
25:35being similar to that of milk is a very ancient one.
25:38It predates even the earliest days of English.
25:41And we take our word galaxy from the Greek galaxias,
25:44which in turn came from gala, meaning milk.
25:47And Milky Way was already in use in Chaucer's day,
25:50and they go back a very, very long way.
25:52But milk lies behind other words in English
25:55where you might not expect them.
25:57Lettuce, for example.
25:59You might think, lettuce, what has that got to do with milk?
26:02It's directly named after milk,
26:04because if you squeeze a bit of lettuce,
26:06a bit of milky white juice comes out.
26:08And it's that property that probably accounts for the word.
26:11It goes back to the Latin lactuta,
26:13which, of course, gave us lactate,
26:15as well as many other words to do with milk.
26:18Dragon's milk was an old term for beer.
26:21And sometimes as well, I think, for gin.
26:24Mother's milk certainly was a euphemism for gin
26:27when people used to tiptoe around going off to drink a few.
26:31Balderdash once was a very unappetising concoction of milk and beer.
26:36And seersucker, one of my favourites.
26:39Seersucker goes back to the Persian.
26:41It's that striped cloth.
26:43But actually, in Persian, it means literally milk and sugar
26:46to describe, really, the variation of the stripe when you look at it.
26:50So, there you go.
26:51Milk hidden, surprisingly, behind quite a few words in English.
26:54Well done. Thank you.
26:56APPLAUSE
26:59Excellent, Susie, as ever.
27:01So, 85 to Jamie.
27:03Ikenna on 45.
27:05And we turn you to Jamie for the penultimate letters game.
27:09Can I have a consonant, please?
27:11Thank you, Jamie. M.
27:13And another?
27:15S.
27:16And another?
27:18L.
27:19And a vowel?
27:21O.
27:22And another?
27:24I.
27:25And another?
27:26E.
27:28And a consonant?
27:30W.
27:31And another?
27:33P.
27:36And another consonant, please?
27:38And lastly, C.
27:40And here's the Countdown Clock.
27:43COUNTDOWN CLOCK BEEPS
28:14Jamie?
28:15I have an eight.
28:16An eight. Ikenna?
28:18Five.
28:19And that five?
28:21Well, something this contest doesn't seem to be at the moment.
28:24Close.
28:25Close, all right.
28:27And Jamie?
28:28Compiles?
28:29Compiles.
28:30Very good.
28:31APPLAUSE
28:36Compiles, all right.
28:38Now, then, Pam, Susie, what have you got?
28:41From the nunnery, we have wimples.
28:44Yes.
28:45The thing that nuns wear.
28:48And also we have polemics, but I'm not sure what that means.
28:51I'll get asked, Susie, about that one.
28:53Yes, the practice of engaging in controversial debate or dispute.
28:57Thank you. 93 plays.
28:5945, Ikenna, final letters game for you. Good luck.
29:02Can I have a consonant this time?
29:04Thank you, Ikenna.
29:06N.
29:07And a vowel?
29:09I.
29:11And another consonant?
29:13T.
29:15And a vowel?
29:17O.
29:19Can I have a consonant?
29:22L.
29:24And a vowel?
29:27E.
29:29Another vowel?
29:31O.
29:34Another consonant?
29:37S.
29:38And another consonant, please?
29:40And, to finish, P.
29:42Stand by.
30:09MUSIC STOPS
30:15Ikenna.
30:16It.
30:17And, Jamie?
30:19It also.
30:21Ikenna.
30:22Loopyest.
30:23Now then.
30:24And I'm going loopy also.
30:26Loopyest, well done.
30:29Anybody loopy in the corner?
30:31We were for a bit, yes.
30:33Yeah, we were. We did get loopyest.
30:35We've also got a terrible red thing.
30:37That's what they used to buy from the butchers.
30:39Polonis.
30:40Sort of a sausage.
30:42Oh, yes.
30:43Polonis, yeah.
30:44So...
30:45Yep, that's another eight.
30:46That's an eight.
30:47So, yeah, we're quite pleased with our polonis.
30:49I think we'll leave it there.
30:51Well done.
30:52All right, 101 to Jamie.
30:53Look, Ikenna on 53.
30:55And it's Jamie's numbers game.
30:57Jamie?
30:58I'll have one large, please, Rachel.
31:00Thank you, Jamie. One from the top row.
31:02And five other ones to finish the day.
31:04And these last numbers are...
31:07..ten, six, three, four,
31:11and the large one, 75.
31:13And the target, 997.
31:16997.
31:37MUSIC STOPS
31:48Jamie?
31:49Just 996.
31:51101, Ikenna?
31:53Nowhere.
31:54No.
31:55We're back with you, Jamie.
31:57So I've done...
31:59No, I've lost it. It's gone.
32:01I'm sorry.
32:02Both down.
32:04Rachel, 997.
32:06Yes, if you say...
32:0875 minus four is 71.
32:12Eight plus six is 14.
32:15Times them together for 994
32:19and add on the three, 997.
32:21Well done.
32:22APPLAUSE
32:23Thank you, Rachel.
32:26So, here we go. 101 still plays 53.
32:29As we turn to the final round, conundrum time.
32:32Ikenna, Jamie, fingers on buzzers.
32:35Let's roll today's Countdown Conundrum.
32:38MUSIC PLAYS
32:55Jamie?
32:56Emittance?
32:58Let's have a look.
33:00No. Down to you, Ikenna.
33:15BELL RINGS
33:17Ikenna?
33:18I just wanted to press the buzzer one last time before I get out of here.
33:22LAUGHTER
33:23Who in the audience... I see a hand. Yes, sir?
33:26Mincemeat.
33:27Let's see whether you're right.
33:29Here it comes. Mincemeat.
33:31APPLAUSE
33:33Oh, dear.
33:36Oh, dear. Well done, Jamie.
33:38Ikenna.
33:40You did so well. Yes, 109 points.
33:43They all sort of deserted you.
33:45Maybe a couple of brandies might help.
33:48You enjoy those.
33:49But you're going to go home with your brandies,
33:52your goodie bag and a teapot.
33:54And thank you very much for coming. You're a good sport.
33:57Jamie, cracking score. Brilliant.
33:59Thank you very much. All right, well done.
34:01And we'll see you tomorrow, Pam, for the last time until we get you back.
34:05Yes. Oh, yes, well, I look forward to it.
34:07Indeed we do.
34:09Susie? See you tomorrow.
34:11We're getting through the teapots at the moment.
34:13We're going to have to make a call to the accountant, up the budget.
34:16We're getting through more winning contestants.
34:18All right, we'll see you tomorrow. See you tomorrow.
34:20Same time, same place, you'll be sure of it.
34:22A very good afternoon.
34:24Contact us by e-mail at Countdown at Channel4.com,
34:28by Twitter at C4 Countdown,
34:30or write to us at Countdown Leeds LS3 1JS.
34:34You can also find our web page at Channel4.com forward slash Countdown.
34:42Well, more allegations fly,
34:44and Julie Walters is left questioning her own choices
34:46and her life with Robbie Coltrane.
34:48National Treasure drama continues tonight at nine.
34:54APPLAUSE