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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:20APPLAUSE
00:31Good afternoon, good afternoon. Welcome to the Countdown studio.
00:34Now, Rachel, I've been reading some extraordinary things
00:37that sneaky animals do. Oh, yeah.
00:40And some of them are devilishly clever, you know.
00:43Here goes. Peacats, I think that's how you pronounce it.
00:46They're small mountain rodents and they protect themselves
00:49from the soaring eagles that are looking down, looking for lunch,
00:53by throwing their voices so the eagle thinks they're over there
00:57but in fact they're over here. Oh, that's clever.
01:00Now, red squirrels, they stored food and it's often stolen by blue jays.
01:04So do you know what trick they get up to? What do they do?
01:07Very clever. They pretend they're hiding their nuts and berries
01:12by digging a hole and then by actually putting the earth back into it
01:16and then carrying them off and burying them somewhere else.
01:19That is sneaky. Clever. Very sneaky.
01:21And thirdly, alligators bounce quigs on their nose,
01:25waiting for the bird who's looking for a twig to build a nest to come along
01:29and then snap. Finished.
01:31And the cleverest one, you know Chris Packham who comes on our show here?
01:34I do. Lovely, lovely guy.
01:36Well, I saw one of his programmes recently
01:39and there's a particular bird somewhere that goes off
01:42and gets a choice little morsel but instead of eating it itself,
01:46it drops it in the river or the lake and then sits over the place
01:51which dropped that thing, fish comes up, bingo.
01:55Isn't that brilliant? Very clever. Brilliant stuff.
01:57Now, who have we got with us today? We've got Sean Fletcher back,
02:00now on three wins. Well done, Sean.
02:02You beat Edward Kenny 100-81 yesterday from Bridgenorth in Shropshire
02:06and you're joined today by Aaron Price, a Swindonian, Aaron.
02:11Yes, indeed. How about that? I left there 1,000 years ago,
02:14so it's all changed terribly, hasn't it?
02:16I mean remarkably, don't be terrible.
02:18Somewhat bigger but maybe not better, I'm not sure.
02:21And you work for the Nationwide Building Society on a graduate scheme?
02:24Yes. Where's the Nationwide? Downtown somewhere?
02:27It's near the Old Town area, near Warton.
02:31I once went to kindergarten in Warton, yes.
02:34It was called The Poplars and it was run by Miss Chamberlain
02:38who was assisted, I was only six but I remember it so clearly,
02:41by Miss Hopkins and Miss Hopkins turned round once and said,
02:46who dug me in the rear?
02:48Because one of us had pinched her bottom, I always remember that.
02:51I was very frightened.
02:53I gave up pinching people's bottoms after that, it scared me so much.
02:56Now then, big round of applause then for Aaron and Sean.
03:00APPLAUSE
03:03Aaron and Sean.
03:05And over in the corner, of course, as ever, the wonderful Susie Dent
03:08and we all know now that David Emanuel is back with us
03:12and great stories later on from you, David.
03:15So, Sean, now we're turning to a letters game. It's yours.
03:19Hi, Rachel. Hi, Sean.
03:21Can we start with a consonant, please? Thank you. Start today with P.
03:25And another one, please.
03:27Q
03:29A third consonant, please.
03:32M
03:34And a vowel.
03:36U
03:37Another vowel, please.
03:39E
03:40And a consonant.
03:42D
03:44A vowel.
03:47I
03:49Another vowel.
03:52O
03:53And a final consonant, please.
03:55And a final T.
03:57And here's the countdown clock.
04:14CLOCK TICKS
04:30Sean?
04:31A six.
04:32A six. And Aaron?
04:34Six also. Two sixes. Sean?
04:36Quoted.
04:38And?
04:39Peaked.
04:40Peaked.
04:41Definitely be peaked if you're a bit put out. Yes, very good.
04:44What else have we got in the corner? David?
04:46I got six. Tedium.
04:48Tedium. Good. Anything else?
04:50Imputed is there for seven.
04:52If you attribute a crime to somebody, you're imputed.
04:55Very good. Six points all Aaron.
04:58Your first letters game. Aaron.
05:00Hi, Rachel. Hi, Aaron.
05:01Can I have a consonant, please? Thank you. Start with M.
05:05And another.
05:07R
05:09And a vowel.
05:11A
05:13And a consonant.
05:15N
05:17And a vowel.
05:19E
05:21And another vowel.
05:23I
05:25And a consonant.
05:27B
05:29And a consonant.
05:32D
05:34And a final consonant, please.
05:37And a final T.
05:39Countdown.
06:08Aaron.
06:10Seven.
06:12Seven. Sean?
06:13Seven. Aaron.
06:15Trained.
06:17Trained as well.
06:19Yeah.
06:21Happy enough?
06:22Very happy. And a corner.
06:24David's writing furiously there.
06:26I think it's a seven.
06:28Bandier. Bandier?
06:30Bandier. Yeah. Very good.
06:32So, 13 points apiece. Sean, first numbers game. There's Rachel.
06:35Can I have one large and any five small, please?
06:37Thank you, Sean. One from the top row.
06:39And five little ones for you.
06:41And for the first time today,
06:43the small numbers are ten, four, ten,
06:47one and another one.
06:49And the large one, 100.
06:51And the target, 569.
06:54569.
07:05CLOCK TICKS
07:27Yes, Sean?
07:29565, not written down.
07:32565, not written...
07:34But how about Aaron?
07:36No, I didn't get close enough.
07:38No? So we're back to Sean. Sean?
07:40OK, I've got 100 plus ten plus one.
07:45100 plus ten plus one is 111.
07:50Four plus the other one.
07:52Four plus the other one is five.
07:54Times those.
07:55Five, five, five.
07:56And I have the other ten.
07:58And the other ten, 565, four away.
08:00Very good, but we always want the exact figure.
08:03569, Rachel.
08:05How good or bad is that?
08:08I got to one away, but very tricky.
08:10Very tricky, but you got one away at least.
08:12That's as good as it gets, then.
08:1420 points to Aaron's 13 as we go into a tea-time teaser,
08:17which is Comrades and the Clue.
08:19Did Japanese emperors shop in these places?
08:22Did Japanese emperors shop in these places?
08:26BELL RINGS
08:34APPLAUSE
08:42Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
08:44Did Japanese emperors shop in these places?
08:47And the answer is Mercados.
08:50Mercados.
08:5220 points to Aaron's 13.
08:54Aaron, letters game.
08:56Have a consonant, please, Rachel.
08:58Thank you, Aaron. R
09:00And a vowel.
09:02A
09:04And a consonant.
09:06F
09:08And a vowel.
09:10E
09:12And another vowel, please.
09:14O
09:16And a consonant.
09:18S
09:20And another.
09:22D
09:24And another.
09:26L
09:28And a final vowel, please.
09:30And a final I.
09:32And it's Countdown.
10:00BELL RINGS
10:05Aaron?
10:07Seven. Seven. And Sean?
10:09Seven. Aaron?
10:11Folders. And Sean?
10:13Soldier. Soldier.
10:15Very good. Very good. Yes.
10:18Any improvements in the corner? Anything exciting?
10:20I've got a six. Yep.
10:22I'm thinking Carnaby Street. I'm thinking flares.
10:25Flares! I remember the flares.
10:27Yeah, absolutely. Fantastic. Anything else, Susie?
10:29There's ordeals for seven.
10:31And there's also last minute eight ghariols,
10:34which are flower-shaped cooking pots.
10:36Very good. Thank you.
10:38APPLAUSE
10:40So, 27 to Sean.
10:42Aaron on 20.
10:44Still that seven-point difference.
10:46Sean, letters game.
10:48Start with a consonant, please, Rachel.
10:50Thank you, Sean. S
10:52And another one, please.
10:54N
10:56E
10:58Consonant, please.
11:00T
11:02Another consonant, please.
11:04S
11:06Another vowel, please.
11:08U
11:10Another vowel.
11:12O
11:14A consonant.
11:16M
11:20Final consonant, please.
11:22And a final Z.
11:24Z
11:54Sean?
11:56Six.
11:58Six. Aaron?
12:00I'll stick with six.
12:02Very well. Sean?
12:04Mount. Mount?
12:06Aaron? Stoves.
12:08Stoves.
12:10Any improvements there, David?
12:12No, we've both come up with six.
12:14Sunset. Very good.
12:16Poetic one, but that was about it.
12:18That's it. All right.
12:2033 to 26. Aaron?
12:22Do I always have two large and four small, please?
12:24You can indeed. Thank you, Aaron.
12:26Two large, four small ones coming up.
12:28And this time, the four small ones
12:30are nine, one,
12:32six and five.
12:34And the large two, 50 and 75.
12:36And the target,
12:38772.
12:40772.
12:52CLOCK TICKS
13:12So, Aaron, how do you get on?
13:14I've lost. I've made a mistake.
13:16All right. How about Sean?
13:18769.
13:20Off you go.
13:22OK. I've got 75 plus 1.
13:2475 plus 1, 76.
13:26And then I did 50
13:28divide the 5...
13:30For 10.
13:32...multiplied by 76.
13:34760.
13:36And add the 9. Yep. 769, three away.
13:38Three away. How does 772 strike you?
13:40Quite tricky.
13:42If you say 75 plus 5
13:44is 80, plus 50
13:46is 130,
13:48times that by 6
13:50for 780.
13:52And then 9 minus 1 is 8.
13:54Take away for 772.
13:56Fabulous. Well done, Rachel.
13:58APPLAUSE
14:00Perfect, as ever.
14:02Perfect as ever.
14:04But now it's our chance to turn to David.
14:06And yesterday, David spoke about
14:08the dress fitting at the palace.
14:10Your studio was too small, so you had the whole length
14:12of those great corridors.
14:14Dismissed the staff. But now we turn to the big day.
14:16The big day itself? Yeah.
14:18Well, obviously, it was a very early start.
14:20I left the house
14:22and walked out my front door, completely surrounded
14:24by the world's press, wanting a statement.
14:26This is before I even got
14:28to do the gig.
14:30Arrived very early at Clarence House, which, as you know,
14:32was the home of the Queen Mother.
14:34Diana was
14:36staying there overnight.
14:38I showed up to her bedroom.
14:40We delivered the frock the day before,
14:42so everything was laid out.
14:44Little bridesmaids all in one room,
14:46and we had Diana privately in another room.
14:48When I arrived at Clarence House,
14:50hair in rollers,
14:52Barbara Daly was doing the make-up,
14:54and simply, I mean, it was
14:56organised, but it was a bit
14:58buzzy and chaotic, and children running
15:00around the place. So we calmed them down,
15:02got them dressed, and of course the final person,
15:04the star of the show to dress,
15:06was obviously Diana. And got her finally
15:08dressed, and she looked a vision.
15:10And she was very happy, very excited.
15:12And I thought,
15:14did you double-check the
15:16petticoat hook? Because, you know, it was a
15:18vast crinoline petticoat.
15:20And she says, I can't remember. And I said,
15:22oh no, are you
15:24sure? No, did you double-check? Because, you know,
15:26we double-checked everything.
15:28And she goes, I can't remember. I said, well,
15:30there's only one way. And I'm dressed, I'm
15:32frock coat, cravat, carnation.
15:34So, up and under. So, under
15:36the dress.
15:38I had to. That was special.
15:40Well, you know, and there I was,
15:42I'm looking up and I'm thinking, because, Nick,
15:44I thought, I had visions. Had she
15:46got out at St. Paul's Cathedral,
15:48she could be walking down the aisle in this
15:50petticoat, would have gone adrift.
15:52So I went up and under,
15:54double-checked everything, everything was fine.
15:56And as I was resurfacing
15:58from under her wedding gown,
16:00Diana said, David,
16:02have you met the Queen Mother? And there
16:04standing,
16:06right there, is
16:08the Queen Mother. So, of course, I,
16:10like Diana, I blushed. I went, oh.
16:12And she gave her
16:14what I could only describe,
16:16as Roy was going to do, a quizzical
16:18look.
16:20And then I got a bit flustered and I
16:22straightened myself up and I said, oh, good morning.
16:24And she was very sweet and charming
16:26and it was a lovely day. Exhausting, but
16:28lovely. Amazing, amazing.
16:30And 30 years ago.
16:32Time flies, huh? Time flies.
16:34Thank you, David. Another great story.
16:36Wonderful. Insights into that
16:38extraordinary day. 40 points
16:40for Sean. Aaron on 26.
16:42Sean, let us go.
16:44Hi, Rachel. Can I start with a
16:46consonant, please? Thank you, Sean.
16:48C. And another one, please.
16:50L.
16:52And a third.
16:54R.
16:56Vowel, please.
16:58A.
17:00Another one, please.
17:02E. A consonant.
17:04S.
17:06Another consonant, please.
17:08K.
17:10A vowel.
17:12A.
17:14And a
17:16consonant,
17:18please. And a final G.
17:20Clock time.
17:34CLOCK TICKS
17:54Sean? Six.
17:56Six. How about Aaron? Seven.
17:58Well done. Sean?
18:00Creaks. Creaks. Aaron?
18:02Slacker. Very good.
18:04You can be a slacker. Yes. Indeed you can.
18:06But not here, you can't. No.
18:08David? I had exactly the same.
18:10Slacker. Yep.
18:12Susie? And there is another
18:14eight there. Grackles.
18:16Grackles are songbirds
18:18of the American blackbird family.
18:20And the male has shiny black plumage with a
18:22blue-green sheen.
18:24Well done.
18:26Of grackles.
18:28I know about grockles,
18:30but that's a different thing.
18:32Grockles are tourists in Devon and Cornwall.
18:34That's right, yeah. Grockles.
18:3640 points to Aaron's 33.
18:38Aaron, let us go.
18:40Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
18:42Thank you, Aaron.
18:44X.
18:46And another.
18:48M.
18:50And another.
18:52R.
18:54And a vowel.
18:56I.
18:58E.
19:00And a consonant.
19:02F.
19:04And a vowel.
19:08A.
19:10And a consonant.
19:12R.
19:14And a final
19:16consonant, please. And a final S.
19:18Stand by.
19:28CLOCK TICKS
19:50Aaron.
19:52I'll try seven.
19:54Sean.
19:56All right. Aaron.
19:58Framers.
20:00Sean. Farmers.
20:02You can certainly be a farmer, obviously.
20:04And I think you can be a framer as well, Aaron.
20:06Yes, you can.
20:08Yeah, a picture framer, why not?
20:10David.
20:12Farmers.
20:14And Susie, anything?
20:16One more seven, marries.
20:18And there is an eight there as well, firearms.
20:20Firearms.
20:22Which need a certificate.
20:2427 points to Drift, Aaron.
20:26And Sean's on with the numbers game.
20:28I'll just stick to the usual, please.
20:30Thank you, Sean.
20:32Stick to the usual, which is one large
20:34and five little ones.
20:36And this round is
20:38ten, nine,
20:40three, five,
20:42another three, and 75.
20:44And the target,
20:46640.
20:48640.
20:50CLOCK TICKS
20:54CLOCK TICKS
21:18Sean?
21:20Er, 640.
21:22640.
21:24Aaron?
21:26Yep, 640.
21:28Both of you, well done. Sean?
21:30I've done 75 times the nine
21:32for 675.
21:34Yes.
21:36And then I did ten take away three.
21:38For seven.
21:40Multiplied by the five.
21:42Lovely, well done.
21:44640.
21:46And Aaron?
21:48Very slightly different, 75 times nine.
21:50Plus the five.
21:52And then take that away.
21:5435 again, well done.
21:56APPLAUSE
22:00Still that elusive seven-point difference
22:02as we go into a tea-time teaser,
22:04which is ten girls.
22:06And the clue, a marvellous effort well worth the money.
22:08A marvellous effort well worth the money.
22:12BELL
22:20APPLAUSE
22:28Welcome back. I left with the clue,
22:30a marvellous effort well worth the money.
22:32And the answer is sterling.
22:34As in sterling work.
22:36Sterling effort.
22:38Now then, Aaron.
22:40Time to catch up. Letters game.
22:42Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
22:44Thank you, Aaron.
22:46T
22:48R
22:50And another.
22:52T
22:54And a vowel.
22:56E
22:58And another vowel.
23:00O
23:02And a consonant.
23:04N
23:06And a vowel.
23:08A
23:10And a consonant.
23:12R
23:14And a final vowel, please.
23:16And a final U.
23:18Countdown.
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24:40And a vowel.
24:42I
24:44And a consonant.
24:46N
24:48Another consonant, please.
24:50W
24:52A vowel, please.
24:54E
24:56Another vowel.
24:58O
25:00A consonant.
25:02S
25:04And a final consonant, please.
25:06And a final N.
25:08Countdown.
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