Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:05APPLAUSE
00:31Well, good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown Studio.
00:34I read a fascinating article recently, Rachel, about the nudge theory.
00:38It's the way in which we're subtly influenced and prodded
00:41into taking certain decisions.
00:43For instance, the buying decision.
00:45Apparently, and I find this difficult to believe,
00:47but if you remove the pound sign,
00:49it makes it less difficult to actually put your hand in your purse
00:53and pay for it. I don't understand that.
00:56But certainly, apparently... I love this.
00:59Bean soup. Call it Tuscan bean soup.
01:03Sales go up by 8% or you can charge 8% more or whatever it is.
01:06And if you read these sort of menus in restaurants,
01:09how they lash out with the adjectives.
01:12Lightly seared tuna.
01:15The tuna, probably, I wish it hadn't been seared at all.
01:17But you know what I mean? These sort of extravagant...
01:20extravagant descriptions.
01:22What about you? Been impressed by anybody or fooled by any of them?
01:26No, but I think, I guess the Tuscan bean soup,
01:28it's a bit more special, isn't it?
01:30It's kind of like if someone's put effort into something,
01:32it tastes better.
01:33We were in Sri Lanka and we actually watched
01:35these Sri Lankan ladies make the food for us
01:38and they had, you know, grains of rice and get the rice out
01:40and then they had a whole coconut and they ground the coconut
01:43and then, obviously, once you've watched them make it
01:45and there's love in it, then it tastes better, doesn't it?
01:47That's fantastic. That's better than, you know,
01:49just shoving an extra word on to put the price up.
01:51On the can. Yeah. Lovely.
01:53Now, we've got two new contestants, haven't we?
01:55Martin Off, we'll see him back in the finals.
01:58What a player he was. Absolutely.
02:00Is there a great player lurking here today?
02:03Is it Georgia Goulding?
02:05A clothing company owner from Wigan at such a young age.
02:08Did you start this company? Yeah, I started it last year.
02:11And tell us a little bit about it.
02:13And it's basically about sort of not judging people
02:17and accepting people for who they are.
02:19And you're 20. That's fantastic.
02:21Are we looking at another great British entrepreneur? I hope we are.
02:25Well, good luck to you today.
02:27And you're joined by Heather Chisholm,
02:29a retired music teacher from St Andrews.
02:31Born in Cairo, you were telling me, before the war.
02:34I can't believe that. Certainly, yes.
02:36Really. Now, you were telling me about medieval music.
02:40Tell us a little bit about that.
02:42You're a singer and a musician.
02:45Well, many years ago, when I was still singing,
02:50we formed a thing called the Scottish Early Music Consort.
02:54And we did really early music.
02:57When I say it, it was...
02:59Henry VIII was the latest we ever did.
03:02Are you still playing? Not singing, but playing still? No.
03:05No? No. Not at my age.
03:07Not since you were a young thing.
03:09Anyway, good luck to you today. Have a lot of fun.
03:12Have a lot of fun, Heather. And Georgia, too.
03:14Big round of applause for our two contestants.
03:20Oh, lovely lady.
03:22Now, over in the dictionary corner,
03:25sitting next to the wonderful Susie. Welcome back, Susie.
03:28Thank you. You have a very dangerous chap next to you.
03:30Magic man, it's Paul Zenon. Welcome back, Paul.
03:33APPLAUSE
03:35Now, what are we doing? Georgia.
03:38You know the drill. Let's have a letters game.
03:40Hi, Rachel. Hi, Georgia. Can we start the consonant, please?
03:43Thank you. Start the week with W.
03:46And a vowel, please.
03:48O. A vowel.
03:51E. A vowel.
03:54I. And a consonant, please.
03:57T. A consonant.
04:00N. A consonant.
04:04L. A consonant.
04:07P. And a final consonant.
04:11And a final G.
04:13And here's the Countdown Clock.
04:18ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
04:20ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES
04:46Georgia. A six.
04:48Heather. Possibly seven.
04:50All right, Georgia.
04:52Polite.
04:53Now, Heather.
04:55The old spelling of ploughing, with a W.
04:59I thought you'd be OK with that one, Heather,
05:01but it says very definitely that it's the US spelling now.
05:04I'm sorry. Bad luck.
05:06Now, then, Paul and Susie.
05:09Well, there's a few sevens there,
05:12with pelting, winglet and toe line.
05:17Very good.
05:19Well done there. Now, Heather.
05:22Your chance.
05:23A consonant, please.
05:26L. Consonant.
05:30F. Vowel.
05:33U.
05:36Consonant.
05:38P. Vowel.
05:42A. Consonant.
05:46D. Consonant.
05:49N.
05:53And a vowel.
05:55O. And one more consonant, please.
05:58And the last one. R.
06:00Stand by.
06:02ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
06:16ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES
06:32Heather.
06:34Possible six.
06:36Thank you. And, Georgia?
06:38Six.
06:39And a far more six now, Heather.
06:41Panful.
06:42Pardon.
06:43And Susie?
06:44I think both of those should be fine.
06:47They are, indeed. Yeah. Very good.
06:49Two good sixes. Any more there?
06:52There is seven there with pandor.
06:55P-A-N-D-O-U-R.
06:57And in answer to your next question, I've no idea.
07:01Susie?
07:02It's a word that's been applied to a number of different countries,
07:06a number of different military forces,
07:08but essentially it means a guard or an armed servant or retainer.
07:12At 12, plays six. Georgia on 12.
07:14And it's Georgia's numbers game.
07:17Thanks, Luke. I'll have two big, please, Rachel.
07:19Two big, four little. Thank you, Georgia.
07:21First one of the week is...
07:235, 1, 9, 8,
07:28and the large two, 25 and 100.
07:31And the target, 778.
07:34Seven. Seven, eight.
07:36ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
07:42ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES
08:06Yes, Georgia? 778.
08:08And Heather?
08:09Ooh, 776.
08:11Let's go to Georgia first, then. Yes, Georgia?
08:14100 x 8, 800.
08:16Minus 25, 775.
08:19And then 9 minus 5 is 4.
08:22Plus it on and minus the 1.
08:24Yep. Minus the 1.
08:26Well done.
08:27There we are. Well done.
08:31Well done.
08:32And it's time for our first Tea Time teaser now.
08:35It's said Mecca, and the clue...
08:37It's often said that the library is Mecca to these sort of people.
08:41It's often said that the library is Mecca to these sort of people.
09:03Welcome back, welcome back. I left with the clue,
09:05it's often said that the library is Mecca to these sort of people.
09:09And the answer to that is to academics.
09:12To academics. It's a Mecca.
09:1522 plays six. Georgia on 22.
09:18And it's Heather we turn to.
09:20Heather, your letters game.
09:22Consonant, please, Rachel.
09:24Thank you, Heather. N.
09:26And another?
09:28H.
09:30And a vowel?
09:32E.
09:34And a consonant?
09:36Y.
09:39And a vowel?
09:41U.
09:43And another vowel?
09:45A.
09:47And a consonant?
09:49S.
09:53And a vowel?
09:55I.
09:57And a consonant?
09:59And lastly, P.
10:01Stand by.
10:04HEART BEATS
10:06HEART BEATS
10:32Heather. Four.
10:34How about Georgia? Five.
10:36And a five.
10:38Heather. Ship.
10:40No, Georgia. Porsche.
10:42Ending the corner, what have we got?
10:44No big hitters there.
10:46A couple of sixes with punish and uneasy.
10:49That was about it. Thank you.
10:51Slim pickings there. 27 plays six.
10:54Lots of time, though. Georgia, your letters game.
10:57Consonant, please. Thank you, Georgia.
10:59D.
11:01And a vowel, please?
11:03E.
11:05A vowel?
11:07U.
11:09A vowel?
11:11A.
11:13Consonant, please?
11:15S.
11:17Consonant?
11:19G.
11:21Consonant?
11:23M.
11:25Consonant?
11:27C.
11:29And a consonant.
11:31HEART BEATS
11:33HEART BEATS
11:59Georgia. Just a five.
12:01A five. And Heather?
12:03Five. Thank you.
12:05Usage.
12:07And Heather? Squad.
12:09Thank you. Can we beat that?
12:11Come on.
12:13Only just. There are a few sixes there.
12:15Three of them we got.
12:17Cadgers, amused and caused.
12:19666.
12:21That's it. Number of the beast.
12:23Indeed. Thank you.
12:2532 to 11 and...
12:27Heather, it's your numbers game now.
12:29Can I have two large and five small, please?
12:31Of course. No, there must be something wrong there.
12:33Two large and four small?
12:35Yes, I'll give you an extra one. I wish I could.
12:37If I could, I would, Heather.
12:39Four little ones coming up, and they are
12:412, 9, 10 and 8.
12:43And the large two,
12:45150.
12:47And the target, 593.
12:49593.
12:51HEART BEATS
12:59HEART BEATS
13:21Heather?
13:23592.
13:25And Georgia?
13:27Well done. Off we go.
13:2950 times 10.
13:3150 by 10, 500.
13:33Plus 100.
13:35600.
13:37And 9827.
13:39Yeah. Lovely. Well done.
13:41APPLAUSE
13:43Well done.
13:45Well done, Georgia.
13:47Now then, Paul Zenon,
13:49what have you got up your sleeve?
13:51Well, this week we're talking Halloween,
13:53cos it's only a couple of days off.
13:55And I'm going to tell you a folk tale, if you will,
13:57about a jongleur.
13:59And a jongleur was... It's a nice French word,
14:01as you probably know, meaning a kind of juggler-cum-magician,
14:03probably played a bit of music as well.
14:05A sort of, you know, a jester-type minstrel.
14:07However, this one wasn't very good.
14:09And he managed to upset the king.
14:11And so he got put in an oubliette,
14:13which is a nine.
14:15And an underground cell.
14:17But they left a key in the cell.
14:19And this is the very key
14:21that will open the door
14:23to the very key,
14:25the lady in the souvenir shop told me.
14:27LAUGHTER
14:29And he couldn't quite reach it through the bars,
14:31but then he remembered that metal is affected by heat.
14:33Obviously, it's made by a process of heat.
14:35But it also expands.
14:37So let's just watch this in action.
14:39That's the key.
14:41And I'm just going to bring this little candle
14:43over towards it,
14:45so it just gets marginally hotter.
14:47And watch what happens.
14:49As I say, he couldn't quite reach it.
14:51But the key began to move
14:53of its own volition.
14:57And unlocked the oubliette
14:59in order for him to escape.
15:01You might have thought I was doing
15:03something kind of fiddly there,
15:05so I'll tell you what, without even touching it,
15:07we'll put that in there and we'll make
15:09a kind of little, sort of a sleeping bag arrangement,
15:11if you will, like that.
15:13And what I'd like you to do, Susie,
15:15is I'll hold that down.
15:17I want you to take the candle,
15:19and very carefully bring it over
15:21to the centre of the hanky.
15:23Just hover it over the centre, just slowly,
15:25slowly, and watch what happens.
15:31And again, closer.
15:33And the weird thing is,
15:37the key ends up red hot.
15:39Oh, it's not, it's cold.
15:43You see, sometimes I tell the truth,
15:45and other times I tell lies.
15:47Or do I?
15:49APPLAUSE
15:55You're a mischievous fellow. Georgia!
15:57Come along, let us go.
15:59Consonant, please.
16:01S.
16:03A vowel.
16:05E. Another vowel.
16:07O. Another one.
16:09I.
16:11Consonant, please.
16:13R. Consonant.
16:15V. Consonant.
16:17P.
16:19Consonant.
16:21L.
16:23And a consonant.
16:25And lastly, M.
16:27Stand by.
16:45MUSIC
16:59Georgia? Seven.
17:01Heather? Six.
17:03And your six, Heather, is?
17:05Truths. Thank you. Georgia?
17:07Moilers.
17:09Moilers.
17:11Yep, absolutely fine.
17:13Often paired with toiler. Moiler and toiler.
17:15Very good.
17:17And over in the corner?
17:19There's a seven there with plosive.
17:21But there is an eight with overlips.
17:23And another eight,
17:25I think we could improve on that one,
17:27with improves.
17:29Very good indeed. Susie and the others?
17:31APPLAUSE
17:35And that's it.
17:37A slipover as well, as in a pullover.
17:39Slipover.
17:4149-11.
17:43And, Heather, off we go. It's your letters game.
17:45Consonant, please, Rachel.
17:47Thank you, Heather. R.
17:49Vowel.
17:51U.
17:53Vowel.
17:55A.
17:57Consonant.
17:59L.
18:01Consonant.
18:03B.
18:05Vowel.
18:07B.
18:09R.
18:11Vowel.
18:13A.
18:15Consonant.
18:17And lastly, N.
18:19Countdown.
18:39CLOCK TICKS
18:53Heather?
18:55Six.
18:57A six. And?
18:59Five.
19:01Your five is?
19:03Rural.
19:05Thank you, Heather. Barrel.
19:07No, more like barren, actually,
19:09which is a six...
19:11Yes. ..as well.
19:13But there's also a seven with nebula.
19:15Yes, with the R at the end.
19:17So the adjective relating to
19:19the astronomical nebula,
19:21cloud of gas and dust in outer space.
19:23Oh, very good.
19:25Excellent. Thank you so much.
19:27Nebula. And it's 49-17.
19:29And now, Georgia,
19:31it's your numbers game.
19:33Two big again, please.
19:35Four little coming up.
19:37And this time, they are...
19:39two, six,
19:41nine, ten.
19:43And the large ones, 75 and 25.
19:45And the target,
19:47277.
19:49277.
19:51CLOCK TICKS
20:05CLOCK TICKS
20:21Georgia?
20:23276.
20:25276, Heather?
20:27I've seized and I've got nothing.
20:29Never mind. Let's see whether...
20:31whether Georgia's got that 276.
20:3325 plus two.
20:3525 plus two, 27.
20:37Times ten.
20:39270.
20:41Plus six.
20:43Gets you to one away.
20:45Well done, Georgia.
20:47But where's the missing one?
20:49Can you track it down, Rachel?
20:51Yeah, a couple of ways.
20:53You could have said 75 minus nine is 66,
20:55divided by six is 11,
20:57times 25 is 275,
20:59and add on the two, 277.
21:01That's the way. Perfect.
21:03APPLAUSE
21:05Thank you, Rachel. Perfect.
21:07Perfect.
21:09Now, tea time, teaser time.
21:11And the teaser is Sad China, and the clue...
21:13This plant has the ability to survive winter
21:15and it reminds me a bit of Oliver.
21:17This plant has the ability
21:19to survive winter
21:21and it reminds me a bit of Oliver.
21:25MUSIC
21:31APPLAUSE
21:39Welcome back. I left you with a clue.
21:41This plant has the ability to survive winter
21:43and it reminds me a bit of Oliver.
21:45And the answer to that one
21:47is hardiness.
21:49Hardiness.
21:5356-17, Heather.
21:55Your letters game.
21:57Consonant, please, Rachel.
21:59Thank you, Heather.
22:01S
22:03And another?
22:05M
22:07And a vowel?
22:09E
22:11And a consonant?
22:13T
22:15And another consonant?
22:17R
22:19And a vowel?
22:21I
22:23Another vowel?
22:25O
22:27And another consonant?
22:29H
22:31And a vowel?
22:33And lastly, I.
22:35Stand by.
22:37MUSIC
22:57MUSIC
23:07Yes, Heather?
23:09Seven.
23:11Thank you. Georgia?
23:13Seven.
23:15Now, Heather.
23:17Hermits.
23:19And?
23:21Moisture.
23:23Happy enough?
23:25Paul?
23:27There is an eight there, actually, with theorism.
23:29Yes.
23:31The belief that action should be guided primarily by theory.
23:33So it is basically
23:35adhering quite rigidly to theory
23:37rather than practice.
23:39Excellent. Well done.
23:41APPLAUSE
23:43Well, thank you for that, Susie.
23:45Thank you. Now, Georgia.
23:47Your letters game.
23:49Consonant, please.
23:51Thank you, Georgia. F
23:53U
23:55A vowel?
23:57O. Vowel?
23:59E. Consonant, please?
24:01N
24:03Consonant?
24:05L
24:07Consonant?
24:09S
24:11Consonant?
24:13T
24:15And a consonant?
24:17And the last one, D.
24:19Stand by.
24:21MUSIC
24:23MUSIC
24:25MUSIC
24:27MUSIC
24:29MUSIC
24:31MUSIC
24:33MUSIC
24:35MUSIC
24:37MUSIC
24:39MUSIC
24:41MUSIC
24:43MUSIC
24:45MUSIC
24:47MUSIC
24:49MUSIC
24:51Georgia.
24:53I'll try a seven.
24:55Heather, I think it's an eight.
24:57Hold on.
24:59Now, then, Georgia.
25:01Founted?
25:03Oh, Heather.
25:05Flounces? And Susie?
25:07I have to disallow both, unfortunately.
25:09No C for flounces and no founted either.
25:11Just fount as a noun.
25:13Fount or font. Sorry.
25:15We're expecting big things from the corner, then.
25:17Well, kind of all the same size.
25:19Not that big, but there's plenty of them.
25:21Lots of sevens with tenfold.
25:23Flouted.
25:25Fondles.
25:27Fondues.
25:29Foulest.
25:31Stop. Enough.
25:33Well done.
25:35Anything else, Susie?
25:37No, just a plethora.
25:39That's plenty.
25:41Thank you very much.
25:4363 to 24, Susie.
25:45What have you got for us today?
25:47Thank you. I have an email from Dr David Tweedy.
25:49He says,
25:51I have a complicated question for you to unravel.
25:53I was sitting in a traffic jam behind a truck
25:55that promised traffic solutions.
25:57Apart from the irony,
25:59I started to think about the word solutions.
26:01I know that when we work out an equation
26:03or get the answer to the problem,
26:05like the owners of the truck were promising,
26:07that's a solution.
26:09However, I've got a science background
26:11and also know a solution is a mixture
26:13Why have we got these two different usages?
26:15He goes on to talk about resolving
26:17and dissolving and all the various
26:19solves that come into it.
26:21Then he ends his email by saying,
26:23perhaps I should get out more.
26:25Actually, it's a very good question.
26:27We need to go back to the very early
26:29senses of solve, which were
26:31to loosen or dissolve or to
26:33untie.
26:35The source is a Latin verb, solvere,
26:37which meant to unfasten.
26:39When you dissolve a liquid, you loosen
26:41its particles and you pull them apart.
26:43The disk there is
26:45an intensifier, so you pull them apart
26:47quite vigorously.
26:49A solution, meanwhile,
26:51was the action of dissolving or changing
26:53from a solid or gaseous
26:55to a liquid state by means
26:57of a fluid or solvent.
26:59The figurative sense of a solution
27:01means unraveling a problem
27:03or answering it
27:05by loosening the ties that are
27:07confounding us, if you like,
27:09that leave us in need.
27:11Again, it's the idea of disentangling
27:13behind it. The re and resolve
27:15is, again, an intensifier.
27:17It means to thoroughly loosen or
27:19to untie. In fact, the very
27:21first meaning in the 14th century of to resolve
27:23something was to cause a substance
27:25to melt or to send
27:27it into a liquid state.
27:29From that same Latin root comes to absolve,
27:31which means to loosen from sin,
27:33for example, and to be
27:35dissolute, which means to have loose
27:37morals. So the whole idea is of loosening
27:39and fastening, whether for good or
27:41bad.
27:43Excellent. Wonderful.
27:45APPLAUSE
27:49So good. So good.
27:5163
27:53plays 24. Heather, your
27:55letter's game. Consonant, please.
27:57Thank you, Heather. G
27:59And another, please.
28:01S
28:03Bow
28:05I
28:07Another vowel.
28:09A Consonant
28:11T
28:13Consonant
28:15M
28:17Vowel
28:19O
28:21Vowel
28:23U
28:25Consonant. And the last one.
28:27S
28:29Countdown
28:31S
28:33Countdown
28:35S
28:37Countdown
28:39S
28:41Countdown
28:43S
28:45Countdown
28:47S
28:49Countdown
28:51S
28:53Countdown
28:55S
28:57Countdown
28:59S
29:01Heather, seven.
29:03And... Mr Five.
29:05And your...
29:07Atoms. Atoms. Thank you.
29:09Heather.
29:11Ousting
29:13Ousting. We need an N,
29:15unfortunately. I'm sorry, Heather.
29:17Oh, they've done it again. And in the corner,
29:19yes, Paul. There wasn't a lot
29:21there, but there is a seven
29:23with a gooties.
29:25Ah, the a gooties pitch up from time to time.
29:27The large, long-legged, burrowing
29:29rodents.
29:31Thank you very much.
29:3368 to 24. Georgia,
29:35final letters game for you.
29:37Consonant, please. Thank you, Georgia.
29:39T A Vowel, please.
29:41E A Vowel.
29:43I A Vowel.
29:47O Consonant, please.
29:49D Consonant.
29:53T Consonant.
29:55R Consonant.
29:59Z
30:01R Consonant.
30:03And lastly, another T.
30:05And here's the countdown clock.
30:25CLOCK TICKS
30:37Well, Georgia?
30:39Seven.
30:41And Heather? Six.
30:43And you're six, Heather.
30:45Well, I don't know if it's even a word. Ditter.
30:49What about Georgia?
30:51Dottier.
30:53Dottier definitely.
30:55No ditter, I'm afraid, Heather.
30:57Sorry.
30:59And Susie, Paul?
31:01Nothing else.
31:03Just a six there with a dozier.
31:05Yeah. That was it, really.
31:07Yeah, how we're feeling. Dottier.
31:09Yes. Thank you so much.
31:11All right. 75 to 24.
31:13Heather, it's a numbers game.
31:15Final one for you.
31:17Two large and four wee, please.
31:19Thank you, Heather.
31:21The numbers are...
31:236, 10, 8 and 2.
31:25And then the large ones,
31:27100 and 50.
31:29All the evens.
31:31And the target, 763.
31:33763.
31:35CLOCK TICKS
31:51CLOCK TICKS
32:05Heather.
32:07Erm, I've gone blank.
32:09Georgia. 763.
32:11Well done. Off we go.
32:13100 x 8.
32:15100 x 8. 800.
32:17Minus 50. 750.
32:19Plus 760.
32:21And then 6 over 2. Well done.
32:23763. Well done.
32:25APPLAUSE
32:27Very good performance.
32:29All right, so, we're going into the final round now,
32:31with the score standing 85 to 24.
32:33Fingers on buzzers.
32:35Let's roll today's Countdown Conundrum.
32:39CLOCK TICKS
32:49CLOCK TICKS
33:09No, we're stumped up here.
33:11Well, well. Who in the audience is going to break yes, sir?
33:15Is it guardsmen?
33:17Spoken like a guardsman. Let's see.
33:19APPLAUSE
33:21Well done.
33:27Well done indeed.
33:29And well done to, er, to Georgia.
33:31Young Georgia there, who takes the day.
33:33Heather, you played bravely.
33:35But, er, today you've got it.
33:37Oh, yes.
33:39A little bit, all right.
33:41But thank you so much for coming.
33:43This goodie bag's for you,
33:45with our very best wishes.
33:47Thank you. You played very well. Thank you.
33:49Thank you for coming.
33:51We shall see Georgia Goulding tomorrow.
33:53Terrific performance. Well done.
33:55We'll see you tomorrow. So, Paul, see you tomorrow?
33:57See you tomorrow. And Susie, too, of course.
33:59Yeah, see you then. See you both then.
34:01And Rachel, too, of course.
34:03And after meeting Heather, I hope she won't mind me saying this,
34:05but she's got more than a decade on you, Mr Hewer,
34:07and she's got far more energy and spirit.
34:09So no more excuses from you about being too old.
34:11You're going to have to buck up your ideas.
34:13I want some of the pills that she takes in that case.
34:15Eighty-five years old.
34:17I know. She's wonderful.
34:19There's something to aim for for you. Take note.
34:21I'm going to get some of her medicine. See you tomorrow.
34:23See you then.
34:25I shall be bright and perky tomorrow, same time, same place.
34:27You be sure of it. A very good afternoon to you. Thank you.
34:29Contact us by email at
34:31countdown at channel4.com
34:33by Twitter at
34:35c4countdown
34:37or write to us at
34:39countdown leads ls3 1js
34:41at channel4.com forward slash
34:43countdown