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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:03CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
00:31Well, good afternoon. Welcome to the Countdown studio.
00:35Japan, land of the rising sun, and land of many eccentric ideas.
00:40Of course, they started off the cat cafes,
00:42and now there's a new one, the laundromat cafe.
00:45So whilst you watch your laundry spinning round endlessly,
00:48you can have a little cup of coffee and a cake.
00:51Come over to this country now, laundromat cafes.
00:54I wondered whether you could, for instance,
00:56in the dentist's waiting room, show horror films?
01:00LAUGHTER
01:02What else could we do?
01:03I think they should have something on trains.
01:05I mean, it's never going to happen, but if you had, you know,
01:08a gym or something, or a cinema on a train,
01:10you're stuck on there for a good few hours.
01:12Yeah. Kill two birds?
01:14If you're ever waiting for something,
01:16it's always useful to have something to do.
01:18I daydream myself.
01:20It is cheap and exciting.
01:23With your mind, Nick.
01:25Now, who have we got?
01:26Mick Purdy, the giant killer, is back.
01:28Part-time golfer, caddymaster from Scarborough.
01:31Well done, Mick.
01:34Old damn Jan.
01:35She was a formidable player. Good luck to you.
01:37And you're joined by Katrina Corbett,
01:39a child miner from Roughton Stall in Lancashire,
01:43who fascinated me while we were waiting to go on
01:48that you once met the North Korean ambassador at a barbecue.
01:51Now, that's a pretty long shot, isn't there?
01:54What were you doing at this barbecue?
01:56What was he doing at this barbecue?
01:58A friend of mine is a member of the Communist Party.
02:00Yeah.
02:01And they host a barbecue and invite a lot of ambassadors
02:03from socialist countries every year.
02:05OK.
02:06I think it was Cuba, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Laos.
02:09You get a big smile from a Cuban, I bet you.
02:12Anyway, listen, have a lovely time here today.
02:14Have a lot of fun, both of you.
02:16Let's have a big round of applause for Mick and Katrina.
02:19APPLAUSE
02:21Over in the corner, Susie, of course.
02:23Until we can get her back, cos she's touring all over the place.
02:26You're on tour at the moment, Pam.
02:28Oh, yes. Yes, I am.
02:30You entertain beautifully.
02:32You've kept us amused over the last few days.
02:35Thank you. Lovely.
02:37Now then, Mick Purdy, Letters Game.
02:40Afternoon, Rachel. Afternoon, Mick.
02:42A vowel, please. Thank you. Start today with O.
02:45Another.
02:47I.
02:49Another.
02:51E.
02:53Consonant.
02:55W.
02:57Another consonant.
02:59V.
03:00Consonant.
03:02G.
03:04Vowel.
03:06O.
03:08Consonant.
03:10L.
03:12And, er, last consonant.
03:14And lastly, R.
03:17It is the Countdown Clock.
03:48Well, Mick? Seven.
03:50A seven. Katrina?
03:52A risky seven.
03:54Mick?
03:55Woolier.
03:56Woolier and...?
03:58Glowier.
03:59See what Susie says.
04:01OK. Woolier, unfortunately, is a double L.
04:04I'm not sure.
04:06Glowier. Oh, actually, that surprised me there, Katrina.
04:09It is in. Glowy, glowier, glowiest.
04:11Very good. Now, what's the corner got?
04:14Well, there's Grovel and Glover, a couple of sixes,
04:18and there's a nice Scottish five, Oury. I like Oury.
04:21What does it mean?
04:23It's feeling sort of unwell or it's dismal, everything's a bit oury.
04:26Seven points for Katrina, and it's Katrina's letter game.
04:29Good afternoon, Rachel. Afternoon, Katrina.
04:31Can I have a consonant, please? You can indeed.
04:33Start with N.
04:35And another one, please.
04:37D.
04:39Can I have a vowel?
04:41E.
04:43And another vowel.
04:45A.
04:47Another vowel, please.
04:49U.
04:51And a consonant.
04:53S.
04:55Another consonant.
04:57T.
04:59Erm...
05:01Consonant.
05:03D.
05:05And a vowel, please.
05:07And lastly, I.
05:09Stand by.
05:13MUSIC PLAYS
05:16MUSIC CONTINUES
05:42Katrina.
05:44A seven and? Seven.
05:46Katrina? Instead.
05:48Mick? Daunted.
05:50Yes. Very good.
05:52Very good.
05:54Any more sevens there, Pam?
05:56Ah, well, even finer, we've got a word that might describe my little dog,
06:01dandiest.
06:03The dandiest? The dandiest dog, yes, which is...
06:06APPLAUSE
06:08And we've also got...
06:11There's also, yeah, more unusual, not as nice as dandiest,
06:14audience, with a T-S at the end rather than C-E,
06:17and they are hearers or listeners.
06:19Bit of a rare one, that, audience.
06:23Dandiest, indeed. Now...
06:25Numbers for Mick.
06:27One large and five small, please, Rosie.
06:29Thank you, Mick. One from the top row, five from the others,
06:32and the first one of the day is...
06:35Six.
06:37Ten.
06:39Three.
06:41Seven.
06:4375.
06:45And the target, 409.
06:47409.
07:10MUSIC STOPS
07:17Well, Mick?
07:19Er...
07:21411.
07:23411. Katrina?
07:25No, I lost it, I got 450.
07:27Yes, a bit too far away, unfortunately. Mick?
07:3176 is a 42.
07:33Yep.
07:35Times the ten.
07:37Minus the other six and the three.
07:40Yep, 411. Two away.
07:44So, 409. Rachel?
07:46How do we get there? Can we get there?
07:48We can, indeed.
07:50If you say 75 minus seven is 68,
07:53times six is 408,
07:57and then you have a ten and a six and a three
08:01to give you one to add on.
08:03Very good. Excellent.
08:06So, that's 14 points all.
08:0814 points for Mick's drawn level.
08:10Now, as we turn to our first Tea Time teaser,
08:13which is nil tedium, and the clue,
08:15there's no tedium here, the fun is simply endless.
08:18There's no tedium here, the fun is simply endless.
08:32APPLAUSE
08:36CHEERING
08:40Welcome back. I left you with the clue,
08:42there's no tedium here, the fun is simply endless.
08:45The answer to that is it's unlimited.
08:48Unlimited. 14 apiece.
08:51Katrina, your letters again.
08:53Please can I start with a consonant?
08:55Thank you, Katrina. M.
08:57And another consonant?
08:59R.
09:02Annabelle.
09:05A vowel?
09:07I.
09:09A consonant?
09:11H.
09:13A vowel, please?
09:15E.
09:17Consonant?
09:19P.
09:22Consonant?
09:24K.
09:26And a final vowel, please?
09:28And a final I.
09:31Stand by.
09:34MUSIC PLAYS
09:36MUSIC CONTINUES
10:03Katrina.
10:05Five.
10:07Five. Mick? Five.
10:09And Katrina?
10:11Hiker.
10:13Same again.
10:15How do we do in the corner? Pam?
10:17Oh, I only got prime, which is only five.
10:21And Susie has got empire, which is six.
10:24Empire? Yes.
10:26Thank you. 19 apiece. Mick, letters again.
10:30Vowel, please, Rachel?
10:32Thank you, Mick. A.
10:34O.
10:36Another?
10:38A.
10:40A vowel?
10:42I.
10:44A consonant?
10:46P.
10:48Another consonant?
10:50Y.
10:52Another? F.
10:54Another?
10:56M.
10:58And a final vowel?
11:00And a final O.
11:02Stand by.
11:04MUSIC PLAYS
11:33Yes, Mick?
11:35Just a four. Katrina?
11:37A risky five. Mick?
11:39Impy.
11:41Now... Yes. Now Katrina.
11:43Poofy.
11:45Poofy. Happy, Susie?
11:47Yes, poofy is absolutely fine. No impy, unfortunately.
11:50It's impish, Mick, normally.
11:52What can we have? Pam?
11:54We can have the affliction of myopia, which is six.
11:58Very good. Well spotted, too. Thank you.
12:01Katrina on 24. Mick, 19.
12:04We turn to Katrina for numbers again.
12:07Can I have two large and four small, please?
12:09You can indeed, thank you, Katrina.
12:11Two from the top, four not from the top.
12:13And the four littlings are ten, three, eight and one,
12:17and the big two, 50 and 75.
12:20And your target, 498.
12:23498.
12:25MUSIC PLAYS
12:32MUSIC CONTINUES
12:56Katrina? 498.
12:58498, Mick? 498.
13:00I did 50 times ten.
13:02500.
13:04And then three minus one and take it away.
13:06Perfect. 498.
13:08And Mick? Same route, obviously.
13:10Thank you. So it's 34 to 29,
13:13and we turn, we swivel rapidly to Pam Ayres.
13:16What have you got for us today?
13:18Well, we've recently moved house, Nick,
13:21and I seem to spend a great deal of my time in the attic,
13:24either taking stuff out of it, the old one,
13:26or putting stuff into the new one.
13:28And it struck me that although it's part of your house
13:31and it's the same building and everything,
13:33it has a very different atmosphere.
13:35So my poem today, which I'm only just working on,
13:38so I may stumble over it, I hope not,
13:41it's called Up In The Attic. Right.
13:43I've got to find a document whereabouts unknown.
13:47I haven't seen the thing since George VI was on the throne.
13:51A copy's unacceptable, or so the Jobsworth said.
13:55The only place left to look, and that's the place I dread.
13:58It isn't in the chest with the drawers stuffed full.
14:01It isn't in the cupboard with your old knitting wool.
14:04It isn't in the garden where the cauliflowers grow.
14:07Where is it? Where is it?
14:10I think we all know.
14:12It's up in the attic where the wind blows chill.
14:16Up in the attic where the woodworm drill.
14:19Where little feet of the little mousy hordes
14:22go pitter-patter on the old floorboards.
14:25Up the shaky ladder to the hole as black as pitch.
14:29Up the shaky apparatus feeling for the switch.
14:32Up to the attic where the temperature drops.
14:35Up in the attic where the friendliness stops.
14:39Here's the little table where the clock used to stand.
14:42Here's a photograph of Granny changing on the sand.
14:45The photograph you took on holiday in Perranporth
14:49when a cold wave slapped her and her teeth shot forth.
14:55Up in the attic there's a big old clock.
14:58A big old rocking horse that's never going to rock.
15:01A farm and a castle and a little Noah's Ark.
15:04And a doll's house, beautiful, but all the rooms are dark.
15:08A doll's house, beautiful, palatial in its day.
15:12Closed up now, the occupants have gone away.
15:16Gone with the passengers waiting for the train.
15:19Here on a set that'll never run again.
15:22There's a box with a wedding dress straight from the bride.
15:26The body of a little mouse, mummified.
15:30A disappointed spider on the cobwebbed floor.
15:33He hasn't caught a fly since the Second World War.
15:37Insurance certificates relating to the house.
15:40My last will and testament to benefit my spouse.
15:43All the vital documents that punctuate your life
15:46and a photo of me dad with the old bread knife.
15:49A photograph of somebody, I can't remember who, by the sea.
15:53Who's he? I haven't got a clue.
15:56And this will show you what a sentimentalist I am.
15:59Together with the cover lit and parasol, my pram.
16:04Here in the flicker of the solitary light.
16:07Here all the memories still shine bright.
16:10Cold through a crack comes the glimmer of the moon.
16:13Shining on a lifetime flown too soon.
16:17All this stuff once taken at the tip.
16:20All this stuff once put in the skip.
16:23All this forgotten clutter sorrowful and brown.
16:27I'll leave it for the kids when I'm six foot down.
16:30APPLAUSE
16:33Very good.
16:35APPLAUSE
16:39That was lovely. Some sad lines in there.
16:42I know, it is quite poignant, isn't it?
16:44Lovely. Lovely. Thank you.
16:4634-29, Katrina in the lead.
16:49Now then, Mick, your letters again.
16:51Vowel, please, Rachel. Thank you, Mick.
16:53U. And another?
16:55E.
16:57Consonant?
16:59P.
17:00Consonant?
17:02G.
17:04Vowel?
17:06O.
17:09Um, consonant?
17:11N.
17:13Vowel?
17:15I.
17:17Consonant?
17:19G.
17:21And a consonant?
17:23And lastly, R.
17:25Stand by.
17:34CLOCK TICKS
17:57Well, Mick? Eight.
17:59And eight. Katrina? Eight.
18:01Mick? Grouping.
18:03And... Grouping.
18:05Just show that to Mick.
18:07And we'll turn to the corner.
18:09APPLAUSE
18:12And in the corner?
18:14I got ignore for six, but Susie's got pongier for seven.
18:19I am pongier than you are.
18:21Pongier. That's another airs word, isn't it?
18:24Pongier. No.
18:2637 plays 42. Katrina still in the lead.
18:29And it's Katrina's letters again. Yes, ma'am?
18:32Can I have a consonant, please?
18:34Thank you, Katrina. N.
18:36And another?
18:38J.
18:40And another, please?
18:42R.
18:44A vowel?
18:46O.
18:48A vowel?
18:50A.
18:52Another vowel?
18:54E.
18:56Consonant?
18:58T.
19:00L.
19:02And a vowel, please?
19:04And a final A.
19:06Countdown.
19:30MUSIC
19:39Katrina? A five.
19:41A five, Mick?
19:43I'll go for a safe five, yeah.
19:45Katrina? Later.
19:47And Talon? Talon.
19:49And in the corner?
19:51I got alter, which is only five.
19:54Susie's got rental, which is six.
19:58Thank you. 47 to 42, five points in it.
20:02Five points in Katrina's favour.
20:04Mick, your numbers game.
20:06One large and five small, please, Rachel.
20:08Thank you, Mick. One from the top, five not from the top.
20:11And for this round, your five small ones are
20:14eight, five, nine, nine and six.
20:18And the big one's 75.
20:20And this target, 555.
20:23Five, five, five.
20:25MUSIC
20:28Five, five, five.
20:30MUSIC
20:57Mick? Five, five, five.
20:59Yeah? Five, five, five.
21:01Mick? Eight times 75.
21:03600.
21:05Nine times five is 45.
21:07Fell out quite nicely, that one. Well done.
21:09Take it away.
21:11And Katrina?
21:13I've done it differently. I've done nine over nine is one.
21:16Yep. Take that off the eight for seven.
21:18Times it by 75.
21:20525.
21:22And then six times five is 30.
21:24Yep, haven't used any of those.
21:26Lovely. Well done.
21:29APPLAUSE
21:31So that gap of five points persists.
21:3357-52.
21:35As we turn to our second Tea Time teaser,
21:37which is Disco Rave, and the clue...
21:40Due to poor circulation, his veins became this.
21:43Due to poor circulation, his veins became this.
21:55APPLAUSE
21:59APPLAUSE
22:01Welcome back. I left with a clue.
22:03Due to poor circulation, his veins became this.
22:06Poor chap. Became varicose.
22:09He had varicose veins.
22:11Ouch. 57-52.
22:13Katrina in the lead now.
22:15Katrina, letters game.
22:17Can I have a consonant, please?
22:19Thank you, Katrina. S
22:21And another?
22:23T
22:25And another, please.
22:27M
22:29And a vowel?
22:31E
22:33Another vowel?
22:35A
22:37A vowel?
22:39O
22:41A consonant?
22:43R
22:45A vowel?
22:47U
22:49A consonant, please.
22:51And lastly, N.
22:53Stand by.
22:58CLOCK TICKS
23:24Well, Katrina...
23:26Seven.
23:27And Mick?
23:28I'll try an eight.
23:29Katrina?
23:30Monster.
23:31Nah, Mick.
23:32Outsnare?
23:34Outsnare?
23:36Erm...
23:38It's not that, Mick, I'm afraid.
23:40Outstare, but not outsnare. Sorry.
23:42Bad luck.
23:44Now, what have we got?
23:46Well, I've got steam. Not very impressive.
23:48More impressive is a nine.
23:51Oh, really? Absolutely.
23:53It's a sensory organ of fishes and other aquatic amphibians.
23:58Yeah. And it's a neuromast.
24:00Well, well, well.
24:02A neuromast.
24:04Neuromast. I've never heard of that.
24:07Amazing.
24:09A nine.
24:11So, 64-52. Katrina stretched our lead a bit.
24:14Mick, what are we going to do?
24:16Letters game.
24:18Vowel, please, Rachel.
24:20Thank you, Mick. E
24:22And another?
24:24U
24:25And another?
24:26O
24:28Constant?
24:30T
24:32Another constant?
24:34L
24:36Another constant?
24:38T
24:40Another constant?
24:42L
24:44A vowel?
24:46E
24:48And their constant?
24:50Lastly, Q.
24:52Stand by.
25:21Well, Mick?
25:23Six.
25:25A six. And Katrina?
25:27Just a five.
25:29Your five is?
25:31Q
25:32Mick?
25:33Outlet.
25:34Very good.
25:35Outlet.
25:36Yes.
25:37Improves your situation, too. Pam?
25:39Yes, we had outlet. That was our best effort.
25:41We also had quell, which is five.
25:44Quell. Thank you.
25:45Yes.
25:46Thank you. 64-58. Mick's up to 58 now.
25:49As we go to Susie and her unparalleled origins of words.
25:55Now, what have we got?
25:57Pam mentioned a few days ago, I think, the grand fromage,
26:01which you liked when somebody introduced himself to you
26:04as the sort of... The boss.
26:06Yes, the boss, the honcho of a particular organisation.
26:09And that, of course, is a translation of the big cheese.
26:13Nothing to do with cheese, in fact.
26:15And in the beginning, you didn't need to have the big either.
26:18If something was cheese in English,
26:20it meant it was the real deal, it was great.
26:22People also used to say, that's the Stilton riffing off the cheese.
26:26But as I say, it didn't actually begin with the Oedipal yellow stuff.
26:30It began with a Hindi word, chiz, C-H-I-Z,
26:33which simply meant a thing bought back by servicemen
26:37who were coming back to Blighty.
26:39And they bought the big chiz back with them, probably, or the chiz,
26:43and we changed it into cheese,
26:45because it was the closest word that we had.
26:48Talking about something that's big or remarkable,
26:51Rachel asked me about whiz,
26:53because she's often called a maths whiz,
26:56and you were wondering about that one.
26:58That, actually, is very complimentary,
27:00even though you might get a bit tired of it.
27:02It's probably related to wizard,
27:05as well as the idea of something that was snappy and fast and whizzes around.
27:09It goes back to 1908 and is defined in the dictionary
27:12as somebody who is wonderfully skilful or talented in a particular field.
27:16So that is pretty good.
27:18And I mentioned honcho earlier, just that one.
27:20Big honcho, where does that come from?
27:22Well, it's actually Japanese.
27:24It's honcho in Japanese.
27:26It meant a group leader in that language,
27:28and it was brought back to the US, again, by servicemen in the military
27:31who had been stationed in Japan
27:33during the occupation that followed the Second World War.
27:36So we actually owe a lot to military slang,
27:39because so much of it went to corners of the world,
27:42whether or not their causes were just,
27:44and brought all this vocabulary back with us,
27:46and we then integrated it into our own.
27:48Very good. Wonderful.
27:50APPLAUSE
27:52Really interesting.
27:54Yeah.
27:55Honcho.
27:57Hmm. Excellent.
27:59So, 64 to 58.
28:02Now, Katrina, your letters game.
28:05Can I have a consonant, please? Thank you, Katrina.
28:08T
28:09And another?
28:11S
28:13And another?
28:15C
28:16A vowel, please?
28:18A
28:20Another vowel?
28:22U
28:23Another vowel?
28:25I
28:27A consonant?
28:29W
28:31A consonant?
28:33S
28:36And a consonant, please?
28:38And lastly?
28:39D
28:41And here's the Countdown Clock.
29:05CLOCK TICKS
29:14Katrina?
29:15A six.
29:16A six. Mick?
29:17Six.
29:18Katrina?
29:19Wastes.
29:20And Mick?
29:21Wastes.
29:22W-A-I-S-T-S.
29:24There we are.
29:25And over in the corner, I can see that Pam is desperate to talk.
29:28Yes, we have six, and it is sadist.
29:32A sadist? Oh, dear.
29:34We've also got some others.
29:36Yeah, we have the discus, we have audit, and there is a seven.
29:40They can stretch it to a seven with sawdust.
29:42And sawdust. Thank you, Pam, for that.
29:45Very good.
29:4617-64 into the final letters game.
29:48Now then, Mick, Mick Purdy.
29:51Start with a vowel, please, Rachel.
29:54Thank you, Mick. A
29:56And another?
29:58E
30:00A consonant?
30:02X
30:04Another consonant?
30:06S
30:08Vowel?
30:10I
30:12A consonant?
30:14B
30:16Consonant?
30:18S
30:20Vowel?
30:22U
30:24And a consonant?
30:26And lastly, R.
30:29Stand by.
30:31Here we go.
31:02Mick? Seven.
31:04A seven. Katrina?
31:06Just a five.
31:07And your five?
31:09Now, Mick. Brassy.
31:11B-R-A-S-S-I-E.
31:13Absolutely fine, yes.
31:15You will know this. It's a golfing term.
31:17It's the number two wood in golf.
31:19Well, Mick would know that. Very good.
31:21Yes? Is that where you came from? Well done.
31:23Mmm. Now, what's the corner got?
31:25We've got busier...
31:28Yes.
31:30..and a triumphant seven with bruises.
31:33Bruises. Well done. Yes.
31:35Very good. Bruises. All right.
31:37And now, Katrina, it's your numbers game. Good luck.
31:40Can I have two large and four small, please?
31:42You can indeed. Thank you, Katrina.
31:44Two big, four little coming up.
31:46And the last numbers game of the day
31:48is one, three, four, seven,
31:5250 and 100.
31:54And the last target, 292.
31:57292.
31:59ELECTRONIC MUSIC
32:28Katrina?
32:30292.
32:32Mick?
32:33292.
32:34And Katrina?
32:36100 x 3.
32:38300.
32:39Minus the 7 plus 1.
32:41Lovely. Well done.
32:43Mick?
32:44Same way.
32:45So, there we are.
32:49So, 81 pays 80. Katrina on 80.
32:52That means only one thing. It's crucial conundrum time.
32:55Good luck to you both. Two good players.
32:57Let's roll today's crucial countdown conundrum.
33:07BELL RINGS
33:09Mick?
33:10Reckoning.
33:11Reckoning. Let's see whether you're right.
33:13Reckoning.
33:15Wow.
33:17Well done.
33:20Well done, Mick. But well done, Katrina.
33:23You had him on the ropes for most of the day.
33:27He came through in the end, though.
33:29So, yeah, congratulations. You played really well.
33:3180. It's no bad thing.
33:33So it's back to Rortenstall with you with this goodie bag
33:37and our very best wishes and thank you again.
33:39And well done to you.
33:41Two good wins.
33:43Excellent stuff. See you tomorrow.
33:45Well done, indeed.
33:46We won't be seeing you tomorrow.
33:48No, no.
33:49Great good fortune with the rest of your tour.
33:51I hear it's going to be a storm.
33:54And you come and see us when you're through with that.
33:56I look forward to it.
33:57Please do. Please do. Thank you very much.
34:00We'll see you tomorrow, Susie.
34:01See you then.
34:02See you tomorrow.
34:03All right. Rachel, too, of course.
34:04See you tomorrow.
34:05See you tomorrow.
34:06So, Mick's done it again.
34:09Joins us tomorrow, same time, same place.
34:11Particularly, particularly Colin Ayres,
34:15who's, you know, been a Countdown fan for many years.
34:18He joins us again tomorrow, as you normally do.
34:20Same time, same place.
34:21You'll be sure of it.
34:22A very good afternoon.
34:24You can contact the programme by email at Countdown at Channel4.com,
34:28by Twitter at C4Countdown,
34:30or write to us at CountdownLeadsLS31JS.
34:34You can also find our web page at Channel4.com forward slash Countdown.