- 26/07/2025
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00:30Hello, everybody. This is Countdown.
00:33This is Wednesday, December the 18th,
00:36and three is the magic number.
00:37That's how many shows we have left
00:39before we crown our series 90 champion.
00:42And we called it at the start of the quarterfinals.
00:45We said, Rachel Riley, it's so unpredictable.
00:48I would genuinely not make a prediction.
00:51I just can't.
00:53I know. We've had one upset, succeeding.
00:55Yeah.
00:56But, I mean, this is anybody's, isn't it?
00:58Yeah, I think you're right.
00:59I think today's going to be really intriguing.
01:01Cannot call it at all.
01:03So, let's find just the little tiny margins
01:06and how they're preparing, I think.
01:08Let's do that via, of course, Dixon Recorner
01:11and our G of the D, Susie Dent.
01:13You remember it sort of being this close?
01:15It seems to be a lot of series
01:17since we haven't had that Arthur Page
01:20or that Ronan Higginson,
01:22but I don't think we do.
01:23No, I think you're right.
01:25I think it is way within the margin between everybody,
01:28so I can't wait for today.
01:29And, listen, keeping the vibes cool the whole way through it,
01:33nothing but positivity
01:34from Dixon Recorner and Christopher Biggins.
01:36Good to have you back there.
01:37Very exciting day.
01:41It is indeed.
01:41Now, I think Chris Kirby deserves even more credit
01:44for being the number one seed, winning eight,
01:47coming through his quarterfinal,
01:48all while his young'un is only six months old.
01:51So, all of your Countdown Odyssey
01:53has been as a new father.
01:54Yes, that's right, yeah.
01:56Bit of an unusual time to come on,
01:57so I'm not sure why I did,
01:58but, yeah, I don't do things normally.
02:00So, in terms of keeping up to date with the series
02:04and prepping and practising,
02:06you must just do it at whatever time of the day or night,
02:09baby in one arm, conundrums in the other?
02:12Just whatever I can,
02:13but I kind of play for enjoyment anyway,
02:15so I'm not a big practiser
02:16and, yeah, just going to see what happens.
02:19Ah, that's a great attitude.
02:20That's a great attitude.
02:21But also, practising and preparing is also OK, David Rowe,
02:25who's our fourth seed
02:27and who has just absolutely nailed brilliant quarterback.
02:30Now, you and Father Riley,
02:34we get on very, very well indeed,
02:35cos you've been using spreadsheets to prepare.
02:38Tell me about that.
02:39Well, I've got spreadsheets
02:40based on, you know, all the different combinations,
02:4330 puzzles to a page.
02:45That's great, but, listen, you do it watching the show,
02:47why not just sit and do it and that?
02:49Your mind thinks in spreadsheets, of course,
02:51with the accountancy, so it works great for you.
02:54All right, brilliant.
02:54All right, we've got Chris,
02:56who's more interested in nappies than spreadsheets right now.
02:59Two very different ways we've arrived at this semi-final.
03:02We give our best of luck, the both David and Chris.
03:06All right, Chris, here we go.
03:08Hi, Rachel.
03:09Hi, Chris.
03:09Can I start up a consonant, please?
03:10You can indeed start the first semi-final with M.
03:13And a vowel.
03:14A.
03:16And a consonant.
03:18P.
03:19A vowel.
03:21E.
03:22A consonant.
03:24S.
03:25A vowel.
03:27O.
03:28A consonant.
03:30H.
03:32And another consonant.
03:35T.
03:35And a final consonant, please.
03:40Final R.
03:42At the home and in the studio, let's play Countdown.
04:14And that's time.
04:15Chris Kirby.
04:16Seven.
04:17And David Rowe.
04:18Seven.
04:18Chris.
04:19Tampers.
04:20And for you, David.
04:21Mothers.
04:22Mothers and Tampers.
04:25Seven's really good, but did they miss anything?
04:27Yes.
04:28Quite a big one, actually.
04:29There was a nine there.
04:30No.
04:30Yes, metaphors.
04:32Oh, look at that.
04:35Yeah, not an obscure word.
04:37Not spotted by Chris and David.
04:40It's a whole different word when you get to the semi-final stage.
04:43David, you're picking these nine letters.
04:45Hi, Rachel.
04:45Hi, David.
04:46I'll have a consonant, please.
04:48Start with B.
04:50And another consonant.
04:51G.
04:53And another.
04:53F.
04:57And another.
04:58V.
05:00A vowel.
05:01U.
05:03A vowel.
05:04E.
05:05A vowel.
05:07O.
05:09A consonant.
05:11W.
05:12And a consonant.
05:14Lastly, S.
05:1630 seconds.
05:1830 seconds.
05:1830 seconds.
05:46David? Six. Six and Chris? Six. Six as well, David? Be Fogs.
05:54And Chris, straight away, without being asked, passes it over,
05:59matching each other for six points each.
06:02Don't tell me they missed another nine. No. No, there you go.
06:05Just Vogue's. There you go.
06:08What do you think of when you think of the word Vogue's, Christopher?
06:11Erm... I don't know, it's a Madonna song, isn't it?
06:14Yes. That's the dance that Colin does quite regularly.
06:19Oh, very good. Look at you. It's Christmas time.
06:22You're always in Vogue. 13 points apiece.
06:26Tell you what's in fashion about now. Numbers round. Chris?
06:30Can I get an inverted T, please? You're sticking with your one large.
06:34Let's see how long that lasts. One from the top, five little. Here we are.
06:38First numbers of this semi-final. Eight, ten, nine, eight, four and 75.
06:45Could be tricky. Let's see. 106.
06:48106. Numbers up.
06:50One of the top, six, seven, eight, nine, five .
06:58One, two, three, four and five.
07:01One, two, three, four, four.
07:06Could be falling off.
07:07Five, two, four, five, six, seven, eight.
07:11A very low target, 1.06, Chris.
07:231.06. And for you, David?
07:251.06. 1.06. Look at this, nobody's blinked yet.
07:28Chris? 8 plus 4.
07:308 plus 4, 12. Times 9.
07:32Times 9, 108.
07:33Then 10 minus 8 is 2 to take away.
07:35The second 8. So many ways for this one, not hard at all.
07:38What about you, David? 8 times 4.
07:408 times 4, 32.
07:42Plus 75.
07:43107.
07:4410 minus 9 is 1.
07:46Lovely. Well done.
07:50Would you expect anything else from these two?
07:5223 points apiece. Here's your tea time teaser.
07:55Ink barge. Ink barge.
07:57News just in, his hearts in pieces.
08:00News just in, his hearts in pieces.
08:02Welcome back.
08:19News just in, his hearts in pieces.
08:22Breaking was our tea time teaser.
08:25Well, there will be tears before tea time for either Chris or David,
08:28but I'm none the wiser as to who's going to need that hanky.
08:31It's 23 points each.
08:33And David, you're choosing these letters.
08:35I'll have a consonant, please, Rachel.
08:36Thank you, David.
08:37T.
08:38Another consonant.
08:41W.
08:42And another.
08:43Thanks, Rich.
09:08We'll see you next time.
09:38And that's time.
09:40David Rowe.
09:41Six.
09:42Chris Kirby.
09:43Seven.
09:44There's six, David.
09:45Twines.
09:46Chris.
09:47Tensile.
09:48Tensile.
09:48Absolutely brilliant.
09:49Capable of being drawn out or stretched.
09:52It feels biggins like that's the only word in the dictionary.
09:55Could have got seven points.
09:56I might be wrong.
09:57Oh, yeah, you're absolutely right.
09:58I'm sure it's not anything bigger, is it?
10:00Not the weaker find.
10:01No, but I'm continuing the Christmas theme and giving you tinsel.
10:05Yes.
10:05Well, she's much better than trying to win the game.
10:08Oh, absolutely.
10:09I don't know what you're doing, Chris.
10:11Honestly, she's so tinsel, use it.
10:13Bonus points from now on for Christmas words now.
10:16Come on.
10:16Imagine.
10:17Imagine there'd be anarchy.
10:19Biggins points.
10:20Right, well, listen, that's the first separation between the two of you.
10:23A long way to go, Chris.
10:24You're choosing these letters.
10:26Can I have a consonant, please?
10:27Thank you, Chris.
10:28Y.
10:29And a vowel.
10:31A.
10:32A consonant.
10:34S.
10:35A vowel.
10:36I.
10:38A consonant.
10:39B.
10:41A vowel.
10:41A vowel.
10:43U.
10:45And another consonant.
10:47R.
10:51Another consonant.
10:54N.
10:58And a final consonant, please.
11:02Final G.
11:04And half a minute.
11:35Chris.
11:36Eight.
11:37And David.
11:37Eight.
11:38Yeah, well done both of you, Chris.
11:39Spraying.
11:40And spraying.
11:42Yep.
11:43And look at you, Biggins has it too.
11:45Spraying.
11:46Yes.
11:47That was our only one of any length.
11:49We had parsing, which was something lexicographers do for seven, but that was it.
11:53OK, back to the numbers, but David, your first time choosing.
11:56And I'll have six small, please.
11:58Six small, you never quite know what you're going to say.
12:00Six small.
12:01Generally a challenge, though.
12:03Let's see if we can find you some points.
12:04They are six, seven, five, eight, ten and one, which mean nothing without 250.
12:14Two, five, zero.
12:16Numbers up.
12:16Two, five, zero.
12:292-5-0, the target. David?
12:492-5-0. Yeah, and Chris?
12:51Yeah, 2-50. You wanted that a little bit more difficult, I think, David,
12:55but off you go.
12:565 times 10 is 50.
12:57Yeah.
12:586-1 is 5.
13:00I think that was the hard bit.
13:01And multiply.
13:02Sorry, not what you were after.
13:04And for you, Chris.
13:05Yeah, basically the same way, yeah.
13:06Yeah, yeah.
13:08Lovely.
13:10So, there we are.
13:12We've just arrived at our chat with Christopher Biggins
13:14and already the score, 48-41,
13:17our number one scene with his nose just in front.
13:21Do me a favour, Biggins, for a chat today.
13:22I love when you start a story with...
13:25Well, I was in this movie with...
13:26It's always a great story.
13:28LAUGHTER
13:29So, any story that starts with...
13:30Well, I was in this film with her, in this programme with her.
13:33Well, I tell you, this is quite exciting because it's probably one of the biggest stars I've ever met.
13:39And her name was Lauren Bacall, who was a huge star in black and white and colour movies.
13:47And she was just fantastic.
13:49And she did on Broadway, she did a musical called Applause.
13:53And it was so successful, she decided to bring it to London.
13:57And then they decided, while she was here, they would make a movie of it.
14:01So, I was asked to do a part in the movie.
14:04And when we all went to the studios early in the morning,
14:07we heard little snippets coming that she'd woken up and she was in a terrible mood.
14:12So, we were all a bit nervous about that.
14:13And then we heard she was in the car and the car was late and she was fuming.
14:18She was in a terrible mood now.
14:20And then we heard, as she...
14:21She's actually arrived at the studio and no-one could talk to her because she was impossible.
14:26And so, we were all so nervous in this tiny dressing room, which was the set.
14:31And I had to say to her, Margot...
14:34It was her character, Margot, you are divine.
14:36Well, I sort of was so nervous, it wasn't true.
14:39But anyway, she came on the set in a dressing gown and she sat...
14:42We were introduced and she seemed absolutely wonderful.
14:45And she sat next to me and she said,
14:47Do you want to see something sexy?
14:49Do you want to see something sexy?
14:51So, I said, I'd love that.
14:53So, she whipped back her dressing gown and she had a big bandage on her knee.
14:57And she laughed and I laughed and she'd hurt herself the night before in the stage show.
15:02So, it gave me great pleasure to say to her, Margot, you are divine.
15:07And she certainly was divine and it was a real thrill for me to work with her.
15:11And, you know, we misuse the word star now because we don't have stars like that.
15:18I know, Bette Davis, you know, Elizabeth Taylor,
15:20there was a wonderful documentary on earlier this year.
15:23And they were real stars.
15:26Nowadays, people who call themselves stars are not anywhere near like these stars.
15:31And they worked so hard.
15:33You're right. It's different today, isn't it?
15:34Oh, you know, they've now got different names nowadays and I think they should keep them.
15:39I think personality is better used for most people.
15:43I mean, star is to be kept for something very special.
15:46I mean, we've just lost this year Maggie Smith, you know, who was a star.
15:50She was absolutely epitomised being a star.
15:54What a brilliant Dictionary Corner guest we have.
15:56Christopher Biggins, what a personality you are.
16:02Star, obviously, Christmas star as well.
16:04Top of our countdown tree.
16:07Right, nine rounds left.
16:08Only one round has been able to separate Chris and David so far.
16:11Seven points in it.
16:13And, Chris, your letters.
16:14Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
16:15Thank you, Chris.
16:16And a final consonant, please.
16:43Final tea.
16:46And here we go again.
17:17Chris? Eight. David? Six.
17:21Yeah, there's six. Traits. Chris? Traitors.
17:25Yes. Oh!
17:27Yes, very well spotted. Definitely, they're eight.
17:30Kristen Wiggins, Susie Dent.
17:32Well, I got a rather good four,
17:35because it was my dear friend Cilla Black's catchphrase,
17:38which was Laura.
17:40A Laura, Laura laughs.
17:42A Laura, Laura laughs. But I know you wouldn't accept that.
17:45No, no, no. No, I am afraid.
17:47No. Traitors is great. Can't beat that.
17:50Right, 56-41.
17:52These moments seem so big when you've got two great contestants,
17:55but bear in mind, it's still just 15 points.
17:58In countdown terms, it's nothing.
18:01Let's get another round in, then. David?
18:03Have a consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, David.
18:06G. And a vowel?
18:08U. A consonant?
18:11X. A vowel?
18:13E. A consonant?
18:14D.
18:15And a vowel?
18:16I.
18:17And a consonant?
18:18Lastly, M.
18:19Start the clock.
18:20CLOCK
18:25CLOCK
18:26CLOCK
18:27CLOCK
18:28And a consonant?
18:29Lastly, M.
18:30Start the clock.
18:32CLOCK
18:39MUSIC PLAYS
19:04David? Five.
19:07Did we go letters, Chris? Try six.
19:09I'm going to try a sex only and he likes to gamble, David.
19:12What's the five? Mixed.
19:13What are you going with? Mucoid.
19:16Aha, mucoid. Horrible word, but it is in the dictionary,
19:19involving the nature of mucus.
19:21Ah, mucoid. That sticks in the throat, don't it, Christopher?
19:25No, I mean, Medeco.
19:27Yes, that's a nice one.
19:28It's a nice one, but it's interesting, you know,
19:30when Xs come up and Qs, we all go,
19:33you know, and yet I think sometimes they can be rather helpful.
19:36Yeah, yeah.
19:37You know, are you frightened by those letters?
19:39Yeah.
19:41Both of you.
19:41Yeah, so, right, there you are, then.
19:43All right, 62-41, big ten points now.
19:46Off for grabs, our third numbers round of the day.
19:49Is he sticking with the inverted T, or what's he going to do?
19:52Chris Kirby.
19:53For Colin, an inverted T, please.
19:55An inverted T in the finals, in the semi.
19:58One large, five small.
20:00Come on, give us a good one.
20:02This time we have eight, two, one, five, ten.
20:07And the large one, 100.
20:09And the target, 957.
20:11Nine, five, seven.
20:13Numbers up.
20:13And the rocket, 957.
20:35All right, Chris Kirby, 9, 5, 7.
20:47Yep, 9, 5, 7.
20:48And David?
20:499, 5, 7.
20:50Yes, you were bobbing along to the theme tune for the last 10 seconds.
20:53That was a dead giveaway, David.
20:55Chris, off you go.
20:56100 minus 5.
20:5795.
20:58Times 10.
21:00950.
21:00And 8 minus 1 is 7 to add on.
21:02And what did you do with the other 29 seconds?
21:04And David.
21:06Exactly the same.
21:07Well done.
21:07Well done.
21:09Here's your tea time teaser.
21:11Red first.
21:13Red first, as in the colour.
21:15After a lot of moving around, they settle under the boardwalk.
21:19After a lot of moving around, they settle under the boardwalk.
21:22MUSIC PLAYS
21:34Hello again.
21:38Tea time teaser.
21:39After a lot of moving around, they settle under the boardwalk.
21:43A musical one.
21:44Dead giveaway, that, wasn't it?
21:45The Drifters.
21:47Down by the sea.
21:48The only sea we care about is Countdown.
21:50Let's get back to it.
21:51Just 21 points in the semi-final.
21:54David, without a doubt, there is still big hope.
21:56Let's get your letters.
21:58Consonant, please, Rachel.
21:59Thank you, David.
22:00N.
22:01And a vowel.
22:03O.
22:04Consonant.
22:06K.
22:07Consonant.
22:09L.
22:10A vowel.
22:11E.
22:13Consonant.
22:14P.
22:15And a vowel.
22:17A.
22:18Consonant.
22:20R.
22:20And a consonant.
22:25Lastly, S.
22:26Good luck, everybody.
22:27MUSIC PLAYS
22:29Time's up, David.
23:00Eight.
23:01Chris.
23:01Eight as well.
23:02Yeah.
23:03David.
23:03Plankers.
23:04Plankers.
23:05Now, Chris.
23:06Personal.
23:07Personal.
23:08Personal is excellent, and I hate to say this, but plankers would have been fine, but not
23:14plankers, I'm afraid, David.
23:16Yeah.
23:16Did you spot plankers?
23:17Well, of course, because when I did porridge with Ronnie Barker, everyone was a planker.
23:22Yes, of course.
23:23Yes, I automatically think only foods, but you're absolutely right.
23:26Yeah.
23:26Love it.
23:27Right, 80 plays 50, 1.
23:30We get more letters now.
23:31Chris Kirby.
23:32Can I start with a consonant, please?
23:34Thank you, Chris.
23:35J.
23:35And a vowel.
23:37U.
23:38A consonant.
23:39D.
23:40A vowel.
23:41A.
23:42A consonant.
23:44D.
23:45A vowel.
23:46E.
23:48A consonant.
23:49H.
23:50Another consonant.
23:51T.
23:53T.
23:55And a final consonant, please.
24:02Final N.
24:04And let's play.
24:04A consonant.
24:05A consonant.
24:06A consonant.
24:06A consonant.
24:07A consonant.
24:07A consonant.
24:07A consonant.
24:08A consonant.
24:08A consonant.
24:08A consonant.
24:08A consonant.
24:09A consonant.
24:09A consonant.
24:10A consonant.
24:10A consonant.
24:10A consonant.
24:10A consonant.
24:11A consonant.
24:11A consonant.
24:11A consonant.
24:11A consonant.
24:11A consonant.
24:12A consonant.
24:12A consonant.
24:12A consonant.
24:13A consonant.
24:13A consonant.
24:14A consonant.
24:14A consonant.
24:15A consonant.
24:15A consonant.
24:16A consonant.
24:16A consonant.
24:18A consonant.
24:18A consonant.
24:19A consonant.
24:19A consonant.
24:20A consonant.
24:20A consonant.
24:21A consonant.
24:21A consonant.
24:22A consonant.
24:22A consonant.
24:23A consonant.
24:24MUSIC PLAYS
24:35All right, Chris. Seven.
24:37And for you, David? Seven.
24:39And a seven as well. Right, let's get those scores taken over again, Chris.
24:42Haunted. Haunted for you. And David?
24:45Jaunted. Yes, jaunted and haunted. The obvious two, really.
24:49There's one more. Yeah, one more.
24:51Taunted. Taunted. Can we go further, though?
24:54No, we just had those three. No.
24:57That's everything. All right, 87.58.
24:59Four rounds to go over, first semi-finals.
25:02We get our origins of words this Wednesday afternoon.
25:05Yes. Well, I'm not sure there is too much of this today.
25:09I think, off set, there will be a lot of it,
25:11but maybe whilst you are playing each other,
25:13there won't be too much camaraderie,
25:15which is a word that Shabir from Peterborough is wondering about.
25:20I'm wondering, where on earth does camaraderie come from?
25:23The simple answer is from French.
25:26Camarade.
25:27And that also, incidentally, gave us comrade.
25:30And camaraderie is neutral trust and friendship.
25:33It's a really lovely thing.
25:35And comrade, of course, can be an associate or a friend as well.
25:39And going back to that French word camarade,
25:42it can also mean a roommate or a companion,
25:45literally a chamber mate, really.
25:48And it is indeed related to the word that gave us chamber.
25:52And it all goes back to the Latin word camera,
25:55which actually means chamber or a vault.
25:58And it was a word that was borrowed from Latin where it meant just that.
26:01And the Latin phrase in camera, which is still used today in legal context,
26:05means in the judge's private chamber rather than open court.
26:10And, of course, we have got the cameras that we use every day.
26:14And the photography sense comes from the camera obscura,
26:17and that literally means dark chamber.
26:19And this was a device that was popular in the 18th century
26:22for recording visual images.
26:24And it was a darkened box or a little chamber with a kind of aperture
26:28that projected the image of an external image onto a screen.
26:31So it was a forerunner of our modern camera.
26:33But who knew camaraderie and camera are actually related?
26:37And just to add one more thing to this camarade
26:40and this idea of a chamber mate, that also gave us the English word chum.
26:45And a chum was originally a chambermate, a roommate, a roommate.
26:48A roommate, a roomie.
26:53At 87.58, a place in the final at stake.
26:57Our number one seed, well, it's all going according to plan for the grip,
27:00but the Eggman could pull off a fantasy.
27:03Let's see. Four rounds to go.
27:05David, you're capable of a maximum at any time. Let's go.
27:09I'll have a consonant first, please.
27:11Thank you, David. T.
27:13And a vowel. O.
27:15And another vowel. E.
27:17And another vowel. I.
27:20Consonant. N.
27:23Another consonant. S.
27:26A vowel. A.
27:29A consonant. C.
27:32And a consonant.
27:34Generous-looking selection. A final B.
27:36Aren't they just? Count down.
27:39A consonant.
27:41A consonant.
27:44Let's talk.
27:46A consonant.
27:48The power of the cross.
27:50A consonant.
27:51The scenario scene you vista the shooter on.
27:54A consonant power of the other.
27:55The processor aucunen there isn't.
27:56The've all beenlia Torx.
27:58The receiver keyed to the carriage.
28:00MUSIC PLAYS
28:09That's it, our time is up, David.
28:11Eight. And for Chris... Eight as well.
28:14Off you go, David. Cabinets.
28:16Cabinets. And for Chris... Yeah, I'll go with that.
28:21Eight points each again. Look at them matching each other for maximum words,
28:24unless they miss something. No, we didn't get a nine.
28:26Botaniser was an alternative eight. Excellent.
28:28Thank you very much, Susie. All right.
28:31Our number one seed, very close to that century.
28:33It could be in this round. Chris Kirby, you're choosing the last letters.
28:36A consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, Chris.
28:39P. And a vowel.
28:41O. A consonant.
28:43L. A vowel.
28:45E. A consonant.
28:48T. A vowel.
28:51O. A consonant.
28:54V. Another consonant.
28:57M. And a final consonant, please.
29:00Final G. And last letters.
29:02Too many questions.
29:03O.
29:05Let's do them words in the last letters.
29:06Well, that is time on the round.
29:35Is it time in the semi-final?
29:37Chris?
29:38Six.
29:39And for you, David?
29:40Six.
29:41And just a six, it will be, Chris?
29:42Pomelo.
29:43Pomelo.
29:44And for you, David?
29:45Poodle.
29:46Ah, well, listen, if you're going to go out, go out one of our favourite kind downwards.
29:50They're both good.
29:51Pomelo as well, largest of the citrus fruits, which, if you want to know more, yellow skin
29:56bitter pulp resembles a grapefruit in flavour.
29:58Good stuff.
29:59All right, Biggins.
30:00The V, the G, T...
30:02Six is good.
30:03Yeah, but poodle, I just love the word poodle.
30:06Right, one hundred and one seventy-two, which means it's always sad when you get two great
30:11contestants like this.
30:12It's over as a competition, but not as an afternoon together.
30:15And David, those spreadsheets are about to pay off yet again, because it's your numbers.
30:20Well, finish with six small ones, please.
30:22Six more, a little bit of fun.
30:24We've put Chris to the test before the final.
30:26Final of this semi-final is three, five, one, five, six and four.
30:34All fairly small.
30:35And the target, huge, nine hundred and sixty-four.
30:38Nine, six, four, last numbers.
30:41We've got one.
30:42Something like this.
30:56We're starting to see that inside the safe elections by the same phenomenon we've brought in.
30:57That's time. What a target this is. David?
31:14I think I have 964, but not written down.
31:16That's sensational, even to think it. Chris?
31:19Completely lost it.
31:20This is because David's going to upstage you here.
31:24964, take your time there.
31:25I know you don't have it written down, so off you go.
31:273 plus 5 is 8.
31:29Yeah, that's the key.
31:31Times by 5.
31:3340.
31:34Times by 6.
31:35Times 6, 240.
31:37Add 1.
31:372 for 1.
31:38Times by 4.
31:39Perfect. What a way to finish.
31:41Yes.
31:44Right, let's see if we can do it again.
31:46Could it be back-to-back lightning strikes here?
31:49Send and Chris into the final with doubts.
31:51Fingers on buzzers.
31:53Chris and David, let's reveal our first semi-final countdown conundrum.
31:58We'll see you next week, Mel.
32:00зав nel comprometro.
32:00doses on discret sail.
32:01Let's euros on Coca-ay.
32:01We'll check it out.
32:02Have a good one on our first semi-final countdown.
32:03Thank you so much for now on the show.
32:04Thanks, ladies and gentlemen.
32:06All we'll see you next week.
32:07Bye.
32:12Bye.
32:25Bye.
32:26Goodness me, tin man log remains unsolved.
32:34And there's a cold air blasting through the Countdown studio.
32:38So if at home you're sitting with this answer, then we need to have a chat.
32:42Let's reveal it.
32:44I have to be honest.
32:45I don't know what it is.
32:47Now, is that another conundrum?
32:52OK, it is.
32:53In Australian and New Zealand English, a square of sponge cake dipped in melted chocolate.
32:58Of course it is.
32:59Yes, it is.
33:00Is it delicious?
33:01It sounds gorgeous.
33:03I feel sitting in this chair, it's my job to apologise on behalf of the show.
33:07But that's the standard we're at.
33:09Absolutely brilliant.
33:10You never know if it's going to be an easy first on the buzzer,
33:13or if it's going to take a little bit of thinking.
33:14And nobody dared have a risk.
33:17No-one dared have a go at it.
33:18So there you go.
33:19If you did get that at home, please, please apply to be on count.
33:24It's countdown at channel4.com.
33:28That's what David Rowe did.
33:30Became an octochamp, got to the semi-final.
33:33And you're what this show is all about,
33:34because we've had a lot of these teenage whiz kids have won recently.
33:38I know you don't mind me saying, come on here at 59.
33:40It's been a real family affair.
33:42You brought them with you as well.
33:43That's it.
33:44That's what it's all about.
33:45Have you enjoyed your time?
33:46Yes, it's been very good, very enjoyable.
33:48And listen, looking at you, shame me into putting a shirt on,
33:51so that's another bonus as well.
33:53Safe home, my friend.
33:55And you, Chris, I can't decide whether you're just playing for complete fun
34:01or you're the most competitive person in the world.
34:03You seem to walk that tightrope every day.
34:05Is that about right?
34:06Yeah, maybe it's the poker face.
34:07Yeah, just genuinely trying to come on and have fun.
34:11That's been massive in the start.
34:14Well done to you, sir.
34:14Yeah, thank you very much.
34:15Well done.
34:18Into the final.
34:19And for you, Chris and Susie, two more to go this week.
34:21What a week?
34:22See you tomorrow?
34:22Yeah.
34:23Aye.
34:23Thank you very much, Rachel.
34:24The grip squeezed the Eggman till he cracked.
34:27Yeah, he did indeed.
34:28And tomorrow, the driver and the gentleman will face off for a place in that final.
34:33We'll see you tomorrow.
34:34Same time, same place.
34:35You can count on us.
34:36You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com.
34:42You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
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