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00:30Hello, everybody. It's our midweek countdown this Wednesday afternoon.
00:35Thank you for tuning in. Two contestants ready to battle it out.
00:39We say to both of them, break a leg.
00:41Rachel Riley, hello.
00:43I'm not breaking anything, thanks.
00:44Well, obviously, you know, it's usually a little connection
00:46because I want to take you back to 1895.
00:51While experimenting with electricity,
00:54Wilhelm Röntgen, which Susie Dent could pronounce much better than I can,
00:59invented the X-ray.
01:00And we were mentioning this before we came on air.
01:03And I'm thankful for this because I get really,
01:06ooh, when people tell stories of broken bones.
01:08But you are a perfect skeleton.
01:10You've never broken a bone.
01:12Touch wood.
01:13You're going to jinx it now, aren't you?
01:15I haven't.
01:15My friend's got a good story.
01:17Oh, no.
01:17Well, now they're happily married with three kids.
01:19But one of the first times my friend went out with her future husband on a date,
01:23she stayed over.
01:24And in the middle of the night, she got up to go to the loo.
01:26But he had an open ring binder on the floor.
01:29So she stood.
01:30Ooh!
01:31We're in the middle of that.
01:32She fell over and dislocated her elbow on the way down.
01:36Wow.
01:37Well, thank you, Wilhelm, for that.
01:39I think I'm quite lucky.
01:41Not quite the perfect skeleton.
01:43But my worst break was so innocuous.
01:46You know when two players go in for a tackle in football,
01:49they're going for the same ball,
01:50and they kind of meet each other at the same time.
01:52And then whoever's the strongest stands up,
01:54and the other one tends to fall over.
01:56So this happened in a game of football I was playing,
01:58and I wasn't in the tackle.
01:59I was about five yards away from the tackle.
02:01But the weaker player was doing, you know,
02:03that stumbling thing where they're trying to stay on their feet?
02:06And I thought, I'll just put my hand out
02:08and stop this opposition player from falling over in the gravel.
02:12And the string from his shorts,
02:16don't ask me how,
02:17wrapped around my finger.
02:20He fell over,
02:21and I broke my finger in three places.
02:23And that's what you told the judge.
02:26Crazy.
02:27Well, I'm glad we don't have any horror stories,
02:29but there you go.
02:30Thank you very much, Rachel.
02:31As we head over to Dixonry Corner,
02:34and it's Susie Dent with us, of course,
02:36with one of our favourite Dixonry Corner guests,
02:38the brilliant Tanny Gray Thompson is back.
02:40Hello, thank you.
02:43Goodness me.
02:44You're listening to our stories about fingers and little things.
02:48I mean, the amount of times...
02:50I mean, I interviewed Paula Radcliffe once.
02:52If you do marathons, I mean, you know what injuries are.
02:56I've got a few injuries.
02:57I've broken my nose.
02:58Yeah?
02:59Crashed in my racing chair.
03:00Yeah.
03:01Luckily, I displaced it that way, not that way.
03:04But that was black eyes.
03:06Yeah, that wasn't very pleasant.
03:07My goodness me.
03:09I'm going to move on from that.
03:10No more mentions of broken bones.
03:12Well, Jill Leatherbarrow is a twice champion now,
03:16settling in very nicely.
03:17How are you feeling today?
03:18I'm feeling a little bit better with every game.
03:21Excellent.
03:21C'est bon, c'est bon.
03:22You're a Francophile.
03:24I'm a big Francophile, yes.
03:25I used to live in France.
03:28I lived there for five years in the 80s, teaching English.
03:31So I love the country, yeah.
03:34I love the language more than anything.
03:36Yeah.
03:37So you go back often?
03:38I haven't been back so much recently.
03:40I went to Paris just before the pandemic for a week,
03:44took a friend of mine who'd never been,
03:46and he really enjoyed it.
03:49Well, listen, best of luck to you today.
03:51You know, beware the teenager.
03:53I know.
03:54And count down always.
03:54Oh, yeah, absolutely.
03:55Veeraz Salem is with us from Orpington in Bromley, 19 years old.
04:02How are you, sir?
04:02I'm fine, thanks.
04:03Good.
04:04Listen, we had a good chat before coming on air.
04:05You want to get into the world of film and television.
04:08What exactly are you studying towards and what do you want to do?
04:11I kind of want to become a screenwriter,
04:14maybe director in the future, maybe a bit of editing.
04:17A bit of an all-rounder kind of thing.
04:20So on the other side of the camera?
04:23Yeah, basically.
04:24My job's safe.
04:25Yeah, probably.
04:26That's all I wanted to know.
04:27That's all I wanted to know.
04:27I'll employ you, Colin.
04:28You're younger, more talented.
04:30Yeah, you can give me a job when I'm old and wrinkly.
04:33Thank you very much.
04:34I wish you all the best now you've said that.
04:36Right.
04:36Veeraz and Jill, best of luck.
04:40OK, Jill, let's do it.
04:41Consonant, please, Rachel.
04:43Thank you, Jill.
04:43Start today with R.
04:45And another.
04:47M.
04:48And another one, please.
04:50L.
04:51And a fourth.
04:54M.
04:54Vowel.
04:57E.
04:57And another vowel.
04:59U.
05:00One more, please.
05:02O.
05:05And a consonant.
05:07W.
05:08And a final vowel, please.
05:10Final I.
05:12At home and in the studio, let's play Countdown.
05:31Bye.
05:33Bye.
05:34Jill?
05:46Er, six.
05:47Er, Virash?
05:49Just a five.
05:50Just a five. The five is?
05:51Women.
05:52Women. And Jill?
05:54Er, un-mire.
05:56Un-mire. We're going to the jury.
06:00Un-mired you can be, but you can't actively un-mire, I'm afraid.
06:04Sorry, Jill.
06:05See, Virash, your little shaky, nervous five, eh?
06:08Becomes five points.
06:10Tanny Gray Thompson?
06:11Er, there's Moulin.
06:13Moulin?
06:14Yes. French for a windmill, but in English it's a vertical shaft in a glacier.
06:18And we also have a limner, and a limner is a painter of portraits or miniatures.
06:25All right. Second round.
06:27Virash, it's your letters.
06:29Hi, Rachel.
06:30Hi, Virash.
06:30Oh, have a consonant, please.
06:32Thank you. Start with P.
06:34A vowel.
06:36E.
06:37A consonant.
06:39R.
06:41A vowel.
06:42A.
06:44A consonant.
06:45D.
06:47A vowel.
06:48I.
06:50A consonant.
06:52T.
06:54Another vowel.
06:56E.
06:58And a consonant, please.
06:59And lastly, L.
07:0130 seconds.
07:02A consonant.
07:03A consonant.
07:04A consonant.
07:04A consonant.
07:05A consonant.
07:05A consonant.
07:05A consonant.
07:06A consonant.
07:06A consonant.
07:06A consonant.
07:07A consonant.
07:07A consonant.
07:08A consonant.
07:08A consonant.
07:08A consonant.
07:08A consonant.
07:09A consonant.
07:09A consonant.
07:09A consonant.
07:09A consonant.
07:09A consonant.
07:10A consonant.
07:10A consonant.
07:10A consonant.
07:11A consonant.
07:11A consonant.
07:12A consonant.
07:12A consonant.
07:12A consonant.
07:13A consonant.
07:13A consonant.
07:14A consonant.
07:14A consonant.
07:14A consonant.
07:15A consonant.
07:16A consonant.
07:16A consonant.
07:16A consonant.
07:17A consonant.
07:17A consonant.
07:18A consonant.
07:18A consonant.
07:19A consonant.
07:19A consonant.
07:20THEY CONFER
07:34A nine. OK, just a nine.
07:37Right, Jill? Just seven.
07:38A seven. A parted.
07:41Speak to me, Viraj. Re-platted.
07:43I think I can really tell you know your dictionary, cos that is in.
07:46Well done, indeed. That's good.
07:48APPLAUSE
07:51Wonderful. That means 18 points.
07:53Double points when you get a maximum in the normal letters round.
07:57Re-platted, as in... Yes.
07:59..the hair. Yeah, hair, pony's tail, anything like that.
08:03Yeah, really good. We just had sevens after that.
08:06Partied, pirated. It's all downhill from re-platted, it really is.
08:10What a start from Viraj, but a long, long way to go.
08:14And, Jill, we move to the numbers.
08:16One large, please, Rachel.
08:18Keen to claw some points back.
08:20One large, five little coming up for you, Jill.
08:22And the first numbers of the day are...
08:24Four, one, eight, four, seven,
08:29and the large one, 25.
08:31And the target, 312.
08:33Three, one, two.
08:34Number's up.
08:35Morning Update, too.
08:36Tofit Rack, again.
08:37APPLAUSE
08:38I'll see you next time.
08:39We'll be back to be a couple next time of this night.
08:41Bye.
08:43takk
08:50Jill, 3-1-2.
09:073-1-2.
09:08And Viraj?
09:093-1-2.
09:093-1-2 it is.
09:10Jill, off you go.
09:11OK, so 7 plus 4 plus 1 is 12.
09:15Yep.
09:16Times 25.
09:17300 plus the 8 and the 4.
09:20And the other 4 for 312.
09:22Nice. Viraj?
09:24I did 25 plus 1.
09:2526.
09:264 plus 8.
09:2712.
09:28And multiplied them.
09:29Perfect.
09:30Straight to 312.
09:31Yes.
09:33Well, the maximum points all round is we get our first T-Town teaser this Wednesday afternoon.
09:39So enjoy this one.
09:40Mud Robin.
09:41Mud Robin.
09:43Thanks to online shopping, the town centre was this.
09:46Thanks to online shopping, the town centre was this.
09:58APPLAUSE
09:59Welcome back, everybody.
10:07Thanks to online shopping, the town centre was this.
10:10Susie, Mud Robin becomes Morribund.
10:12Yes, Morribund means in terminal decline or at the point of death.
10:16Bit of a sad word.
10:17Absolutely.
10:18Well, no terminal decline for Jill as champion.
10:20It's early doors.
10:21Just three rounds in.
10:23But Viraj, our challenger, with a nine-letter word already.
10:2733 plus 10.
10:28And it's your letters.
10:29Can I start with a vowel, please?
10:31You can indeed.
10:31Thank you, Viraj.
10:32And lastly, N.
10:51All right, thanks, Rich.
11:33Viraj.
11:34A seven, not written down.
11:36And Jill?
11:36A seven.
11:37She had the decency to write it down, Viraj.
11:40What's yours?
11:40Designs.
11:42Designs.
11:42And Jill?
11:43Dowsing.
11:44Dowsing and designs.
11:46Mm-hmm.
11:47Very nice.
11:48We just had other sevens.
11:51Dossing.
11:51Mm-hmm.
11:52Good one.
11:53I quite like dossing.
11:53Yeah, dossing.
11:55And guidons, something different.
11:57G-U-I-G-O-N-S.
11:58Penants or flags that narrow to a point at an end.
12:02Especially used as a standard for a light cavalry regiment.
12:05OK.
12:06Jill, off we go.
12:07Consonant, please, Rachel.
12:09Thank you, Jill.
12:10T.
12:11And another.
12:13B.
12:14And another one, please.
12:17T.
12:18And a vowel.
12:20I.
12:20And another vowel.
12:22A.
12:24Consonant.
12:25S.
12:26And another.
12:28P.
12:29And a vowel.
12:31O.
12:33And a final vowel, please.
12:37A final E.
12:40Right, half a minute.
12:41We'll see you next time.
13:11Jill.
13:13Seven.
13:14Nice.
13:15Farage.
13:15Seven.
13:16Seven-two.
13:17Jill.
13:18Opiates.
13:19Opiates and Farage.
13:20Patties.
13:21Patties and opiates.
13:23Sport for sevens again.
13:25How do we get on in Dictionary Corner?
13:27There's quite a few sevens, aren't there?
13:28There's baptise, teapots.
13:30Yeah.
13:31There's actually a lot of options there.
13:32There are.
13:33Yeah.
13:33Right, well done there.
13:34Seven points each as we get our second numbers round.
13:38Farage likes his maths.
13:39He was telling me during the break.
13:41Let's go.
13:42I'll take six more, please, Rachel.
13:44Six more ones.
13:45We've not had this for a while.
13:47Possibly a little challenge on our hands.
13:50Let's see.
13:50Let's find out.
13:51The little ones are two, nine, three, seven, three and five.
13:57And the target to reach with them, 346.
14:01Three, four, six.
14:02Numbers up.
14:213, 4, 6, the target, Virash?
14:35I think I have it.
14:36And Jill?
14:37I'm not near enough, no.
14:38So let's see, because you're not sure, are you?
14:41Let's see.
14:433 times 2, plus 7.
14:463 times 2 and then plus 7.
14:49Yeah, and then plus 7.
14:506 plus 7, 13.
14:52Times 3.
14:53Times the other 3, 39.
14:55Times 9.
14:56Times 9 is 351.
14:58And take the 5.
14:59And take the 5 that you haven't used.
15:00Very nicely done.
15:04There you go, Virash.
15:06Over the half century already, 57 plays 24
15:10as we catch up with Tani Grey-Thompson.
15:13You know, almost every ex-athlete I interview
15:17remains just as competitive.
15:20I remember Rebecca Adlington telling me
15:22that after she retired, she went on holiday,
15:25a lovely pool holiday, and like a guy swam past her
15:28and she was like, I can take him.
15:30Do you still have that ex-athlete competitor streak?
15:34Yeah, I do.
15:36So I did a 10km last year
15:38and I was actually struggling to work out my mile times
15:41because I have never gone that slowly.
15:43When I was coming up to the finish line,
15:45I actually kind of went for that sprint finish.
15:48There was no change of pace whatsoever
15:49and then I misread where the finish line was
15:52and it was another 150 metres down the road.
15:54Oh, no.
15:55It was appalling.
15:56I, like, crawled across the line.
15:58Yeah, it was really mortifying, actually.
16:01See, in my head, and it's ridiculous to say
16:04because you've had an entirely different successful career since,
16:08but to me, I don't know, I find it hard to move on from,
16:11you know, like, to me, you're still competing.
16:13I know that sounds stupid.
16:14Do you get that from people?
16:16Yeah, no, before the Tokyo Games,
16:18I had loads of people coming up to me saying good luck.
16:20And you go, what, for my commentary?
16:22And it's really sweet.
16:24And then the first time, and this was years after I retired,
16:27somebody said to me, you're that parliamentarian, aren't you?
16:29And I was like, yes, I am.
16:30And then they went, well, we think you're rubbish.
16:32Oh, OK, thank you for that.
16:34I'd rather you think I was an athlete.
16:36But it's because you're in people's homes.
16:37So, you know, doing Countdown, you know, the recognition,
16:41loads of people will stop me in the street and say,
16:43oh, I've seen you on Countdown, I liked your shirt,
16:45I hated your shirt, you know.
16:46It's, um, but it's really interesting
16:48how people still have that image.
16:50And I retired in 2007.
16:52It's a long time ago.
16:53Thank you very much, Tani.
16:54APPLAUSE
16:57And on behalf of everybody watching Countdown today,
17:00good luck in the next London Marathon.
17:03OK, back to the game.
17:05And, Jill, you're choosing these letters.
17:08Um, consonant, please, Rachel.
17:10Thank you, Jill.
17:11R.
17:11And another one.
17:13S.
17:14And a third.
17:16C.
17:16And another consonant.
17:18M.
17:19Vowel.
17:21I.
17:21And another.
17:23O.
17:23And another one.
17:26E.
17:27And a consonant.
17:30L.
17:31And...
17:32Final consonant, please.
17:35And a final G.
17:37Start the clock.
17:38R milyop resign.
17:39R standing K there.
17:39I SENI셨어요 please.
17:39außer your way.
17:42The microwave they are einged up anyway.
17:43Error.
17:44The Yangtze post.
17:45To be continued to our body.
17:48No.
17:50Anotherysics please.
17:51And fans dove to thank you for the power to Dan.
17:51And a half~!
17:52What.
17:52Thing to do for the power to Nancy.
17:54I'm having themogue together,
17:55She really have them to deny you for the power to?
17:56And other things like to hear,
17:57say,
17:58for our news ,
17:58and sort of pepper our rage.
17:59We both try to yüz.
18:01And one part of the power to each another genre of story.
18:02So音lah goes to Snow White.
18:03You're gone by.
18:03And a eighth Summer.
18:04Time's up, Jill.
18:10Seven.
18:11Seven.
18:12Verage.
18:12Oh, stick to a seven.
18:14OK, Jill.
18:15Coiners.
18:17Coiners and verage.
18:18Closing.
18:20When you say stick to a seven, that usually means written down on that page,
18:25you may have an eight or a nine.
18:27Reclosing.
18:28Reclosing would have been for a second maximum for you.
18:32Would that have been in the dictionary?
18:33It is in the dictionary.
18:34Yes.
18:36Well done for supporting it, and I understand not risking it,
18:39because the re words are often quite tricky, but, yeah, that is in the dictionary.
18:42Over to tanning.
18:44That's it, really.
18:44We've got the nine.
18:45That's it, yeah.
18:46Yeah.
18:46Yeah, that's it.
18:47I mean, fair play.
18:48But, yeah, what I have learnt from being here is those sort of additional couple
18:52of letters are always worth trying.
18:53Absolutely.
18:54More letters now.
18:55Verage.
18:57I'll have a consonant, please.
18:58Thank you, Verage.
18:59S.
19:01Vowel.
19:03U.
19:04A consonant.
19:06B.
19:08Another consonant.
19:09R.
19:11A vowel.
19:12O.
19:14A consonant.
19:16T.
19:17Another consonant.
19:19W.
19:20A vowel.
19:22A.
19:23And a final vowel, please.
19:25And a final E.
19:27And here we go.
19:28A vowel.
19:29A vowel.
19:30A vowel.
19:30A vowel.
19:30A vowel.
19:31A vowel.
19:31A vowel.
19:31A vowel.
19:32A vowel.
19:32A vowel.
19:32A vowel.
19:33A vowel.
19:33A vowel.
19:34A vowel.
19:34A vowel.
19:34A vowel.
19:34A vowel.
19:34A vowel.
19:35A vowel.
19:35A vowel.
19:35A vowel.
19:35A vowel.
19:35A vowel.
19:36A vowel.
19:36A vowel.
19:36A vowel.
19:36A vowel.
19:37A vowel.
19:37A vowel.
19:38A vowel.
19:38A vowel.
19:38A vowel.
19:39A vowel.
19:39A vowel.
19:40A vowel.
19:40A vowel.
19:41A vowel.
19:42A vowel.
19:42A vowel.
19:43A vowel.
19:43A vowel.
19:44A vowel.
19:44A vowel.
19:44A vowel.
19:45Vierash? A seven. How dare you? It should be a nine. I'm only joking. Jill? Eight. No, there's an eight there stinging the tail.
20:07Vierash, what's this seven? Boaster. And what's this eight? Outwears. Yeah. Outwears something. Well done.
20:13This is such a standard, isn't it? Right. The eight was there, the seven was there. Is that all we have?
20:21There's also saboteur. Saboteur for another eight. Yeah. Nice one. OK, 64 plus 39. We're already at our third numbers game today.
20:32Jill, Leatherbarrow, it's all yours. One large and the rest small, please, Rachel.
20:37Thank you, Jill. One from the top row. And five not. Not gambling. Just playing it safe-ish.
20:44The numbers are ten, seven, four, two, six and 100. And this target, 605.
20:53605. 605. Numbers up.
20:55606. 705.لي1
20:57605.
20:59605.
21:04And another one on the valley.
21:05675.
21:1368.
21:18There you go. Let's get it over with. Jill?
21:286.05. Yes, Viraj. 6.05. Off you go, Jill.
21:31100 times 6 is 600. And then 7 minus 2 is 5, and add it on.
21:37She won't use ink. She won't waste ink on this. Viraj.
21:40I did 10 divided by 2 for the 5.
21:43Done. Lovely.
21:43APPLAUSE
21:44Lovely. Listen, there's only 25 points in this,
21:48so the last part will be interesting.
21:50Here's your second tea time teaser.
21:52He can sit. He can sit.
21:55He can sit on the bike but can't ride it. This is damaged.
21:59He can sit on the bike but can't ride it. This is damaged.
22:02APPLAUSE
22:04Hello again. He can sit on the bike but can't ride it.
22:22This is damaged. Chainset. Chainset is your second tea time teaser.
22:27Viraj Selam, our challenger, sitting fairly pretty at the moment,
22:32but not home and dry yet. 25 points in it,
22:34and you're picking these letters.
22:36Can I have a consonant, please?
22:38You can indeed.
22:39C.
22:40A vowel.
22:40I.
22:42Another vowel.
22:44U.
22:46A consonant.
22:48D.
22:49Another consonant.
22:51N.
22:53Another consonant.
22:54T.
22:56A vowel.
22:58E.
22:59Another vowel.
23:01I.
23:03And a consonant, please.
23:04And lastly, P.
23:07Start the clock.
23:08And then we'll see you next time.
23:38That's all, Viraj?
23:41A seven.
23:42A seven out of those letters.
23:43And Jill?
23:44A seven as well.
23:45Well done to both of you.
23:45Viraj?
23:46Incited.
23:47Incited.
23:48And Jill?
23:49Incited as well.
23:51There we go.
23:52Two top countdowners, seven points each.
23:55I will be flabbergasted if you give me an eight.
23:57No, no eight.
23:59And we were down to sixes after that.
24:00Depict.
24:01OK.
24:02Yeah, United.
24:03All right.
24:0481-56.
24:06Jill, will you do the honours?
24:07A consonant again, please, Rachel.
24:09Thank you, Jill.
24:10S.
24:11And another.
24:13M.
24:13And another.
24:15T.
24:16And another one, please.
24:18F.
24:19And a vowel.
24:21A.
24:21And another vowel.
24:23I.
24:24And another one, please.
24:26O.
24:27And a consonant.
24:30H.
24:31And a final vowel, please.
24:33And a final.
24:35E.
24:35And good luck.
24:37And a vowel.
24:37And a vowel.
24:38And a vowel.
24:38And a vowel.
24:39And a vowel.
24:39And a vowel.
24:40And a vowel.
24:40And a vowel.
24:40And a vowel.
24:40And a vowel.
24:41And a vowel.
24:42And a vowel.
24:42And a vowel.
24:42And a vowel.
24:42And a vowel.
24:42And a vowel.
24:43And a vowel.
24:43And a vowel.
24:43And a vowel.
24:44And a vowel.
24:44And a vowel.
24:44And a vowel.
24:46And a vowel.
24:46And a vowel.
24:46And a vowel.
24:47And a vowel.
24:48And a vowel.
24:48And a vowel.
24:49And a vowel.
24:50And a vowel.
24:50And a vowel.
24:51And a vowel.
24:52And a vowel.
24:52And a vowel.
24:53And a vowel.
24:54And a vowel.
24:55And a vowel.
25:07Talk to me, Jill. Seven. Seven for you, Viraj? Eight.
25:11An eight. What's the seven, Jill? Atomise. Atomise and this eight?
25:16Foamiest. Foamiest. Brilliant. Well done.
25:19APPLAUSE
25:22A nice, fun word. I don't think I've ever complained about anything being too foamy.
25:26You can't have enough foam as far as I'm concerned in this life.
25:29Foamiest for eight. Tani?
25:33There's loads of sevens again, so homeost, atheism, fathoms.
25:37But eight's really good. Fantastic, fantastic.
25:4189 plus 56. We've still got four rounds left to play.
25:45There's a lovely moment from Jill when Viraj declared as eight
25:48and you just gave a nod of approval. You went, yeah, OK.
25:52OK. Origins of words today. Susie, take us on a journey.
25:56We like a pun, don't you? Love a pun. You love a pun.
26:00And the origin of that is very simple. It goes back to a Latin word,
26:04punctilio, which means a fine point, which I always think puns are quite cheesy.
26:09I'm not sure that they rely on subtlety. But anyway, that's where it came from.
26:13But I haven't heard too many old chestnuts from you.
26:17And that one has a lovely story. I mean, we all love chestnuts,
26:21apart from when they are old and in joke form.
26:24And if you look up in the OED, it will give you a lovely story that inspired this.
26:28And it involves an early 19th century melodrama that was called The Broken Sword,
26:34written by somebody called William Dimond.
26:36It was performed in 1816 in London, rave reviews, absolute must see of its time.
26:43And there is a scene in it which involves Captain Xavier.
26:48And he essentially loves retelling, much like an old sea captain, you know, his old exploits.
26:56And he has a long suffering servant called Pablo, who clearly has heard all of these a million times before
27:04and knows them all by heart.
27:06And so in this play, and I'll quote you here, Xavier says,
27:09Let me see. I, it is exactly six years since, that peace being restored to Spain,
27:14I mounted a mule at Barcelona and trotted away from my native mountains.
27:18At the dawn of the fourth day's journey, I entered the wood of Calares,
27:22when suddenly, from the thick boughs of a cork tree, at which point Pablo jumps up and says,
27:28A chestnut, Captain. A chestnut.
27:31And Xavier says, Bah, you booby. I say, cork.
27:34And Pablo says, And I swear, a chestnut.
27:36Captain, this is the 27th time I have heard you relate this story.
27:40And invariably you have said chestnut till now.
27:43And it is from that that old chestnut became this kind of byword really for anything
27:48really hackneyed or worn out that has been told so many times before.
27:52So a little bit like a pun, a little bit cheesy.
27:55So nothing to do with real chestnuts, which of course we all absolutely love,
28:00and everything to do with a little piece of theatrical slang
28:03that then shifted into the mainstream.
28:05Thank you very much.
28:06APPLAUSE
28:09OK, four rounds to go.
28:11Viraj, having quite a day, and it's your letters.
28:14Hi, Rachel. I'll have a consonant, please.
28:17Thank you, Viraj.
28:18V.
28:19A vowel.
28:21A.
28:22A consonant.
28:24D.
28:25A vowel.
28:26I.
28:28Another vowel.
28:29E.
28:30A consonant.
28:31C.
28:32A vowel.
28:33U.
28:34A consonant.
28:35N.
28:36And a consonant.
28:37And a consonant.
28:38And lastly.
28:39L.
28:40Kind of.
28:41Kind of.
28:42And a consonant.
28:43And a consonant.
28:44And lastly.
28:45L.
28:46Kind of.
28:47L.
28:48And a consonant.
28:49Thank you,
29:15Virash.
29:17A seven.
29:18And Jill?
29:19And a seven as well.
29:20Very good.
29:21Virash.
29:22Unlaced.
29:22Unlaced.
29:23And the same for me.
29:26Well done to both of you.
29:27Seven points each.
29:29Is that as good as it gets?
29:30So there is an alive.
29:32Yes, another seven.
29:33Unalive means more lacking in vitality or energy.
29:38Last letters round.
29:39Jill?
29:40Consonant, please.
29:42Thank you, Jill.
29:43And a second.
29:45R.
29:46And a third.
29:47T.
29:48And a fourth.
29:50Y.
29:51Vowel.
29:53A.
29:54And another.
29:55O.
29:56Another vowel.
29:59E.
30:00A consonant.
30:02S.
30:03And a final consonant.
30:07And a final F.
30:09Last letters.
30:09And a half.
30:10That might be a member of the setzen.
30:14I don't want to do this.
30:15I hope you can wait to do this.
30:20Go away.
30:20And a third.
30:22Any Sorryか.
30:23The next letter.
30:23I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I.
30:28And a second.
30:28I Throw down a psychic.
30:30I know.
30:31Go away.
30:31I know.
30:32You know.
30:32And a third.
30:32That might be a pleasure of being a hè.
30:34But after you know.
30:35Has returned.
30:36I see a generic.
30:37Now, Jill.
30:41A six.
30:42A six and Viraj.
30:44Seven.
30:44And a seven there.
30:46Jill.
30:46A stern.
30:47A stern and Viraj.
30:49Senator.
30:50Senator.
30:51Well done to you.
30:52Well done.
30:53Senator for seven points.
30:54What a performance so far.
30:56Already over the tonne in his first appearance in Countdown.
31:01Anything else in Dictionary Corner?
31:03There's a couple of eights there.
31:04Yeah.
31:05Forstay and Seafront.
31:06Listen, let's enjoy the last two rounds,
31:09knowing that both of them already have a teapot to boast about.
31:13Viraj, you're choosing the last numbers.
31:15I'll have six more, please.
31:17Your favourite, I'm guessing, six smalls for the second time today.
31:21And the final time, the numbers are nine, eight, one, three, nine, and one.
31:29Uh-oh.
31:30The target, 521.
31:32Five, two, one.
31:33Numbers up.
31:36And we have another two minutes, please.
32:06Viraj?
32:07Uh, no, no, no.
32:09Yeah.
32:10Jill?
32:10Nothing for me.
32:11Good stuff.
32:12Well, there's a lot of pressure on one person in this studio now, let me tell you.
32:17My goodness.
32:18My goodness.
32:19521.
32:19No, two ones often make it impossible, and this was.
32:23You could have got 521 away.
32:25Nice.
32:26Nice.
32:26OK, just one away from that, so seven points maximum at home.
32:30There hasn't been much daylight hazard to get points against these two today.
32:33What a really good competition.
32:35It ends now, though.
32:36Fingers on buzzers.
32:37Jill and Viraj, thank you so much for today.
32:40Ten more points for you.
32:42Depends who can get this countdown conundrum.
32:44VIRAJ.
33:00Rebellion.
33:01Let's have a look.
33:02Nice.
33:08Well, Jill, I think there was a feeling of resignation quite early on.
33:13We have a bit of a boy wonder on our hands.
33:14I think so, yes.
33:16Yeah.
33:16All the best to you.
33:17Yeah.
33:18It was played in a fantastic spirit, and Jill, you are a countdown champion forever
33:23and a day.
33:24Exactly.
33:24Yeah.
33:25Yeah.
33:26Thank you for being here.
33:27You're my first lexicographer I've liked on this programme, so it's been really nice.
33:30OK.
33:32Thank you, Jill.
33:33You take the teapot and everything back with you, and Viraj, you have your teapot.
33:38We'll talk a bit tomorrow about what it means for you to be in countdown, because he's
33:43been a fan from the minute he could walk, so we'll talk about that tomorrow.
33:47Well done.
33:47What a great new champion.
33:49We have 113 points.
33:52Yeah.
33:54That's Annie Gray-Thompson.
33:55Two more days for you, so we'll see you tomorrow.
33:57See you tomorrow.
33:58Fantastic.
33:59You too as well, Susie.
34:00Yeah, can't wait for that.
34:01And we got through the whole show without breaking any bones, eh?
34:03Yeah.
34:03Thanks for your anecdote.
34:04The moral of the story, don't put your hands near any men's shorts.
34:08Rachel, Susie and I, back here tomorrow at the same time.
34:11You can count on us.
34:13You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com.
34:16You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
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