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00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio and the penultimate champion of champions quarterfinals, a place in the semis,
00:39is on offer to the contestant who can keep their head whilst all around them are losing theirs.
00:47A quote from a wonderful poem, If, by Rudyard Kipling, who died 80 years ago today.
00:53He left a legacy of innovative and inspirational writing, a master of the short story, and in fact also, back
01:01in 1907, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
01:05What did he write? Well, of course, we all know a man who would be king, just so stories, of
01:08course.
01:09Jungle Book, which is currently being made into another film. Do you like his writings particularly, Jungle Book?
01:15Oh, I like the one, ooh, ooh, ooh, I want to be like you, ooh, ooh.
01:19I want to walk like you, too, ooh, ooh, ooh.
01:24You like that one?
01:24One of my favourites, yeah.
01:26You got a Nobel Prize for that.
01:29All right.
01:31Now, who's up for a semi-final place?
01:34Jen Stedman, the great Jen Stedman, a postgrad journalist student from Kent,
01:41and she had a big, big win against George Ford last week, scoring 126,
01:45and you were a quarter-finalist here back in 2013, so, you know, you're doing extremely well.
01:52Let's see how you're going to go.
01:53Are you going to make the semis?
01:54I bet you hope you do.
01:55I don't know.
01:56I kind of hope Callum wins, because I've always thought Countdown needs more geeky young males winning.
02:01I do love that.
02:03That'll unsettle in.
02:04Callum, what do you think about that?
02:05Joining us today, big champion back in 2013,
02:09and you scored, of course, when you beat Samir Pillica, 127,
02:14which is actually one point more than Jen scored,
02:18so that's a little bit of an advantage for you.
02:20How do you think it's going to be?
02:21Close?
02:23A bit, yeah.
02:24I don't fancy my chances, to be honest, but we'll see.
02:26Come on, we need a bit more confidence here.
02:28Let's have a big round of applause for Jen and Callum.
02:35And over in the corner, on this Monday semi-final day,
02:38we have, of course, Susie, joined for the first time here in the Countdown studio
02:42by the wonderful Naga Munchetti, journalist and newsreader on BUC Breakfast Stalwart.
02:48Welcome.
02:48Welcome to our studio.
02:50I nearly said morning, then.
02:52I'm so used to being up in the morning.
02:53Well, you get up at what pre-dawn?
02:56Silly o'clock.
02:57How many?
02:58Silly o'clock.
02:58All right, so that's early.
03:00But you finish early, but not today.
03:02Not today.
03:03Here today, loving it.
03:04Looking forward to it.
03:05Well, we're delighted to have you here.
03:07But now, Jen, we're going to get down to business, serious business.
03:10Bags of confidence as you go into your first letters game.
03:14I'll start the consonant, please, Rachel.
03:15Thank you, Jen.
03:16And start the week with K.
03:18And another.
03:20T.
03:22And another.
03:24D.
03:26And another.
03:28W.
03:30And I'll have a vowel, please.
03:32U.
03:33And another.
03:34I.
03:35And another.
03:37E.
03:38And another.
03:41A.
03:43And a final consonant, please.
03:46And a final R.
03:48And here's the countdown clock.
04:21Yes, Jen?
04:22Just six.
04:23A six, Callum?
04:24Six as well.
04:25Mm-hmm.
04:26Jen?
04:26Weighted.
04:27And?
04:28Both of you?
04:28Yeah, same word.
04:30All right, let's see whether the corner can beat you on that one.
04:34Susie?
04:35A tirade is there as well.
04:37A tirade.
04:38For a six.
04:39Yes.
04:40And twerks.
04:42I think you can spell twerk with an I.
04:45You all know all about twerking, Nick.
04:46I know nothing about twerking.
04:47You can.
04:48Sorry, it was a very last-minute thing.
04:50Yes, you can have twerking with an I.
04:52This is dancing in a strange way, isn't it?
04:54This is, yeah, shall I read this out to you?
04:56Dancing to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low squatting stance.
05:03I am a stranger to the twerk, and shall remain so.
05:09Anyway, that's there for a seven, at least.
05:11Mm, you clearly know what it's all about.
05:14Six are peas and Callum.
05:16Come on, let us game.
05:17Hello, Rachel.
05:18Hi, Callum.
05:18Can I have a consonant, please?
05:20You can, if you think you start with H.
05:23And another one, please.
05:24N.
05:25And another one.
05:27T.
05:28And another.
05:30G.
05:31Vowel, please.
05:32E.
05:33And another vowel.
05:35O.
05:36Vowel, please.
05:37I.
05:39Vowel.
05:41A.
05:43And a consonant, please.
05:46And lastly, R.
05:48Standby.
05:50Standby.
05:53Standby.
05:54Standby.
05:56Standby.
05:56Standby.
05:58Standby.
05:59Standby.
06:00Standby.
06:00Standby.
06:01Standby.
06:01Standby.
06:02Standby.
06:02Standby.
06:03Standby.
06:03Standby.
06:04Standby.
06:05Standby.
06:05Standby.
06:05Standby.
06:07Standby.
06:07Standby.
06:07Standby.
06:08Standby.
06:08Standby.
06:12Standby.
06:19right callum eight good man jen eight right callum hearting no same word
06:30thank you very much and well we got no better than that no you can turn it around and have
06:38earthing yeah but asking is another new word we just have twerking hearting as in liking very
06:44much or loving something as in i'm totally hearting this song if you must please now then
06:53first numbers game of the day jen uh i'll have six more please thank you jen gonna be some good
06:59tactics numbers wise today six little ones to kick us off and they are one three six eight
07:06six and two and the target three hundred and twenty three two zero
07:16so
07:43well jen uh yeah three twenty and callum three twenty
07:47jen uh six times six is thirty six thirty six uh plus the three and the one the forty
07:54multiplied by eight well done three twenty and callum exactly the same way there we go
08:01well done so 24 pieces we turn to our first three-time teaser which is amen lass and the
08:09clue this profession could be the death of him this profession could be the death of him
08:15and the answer is salesman salesman death of a salesman i saw that uh play tragic play i loved it
08:43i cried
08:45i thought i'd pass on to you 24 points apiece and we turn now to calum for a letters game
08:52uh consonant please rachel thank you calum
08:54m and another one please m and another one please p and another h and another b
09:04vowel please u another vowel i and another o
09:17consonant please p and another consonant please p and another consonant please p and the last one n
09:27count down
09:29so
10:01Callum, four.
10:02Four.
10:03Yes.
10:03Jen?
10:04Five.
10:05Oh, slim pickings.
10:08Callum?
10:09Ovum.
10:10Jen?
10:10Opium.
10:11And opium.
10:13Can we beat it?
10:15We had a fun one.
10:16I learnt something new today, as I knew I would.
10:18Yes.
10:19I always thought bump was spelt with an F.
10:22Bump, you know, level bump.
10:24And it's not.
10:24It's B-U-M-P-H.
10:25It can be, yeah.
10:26B-U-M-P-H.
10:28Bump.
10:28It's a World War II word, I think.
10:30Yeah, it comes from bumfroder.
10:32But, yeah, so you normally would spell it with the F, but you can spell it with the B-H,
10:37P-H even.
10:37I think people sort of carry lots of bump around to make them look important, you know?
10:42Yeah.
10:42I've seen nothing in there, really.
10:43There was a fun one as well.
10:45What else have we got?
10:46Anything else?
10:47Himbo.
10:48What's that?
10:49A good-looking but unintelligent man.
10:52There's a female version of her, I think there's a nod.
10:55No.
10:5629 plays 24.
10:57Jen sprung into the lead.
10:59And it's Jen's letters again now.
11:02A consonant, please, Rachel.
11:03Thank you, Jen.
11:04G.
11:04And another.
11:06R.
11:07And another.
11:09F.
11:10And a fourth.
11:13S.
11:14And a vowel.
11:16A.
11:17And another.
11:18E.
11:19And another.
11:21O.
11:23And a consonant.
11:25N.
11:27And I'll finish with a consonant.
11:31And finish with T.
11:33Countdown.
11:34Music.
11:35.
11:36.
11:36.
11:36.
12:04Yes, Jen?
12:05Try nine.
12:05Well done.
12:07Callum.
12:07I'll try nine too.
12:08Mm-hmm.
12:09Jen, your nine.
12:10Frontages.
12:12And the same word.
12:13There we go.
12:14Happy about that?
12:15Yeah, facades of a building, those are frontages.
12:17Excellent.
12:18Excellent.
12:21Any more nines from the corner?
12:24No.
12:24What have we got?
12:25Anything there?
12:25I was lucky with a six there.
12:27Yes.
12:28I had greats.
12:29All right.
12:30Susie?
12:31Frontages, yes, but forages as well for seven.
12:34Well done.
12:3647 plays 42, still at a five point difference.
12:39And now, Callum, numbers time.
12:42Could I have one large and five small, please, Rachel?
12:44You can indeed.
12:45Thank you, Callum.
12:45One big one, five little ones coming up.
12:48And for this round, the numbers are ten, six, ten, two, one, and a large one, twenty-five.
12:57And the target, 668.
12:59Six, six, eight.
13:01We'll see you later on.
13:03We'll see you then.
13:04We'll see you then.
13:05We'll see you then.
13:07We'll see you then.
13:08Six, seven, two, one, and a six.
13:14We'll see you then.
13:15You know.
13:16Yeah.
13:18You're welcome.
13:23Very good.
13:23I'll see you then.
13:23Bye-bye.
13:23Bye-bye.
13:24Bye-bye.
13:24Bye-bye, bye-bye.
13:26Bye-bye.
13:28Bye-bye.
13:29Bye-bye.
13:29Bye-bye.
13:31Callum six six six not written down two away Jen six some two not written down in that case
13:37Callum let's talk to you first of all shall we add it ten times two ten times two twenty plus
13:45six
13:45plus six twenty six twenty five plus one gives you another twenty six yeah times the two together
13:52I'm hoping is six seven six six seven uh yep and then take away the other ten and then the
13:59other
13:59ten year for two away two away not bad but not uh not the sort of perfection that we require
14:05here
14:05Rachel is it possible um bit of a tricky one yes I leave it with me leave that with you
14:10by all means
14:11the score standing Callum on 49 Jen on uh 47 we link to uh Naga Naga you've said yourself and
14:20I've heard
14:20you saying it that you're in a privileged position of being broadcast into people's homes but that
14:26sometimes leads to some odd and interesting conversation embarrassing sometimes very
14:31embarrassing sometimes I mean people we're in people's kitchens we're in people's front rooms
14:36first thing in the morning giving them the news and hopefully starting their day on a good note
14:40um but you do get recognized which is always lovely when someone says hello um but I remember one lady
14:47recognizing me in the street and saying BBC BBC I turned around because obviously that's my name
14:53um and uh she said hello hello she said oh you look so wide on the television so wide and
15:02then she
15:03proceeded to ask me what my dress size was and then tapped me on the stomach and said we didn't
15:09know if
15:09we should ask and I wasn't pregnant so it was all a bit and I just said uh no no
15:15I'm fine um and people
15:17are very honest um about their opinions um or with their opinions and um one gentleman I was at a
15:24conference and one gentleman said to me um I don't like you I don't like you on the television you're
15:29you're too forthright you're too opinionated you're not my type of person at all but um you've done an
15:35okay job so I might change my mind yes oh great thanks very much so people are treating you as
15:41if they
15:41know you because you're in their homes well they do they do know you exactly it's extraordinary but
15:45I mean you're a petite you know uh slim slim young woman thank you um is it odd that she
15:52should think
15:52that you were but they say that television puts at least 10 pounds is the phrase they use but we
15:58do
15:58all look taller everyone's really surprised at how short I am I make sure that we employ shorter
16:05men so I look taller when I say no that's not true all right now lovely stories well done very
16:12good
16:14very good and now rachel 668 did you crack it uh I cracked it if you say 25 plus 10
16:24minus 1 34
16:26times by the other 10 for 340 take away this 6 for 334 and times by 2
16:33oh well done fantastic as ever well done and now jen letters came okay start with the consonant
16:43please rachel thank you jen s and another l and another r and another s and a vowel i and
16:58another
16:59you and another you and another o and another a and a final consonant and a final y stand by
17:18so
17:30so
17:32so
17:32so
17:46Yes, Jen?
17:47Seven.
17:48And Callum?
17:48In that case, I'll go for five.
17:51Your phone?
17:51Seriously?
17:54What have we got, Jen?
17:55Sailors.
17:56Sailors.
17:57And...
17:58Naga and Susie?
18:00Well, Callum wasn't joking,
18:01and you will absolutely hate this one too,
18:03but if you say Seriously like that,
18:05it's S-R-S-L-Y,
18:07and it is an abbreviation of Seriously,
18:10but it's in the dictionary.
18:11I think it's dreadful.
18:12But anyway, there we are.
18:13You stick with it, Callum.
18:14It hasn't done you any good.
18:17Jen on 54 and Callum 49.
18:19What have we got in the corner, by the way?
18:21Sailors was out of seven.
18:22All right, well done.
18:23OK, 54 plays 49, Callum on 49,
18:26and it's Callum's letters game.
18:27No more of those, please, Callum.
18:30Can I have a consonant, please, Richard?
18:31Thank you, Callum.
18:32L.
18:33And another one, please.
18:35R.
18:36And another one.
18:37N.
18:38And another one.
18:41G.
18:42Vowel, please.
18:44I.
18:44Another vowel.
18:46E.
18:47Another vowel, please.
18:49O.
18:50Another vowel, please.
18:53A.
18:54And a consonant, please.
18:57And lastly, T.
19:00Countdown.
19:00One.
19:13One.
19:29One.
19:30yes Callum eight and eight well done James to eight Callum triangle well done
19:37Jen relation relation yeah and in the corner
19:42Nagar and Susie I didn't get any I've got a seven legator yes I quite like the
19:47word that's very good great countdown might as well lots of eights there Nick
19:51I couldn't get to nine but integral altering etc thank you very much and it's
19:5762 to 57 as we go back to the numbers board Jen for large please for large
20:04getting quite the range today for large and two small this time and the two
20:09small ones are one and two very small and the large ones 125 50 and 75 and the
20:19target 682 682
20:53yes Jen 678 not written down 678 Callum
20:57I've got nothing sorry completed bank over to Jen then Jen 100 minus 75 is 25
21:04yep 25 times 25 is 65 add the 50 6 7 5 2 and the 1 yep lovely 6 7
21:148 6 7 8 though
21:16a bit away isn't it can you help us no that was the best that's it yeah very
21:22well done Jen then all right 69 plays 57 as we turn to our second key time teaser
21:28which is moral duo and the clue it sounds like Malcolm was in debt to the lady this
21:34stinks it sounds like Malcolm was in debt to the lady this stinks
21:56welcome back I left with the clue it sounds like Malcolm was in debt to the lady this stinks
22:01and the answer is maloda as in malodorous a bad smell maloda now if you'd like to become a countdown
22:13contestant you can email countdown at channel 4.com to request an application form or write to us at
22:20contestants applications countdown leads LS 3 1 J S so 69 to 57 and Callum it's your letters game
22:30could I have a constant please Rachel thank you Callum F and another one please L and another one
22:38X and one more D vowel please E another vowel I vowel please you consonant please T and a
22:58consonant please and the last one bar standby
23:07so
23:19so
23:21so
23:35Well, Callum, seven.
23:37A seven, Jen?
23:38Seven.
23:39Callum, fluted, right, and...
23:42Flirted.
23:43And flirted.
23:44That's better.
23:45Now, what have we got there?
23:47Naga and Susie?
23:48We've got a couple, haven't we?
23:50Trifled.
23:51Yes.
23:52Yep, and a direful.
23:54Extremely bad or dreadful.
23:55A direful.
23:56All right.
23:57We'll have dire.
23:5876 plays 64.
23:59And, Jen, we're back with you for your next letters game.
24:03A consonant, please.
24:04Thank you, Jen.
24:05P.
24:06And another.
24:09G.
24:10And another.
24:11D.
24:13And a vowel.
24:15E.
24:16And another.
24:18A.
24:18And another.
24:19O.
24:21And another.
24:24E.
24:25And a consonant.
24:29R.
24:31And a final consonant, please.
24:34And the last one.
24:35W.
24:36Stand by.
24:37One, let's go.
24:39The.
24:40And another.
25:02Middle from this day.
25:03And another.
25:03And another.
25:03One, let's go.
25:07yes Jen seven Callum seven Jen Howard and Calum dowager dowager oh excellent yes great work very
25:19very good dowager and in the corner mega well I had groped but much better six-letter word yeah
25:27which I don't know what it is is podger yeah for sure not a podge not a chubby person but
25:34it's a short bar of iron or steel used for tightening a box spanner not not less interesting than a
25:41short
25:41chubby person a podger I've never heard of a podger no quite like that one but there was a one
25:47more
25:48seven wordage wordage okay a podger pass me the podger all right 83 to 71 and Susie oh Susie we're
25:56back
25:56with you you're going to enjoy this nagger it's Susie's origins of words I am oh I hope so let's
26:03all sit back and concentrate although I'm going to go to a slightly sensitive subject and that's
26:07the the new or the toilet and I don't know if you've ever read an essay written by Nancy Mitford
26:14one of
26:14the famous Mitford sisters called noblesse oblige written in 1956 where she talks about language
26:19that's you upper class and non-you and toilet toilet absolutely not and in fact I think there was an
26:26episode wasn't there according to the papers in which uh Carol Middleton uh asked the queen apparently
26:34where the toilet was and so it was called toilet gate um because it was such a faux pas so
26:38those
26:39kind of social things still stick but I thought I would talk about uh some of the other words that
26:42we
26:43might use for a loo some of which are quite funny and some of which sadly have fallen out of
26:48use
26:48apparently the house of lords uh was one a popular one house of commons as well it was known as
26:55businessman jocula so it was part of the jargon of the businessman uh the throne room uh fairly
27:02obvious that's similar uh formulation if you like to the house of commons the kazi uh used slightly
27:08jokingly but actually it's a corruption of the italian casa meaning a house uh so it has romantic roots
27:15if you think about the romantic languages uh and a bench hole uh which sounds quite modern and not
27:20particularly pleasant but it was actually used in shakespeare's anthony and cleopatra uh and has
27:25fallen out of use going to the bench hole but I thought I'd end with uh not clearing up but
27:30giving
27:30you some of the theories as to the origins of loo because I'm often asked where that word particularly
27:34uh comes from uh and the most likely suggestion is it goes back to waterloo uh not the battle but
27:42that
27:42was actually a trade name for iron cisterns in the early 20th century the other theories often put
27:48forward is that it goes back to guardilu which was a cry used in edinburgh streets in the 18th century
27:54to warn passers-by that people were going to empty their chamber pots from the window guardilu means
27:58beware of the water uh that's one of the theories but as I say most likely explanation is waterloo
28:04and the iron cisterns in the early 20th century well thank you
28:11you didn't include thunderbox in your little uh no is that your reference just after the thunderbox
28:18thank you probably fairly transparent after curry perhaps 83 to 71 where should we go callum
28:25let us go uh constant please thank you calum n and another one please v and another l and another
28:37one
28:37please t uh vowel please a and another one i and another o and another e and another one please
28:53and the last one oh stand by
28:59so
29:27yes calum seven seven seven calum elation elation and violate and violate
29:37yeah any advances on seven naga uh we had um toenail yes thank you um yeah that's another seven
29:46violate is another seven and we were hoping for oval teen but that has a capital o
29:51probably good all right 90 plays 78 and we're with jen jen final letters game for you consonant
29:58thank you jen b and another p and another m and a vowel please i and another e and another
30:14a
30:15a and a consonant s and a vowel o and a final vowel please and a final a stand by
30:35so
30:47so
31:03yes jen jen a jen a seven calum seven thank you jen amoebas and the same word amoebas
31:13split into two now go that was as good as we could get that's it yeah all right and now
31:19it's
31:19the final numbers game for you kevin good luck make or break i have six small numbers please
31:23and gambling time spooky bomb time thank you callum a last chance to stay in the game six
31:28little ones and the final numbers are eight three one two six and four and the target 848
31:39eight four eight
32:12callum absolutely nowhere near sorry no no our bad luck jen 840 not written down 840 doesn't
32:20matter anymore tell us about it uh six plus one is seven six plus one seven seven times three is
32:2721
32:27yep um uh two times eight is 16 add the four is 20 no hang on i think i've gone
32:37completely wrong i
32:38think yeah it doesn't matter though no it doesn't matter absolutely one anyway at this point okay
32:44rachel how problematic is that eight four eight this one was actually impossible you could have
32:50got to two away so all right well done and well done jen 97 the callums 85 as we go
32:56into the final
32:58round the conundrum round fingers on buzzers let's reveal today's countdown conundrum
33:16jen laryngeal not sure i pronounced that right but let's have a look and see whether we can't uh
33:21make something out of it i mean that's brilliant at the best of times even if it was there as
33:36of
33:36the larynx is that what it's all about i think so must be mustn't it yeah well well done anyway
33:41107
33:42callum bad luck you uh you met jen on a bad day for you and a great day for her
33:48because jen's now
33:49going into the second semi-final on thursday well done well done jen and callum thanks very
33:55much for coming great competitor you're taking this piece of priceless kryptonite back to uh back
34:01home with you with our very best wishes thanks a lot thanks for having me i've had a great time
34:05well done and tomorrow naga have you enjoyed yourself very much so well lots great in that case
34:12come back tomorrow love to thank you lovely because a long day for you again tomorrow up at dawn
34:17pre-dawn and then in here you've been a joy and susie see you tomorrow see you tomorrow nick
34:22and rachel too a blonde girl in semi-finals i'm celebrating
34:29well done see you tomorrow join us tomorrow same time same place you be sure of it a very good
34:36afternoon contact us by email at countdown at channel 4.com by twitter at c4 countdown or write
34:44to us at countdown leads ls3 1js you can also find our webpage at channel 4.com forward slash countdown
34:55an intimate look of what life was like for the heroes on the front line
35:00paramedics britain's lifesavers starting tonight at nine on channel 4.com next up a place in the sun
35:08you
35:09you
35:12you
35:12you
35:14you
35:16you
35:18you