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00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio.
00:34Now, I saw an event recently that took place at the Sydney Opera House.
00:37It was sort of an art installation event,
00:39to such an extent that the artist was actually suspended by 20,000 helium balloons.
00:4520,000 helium balloons, and there he was, dangling.
00:48Rather like that film Up that you talked to me about,
00:51which I've never seen, but apparently this is what happened.
00:54Took a house away on balloons, didn't it, or something?
00:57Yeah, it was beautiful.
00:58I've told you before, you need to go watch it.
01:00I don't want to give it away.
01:01All right.
01:02So I thought, well, films, movies,
01:05what particular scene would I quite like to reenact?
01:08Of course, in my more youthful moments,
01:11I wonder whether I couldn't be Burt Lancaster in The Surf,
01:15with Deborah Carr in From Here to Eternity.
01:17And then I think to myself, actually, probably those days have passed.
01:21What about you?
01:22Is there a famous or particularly attractive scene that you would like to reenact?
01:28Well, we have recreated, you know, the lift scene in Dirty Dancing?
01:32Yes.
01:32If you're dating a dancer, it's got to be tried, hasn't it?
01:35We've tried it on the beach before, where it's nice and safe.
01:38If you fall over, you go into the water.
01:39It didn't work very well.
01:40But then we tried it at a wedding last year.
01:44And?
01:44And it was brilliant.
01:45I got up.
01:45I was up there.
01:47Perfect.
01:47It was wonderful.
01:48Pasha said, let's have another go.
01:49Let's do it for longer.
01:50Gone up there.
01:51Dropped me on my bum.
01:53He didn't.
01:54I think he'd had a couple of beverages.
01:56He doesn't have any memory of it to this day.
01:58He dropped you.
01:59A lot of the other wedding guests do.
02:00Good for him.
02:01I'm glad to know that you're still doing a little bit of practising with Pasha.
02:05More needed.
02:06More needed.
02:07Well done.
02:08I tell you, he doesn't need too much practice.
02:10That's Graham Staples, who's here to see whether he can't become an octa-cham today.
02:15Seven tucked safely away.
02:17Yep.
02:17And I'm sure that Ballymena is on the edge of its seat.
02:21I'm sure it is.
02:22Now then, Mike Smith joins you.
02:24Retired export sales manager from Ekington in North Derbyshire.
02:28Travelled all over the world in the chemicals industry, I think.
02:31That's right, Nick.
02:32How many countries do you reckon?
02:33Oh, about 70, 75 countries.
02:35Is that right?
02:36Over about 30 years, yeah.
02:37Yeah.
02:37Now, after a 41-year pause, you've decided to return to the city players in Ekington.
02:45And as soon as you said, I'm back, after 41 years, they said, great, you've got the lead part.
02:51Now, what is this?
02:52What's the play, and who are you?
02:54It's a thriller called Murder Weapon.
02:56Yeah.
02:56And I play the part of an ex-con character called Charlie Mirren, and it's with an Irish accent.
03:03Well, I'm sure it'll go spiffingly.
03:05But meanwhile, you've got a big challenge on in front of you here.
03:08Oh, more than big, yeah.
03:09Let's have a big round of applause, then, for Graham and Mike Smith.
03:16And over in the corner there, Susie, with writer and broadcaster and all-round good sport, Charles Brandreth.
03:23Welcome back, Charles.
03:24Welcome back.
03:28Now then, it's a big day for Graham Staples.
03:32And let's not dither and dally.
03:34Off we go, Graham.
03:35Let us go.
03:36Hi, Rachel.
03:37Hi, again, Graham.
03:38Start with a consonant, please.
03:40Start today with T.
03:42A vial.
03:45A.
03:46And a consonant.
03:48B.
03:50Another consonant.
03:52H.
03:53A vial, please.
03:55O.
03:57A consonant, please.
03:59T.
04:00Vial, please.
04:03U.
04:04Another vial.
04:08A.
04:08And a consonant.
04:11And lastly, L.
04:13And here's the countdown clock.
04:15The.
04:16A consonant.
04:20The.
04:31A consonant.
04:46Graham.
04:47Risky six.
04:49How about Mike?
04:50Just a five.
04:51And that five?
04:52Bloat.
04:53Now then, Graham.
04:55Out, bat.
04:56So many out words in the dictionary.
04:58Oh, that's not one of them, though, Graham.
05:00I'm sorry.
05:01It's like cricket, maybe.
05:02Yeah, absolutely.
05:02What can we have?
05:04Giles?
05:05Could we have hot tub?
05:08March as if we could have hot tub.
05:09It's two words.
05:10I wasn't...
05:11I was asking you if we could have a hot tub.
05:15No to both questions.
05:18Oh, never mind.
05:19What can we have, I wonder?
05:21Oh, this is so tricky, wasn't it?
05:23About was there for five.
05:25That's all we could come up with.
05:26That's it?
05:27Yeah.
05:28My word.
05:28So Mike's on to an early lead, and it's Mike's letters game now.
05:32Hello, Rachel.
05:33Hi, Mike.
05:34We start with a vowel, please.
05:36Start with E.
05:38And a consonant.
05:39T.
05:41Another consonant, please.
05:43N.
05:45A vowel.
05:46A.
05:48Consonant.
05:50S.
05:52Consonant.
05:54R.
05:55Vowel.
05:56I.
06:00Consonant.
06:01L.
06:03And a vowel, please.
06:05And lastly, U.
06:08Stand by.
06:08Vowel.
06:11Bye.
06:13R.
06:17I.
06:24I.
06:39Well, Mike.
06:40Seven.
06:41Graham.
06:42Eight.
06:43And an eight.
06:44Mike.
06:45Saltier.
06:46Graham.
06:47Latrines.
06:48Yes, latrines are definitely in there.
06:50Very good.
06:50Yes.
06:51Well done.
06:52We've got to be realistic about this.
06:53Is, I know, a realist will be there.
06:56Would an unrealist be there?
06:57Yes.
06:58Just check that.
06:59The person whose expectation or outlook is unrealistic.
07:02Very good.
07:03And that scores.
07:04Nine.
07:04Well done.
07:05Ah, well done.
07:06Well done.
07:10Brilliant stuff.
07:11You're pulling in the nines this week, you know.
07:13It's extraordinary.
07:14Now, eight points to Graham.
07:16Mike on five, and it's Graham's numbers game.
07:18Yes, sir.
07:20Two large and four small, please, Rachel.
07:21Same as normal.
07:23Thank you, Graham.
07:23Two large ones, four little ones.
07:25Coming up, and the first numbers game of the day is eight, nine, five, two, 75, 50.
07:34And the target, 130.
07:37One, three, zero.
07:51One, three, zero.
08:09Yes, Graham?
08:10One, 30.
08:11One, 30.
08:12And Mike?
08:13One, three, zero, yeah.
08:15Graham?
08:1675 plus 50, plus five.
08:19Yeah, we can do that in our heads.
08:20There we go.
08:20Exactly the same.
08:21Yeah.
08:22No problem.
08:22Cheers.
08:23So, 18 plays 15.
08:25Graham just in the lead as we turn to our first tea time teaser, which is eat Sunday in the
08:31clue.
08:31Usually, she'd eat the whole Sunday, but the thought of it turned her stomach today.
08:37Usually, she'd eat the whole Sunday, but the thought of it turned her stomach today.
09:03Because she was nauseated.
09:09Now, 18 to 15, Graham in the lead.
09:12Mike, let's escape.
09:15Consonant, please, Rachel.
09:16Thank you, Mike.
09:17Z.
09:19Vowel, please.
09:21A.
09:22Consonant.
09:24S.
09:26Consonant.
09:27T.
09:29Consonant.
09:30D.
09:32Vowel.
09:34O.
09:36Another vowel.
09:39A.
09:41Consonant.
09:43M.
09:44And a vowel.
09:46And lastly, I.
09:48Stand by.
09:49B.
09:51C.
09:51B.
10:21Yes, Mike.
10:22Erm, I'll try seven.
10:24And Graham?
10:25I'll stick with a five.
10:26And your five?
10:27Toads.
10:28Mike?
10:29Mastoid.
10:30Yes, very good.
10:32The mastoid process, which is the temporal bone on your body, so it's an anatomical term.
10:37Very good.
10:38Well scored there, Mike.
10:39And Giles?
10:41Since brevity is the soul of wit and tediousness, the limbs and outward flourishes,
10:45I will be brief and hand over to my colleague who has found another seven-letter word.
10:51Erm, yes, diatoms, or diatoms.
10:55They are microscopic marine or freshwater algae, and they have a cell wall of silica.
11:01They have diatoms.
11:02Thank you very much.
11:03And we're done in the corner, then?
11:04Yes.
11:05Well done.
11:06All right.
11:0622 plays 18.
11:07The challenger is leading the field at the moment.
11:11Graham, your letters again.
11:12Consonant, please, Rachel.
11:14Thank you, Graham.
11:16N.
11:16And a vial.
11:18E.
11:19Consonant.
11:21S.
11:23Another consonant.
11:25V.
11:26Vial, please.
11:28U.
11:30Another vial.
11:31A.
11:33A consonant.
11:34S.
11:37A consonant.
11:39R.
11:41And a vial, please.
11:43And lastly, E.
11:46Stand by.
11:47To be continued...
12:18Yes, Graham?
12:19Seven.
12:19A seven, Mike?
12:21A seven as well.
12:22Graham?
12:23Avenues.
12:24Yep.
12:24Exactly what I've got.
12:26Two avenues.
12:27Yep.
12:28Any more avenues?
12:29Very nice.
12:29Yes.
12:30One more seven.
12:31Ensures.
12:33Ensures.
12:34Ensures.
12:35Yes.
12:35Very good.
12:3629 plays 25.
12:38Mike's still in the lead, and it's Mike's numbers game now.
12:40Yes, Mike?
12:41OK, Rachel, one from the top, please, and five small.
12:45Thank you, Mike.
12:46One large, five little coming up, and this next selection is three, nine, eight, one, six,
12:55and the large one, 100, and the target to reach 545.
13:00Five, four, five.
13:18Five, five, five, five, five, five, six, and the large one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one,
13:18one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one,
13:18one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one,
13:18one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one,
13:18one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one,
13:18one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one,
13:32Mike.
13:33No, I'm not near.
13:35How about Graham?
13:365-4-5.
13:37Well done.
13:38And how did you get there?
13:406-1 is 5.
13:42Yep.
13:42100 plus 9 is 109.
13:44109.
13:45And times together.
13:46And you've snatched the lead back.
13:47Beautifully done.
13:48Beautifully done.
13:51Well done.
13:52Fabulous.
13:53So, you've sprung into the lead now.
13:5535-29 as we turn to Giles Brandreth.
14:01What's up today, Giles?
14:02Well, this year marks a day in my family history.
14:06I had a forebear, a distant forebear, but I think undoubtedly a forebear,
14:10called Jeremiah Brandreth, who this time, 200 years ago,
14:15in the fall, the autumn of 1817,
14:18became the last person to be beheaded for treason in England.
14:22Totally.
14:22He was a Luddite, and he led a rebellion called the Pentrich Rebellion.
14:27And he and the other leader, they were caught by government troops.
14:31Their plan had been to take Nottingham Castle,
14:33and then eventually to take the Tower of London.
14:35They didn't get very far, because there was a traitor in their midst
14:39who spilt the beans to the government forces,
14:41and they were arrested and executed.
14:43Indeed, you can see the wooden block on which they were beheaded still at the museum in Derby.
14:51And there's a display about them at Nottingham Castle.
14:53So, Jeremiah Brandreth, the hopeless radical.
14:57When I was an MP, I was called, I like to think of myself as a hopeful radical.
15:00The lesson in this is don't resist change, because you can end up losing your head.
15:04I am not very good at change.
15:06I don't like the 21st century.
15:07I do not wish to learn another ghastly password.
15:11I really can't cope with the modern world.
15:13But you should accept change.
15:14My darling mother, on her 96th Christmas,
15:17my son gave my mother, for Christmas, an iPad.
15:21And at 96, she was thrilled to have it.
15:24Bless her heart, she thought it was an electronic incontinence pad.
15:27Remember this, she was happy to have it.
15:29Don't resist change.
15:30That's very good.
15:31Wise words, wise words.
15:33Very good.
15:38Very good.
15:40So, 35 to 29, Graham in the lead, and it's Graham's letters game.
15:45Consonant, please, Rachel.
15:47Thank you, Graham.
15:48X.
15:49File, please.
15:51E.
15:53Consonant.
15:54T.
15:55Another consonant.
15:58D.
15:59Vial, please.
16:01I.
16:02Another vial.
16:04A.
16:05Consonant.
16:07S.
16:09Another consonant.
16:12G.
16:13And another consonant, please.
16:16And lastly, Q.
16:18And the clock starts now.
16:19We'll see you later.
16:23Thank you,uhan.
16:50Well, Graham?
16:51Just five.
16:52And Mike?
16:53Six.
16:54So, Graham?
16:56Aside.
16:56Aside and Mike?
16:58Staged.
16:59Yes.
17:00Very good.
17:02Staged.
17:03Charles?
17:03When briefly, in the 1990s, I worked at the Ministry of Agriculture.
17:08I wasn't very good at it.
17:09I didn't understand what it was about.
17:11I came across a word I didn't know, but I remembered it.
17:14The word is adjusted.
17:16It's something to do with feeding livestock.
17:18I can't remember the detail.
17:20You will have it.
17:20Is it there?
17:21Yes.
17:21It's to feed livestock for somebody else, so in return for payment.
17:25So a dairy farmer might adjust land, for example, during the winter.
17:29Good for seven.
17:30Oh, I see.
17:31Good for you.
17:31Thirty-five apiece.
17:34Now then, Mike.
17:35Letters game.
17:37Consonant, please, Rachel.
17:38Thank you, Mike.
17:39L.
17:40Another consonant.
17:43N.
17:44Vowel.
17:46U.
17:47Another vowel.
17:49I.
17:50Consonant.
17:52V.
17:53Consonant.
17:55T.
17:55Vowel.
17:58O.
18:00Consonant.
18:02M.
18:03And a final vowel.
18:05And a final E.
18:08Countdown.
18:09Tonecone
18:11Tonecone.
18:14Tonecone.
18:25Tonecone.
18:40Well, Mike?
18:41Seven.
18:42A seven, Graham?
18:43Six, not written down.
18:45And that's six?
18:46Motive.
18:47Motive.
18:48Motive.
18:49Motive.
18:49And Mike?
18:51Outline.
18:52Yes.
18:52And outline.
18:53Very good.
18:54Giles?
18:54Well, I thought of the film talking about scenes one will be in a motel, which is there,
18:59a terribly violent scene, which is also there, and I thought this is all getting a bit convoluted
19:03and I must be briefed today.
19:04So then I thought, oh, convoluted.
19:06Is there a word that means convoluted that is involuted?
19:09So is involute there for being convoluted?
19:11Yes.
19:12Yes.
19:14Eight points.
19:14Well done.
19:15Very good.
19:21Excellent, Giles.
19:23So 42 to 35, Mike's a player, my word.
19:26Graham, your numbers game.
19:28I'll stick with my usual, thanks to large and four small.
19:32Thank you, Graham, for the last time from you for a while.
19:34You're two large ones, and these four smalls are three, two, six, and another two, and the
19:42big one's 50 and 100.
19:44And your target, 128.
19:47One, two, eight.
19:48One, two, eight.
20:20Well, Graham?
20:211, 2, 8.
20:22And Mike?
20:231, 2, 8.
20:24Graham?
20:263 plus 2 is 5.
20:28Yep.
20:296 fives are 30.
20:32Minus the other two.
20:3328.
20:34And add 100.
20:351, 2, 8.
20:36Lovely.
20:37And Mike?
20:38Yeah, a bit different.
20:39Used all the numbers.
20:40100 plus 50.
20:42150.
20:43And then take away 6 times 3.
20:466 times 3 is...
20:482 plus 2, plus 2.
20:48Take all that away.
20:49Uh, yeah.
20:51That'll do.
20:51Take that away.
20:52Well done.
20:54Well done.
20:57Well done.
20:59So, 45 to 52.
21:01Mike's still there.
21:02Mike's leading it as we turn to our second Tea Time teaser,
21:06which is an odd line.
21:08And the clue.
21:09It's an odd line, but this weed makes the king of the jungle sound fine.
21:14It's an odd line.
21:16But this weed makes the king of the jungle sound fine.
21:36Welcome back.
21:37I left you with the clue.
21:38It's an odd line, but this weed makes the king of the jungle sound fine.
21:43And the answer to that is dandelion.
21:48Dandelion.
21:49Very nice.
21:50Nice Tea Time teaser.
21:51Dandelion.
21:52So, 52 to 45.
21:55Mike on 52.
21:56And it's Mike's letters game.
21:58Yes, Mike.
21:59Uh, consonant, please, Rachel.
22:01Thank you, Mike.
22:02L.
22:03Uh, vowel, please.
22:05I.
22:07Consonant.
22:08R.
22:10Consonant.
22:12T.
22:14Consonant.
22:16W.
22:17A vowel.
22:19E.
22:21Another vowel.
22:24O.
22:25Consonant.
22:27F.
22:29And final vowel, please.
22:32And final E.
22:35Done by.
22:36Dandelion.
22:38magic song.
22:43Music.
22:47Music.
22:51Music.
22:52Music.
22:59Music.
23:01Music.
23:07Well, Mike, seven.
23:10Graham?
23:11Seven, not written down.
23:12And what would that be?
23:14Fertile.
23:14Exactly the same.
23:17Yep, good man.
23:18Very nice.
23:20And over in the corner there, now, Giles?
23:22We saw flower.
23:23We saw flowerier, as in flowier.
23:26Flowier, yeah.
23:27And then I guessed at floweret, which I thought was a small dandelion,
23:30but actually it isn't.
23:31What is a floweret?
23:32It's actually a floret, another word for a floret.
23:34So you might have a floret of broccoli or cauliflower,
23:37those kind of vegetables.
23:39Very good.
23:39Well done.
23:41Well done.
23:42Seven points in it.
23:4359 to Graham's 52, Graham.
23:47Letters.
23:48Consonant, please, Rachel.
23:50Thank you, Graham.
23:51P.
23:52And a vial.
23:53A.
23:55Consonant.
23:57N.
23:58Another consonant.
24:00D.
24:00And a vial, please.
24:04I.
24:04Another vial.
24:06E.
24:08And a consonant.
24:09T.
24:11Another consonant.
24:13M.
24:15And a vial, please.
24:17And the last one, A.
24:19Stand by.
24:49very, very, very, very good.
24:50One.
24:52Yes, Graeme?
24:53Seven.
24:54Seven, Mike?
24:55Seven.
24:56And Graeme, seven?
24:57Mandate.
24:58Mandate. Mike?
25:00Painted.
25:01Yeah.
25:01Both good words there.
25:03I was trying to control myself today,
25:05because I know I got a bit animated yesterday,
25:07but I'm animated today,
25:09because there's an eight-letter word there, inanimated.
25:11Perfect.
25:12Well done.
25:13Well done.
25:15Anything else, Susie?
25:17Nice six.
25:18Well, not really nice, actually.
25:19A taipan, the highly venomous snake.
25:22Yeah.
25:23That would be there, too.
25:24The animator is excellent.
25:25Thank you, Giles.
25:26Very good.
25:2766 to 59.
25:28And it's Susie we turn to now for her wonderful origins of words.
25:32What have you for us today?
25:34A couple of questions from viewers, for which thank you.
25:38The first comes from Dave Leonard,
25:40who asks where the word crotchety comes from.
25:43And the one that I'm going to follow up with is from Colin Curtis,
25:47who asks, why do we talk about being cross?
25:48So they're obviously both writing on a particularly cantankerous day.
25:51But I'll start with crotchety.
25:54And it seems strange,
25:56but crotchety has a link with both a handicraft and also a ball game.
26:00And I'll explain.
26:02Crochet,
26:03C-R-O-C-H-E-T-E-T meant in French,
26:07a hook or a shepherd's crook.
26:09And you can still find it in French today to mean a hockey stick.
26:13But of course,
26:13crochet,
26:14as it would be in English,
26:15is for us a handicraft in which yarn is made into fabric with a hooked needle.
26:21So the lawn game that is called croquet is also linked to this,
26:26because you drive a ball through hooks or hoops in order to play the game.
26:31That too originated in France and then became very popular with the English aristocracy.
26:36So the slightly winding thread that I'm weaving here,
26:39but the French word,
26:40if you go back to that crochet,
26:41shepherd's hook,
26:42et cetera,
26:43is also the source of the musical note,
26:45the crotchet,
26:46simply because of its shape.
26:47It almost resembles a shepherd's crook or a hook.
26:50And that,
26:51in turn,
26:51gave us a crotchety,
26:53because it was a sort of perverse,
26:55slightly hooked belief,
26:56if you like,
26:57a sort of twisted turn of mind.
26:59And then,
26:59of course,
27:00you're so twisted that you're actually positively angry.
27:03On to cross.
27:04That is even more productive in English.
27:06We have the Vikings to thank for that,
27:08and the Romans.
27:09The Vikings brought us cross with a K.
27:11The Romans gave us crux,
27:12of course,
27:13and that crux is behind crucial.
27:15Crucible,
27:16which was a nightlight originally that shone in front of a crucifix.
27:21And excruciating,
27:22which referred to torture on the cross.
27:25But to come to Colin's question,
27:26cross meaning annoyed,
27:27goes back to the 17th century,
27:29and it's actually from the high seas,
27:31to do with a crosswind.
27:33It's a wind blowing across the bow of your ship,
27:35rather than from behind.
27:36So it's an adverse,
27:37contrary,
27:38or opposing wind,
27:40not one that you particularly like,
27:42and which might leave you annoyed or bad-tempered.
27:44Wow.
27:51Terrific.
27:5366 to 59,
27:55and Mike.
27:57Mike, let us go in.
27:59Consonant, please, Rachel.
28:01Thank you, Mike.
28:02B.
28:03Another consonant.
28:06T.
28:08Vowel.
28:09I.
28:11Consonant.
28:13L.
28:15Consonant.
28:17G.
28:19Vowel.
28:20O.
28:23Consonant.
28:24K.
28:27Vowel.
28:29A.
28:30And a vowel.
28:32And the last one.
28:33E.
28:35Stand by.
28:37Vowel.
28:38Vowel.
28:40Vowel.
28:41Vowel.
28:53Vowel.
28:53Vowel.
28:54Vowel.
28:54Vowel.
28:54Vowel.
28:54Vowel.
29:07Mike?
29:08Just a five.
29:10Graham?
29:11I'll try a six.
29:12Now then, Mike.
29:13A globe.
29:15Yes, Graham?
29:16Goalie?
29:18Yes.
29:18With the I at the end.
29:20Yep, absolutely fine.
29:21A goalie.
29:22Now, what's Giles up to?
29:24We're going to attempt a couple of eight-letter words.
29:26To John I owed great obligation,
29:28but John unfortunately thought fit to publish it to all the nation.
29:32Now, John and I are more than quit.
29:33A Victorian verse that gives you the word obligate.
29:36Very good.
29:37And the other one I'm less certain about,
29:39I remember Boaty McBoatface, can something be boat-like?
29:42It certainly can, yes.
29:43A house might be boat-like, for example, from the 16th century.
29:47That old.
29:48Wonderful.
29:49Excellent start.
29:5466 to 65.
29:57Only a point in it, you two.
29:58My word.
29:59Graham, final letters game.
30:02Continent, please, Rachel.
30:03Thank you, Graham.
30:04R.
30:04Vial, please.
30:07E.
30:08Consonant.
30:10R.
30:12Another one.
30:15S.
30:16Vial, please.
30:18A.
30:19Another vial.
30:21I.
30:23Consonant.
30:25P.
30:26Another consonant.
30:29N.
30:31And another consonant, please.
30:34And lastly, Y.
30:36Stand by.
30:37And another consonant.
30:38I.
30:58And another consonant.
30:58And another consonant.
30:58And another consonant.
31:09Graeme?
31:09Seven.
31:10Mike?
31:11Yes, that's six.
31:12And that's six?
31:13That prays.
31:14Now, Graeme?
31:15Prayers.
31:17Very good.
31:18Prayers.
31:18Yes, skip seven.
31:20Prayers, and that pops you into the lead.
31:22Charles?
31:23Only an anagram of prayers, which is respray,
31:26but again, it's seven letters.
31:27Well done.
31:28Respray.
31:29All right, so what have we got here?
31:3072 playing, going to the final numbers game.
31:35Mike?
31:36Two from the top, please, and four small, Rachel.
31:38Thank you, Mike.
31:39Two big, four little for the last all-important numbers game.
31:43And they are nine, five, eight, two.
31:48And the big one's 100, 75, and the target, 543.
31:53Five, four, three.
32:25Well, Mike?
32:27Five, four, three.
32:28Graeme?
32:28Just five, four, two.
32:30Mike?
32:31So, 100 plus nine.
32:33109.
32:34Times five.
32:35This time, you for five, four, five, that way.
32:38Minus two.
32:39Well done, five, four, three.
32:41APPLAUSE
32:45Such players.
32:46Mike's in the lead, 76 to 72 for Graeme,
32:50but what we've got now is a final round.
32:52Fingers on buzzers.
32:53Let's roll today's crucial countdown conundrum.
33:01Graeme?
33:04Swallowed.
33:06Swallowed.
33:09Swallowed.
33:15I tell you, countdown doesn't come much better than that.
33:21Brilliant.
33:21Two great players.
33:22Look at that.
33:23Mike just pipped at the post, 76, by our number seven seed.
33:28You're a great player.
33:29You came on the wrong day.
33:30Close call.
33:31Close call.
33:32Very close.
33:32Very enjoyable.
33:33It was a great game.
33:34Something I wanted to do all my life, and I've done it now.
33:36Well, you did, and you played like an absolute champ.
33:39Thanks, Nick.
33:39Well done.
33:40Listen, you take this goodie back.
33:41I wish I could give you a teapot, but I can't.
33:43You take this back to Ekington.
33:45Thanks so much for coming.
33:47Thank you, man.
33:48Seven seed.
33:49Seven seed.
33:50Yeah.
33:50Resume the finals.
33:51It's been a pleasure.
33:52Thanks, Ray.
33:52Brilliant.
33:52Wasn't that good?
33:54I'm so excited.
33:55Wasn't that fine?
33:56We'll see you both tomorrow.
33:57See you both tomorrow.
33:58See you then.
33:59Oh, Rachel, wasn't that just the tops?
34:01I know someone who's watching who's very disappointed.
34:03We predicted on Graeme's first show, number eight seed James was there.
34:08He beat him, and now he's bumped him off.
34:09He has.
34:10So it's a very good achievement.
34:12We'll see you in the finals.
34:14See you tomorrow.
34:14See you tomorrow.
34:15Two new contestants.
34:16All right.
34:16Join us then, same time, same place.
34:19You be sure of it.
34:19A very good afternoon.
34:21You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com,
34:25by Twitter at C4Countdown,
34:27or write to us at Countdown Leeds LS3 1JS.
34:32You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:39A yeoman of the Guards is thinking of a slower pace in South Wales.
34:43South Wales coast versus country is at four, but next to Spain,
34:46they're packing up lock, stock and barrel to move a place in the sun.