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00:17Thank you
00:31Well good afternoon and welcome to a packed Countdown studio, standing room only here for the audience certainly because today
00:39we begin the finals, Rachel, the finals for Series 80.
00:44Of course the best eight players have returned, worrying because they're going to compete for the Series champion.
00:51And you, I think, have witnessed 21 series, yeah? What do you expect today? Because we've got some very, very
01:00special players.
01:01Well, we've got Countdown's highest ever scoring champion and highest ever scoring octo champion in the studio today.
01:08So I think, you know, there's Elliot in the champion's chair over there and I'm sure seven, I don't know
01:12if I speak for you, Mark, but seven likely very, very nervous contenders that might have to come up against
01:18him.
01:19But as we know, things change, even in the course of a game. So, Rachel, let's get down to business.
01:25Elliot, welcome back.
01:28Extraordinary and exceptional young player, math student at Manchester Metropolitan University here, from Oldham, number one seed.
01:35And as Rachel said, the highest scoring octo champ ever, 1061 points. Fantastic.
01:43Well, good luck to you today, Elliot.
01:44Good luck. And you're joined by the great Mark Giacuto, social worker from London, number eight seed, who secured six
01:51great wins.
01:52So good luck to you as well.
01:53You feeling relaxed?
01:54Yeah, looking forward to it.
01:55Good.
01:56Big round of applause for these two great players.
01:59Come on.
02:00Elliot Miller and Mark Giacuto.
02:03And over in the corner, Susie Dent, of course.
02:07And to witness this, sir, and it's not the first time that you've been here for the finals, I think.
02:12No.
02:12It's the wonderful Rufus Hound. Welcome back, Rufus.
02:15Thank you very much.
02:19A big countdown fan, too, I think.
02:22Yeah, a huge countdown fan.
02:23So being here for, you know, Elliot's run on the finals feels like, you know, a boxing fan getting to
02:28watch Tyson.
02:30Or some other football reference that somebody at home would be able to make.
02:35Talk to you later on.
02:36But now, Elliot, let's not hesitate now.
02:40Off we go.
02:40It's a letters game.
02:41Good afternoon, Rachel.
02:42Afternoon, Elliot.
02:43Start with a vowel, please.
02:44Start this quarterfinal with O.
02:47And a second.
02:48A.
02:49And a third.
02:51E.
02:51A consonant.
02:53L.
02:54And a second.
02:55H.
02:55And a third.
02:57T.
02:58And a fourth.
02:59B.
03:00And a fifth.
03:03S.
03:04And a final vowel, please.
03:07A final I.
03:09And here's the countdown clock.
03:25MUSIC CONTINUES
03:42Elliot?
03:43Seven.
03:45Mark?
03:45Seven.
03:46Thank you, Elliot.
03:47Isolate.
03:48And Mark?
03:49Isolate.
03:51Yeah.
03:51That's a good way to start, guys.
03:53Well done.
03:54Now, what about the corner?
03:56Susie?
03:58We had loathes.
04:00Yes.
04:00Yeah.
04:01And I want to, can you have boaties?
04:03Yes, you can.
04:04People who hang out on boats.
04:05You certainly can.
04:06And yachties too, amazingly.
04:08Ah.
04:08Yeah.
04:09Well, they need their own subsection, don't they?
04:11A tiny velvet rope betwixt the two.
04:15So, seven apiece.
04:17Mark, your letters came.
04:19Good afternoon, Rachel.
04:20Afternoon, Mark.
04:21Could I have a consonant, please?
04:23We start with T.
04:25A vowel.
04:26U.
04:28Consonant.
04:29P.
04:31Vowel.
04:33E.
04:35Consonant.
04:36G.
04:37Vowel.
04:39A.
04:41Consonant.
04:43R.
04:44Vowel.
04:47O.
04:49And a consonant, please.
04:50And the last one, P.
04:53Stand by.
04:54W.
04:55Vowel.
04:56B.
04:57Vowel.
04:57B.
05:03Vowel.
05:04Vowel.
05:05Have you?
05:17Vowel.
05:22Vowel.
05:23yes mark seven and seven mark outrage say Elliot same great now what of the
05:36corner Rufus and Susie portage mm-hmm and then not a not a seven a six Tupper
05:47it's not there sorry I wondered if Tupperware was you know you could have a tupper
05:54bad luck bad luck 14 a piece Elliot your numbers game bottom row please Rachel
06:01bottom row starting with six little ones means business in the quarterfinals
06:06thank you Elliot six small numbers are one seven two eight six and another one
06:14and the target six hundred and seven six oh seven
06:22so
06:29so
06:50Elliot six hundred and eight six oh eight mark nothing I'm afraid over to you Elliot
06:58six times two six times two is twelve take one take one is eleven times seven
07:04times seven seventy seven subtract one take the other one for seventy six and
07:09multiply by eight yep well done six hundred and eight one above just one
07:14above is it possible Rachel I did the same thing and that was the best you can
07:20get one away so well done Elliot well done Elliot indeed and it's twenty one
07:24playing fourteen now and now it's time for our first tea time teaser which is Dora's deep
07:29and the clue Dora's in deep trouble in Spain she's turned to criminal activity Dora's in deep trouble in Spain
07:36she's turned to criminal activity
07:41she's become a desperado desperado desperado is the answer to that so 21 plays 14
07:41and now it's time for our first tea and the clue Dora's in deep trouble in Spain she's turned to
07:46criminal activity
07:54I left with the uh the clue Dora's in deep trouble in Spain she's turned to criminal activity she's become
08:04a desperado desperado is the answer to that so 21 plays 14
08:09in elliott on 21 mark your letters game thank you constant please thank you mark
08:14c and a vowel e consonant s a vowel a consonant l vowel i consonant f consonant r
08:38and a final consonant please final c
08:43stand by
08:44you
08:56you
08:57you
08:59you
08:59you
08:59you
09:02you
09:03you
09:06you
09:07you
09:10you
09:16mark bit of a risky seven elliot seven mark scalia well elliot's not worried yes elliot
09:25same scalia scalia is absolutely fine um and we have um one seven uh which is calluses which
09:34is the plural of calyx and that in turn is um a structure on a plant it's the sepal of
09:41a
09:41flower that forms a protective layer around the flower when it's in bud very necessary yeah i wish
09:47i had a protective layer 28 plays 21 elliot on 28 elliot you're back your letters game
09:53vowel please rachel thank you elliot you and another o a third a consonant s and another
10:04m and the third k and the fourth h and the vowel e and the final vowel please a final
10:20i stand by
10:25so
10:52elliot just a six and mark i'll try a six
10:55max yes elliot homies homies and hokums
11:01hokum hmm i think it might just be there in the plural in the singular rather um yes it is
11:09a
11:09math noun unfortunately just for nonsense sorry what a shame bad luck mark now rufus what news well
11:17i actually haven't run this past but is mashy there yes
11:23an old golf club yeah a mashy niblick very good so uh there's that for six and um coombs which
11:32i don't
11:33know if you're familiar nick is the monetary unit of mauritania mauritania of course
11:39very good 34 plays 21 mark on 21 mark your numbers game off we go i have two large and
11:48four small please
11:49you can indeed thank you mark second round numbers game coming up and they are
11:54one nine one six one hundred and fifty and the target oh couldn't be easier nine hundred and six nine
12:05oh six
12:08you
12:08you
12:08you
12:08you
12:08you
12:08you
12:09you
12:399.06.
12:41And...
12:41I think I've got 906.
12:44Let's kill this off fairly quickly.
12:46Mark.
12:46OK.
12:47Nine times 100 plus six.
12:49Yeah.
12:50Elliot, we won't bother with you.
12:52OK.
12:52We believe you.
12:53All right.
12:54So 44 plays 31 as we turn to Rufus.
12:59Rufus, what have you got for us?
13:01Well, all week long, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, I've written things about photographs.
13:06And the other two have rhymed.
13:08This one is a much more modern kind of poetry.
13:11Fingers crossed.
13:15I can take not one more photo because my phone says memory full and I envy how it feels.
13:22My phone has nothing it wants to remember, yet its memory is stuffed.
13:27Mine's burst.
13:28A poorly bound diary.
13:30The gist of dates and movements present, but the detail fallen away.
13:34Pages, once lovingly filled, now missing.
13:38I blame booze.
13:40Without booze, I wonder if I'd remember more.
13:43Without booze, I wonder, would I have less worth remembering?
13:46Without drinking to forget, what would I remember?
13:49Ugh.
13:50Maybe it's not the booze.
13:52Maybe it's just the living.
13:55Not dying has a terrible habit of creating new things I'm meant to remember.
13:59Each new thing that enters tears through my mental filing cabinet looking for some inconsequential thing to replace.
14:06The downstairs neighbours from my first flat, not going to need it.
14:10Various guinea pigs I have met, joyfully jettisoned.
14:13Whether I had PPI, perpassed me buh-bye.
14:18I have been there as two grandparents had their memories torn from them completely.
14:23Their faces folded inward, mouths awork on boiled sweets as if, with enough sucking,
14:28the pressure might siphon misplaced mental mementos back to their tongue tips.
14:33Not knowing that the relevant who, what, whens had in fact left and taken the valuables with them.
14:40We are not in charge, it seems, of what we remember.
14:43And I now tell stories that I'm increasingly sure I'm just making up.
14:49Not lying.
14:51Just filling the holes with stuff that feels right, or sounds right,
14:56or is at least funnier than what probably happened.
15:00I don't know.
15:02I look through the pictures on my phone and delete the ones I don't want,
15:05choosing what will be remembered, and with this new space,
15:08take a photograph to look at later, and be reminded of us, of this, of now.
15:15And if I forget why I took it, I'll just fill that gap with something that feels right,
15:20or sounds right, or is funnier than the truth.
15:23My memory can't be trusted, but my imagination can.
15:28So, smile.
15:39You're a thoughtful fellow, you really are.
15:41It's wonderful.
15:42Thank you, Rufus.
15:44So, 44 plays 31.
15:46Elliot, 44.
15:48And Elliot, we turn to.
15:50Yes, sir.
15:51Vowel, please, Rachel.
15:52Thank you, Elliot.
15:53U.
15:54And another.
15:55A.
15:56And a third.
15:57I.
15:58A consonant.
16:00S.
16:01And a second.
16:02D.
16:03And another.
16:04R.
16:05A fourth.
16:06S.
16:07A vowel.
16:10E.
16:11And a final vowel, please.
16:15A final O.
16:17Stand by.
16:18Withoy.
16:47Dr.
16:47And a half.
16:47Add66.
16:47And a half.
16:49Elliot. Eight.
16:50And Mark? Six.
16:52Your six is? Soured.
16:54Elliot. Desirous.
16:57Er, that's lovely. Didn't see that. Very, very good.
17:00Well done.
17:05Well done, Elliot.
17:06And in the corner there, Rufus, Susie?
17:08That was a seven with dossier.
17:10And then at the last minute, grab for eight.
17:14Yes, radiuses.
17:16Radiuses.
17:18Which is the long version of radii.
17:20Yes, both in the dictionary.
17:22All right. 52 to 31.
17:26Mark, your letters go.
17:28Consonant, please, Rachel.
17:30Thank you, Mark.
17:31P.
17:32Vowel.
17:34I.
17:35Consonants.
17:37L.
17:38Vowel.
17:40A.
17:41Consonants.
17:43M.
17:44Consonants.
17:45R.
17:47Vowel.
17:49O.
17:52Consonants.
17:53C.
17:55And final vowel, please.
17:58A final A.
18:00Stand by.
18:01C.
18:02C.
18:02C.
18:03C.
18:04C.
18:05C.
18:10ORCHESTRA PLAYS
18:36AND YOUR SIX?
18:38APORIA
18:38NOW MARK
18:40PROCLAIM
18:42VERY, VERY GOOD
18:43WELL DONE
18:44WELL DONE
18:48WELL DONE
18:49WELL DONE MARK
18:50RUFUS AND SUSIE
18:52JUST TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT APORIA IS
18:54IT'S THE EXPRESSION OF DOUBT IN RHETORIC
18:57REALLY?
18:58YEAH
18:58ANYTHING ELSE?
18:59NO
19:00PROCLAIM
19:00THANK YOU
19:0152 PLAYS
19:0239
19:03ELLIOTT
19:04YOUR NUMBERS GAME
19:06THE BOTTOM ROW AGAIN PLEASE RACHEL
19:08BOTTOM ROW
19:08SO WE'VE HAD ONE IMPOSSIBLE ONE
19:09ONE REALLY EASY ONE
19:10LET'S TRY AND GET SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE
19:12THANK YOU ELLIOTT
19:13THESE LICKS LITTLE ONES
19:15ARE SEVEN
19:15SIX
19:17TEN
19:17THREE
19:19SEVEN
19:19AND TWO
19:20AND THE TARGET THIS TIME
19:22143
19:23PERSONS
19:25PERSONS
19:31PERSONS
19:45MUSIC CONTINUES
20:037 plus 6, 13.
20:0410 add 3 minus 2.
20:0610 plus 3 minus 2, 11.
20:0813 times 11.
20:09Product 2 primes.
20:111, 4, 3.
20:12And mark.
20:137 plus 7 is 14.
20:1514.
20:16Times 10 is 140.
20:18And add the 3.
20:19Straightforward, this one.
20:20That's it.
20:25So, 62 to 49.
20:27Elliot on 62 as we turn to our second key time teaser,
20:31which is used nerds.
20:33And the clue?
20:34The crab took all its clothes off but wasn't ready to eat.
20:39The crab took all its clothes off but wasn't ready to eat.
20:59Welcome back.
21:00Welcome back.
21:00I left you with the clue.
21:01The crab took all its clothes off but wasn't ready to eat.
21:05And the answer to that is it was undressed.
21:08Dressed, undressed, best to eat a dressed crab.
21:1262 to 49.
21:14Elliot in the lead, all right.
21:15Mark, your chance.
21:17Letters came.
21:18Consonant, please.
21:19Thank you, Mark.
21:20N.
21:21Consonant.
21:23R.
21:24Consonant.
21:25S.
21:27Consonant.
21:29M.
21:30Consonant.
21:32D.
21:34Vowel.
21:35U.
21:37Vowel.
21:38O.
21:40Vowel.
21:42E.
21:44And final vowel, please.
21:47And a final A.
21:49Stand by.
21:51OK.
22:22Mark.
22:23I think I've got an eight.
22:24Thank you, Elliot.
22:26Eight.
22:27Yes, Mark.
22:29Maunders.
22:30And ransomed.
22:31Yes, both excellent.
22:33Ah, two good players.
22:36Very good.
22:39And the corner there, Rufus.
22:40We have neuromas for eight, which are?
22:43Which are tumours on nerve cell sheaths.
22:47It's another term for neurofibroma.
22:51Very good.
22:52Yeah.
22:52I think we'll stick with that, shall we?
22:53Yes, let's, yeah.
22:55All right.
22:55Seventy to fifty-seven.
22:58And now it's your letters game for you, Elliot.
23:00Vowel, please, Rachel.
23:01Thank you, Elliot.
23:02E.
23:03And a second.
23:05O.
23:06And a third.
23:08I.
23:08And a fourth.
23:10O.
23:11And a consonant.
23:12L.
23:13A second.
23:15S.
23:16A third.
23:16N.
23:19A fourth.
23:20T.
23:21And a final vowel, please.
23:24Final E.
23:25Stand by.
23:28Stand by.
23:28And a fourth.
23:29And a fourth.
23:43And a fourth.
23:47And a fourth.
23:47And a fourth.
23:47And a fourth.
23:48And a fourth.
23:51And a fourth.
23:58Elliot? Eight. Mark? I'll try an eight as well. Yes, Elliot? Looneyist. Mark? Yeah, I've got the same. Well done.
24:09Yeah, of course.
24:14Now, let's see how many eights the corner's got. Looneyist, and then oilstone. Oilstone, yes, which is a flat stone
24:22used with oil for sharpening tools, such as chisels or planes, that kind of thing.
24:2678 to 65, Elliot's there. Susie, let's give them a little rest with your origins of words.
24:35Well, we have two countdown gladiators of a sort in the studio today, and I often talk about gladiators and
24:42how their pursuits really impacted upon English.
24:46So arena comes from the Latin for sand, because sand was used in the big surfaces in the arenas in
24:52order to soak up the blood of the victims.
24:56And the combatants. We have thrill, which first meant to pierce somebody with a sword before it meant to thrill,
25:01to pierce somebody with excitement.
25:03And we have thumbs up or thumbs down, which we tend to get the wrong way around.
25:07And we think, although we're not completely sure, that the thumbs down meant actually spare the person who was about
25:14to be slain.
25:14In other words, put your sword down.
25:17But there's one word that you certainly wouldn't associate with a gladiator.
25:21And I have to say, this was news to me, and it's all part of kind of quite recent etymological
25:26research, which is still ongoing.
25:27So it's not completely sealed, but it's really interesting.
25:30At least I thought it was.
25:31And that's scissor, believe it or not, because scissor, we think, was originally a type of Roman gladiator.
25:37And he was thought to have been armed with a pair of swords or blades or with a single two
25:43-bladed dagger.
25:45We don't know very much more about it besides the name.
25:48The name comes from the Latin for cutting or cleaving or slaying.
25:52So quite appropriate for a gladiator.
25:54And there's one German archaeologist called Markus Junkelmann, and he's been doing the investigative work on this.
26:00And he believes that this type of gladiator fought using a weapon that consisted of a kind of hardened steel
26:06tube that was worn on the entire forearm.
26:09And the end was capped off, and then this kind of semicircular blade was attached to it.
26:14And if you look online, you can see some of the kind of reconstructions of this to see what it
26:18looked like.
26:18Absolutely deadly.
26:20Maybe there was a handle inside the tube to give the gladiator a little bit more control over this incredible
26:26weapon.
26:27But it must have been deadly and really versatile.
26:30So he could use his arm either to protect himself from an opponent or, you know, encounter an attack with
26:36this incredibly sharp blade.
26:38Even the slightest touch would obviously be pretty deadly, if not fatal.
26:43Scissors didn't enter English until the 15th century, when all trace of this kind of obscure history seems to have
26:48been lost.
26:49And it was, they really are the only, the cutting instrument that we know today.
26:53But who knew that the first scissors, even the first pair of scissors, might be a pair of Roman gladiators
26:59fighting themselves with this incredibly, deadly lethal thing on their arms.
27:04Well, well, well, well.
27:06Amazing.
27:11Terrifying business.
27:13And now, Mark, it's your letters game.
27:15Off we go.
27:16Consonant, please.
27:17Thank you, Mark.
27:18R.
27:19Consonant.
27:21J.
27:22Consonant.
27:24T.
27:26Consonant.
27:26N.
27:29Vowel.
27:30A.
27:31Consonant.
27:33D.
27:34Vowel.
27:36I.
27:38Vowel.
27:40E.
27:42And a final consonant, please.
27:46Final S.
27:47Stand by.
27:48Vowel.
27:50Vowel.
27:51Vowel.
28:01Vowel.
28:04Vowel.
28:06Vowel.
28:06Vowel.
28:07Vowel.
28:07Vowel.
28:07Vowel.
28:20Mark?
28:21Eight.
28:21And?
28:22Eight.
28:23Eight from Elliot.
28:24Mark?
28:24Randiest.
28:26Elliot.
28:29Or grandiest.
28:34Now, Rufus and Susie?
28:37As they fight to see who's randiest, their relationship may become a little strained.
28:42Strained.
28:42Well done.
28:43And now, Elliot, it's the final letters game for you.
28:48Vowel, please, Rachel.
28:50U.
28:50And a second.
28:52A.
28:53And a third.
28:54I.
28:54And a fourth.
28:56A.
28:57And a consonant.
28:59D.
28:59And a second.
29:01Y.
29:02And a third.
29:03F.
29:04And a vowel.
29:07O.
29:08Vowel, consonant, please.
29:10Final.
29:12T.
29:13Sound like.
29:20Elliot.
29:20Six.
29:20A primero.
29:20One.
29:22One.
29:27Two.
29:27Three.
29:38One.
29:40One.
29:41One.
29:42Two.
29:43One.
29:43Two.
29:46One.
29:47Mark? Five. And you're five? Today. Yes, Elliot? Yosha. Okay, how are you spelling that? Y-A-U-T-I
29:57-A. Yes. Do you know your dictionary? It's a plant, you might have known. A tropical American plant of the
30:04Arum family. Edible tubers as well. Very, very good.
30:08Oh, well done. Yosha. That's brilliant. Quite brilliant. Now. I just thought that was where Geoffrey Boycott came from.
30:21What's it, yeah? Cricket. Do you remember he used to pronounce cricket? Cricket. What else have we got?
30:27Well, we couldn't beat that. Today, we had audio as well, but yeah, Yosha. Excellent. Pretty special.
30:38Suzy, nothing else? Nothing else, I'm afraid. Moving on, 92 to 73. Mark, final numbers game for you. Good luck,
30:45Mark.
30:46Can I have three large and three small, please? Three large, three small. 19 points behind, 20 remaining. It can
30:51still be done, Mark.
30:52Final numbers are 3, 1, 4, 75, 50, and 100. And the target, 965.
31:03965.
31:35Well, Mark?
31:389. No. Must do it, no. No? Elliot?
31:43968.
31:459, 6, 8. Well, let's go for it.
31:49100 add 50.
31:50100 and 50.
31:52Minus 1.
31:541, 4, 9.
31:554 add 3.
31:574 plus 3 is 7.
32:00Multiply them.
32:01For 1,043.
32:03And take the 75.
32:05And take the 75 for 9, 6, 8.
32:09Yeah.
32:10Well done.
32:10Well done.
32:11But 9, 6, 5.
32:12How impossible is that?
32:14Well, I got three the other way.
32:16You could have got to one away, but this one was impossible, so seven points the maximum.
32:21Well done.
32:21So, well done, Elliot.
32:23So, 99.
32:24You're on the cusp there to mark very strong 73 as we go into the final round.
32:30Gentlemen, fingers on buzzers.
32:32Let's roll today's countdown conundrum.
32:38Elliot.
32:39Ingenuity.
32:41Ingenuity.
32:41So quick, it's almost impossible.
32:44Yes, let's have a look.
32:46Here it comes.
32:47Ingenuity.
32:47Well done.
32:59Fabulous, Elliot.
33:01Amazing.
33:02109 to 73.
33:03Mark, you played really well.
33:05But thank you very much for coming.
33:07A great player.
33:08You've already got a teapot.
33:09I have.
33:10You've got something to sit next to it now.
33:11You've got a piece of Price to Scripps tonight.
33:14Quite a place on a coffee table in the living room.
33:16Excellent.
33:16Well, listen, thank you very much for coming.
33:18It's been a great pleasure having you.
33:20Well done indeed.
33:21And we shall see you, sir, in the semifinals next week.
33:28Yeah.
33:29Well played.
33:30Mark played absolutely brilliantly as well.
33:32He was fantastic.
33:33He's good.
33:33He's a good...
33:34And a nice player, too.
33:35Yeah, absolutely.
33:36Rest up until we see you next week, all right?
33:38Well done.
33:40See you tomorrow.
33:41Our second quarterfinal, Rufus.
33:43Yes, very excited to see the abilities of the players here gathered, and also their fear
33:50in their eyes as they think I'm facing Elliot.
33:54See you both tomorrow, Susie and Rufus, and Rachel too, of course.
33:58Yeah, and we had two easy ones and two impossible ones, so it leaves you a little bit unsatisfied.
34:02Yeah.
34:03Yeah.
34:03And we'll see whether we can dredge up something really tasty for you tomorrow.
34:07Why, thank you, Nick.
34:08All right.
34:10See you tomorrow.
34:12Same time, same place.
34:13You'll be sure of it.
34:14A very good afternoon.
34:16Contact us by email at countdown at channel4.com, by Twitter at C4Countdown, or write to us
34:24at Countdown, Leeds, LS3, 1JS.
34:27You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.