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00:00Thank you very much.
00:31Good afternoon. I welcome you to the Countdown studio with news that the American film actor Sylvester Stallone is also
00:37a very talented artist. One of his abstract exhibitions recently opened at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, not the
00:44Hermitage you'll note. And Stallone stated, I read you the quote, I think I'm a much better painter than an
00:53actor. End quotes. Doesn't make you a great painter, Sly. I'll tell you that much.
01:00And that he would prefer to spend the rest of his life painting rather than acting. So it got me
01:04to thinking, if I had a choice, what would I might have done instead? And one of the group of
01:12people, Rachel, that I like very much because they're very interesting and very traveled and they're fun.
01:17And they've had a slightly rackety existence of foreign correspondence. And if I had the talent, I'd love to have
01:24done that because they have such great stories to tell.
01:27What about you? If you had a chance, what would you do? Sporting talent? You know, what would you what
01:32would you like to have done?
01:33Um, I think the only thing I'd like to have done otherwise is work with animals. That's what my brother
01:38does.
01:39OK. If he had the opportunity to buy a zoo, he would buy a zoo and he'd be right in
01:43there and then I'd be with him.
01:44Good. All right. Well, start saving. Or get him to save. Get him to save.
01:48Start collecting the animals. Exactly.
01:50Now then, Bobby Banerjee's back. Now on four wins, you beat John Godwin, 92 to 36. And from Birmingham, I
01:58know that you've got your family and half of Birmingham in the studio.
02:00Well done. And you're joined by Helen Keating, a section leader from Painter in Devon, whose nicknames include Helly, H,
02:08Hells and Dolly Head.
02:10Holly Head, I understand. Dolly Head?
02:12Dolly Head.
02:13Why?
02:13Because I'm a massive fan of Dolly Parton.
02:16Really?
02:17Yeah, I've liked her since I was 10. I've been a really big fan and then I've grown up listening
02:20to all her music and I like her hair and I try and do my nails like her and I
02:24just really look up to her.
02:25So when people see me, they just go, Dolly, and then they add me and go, Dolly Head.
02:30Good heavens, a star in the making here. Brilliant stuff. Let's have a big round of applause for Dolly Head
02:35and Bobby Banerjee.
02:42Very good. And over in the corner we have Susie, as ever, and the great John Inverdale. Let's get down
02:49to business here. Bobby, let us game.
02:51OK. Hi, Rachel.
02:53Hi, Bobby.
02:54Could I have a consonant, please?
02:55Thank you. Start today with S.
02:58And another.
03:00P.
03:01And a vowel.
03:03U.
03:04And a consonant.
03:07D.
03:08And another.
03:11K.
03:12And a vowel.
03:15I.
03:17And another vowel.
03:19O.
03:21And another vowel.
03:23Oh, another O.
03:26And a final vowel, please.
03:29And the last one.
03:30Oh, another O.
03:31And here's the countdown clock.
03:34And a vowel, please.
04:04And a vowel.
04:05Yes, Bobby? A six. A six. How about to Helen? Only a four. And that four? Spud. Spud? Rather
04:15staring at us. Bobby? Odeous. Odeous. Very good. Very good indeed. And in the corner,
04:21John? We had a spook for five and a skidoo for six as well. A skidoo. Odeous. Very good.
04:27So, six points to Bobby. Now then, Helen, let us game. Please, can I have a bow, Rachel?
04:32Thank you, Helen. Start with E. And another vowel? I. And another one? O. And a consonant,
04:42please? T. And another one? N. And another one? P. And another one? C. And a vowel, please? E.
04:56And another consonant, please? And the last one, R. Stand by.
05:02I. And another one?
05:31Helen seven yes probably and seven two sevens Helen I've got a pioneer pioneer and I have
05:41erection an erection very good eight but it's eight oh no oh that is yes yeah what do we got
05:52over there that's a tough rule isn't it it is well but you can't count so you can't get the
05:57points I think I always think that's really hard we've got Prentice which is the same as
06:02apprentice really yes is the they are interchangeable as in John and but we have
06:08a nine we have reception reception very good thank you very much so Helen on seven
06:19Bobby on six and numbers game for Bobby right could I have an inverted T please
06:24you can thank you Bobby inverted T so one of my finest large numbers and five of my
06:29finest small ones and for the first time today they are eight ten nine five four
06:35four and one hundred and the target four hundred ninety seven four nine seven
06:43so
06:56so
07:13Bobby, four died seven.
07:16And Helen?
07:17Nowhere near.
07:19Too far away?
07:19Yeah, too far away.
07:21All right, down to Bobby then.
07:22OK, five times 100 is 500.
07:25Five times 100 is 500.
07:28Four minus ten minus nine will get you.
07:31Ten minus nine is one.
07:33Four minus one is three.
07:35And minus them, thank you.
07:36Four, nine, seven.
07:37Thank you very much.
07:37Well done.
07:41That puts Bobby back in the lead.
07:43They're 16 points to seven as we turn to a tea time teaser,
07:46which is Lolly Bag.
07:47And the clue, to get this, think on a worldwide scale.
07:51To get this, think on a worldwide scale.
08:12Welcome back.
08:12I left you with the clue.
08:13To get this, think on a worldwide scale.
08:16Indeed, think globally.
08:19Globally.
08:20Globally.
08:21Bobby on 16, Helen on 7.
08:23Let's turn to Helen.
08:24Letters game, Helen.
08:25Please, can I have a consonant, please?
08:28Thank you, Helen.
08:29L.
08:30And another one?
08:31S.
08:32And another one?
08:35L.
08:35And another one?
08:39R.
08:40And a vowel, please?
08:43A.
08:44And another one?
08:46E.
08:48And another one?
08:51A.
08:53And a consonant, please?
08:56X.
08:58And another one?
08:59And lastly, H.
09:01And here's the countdown clock.
09:07The.
09:07And another one is the final 하는 страх.
09:08And one?
09:08And another one?
09:25And another one.
09:26And another one.
09:35And another one.
09:35According to Helen.
09:35The.
09:35And another one.
09:35Helen. I've got five. A five, Bobby. And a six. And a six. Helen. Hers. And Bobby. Hailers.
09:45Oh, wow. It's a monetary unit of the Czech Republic. Well done, sir. Boost you up to 22.
09:51Helen on seven. Bobby, you're back again. Letters game. OK. Can I have a consonant, please?
09:56Thank you, Bobby. N. And another. T. And another. N. And another. M. Could I have a vowel, please?
10:11I. And another. A. And another. O. A consonant, please. S. And a vowel.
10:23And the last one. E. Clock time.
10:28S. And a vowel.
10:59Bobby, a definite eight this time.
11:01A definite eight.
11:02And how about, how about Dolly Head?
11:05I think I've got a six.
11:08All right.
11:08Well, let's try you.
11:10Stain.
11:12Yeah.
11:13Mentions.
11:14Very good.
11:16How are you spelling stained with an E?
11:19Okay.
11:20I'm not sure we're going to find that there.
11:23Not there, I'm afraid.
11:25Stainer, but no stain with the E.
11:26We had inmates as a seven.
11:29Good.
11:30And then, but I, credit where credit is due, in one second, Susie had nominates, which was
11:37close to a PB.
11:38That was nine, bang, like that, surfing.
11:41Very good.
11:44Well done, Susie.
11:46Well done.
11:47Now then, we're back with you.
11:49Helen, this time it's a numbers game.
11:50So, there's Rachel.
11:52Can I have three large and three small, please, Rachel?
11:54You can.
11:55Thank you, Helen, mixing it up.
11:56Three large and three small.
11:58And we'll see how interesting this one is.
12:00Right, the three little ones are two, eight, and nine.
12:03And the three large are 50, 75, and 100.
12:06And the target, 817.
12:10817.
12:11817.
12:42Yes, Helen?
12:43I've got 811. 811.
12:47811. What about Bobby? 818. One away. So, come on then, Bobby.
12:53OK, 8 times 100 is 800.
12:558 times 100 is 800.
12:569 times 2 is 18.
12:58Yeah, 9 times 2.
12:59Another 2.
13:00Simple as that for one away. 818.
13:02One away. 817. Simple enough, or...?
13:06You can get there a strange way, but if you say 9 times 75 is 675, add the 100 for
13:14775, add the 50 for 825, and take away the 8 for 817.
13:19Yes, bravo.
13:23Very good indeed.
13:26Now then, John, all during the week you've been regaling us with stories of 100-year-old anniversaries, if I
13:33can put it that way.
13:34And today?
13:35Yeah, today, having sort of gone through extinct birds and great cricketers and a new dance and all that sort
13:40of stuff,
13:41I think something that would have to be mentioned would be something that they'd actually experimented with 50 years beforehand
13:46with gas,
13:47but they'd been outside the Houses of Parliament for a few weeks, then exploded, so they ditched the idea,
13:53and it took another 50 years for them to happen.
13:55But in 1914, the first electric-powered...?
14:00Teethbrush?
14:01No.
14:02Something that affects us all.
14:04Traffic lights.
14:05I liked it. I was going to say lights.
14:06First traffic lights were in Cleveland, Ohio, at the junction of Euclid Avenue and 105th East Street.
14:12How that changed our lives, and I do think the most interesting thing about it actually is,
14:16occasionally there have been experiments in this country about actually doing away with traffic lights and just seeing what happens.
14:22And it's really quite interesting, in a kind of nerdy kind of way, if you analyse the data from all
14:28this,
14:29how traffic tends to speed up and accident rates fall dramatically because, the theory goes,
14:38motorists are forced to concentrate much more than they normally would because you see a traffic light
14:43and you kind of go into automatic, you know, remote control, I am going to stop, I am going to
14:48go,
14:49so you stop looking peripherally at what's happening around you.
14:51Whereas if you know at every junction there's a roundabout, there are no signals, you have to think, you have
14:57to look,
14:58and the traffic keeps flowing at a much more measured but much more, what's the word, consistent rate.
15:06So I think it would be really very interesting if one city in this country actually had the gumption, if
15:13you like,
15:13to actually say, let's give this a go for six months, who's the first brave council who's going to take
15:19that on.
15:20But anyway, 1914, first electric traffic lights in Cleveland, Ohio, and I think this imaginary programme would be a very
15:27interesting documentary,
15:29I think, on how life was 100 years ago before Franz Ferdinand got shot,
15:32because actually it was an unbelievably exciting time in people's lives, you know, technologically,
15:38these huge, big figures that were dominating the world stage.
15:41So it was a very interesting time to be around, and then of course the war broke out.
15:45Yeah, great stuff. Thank you very much, John.
15:49Well done.
15:50Bobby doing strongly here, on a surge, 37 to Helen's 7, and where shall we go?
15:57Let's go to Bobby for a letters game.
16:00Can I have a consonant, please?
16:01Thank you, Bobby.
16:02M.
16:03And a vowel.
16:05A.
16:06And a consonant.
16:07D.
16:09And a vowel.
16:11O.
16:12And a consonant.
16:14R.
16:15And another consonant.
16:18S.
16:19A vowel.
16:21A.
16:23Another vowel.
16:25I.
16:27And another vowel, please.
16:31And the last one.
16:33O.
16:34Stand by.
16:36O.
16:37Stand by.
17:06Bobby.
17:07Just a five.
17:08A five.
17:09Helen.
17:09A five.
17:10So, Bobby.
17:11Mores.
17:12And Helen.
17:14Dooms.
17:15Beat that.
17:17Oh yes, we can beat that in spades, with a word that will broaden all of our vocabularies.
17:23Yes.
17:25Dioramas are there for eight.
17:27And the diorama is a model with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale
17:32museum exhibit.
17:34Yes.
17:39Thank you very much.
17:4142 to 12.
17:42Helen.
17:43Let us go.
17:44Could I have a vowel, please, Rachel?
17:46Thank you, Helen.
17:47A.
17:47And another one.
17:49O.
17:50And another one.
17:52I.
17:53And a consonant, please.
17:56T.
17:57And another one.
18:00R.
18:01And another one.
18:02F.
18:04And another one, please.
18:07Z.
18:08And a vowel.
18:11E.
18:14And another vowel, please.
18:16And lastly, O.
18:19Countdown.
18:20The.
18:41And another vowel.
18:51yes Helen five I think I'm gonna go with a six mm-hmm so Helen I think go on trio
18:59and Bobby
19:01roofie roofie trio unfortunately is for sorry Helen and roofie is a tablet of rohypnol excellent
19:12stuff so then Bobby numbers game okay can I have one larger five small please you can but we thank
19:18you back to one from the top row and five from the other ones and this time around the five
19:22little ones are one three four two and four and the large 150 and the target 545 545
20:06yes Bobby nowhere near nowhere near how about Helen nowhere near either
20:11it's down to Rachel 545 if you say 50 minus 4 is 46 multiplied by 3 is 138 minus 2
20:28is 136
20:30multiply that by four four five hundred and forty four and then add on the one if I oh yes
20:44that really is something that's marvelous so 48 plays 12 as we turn to a tea time teaser which is
20:50sax borgs and the clue when it comes to your mower this is at the cutting edge when it comes
20:58to your
20:59mower this is at the cutting edge
21:17welcome back I left you with the clue when it comes to your mower this is at the cutting edge
21:22what is
21:23why it's why it's the grass box grass box 48 to 12 Helen let us game please could I start
21:34with a vowel
21:35thank you Helen a and another one oh and another one e and the consonant please y and another one
21:48p
21:50and another one g and a vowel e and a consonant please p and another one and the last one
22:08t stand by
22:13so
22:26so
22:27so
22:42Helen?
22:43Five.
22:44Five.
22:44Bobby?
22:45Struggling with a four.
22:46And that would be...
22:47Gape.
22:48Gape?
22:49Yes, Helen?
22:51I'm not sure if I can have it or not.
22:53Egypt.
22:55Not there, I'm afraid.
22:56OK.
22:56Sorry.
22:57That's all right.
22:58And in the corner, we're not allowed Egypt.
23:00John, what are we allowed?
23:02We're definitely allowed Apogee.
23:04And then, um...
23:05Teapoy, I'm told.
23:07Oh, yes.
23:07Which is one of those words that...
23:08I love coming to the show because you just hear words that you would just never...
23:11You know, just would never, ever say that word, ever.
23:14Indian servant or something.
23:16Well, it's not a servant.
23:17It's a...
23:17Soldier.
23:18A three-legged stand for a tea paddy.
23:20So, no, it's not.
23:21Nothing to do with it.
23:21Nothing to do with it.
23:22Is it Indian?
23:23Yes, it is.
23:24There we are.
23:25All right.
23:2552 plays 12.
23:27Now then, Bobby, you're on again.
23:29Letters game.
23:30OK.
23:30Um, consonant, please.
23:31Thank you, Bobby.
23:32D.
23:33And another.
23:35S.
23:36And another.
23:38L.
23:46And a final consonant, please.
23:58And a final consonant, please.
24:00And a final N.
24:01Clock time.
24:02And a final consonant, please.
24:34Now then, Bobby.
24:35Just a six.
24:37A six.
24:37Helen.
24:38And a six.
24:39So, Bobby.
24:40Wheels.
24:41Wheels.
24:42And, yes, Helen.
24:43Swines.
24:45Are we happy?
24:46Um, as in, you swine.
24:49Um, yeah, if it's a pig, the plural is swine without the S.
24:53But if it's a person, you can have the S on it.
24:56So, that's absolutely fine.
24:57Anyway, we also had, anyway, we can up the ante here with windlass.
25:01Yes.
25:02And swindles.
25:03Yes.
25:03So, all those sort of mixed in.
25:05And then we have a nine, actually.
25:06Which I kind of assumed had to be hyphenated, but I'm assured it isn't, which is snow slide.
25:12Very good.
25:15Thank you very much, John.
25:16Now then, Susie.
25:18Nick.
25:18Come on.
25:20Terrorise us with your origins of words.
25:23Well, I'm going to talk about eavesdropping.
25:26Because I'm often asked where, you know, where the term for eavesdropping comes from.
25:30Because it happens a lot these days with papers, newspapers, etc.
25:34It goes back to Anglo-Saxon times.
25:36It's very, very old.
25:37And long before the arrival of guttering, roofs had incredibly wide overhangs.
25:41And the idea is that the water would drip off.
25:43It wouldn't damage the exterior of the building.
25:45And the eavesdrop, as it was called, was the space of ground which received the rainwater.
25:52And house owners weren't allowed to build near the boundary of a neighbour's land.
25:57It had to be at least two feet away so that his neighbour's land wouldn't be spoiled by eavesdrops or
26:02eavesdrops, the water dripping down.
26:05But the law, the Anglo-Saxon law, also made allowances for something which was much more important.
26:10It protected households from other scandalous activities, which were basically people lurking in the shadows under these overhangs, or the
26:20eaves, and listening in to other people's conversations.
26:22And that was quite a popular pastime, is lurking around under these dark overhangs.
26:27But it was a really serious affair.
26:29And if they were caught, they could be very heavily fined for the offence of spying.
26:34So you did not want to be caught for eavesdropping.
26:37That was how it all started.
26:39And of course, today we think of eavesdropping, it can be absolutely anywhere.
26:43But we still retain that idea of the overhang and to hanging below the eaves of a house.
26:48And one of the things eavesdroppers might hear would be anecdotes.
26:51No surprise there, but anecdotes' literal meaning in Greek was not published.
26:56So again, these were really secret or private stories, and they were often quite racy ones.
27:00The first were the unpublished memoirs of the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, and I haven't read them, but
27:06apparently full of court gossip and very secret and racy goings-on.
27:10And much later, anecdote lost that meaning of being private and unpublished and attached to scandal.
27:16And scandal itself once meant a trap with a springing device.
27:19It was a snare laid for an enemy, which is probably quite appropriate with a paparazzi these days.
27:24Very good. Well done.
27:2858 to 18. Now then, Helen, off you go.
27:33One of the last two letters games.
27:36Can I start with a consonant, please, Rachel?
27:38Thank you, Helen.
27:39R.
27:40And then a vowel.
27:42E.
27:43And another one.
27:45A.
27:47And another one.
27:49E.
27:51And a consonant, please.
27:52M.
27:55And another one.
27:56G.
27:58And another one.
28:00L.
28:02And another one.
28:04T.
28:05And a vowel.
28:07And a final.
28:08I.
28:10Stand by.
28:10The.
28:13I.
28:37I.
28:39I.
28:41Yes, Helen. I've got five a five. How about Bobby? I've got an eight and eight so Helen grime
28:49grime and Bobby emigrate
28:58Well done and what else we got in the corner over there John we had literage yes eight and
29:06Megalitre you can have which is related. Yes, Megalitre and that's there for nine all right 66 place 18 here
29:14We go the final letters game Bobby. What are you gonna do with it? Okay, can I have a consonant,
29:19please? Thank you, Bobby
29:21n
29:22and another
29:24T and a vowel
29:27E and a consonant
29:30S and another vowel
29:31E and of another vowel
29:37Another E
29:38Consonant
29:40R
29:42Consonant
29:43N
29:45and
29:47another consonant, please and lastly H stand by
30:01And
30:02I
30:04I
30:05I
30:05I
30:05I
30:21I
30:24A six six how about you Helen only a five and
30:28Helen sheen
30:30Yes, Bobby enters enters happy enough very happy now. What else we got what improvement can we make on that
30:37John?
30:38We can up it by one to tenors as in lend me a tenner
30:41Okay, two all right, so 72 to 18 as we
30:46Finally get to the last numbers game Helen
30:50Off you go
30:51Please can I have three large and three small?
30:54Oh, of course. Thank you Helen three large numbers and three little ones for the final time this week
30:59And for this round they are two five three and a large three one hundred seventy-five and fifty
31:07and the target
31:09nine hundred and fifty five nine five five
31:12We'll see you next time
31:14We'll see you next time
31:16We'll see you next time
31:21We'll see you next time
31:23We'll see you next time
31:23We'll see you next time
31:24We'll see you next time
31:26We'll see you next time
31:27We'll see you next time
31:27We'll see you next time
31:28We'll see you next time
31:28We'll see you next time
31:28We'll see you next time
31:29We'll see you next time
31:29We'll see you next time
31:30We'll see you next time
31:30We'll see you next time
31:31We'll see you next time
31:31We'll see you next time
31:32We'll see you next time
31:33We'll see you next time
31:34We'll see you next time
31:35We'll see you next time
31:39We'll see you next time
31:43How was it Helen? Not close enough. Not close enough Bobby? 9 5 3. 9 5 3. So Bobby. Okay.
31:52So 5 times 2 times 100. 5 times 2 times 100 is 1000. Minus 50. Minus 50 for 950.
32:03And add the 3. And add the 3 on. Yep. The 2 away. 2 away. Well done but no cigar.
32:09The cigar is reserved for Rachel. 9 5 5. I got the 1 away. Bit trickier than it looks I
32:15think. Alright. 79 to 18 and here we are. Final round. Conundrum time. Fingers on buzzers please. Let's reveal today's
32:24countdown conundrum.
32:56Well our wily contestants are stymied and foxed and discombobulated and generally out of sorts.
33:02But in the audience do I do. Yes sir. Maternity. Maternity. Said with conviction. Let's see whether you're right.
33:10Oh well done. So Bobby takes a day. 79 points. Now on 5 wins. Am I right Bobby? Yeah. 5
33:20wins. Good score. Well done Helen. Thank you.
33:23Back to painting with you. Holly Head. Helly H and Hells with this goodie bag and our very best wishes.
33:30Thank you.
33:30Very best wishes. Excellent stuff. And we shall see you young man on Monday. Yeah look forward to it.
33:35Have a lovely weekend Susie. Thank you. No more John Inverdale for the moment anyway but thank you so much
33:41for being with us.
33:41It's always a pleasure. It's been great fun. You're always full of great stories. Well done.
33:44And young lady you haven't got it. I have. You're amazing. Go on. You could have said 100 plus 3
33:53is 103.
33:5550 divided by 5 is 10. 103 times 10 is 1030. And take away the 75 for 955. Terrific. Well
34:04done.
34:05Well done. Well done. That's brilliant. And you have a great weekend. Not least because it's a birthday weekend.
34:16Yes. I will be ageing tomorrow. No. Again. So have a great birthday. Thank you very much. I will.
34:22And be back on Monday. Bright out and Bushytales ever. As indeed we hope you will be at home.
34:29Same time. Same place. You'll be sure of it. Good afternoon.
34:43Coming up later this year is the return of Channel 4's toughest quiz show with Dean to One.
34:49For your chance to take part go to the Channel 4 website for more details.
34:54www.channel4.com
34:56slash take part. Deal or no deal is next.