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00:31Good afternoon, good afternoon. Welcome to the Countdown studio.
00:34Now, I don't know whether you read the same article that I did recently about an old lady
00:37who, just 24 hours after having a pair of hearing aids fitted, saved the lives of two sailors.
00:46Now, what happened apparently was that she was at home in Loo in Cornwall with her husband
00:51and she heard the cries of these sailors who've fallen overboard from their dinghy.
00:56They've been capsized, I guess.
00:58Nobody else had heard the cries, her husband included.
01:01So she nudged her husband and said, quick, get the binoculars.
01:04She said, what now? She said, I've heard the cry.
01:08And they focused, and there they were, these two bobbing fingers in the water in an upturned boat.
01:12Wow.
01:13Literally the two of them.
01:15But it got me thinking, what sort of medical advances have I benefited from that I'm prepared to talk about?
01:22And I am prepared to talk about cataracts.
01:25Uh-huh.
01:26Because over the years, you know, you go and have your eyes tested.
01:29They say, yes, yes, yes, signs of cataracts.
01:33And eventually, cataracts mature.
01:35And when they mature, they're ready to be taken out.
01:38And I've got to tell you, each eye takes, and you have a couple of days between each operation,
01:43takes about 15 minutes.
01:44You keep your shoes on.
01:46Lovely.
01:46Nothing to be afraid of.
01:47No.
01:48It's the most frequently, it's the most popular procedure.
01:54I think 320,000 cataract operations in the UK every year.
01:58It's absolutely foolproof.
02:00Come on, your days on the gadget show.
02:02You've seen some interesting advances, I'm sure.
02:05Yeah, I guess the most interesting one I saw, they're making microchips so small that they can put them in
02:11thread.
02:12So just a normal piece of cotton, or just a really tiny thread.
02:14You wouldn't even know that they're that small, so they can weave them into clothing.
02:18So potentially, they can check your body temperature and the minerals in your sweat and things like that
02:22to see, you know, the first signs of illness.
02:25So I guess it's the potential from technology they have now of what they can do in the future
02:28and putting them in toilets to check, you know, that basic stuff.
02:32But to find these small changes before they start to cause you trouble.
02:37Amazing, amazing.
02:38Now, Rach, we've got a remarkable young man back with us today,
02:41none other than Thomas Carey, 17-year-old sixth-form student from Bingley,
02:46three wins under his belt, and scoring high, scoring 120, 122,
02:51and I think finally your last game, 118, wasn't it, Thomas?
02:55So good luck to you today.
02:56And somebody's come in to join you to try and stop this seemingly inexorable march to Octo-Champdom,
03:04none other than Adam Curran, a civil engineering student from Burylands in London,
03:08studying at Southampton, guitarist, and currently, I think, recording a couple of songs, yes?
03:14Are you in a group, a band?
03:15No, I just write a lot of music.
03:18Well done.
03:18Let's have a big round of applause then for Adam and Thomas.
03:25And over in the corner, of course, life would not be the same without Susie Dent,
03:30and she's joined once again by the wonderful Serrano Fiennes,
03:33the world's greatest living explorer.
03:35Don't take my word for it.
03:37He is so described in the Guinness Book of Records.
03:40The only man alive ever to travel around the Earth's circumpolar surface.
03:45More people have been on the moon than have done that.
03:47So, brilliant.
03:48Let's have a big round of applause for Serrano.
03:56A great Englishman.
03:59Now, Thomas, will you take us away on the letters game?
04:01Hi, Rachel.
04:02Hi, Thomas.
04:03Can you have a consonant, please?
04:04You can, thank you.
04:05Start today with R.
04:07And a vowel.
04:09I.
04:09And a consonant.
04:11T.
04:12And a vowel.
04:14E.
04:15And a consonant.
04:17Zed.
04:17And a vowel.
04:19O.
04:20And a consonant.
04:22C.
04:23And a vowel, please.
04:26I.
04:26And a consonant.
04:28And the last one.
04:29R.
04:30And here's the countdown clock.
04:32R.
04:38And a settling pause.
04:41I.
04:41I.
04:46I.
04:47I.
05:03Yes, Thomas?
05:04Six.
05:05A six.
05:05Adam?
05:06Five.
05:07And that five?
05:08Trice.
05:09Thank you, Thomas.
05:10Erotic.
05:11Erotic.
05:13There you go.
05:13Happy with erotic?
05:14Excellent.
05:15Good.
05:16What else have we got?
05:17Sir Anne?
05:19Er, rector.
05:20Priest.
05:20Yep, rector.
05:22Susie, anything else?
05:23No, just sixes, actually.
05:24A tricky one to start with.
05:25Very good.
05:26All right, so six points to Thomas.
05:29And now we turn to, er, Adam.
05:32Adam.
05:33Hey, Rachel.
05:33Hi, Adam.
05:34Er, consonant, please.
05:36Start with L.
05:38And another consonant, please.
05:40W.
05:41Er, vowel.
05:44U.
05:44Uh, another vowel.
05:47E.
05:49Consolant, please.
05:52D.
05:53Er, another consonant.
05:56R.
05:58Vowel.
06:00U.
06:03And, er, another vowel.
06:06O.
06:07And a final consonant.
06:09And a final N.
06:11Stand by.
06:12BELL RINGS
06:42Well, Adam.
06:44Seven.
06:45A seven, Thomas.
06:46Seven.
06:47Adam.
06:49Rewound.
06:50And?
06:50Roundel.
06:52And roundel.
06:53Are you happy about that?
06:54Yes, there are two, in fact.
06:56And, anything else beyond that?
06:58Wanda.
06:59Yes.
07:00Yeah.
07:00Wanda is a good one.
07:02Um, just to remind you about a roundel, it's a small disc, especially a decorative medallion.
07:07Thirteen plays seven, Thomas in the lead, and it's Thomas' numbers game.
07:10Thomas.
07:10One last, please.
07:12Thank you, Thomas.
07:12One from the top row.
07:13And five little ones, and the first numbers game of today is two, eight, nine, seven, one.
07:22And the big one, 75.
07:24And the target to reach, 509.
07:27Five, oh, nine.
07:28Five, oh, nine.
07:59Yes, Thomas.
08:00Five, oh, nine.
08:01Five, oh, nine.
08:02Adam.
08:02Five, oh, nine.
08:04So, Thomas.
08:0575 times seven.
08:0775 by seven is five to five.
08:09Eight times two.
08:10Is the 16.
08:11And take it off.
08:11Perfect, five, oh, nine.
08:13Well done, Adam.
08:14Exactly the same way.
08:15There we go.
08:16Are we happy with that?
08:17Jolly good.
08:18Well done.
08:22So, 23 plays Adam's 17 as we turn to a tea-time teaser, which is Borac's bin.
08:27And the clue, you don't need to be this to get this, but it'll help.
08:33You don't need to be this to get this, but it'll help.
08:53And the answer is you don't need to be a brain box, but it'll certainly help.
09:04So, 23 to Adam's 17.
09:07Thomas in the lead, and it's Adam's letters game.
09:10Adam.
09:11So, a consonant, please.
09:12Thank you, Adam.
09:13S.
09:14And another.
09:15B.
09:18And another.
09:21J.
09:23And a vowel, please.
09:25A.
09:26And another.
09:28E.
09:31A consonant, please.
09:33M.
09:35And another.
09:37Q.
09:40A vowel, please.
09:44O.
09:45And a final consonant, please.
09:47And a final N.
09:49Stand by.
09:50A vowel, please.
09:52A vowel, please.
09:53A vowel, please.
10:01A vowel, please.
10:05A vowel, please.
10:07A vowel, please.
10:07A vowel, please.
10:07A vowel, please.
10:07A vowel, please.
10:13A vowel, please.
10:22Adam seven seven Thomas seven Adam banjos and bemoans and bemoans yes now in the corner what
10:32have you got so ran off and Susie well we were just having a discussion as to banjos with an
10:39e and Saran wasn't so happy about the e but you can have you can have either just OS or
10:44oh yeah all right strange thing well strange corner 30 to 24 Thomas six in the lead and it's
10:52Thomas's letters game Thomas consonant please thank you Thomas ah and a vowel hey and a consonant p and a
11:02consonant n and a vowel e and a vowel oh and a consonant L and a vowel hey and a
11:18consonant
11:19please and the last one f stand by
11:25so
11:57Adam. Seven. Sir Thomas. Parole. Parole and? Profane. Profane. Excellent. Haven't seen that one. Very good. Well done Adam. And
12:08in the corner, what have you cooked up? Loafer. A loafer. What a loafer. You're no loafer. I'm a loafer.
12:15And Susie? Well polar was there appropriately. Quite right. And apnea is another six. That's when you stop breathing in
12:22your sleep temporarily. Oh yes. Worrying for those lying beside you perhaps.
12:27Or not. 30 plays. Adam's 31. And where do we go? Adam for a numbers game I think. Three large
12:37please Rachel. Thank you Adam. Three little ones. And three from the top row. And for this round the little
12:43numbers are. Ten. Nine. And seven. And then the big ones. Seventy five. Twenty five. And one hundred. And the
12:53target to reach. Two hundred and eighty two. Two. Eight.
12:56Two.
13:29Adam 282 282 and Thomas 282 so Adam 10 minus 9 is 1 10 minus 9 1 plus 25 is
13:3826 yep times
13:41the 7 times by 7 for 182 plus the 100 lovely 282 well done neatly done yes Thomas exactly
13:48the same way away yeah yeah there we go well done one point in the lead 41 to
13:59Thomas is 40 as we turn to Sir Ranulf and since you were last on the show you've
14:06been off pushing yourself to the limits I think you back in April while we were all
14:10busy sort of guzzling chocolate eggs you were somewhere quite different yeah the
14:17charity called Marie Curie yes who I work with sort of to try and raise money and
14:25they reckoned that basically if I ran that particular marathon in the 214 they
14:33wouldn't make any money mm-hmm but if I didn't 215 they could make over a
14:37million because I would by then be the most geriatric bloke doing it from the
14:44UK and so that seemed to be all right but the doctor because of heart attacks
14:51basically said do not exceed 130 beats a minute yes and I then discovered that
14:58you get removed and then Marie Curie will make no money if you don't finish it right
15:03you get removed if you get caught up by these nasty camels black camels two of them
15:09evil-looking creatures and they are behind you all the time and you're
15:14constantly looking back and the two things don't go well keeping 130 not
15:19going to 200 yeah and not being caught by the camels so this is the marathon
15:26disabled in the Sahara yeah in the Moroccan Sahara or yes I think it's nearly all the
15:34Moroccan but it all looks the same Sahara and there's about 1500 people the most
15:43macho-looking lot of people you could imagine mm-hmm and they luckily quite a
15:49lot dropped out and it's nice seeing sort of 30 year olds dropping out good for you
15:54and but basically you have to be quite careful like the the SAS killed three
15:59people on their training yeah and they were tough fit people you can easily get
16:07got in that sort of temperature we had 53 degrees centigrade and the trouble is
16:13you're going up sand and your foot slipping the whole time one time was at
16:18night and that was a hell of a lot better this is carried in your book heat
16:22which is actually in a few weeks time it's about more things than this
16:26extraordinary marathon so there you are at the age of 71 running something like
16:30156 miles that's 251 kilometers in six days is that right yeah I was with a
16:39fantastic Welsh bloke called Rory Coleman who had done it 11 times and he's just
16:45amazing and he said in all the times he's done it this one was the toughest of all
16:50because the organizer French guy had done it for 30 years and this was his 30th
16:56anniversary and he is determined to make it tougher than the American version
17:00right I sort of you know kill more people sort of thing and the French who
17:05organize it very well indeed want to remove people so there's like a
17:11helicopter like a vulture and if anyone's behaving in a geriatric fashion they
17:15swoop and remove them whether you want it or not and I was very keen not to be
17:19removed for Marie Curie and so had to keep at it and at night I fell down
17:24click my back out of place and after that I was sort of like that running like
17:30that well jogging like that you don't really run well some people do but
17:33they're completely inhuman lovely great story what a man
17:43I think running for a bus is difficult 40 plays 41 where shall we go Thomas
17:49consonant please thank you Thomas R and a vowel O and a consonant D and a vowel I and a
18:02consonant
18:10T and a vowel O and a consonant please and lastly H
18:18stand by
18:50Yes, Thomas.
18:51Seven.
18:52Seven, Adam.
18:53Seven.
18:54Thomas.
18:55Thrawned.
18:55And?
18:56Thorned.
18:57And in the corner.
18:59Thorned, yeah.
19:00Thorned, any else?
19:01Well, then you go down to sixes for us anyway.
19:03Indoor was there for a six.
19:05All right.
19:05Thank you very much.
19:06One point in it still.
19:0847 plays 48.
19:09Adam.
19:10Are you going to try and make a break for it?
19:13Letters game.
19:14Consonant, please.
19:15Thank you, Adam.
19:16T.
19:18Another.
19:19X.
19:20Vowel.
19:23I.
19:25Another.
19:26Vowel.
19:27A.
19:30Consonant.
19:31V.
19:33Another.
19:35S.
19:37Vowel.
19:39O.
19:42Consonant.
19:44G.
19:46And a vowel.
19:48And the last one.
19:49E.
19:50Countdown.
19:51T.
19:52C.
19:53C.
19:54C.
19:55C.
19:56C.
19:56C.
19:57C.
20:01C.
20:23Yes, Adam.
20:24Six.
20:25A six.
20:26Thomas.
20:27Six.
20:28Two sixes.
20:29Adam.
20:29Egoist.
20:30And?
20:31Ovates.
20:33And ovates.
20:35Very good.
20:36So what else?
20:36I think visage is there, but can you beat that?
20:40Yes, very last minute eight.
20:42Geotaxis is there.
20:44What's that?
20:44That's G-E-O-T-A-X-I-S.
20:47It's a biological term for the motion of an organism or cell in response to the force of gravity.
20:57My word.
20:58And now we turn to Thomas and numbers game.
21:04Thomas.
21:04I'll try six small, please.
21:06Thank you, Thomas.
21:07Try and get some points here.
21:08Six little ones coming up.
21:10And for this round, they are four.
21:13Another four.
21:14One.
21:15Seven.
21:16Three.
21:17And six.
21:18And the target, 196.
21:21One nine six.
21:22One nine six.
21:23One nine six.
21:25One nine six.
21:38One nine six.
21:42One nine six.
21:43One nine six.
21:43One nine six.
21:44One nine six.
21:44One nine six.
21:44One nine six.
21:45One nine six.
21:48One nine six.
21:50One nine six.
21:54Thomas one nine six one nine six and Adam one nine six two good players so Thomas six at four
22:02six at four is ten at the other four add the other four for 14 times seven times by seven
22:09for 98 three
22:10minus one and three minus one is two and times them lovely one nine six yes Adam I did seven
22:17times three seven times three is 21 minus the one minus the one for twenty four plus six is ten
22:24yep
22:25times them together 200 and minus the four yeah lots of different ways for this one hold on
22:30and now it's time for tea time teaser which is act Spain and the clue Shavey and Casillas used to
22:40act
22:40as these in Spain Shavey and Casillas used to act as these in Spain
23:00welcome back I left with the clue Shavey and Casillas used to act as these in Spain they
23:05used to act as captains captains there you go 63 to Adam 64 now what should we do shall we
23:16turn to
23:16Adam why not consonant please thank you Adam d another s vowel please I another a consonant h consonant p
23:37vowel e
23:40consonant w and a final consonant and a final p stand by
23:54so
24:03so
24:05so
24:05so
24:07so
24:18so
24:20so
24:20so
24:22so
24:22and seven to sevens Adam shipped yes same way all right and over in the corner any advances there so
24:33ran off of Susie it's what a cities are their plural of a third like green fly or a
24:39right and was be the tight if it's in corset is there for six oh gosh heavens I've gone into
24:45a hot flush 70 71 and Thomas Thomas is your letters game
24:50Consonant please. Thank you, Thomas. M. And a vowel. O. And a consonant. S. And a vowel. A. And a
25:02consonant. Y. And a vowel. E. And a consonant. T. And a vowel. I. And a consonant, please.
25:17And lastly, D. Done by.
25:52Thomas.
25:53And eight, Adam.
25:54Eight.
25:55Thomas.
25:56Atomized.
25:57Atomized.
25:58Look at these two. Same words.
26:00Neck and neck still. Amazing.
26:03And what have we got in the corner there?
26:05Sir Meads.
26:06Yes.
26:07And?
26:07That's there for seven. And then one more eight daytimes.
26:11Alright.
26:12Well done.
26:13So, 78 plays 79 and now it's Susie's origins of words.
26:17Susie.
26:18Well, I'm going to look back to the early 14th century when a Franciscan missionary called
26:24Friar Uderich published a journal of his travels to the Far East.
26:28And in one of his accounts, he mentions this enormous car or chariot on which devotees of
26:35Yaganath, and that was an avatar or human representation of the god of Vishnu, was carried in procession
26:42from the temple at Puri, and that's one of the key holy sites in India.
26:47And Yaganath meant Lord of the world.
26:49And Uderich wrote how the worshippers of a Yaganath during this festival of chariots would
26:56sometimes throw themselves beneath the wheels of this giant, giant carriage as a human sacrifice
27:01to their god, as the sort of ultimate representation of their devotion.
27:07And the name Yaganath began to be used in the 19th century in the sense of this massive inexorable
27:13force, if you like, just as this heavy carriage processing along the streets that crushes almost
27:18everything in its path.
27:20And the English representation of that, of course, was Juggernaut.
27:24Juggernaut, going back to this Yaganath, to the avatar of Vishnu.
27:29And it was used for steam locomotives, it was used for the armoured tanks developed during
27:33the First World War.
27:34And today, of course, Juggernaut is a very heavy lorry, but who would have guessed it had
27:39its roots in this very holy procession of a god and the sacrifices that were made beneath
27:44its wheels.
27:44Fantastic.
27:45Isn't that interesting?
27:49Thank you, Susie.
27:50So, where should we go?
27:52Adam.
27:53This is getting tense now, chaps.
27:56Adam, let us get.
27:57Consonant.
27:58Thank you, Adam.
27:59K.
28:01Another consonant.
28:03F.
28:05Vowel.
28:07A.
28:08Another vowel.
28:09I.
28:13Consonant.
28:14M.
28:16Another consonant.
28:18C.
28:20Thou.
28:22E.
28:25Consonant.
28:28L.
28:30Final consonant.
28:33And...
28:34Final D.
28:35Standby.
28:36Friday.
28:37Or...
28:50And...
28:53...
28:58Go!
29:04End.
29:06All that.
29:08Yes, Adam.
29:09Seven.
29:10Seven and...
29:11Seven.
29:12Two sevens. Adam.
29:13Decimal.
29:15Yes, Thomas.
29:16Claimed.
29:17And claimed.
29:19A camel.
29:22Well done.
29:23Anything else?
29:24Quite a few sevens.
29:25Flicked is there.
29:27Medical as well.
29:28But, yeah, sevens for us.
29:31All right.
29:31So they're still clinging on to each other here.
29:3485 and 86, respectively.
29:35Thomas, final letters game for you.
29:38Consonant, please.
29:39Thank you, Thomas.
29:40M.
29:41And a vowel.
29:43U.
29:44And a consonant.
29:45R.
29:46And a vowel.
29:48A.
29:49And a consonant.
29:51T.
29:51And a vowel.
29:53E.
29:54And a consonant.
29:56L.
29:57And a vowel.
29:59O.
30:01And a consonant, please.
30:05And the last one, N.
30:07And here's the countdown clock.
30:08E.
30:39Thomas. Stick with seven. Adam. Seven. Thomas. Neuroma. And Adam. Numeral. Numeral. Numeral. Yeah. Yes. Absolutely fine. Are we happy
30:54there? And neuroma is also fine. It's another term for neurofibroma, which is a tumour formed on a nerve cell.
31:02All right. Neutral. Neutral, yes. And Susie? Yeah, that was about it for our sevens again. Yes.
31:09Thank you, Sir Ryan. So here we have it, chaps. We're heading towards a crucial conundrum. Adam. Numbers game. Final
31:17one of the day.
31:18Three big ones, three small ones. Thank you. And your last chance to clinch this before the crucial conundrum. Three
31:24large, three little.
31:25And for the final round today, they are five, another five, and one. This could be tricky. And the large
31:32ones, 25, 50, and 100. And the target, 848.
31:37848.
31:39848.
31:40648.
32:10850.
32:12850.
32:12Thomas?
32:13Yeah, just 850.
32:14Right.
32:15Adam?
32:16100 plus 50.
32:17100 plus 50, 150.
32:20Times 5.
32:21Times 5, 750.
32:235 minus 1 is 4.
32:25Yep.
32:26Times the 25.
32:27Is 100.
32:28Plus 1, yeah.
32:29And you're two away.
32:30Well done, 850.
32:31Thank you, Thomas.
32:325 plus 5.
32:335 plus 5, 10.
32:35Minus the 1.
32:36Minus the 1, 9.
32:37Times 100.
32:38Times 100, 900.
32:39And take the 50.
32:41And well done, two away again.
32:43Crucial conundrum.
32:44It is indeed.
32:45But before we get there, is 848 possible?
32:50You can get to 849, but 848 is impossible.
32:54So they did pretty well.
32:55Yep.
32:55Crucial conundrum either way.
32:56Look at that.
32:57Adam's on 100.
32:58Thomas is on 99.
33:00Two great young players as we go into the final round, the conundrum round.
33:05So, fingers on buzzers.
33:06Thomas, Adam, let's reveal today's crucial countdown conundrum.
33:12Thomas.
33:14Hilarious.
33:16Let's see whether you're right.
33:17I'm sure you are.
33:19You are extraordinary.
33:21Fantastic.
33:22Well done.
33:29Well done.
33:32Adam, I'm sort of broken hearted for you.
33:35Because, you know, you did so.
33:37You led all the way, and Mr. Conundrum, or should I say Master Conundrum over in the corner
33:42there, gets it in, I don't know, is that a second and a half or something?
33:47A second.
33:48Amazing.
33:49Amazing.
33:50So, Adam Curran, back to Southampton with you.
33:54Take this goodie bag and our very best wishes.
33:57Well, I don't know what to say to you, Thomas Carey, other than to say, we'll see you tomorrow.
34:02More amazement tomorrow.
34:03Well done.
34:03Well done indeed.
34:04See you both tomorrow, Randolph, Susie.
34:07See you tomorrow.
34:09Well?
34:09Well, he's got the Richard Whiteley t-shirt on, and I think that would have been worthy of
34:13the final to win the memorial trophy.
34:15Absolutely.
34:16It's amazing.
34:17Very sorry to leave you, Adam.
34:18Absolutely right.
34:20See you tomorrow.
34:21See you tomorrow.
34:22Join us tomorrow and see how the extraordinary Thomas Carey gets on tomorrow, same time, same
34:27place.
34:27You'll be sure of it.
34:27A very good afternoon.
34:29You can contact the program by email at countdown at channel4.com, by Twitter at C4Countdown,
34:35or write to us at Countdown Leeds LS3 1JS.
34:39You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:47The show, to make you feel better about not doing the washing up last night, 8 o'clock
34:51for the return of obsessive compulsive cleaners after their week away.
34:54Next this afternoon, 15 to 1.
34:58APPLAUSE