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00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio. As I mentioned when I was chatting to Rachel last week, it's
00:36the beginning of the autumn season. A time of great colour, of good eating, of course the fruits coming through,
00:44apples in the autumn are absolutely wonderful, the trees look terrific, they're changing colour. Have you ever been to New
00:49England in the fall as they call it? And the colours are fantastic, but of course, it passes and then
00:57we move into winter.
00:58But what do you miss most about the summer that's just left us?
01:02Oh, well it's just light all the time, it's lovely isn't it? Especially for me because I love cycling, so
01:06cycling in the actual light rather than having the little mini ones and it being a bit more dangerous and
01:11a bit more cold and a bit more miserable weather.
01:13But it makes us British, doesn't it? Having something to moan about.
01:17I suppose so, but you were saying the other day to me actually that given a choice you could live
01:21very happily in a warm climate all the year round. Would you fancy living in the States for instance, in
01:26Florida?
01:26I could give it a go. I could try. Take one for the team. Yeah, do a little experiment.
01:32Take one for the team indeed. Let's see what sort of competition we've got here. Thomas Carey's back, wonderful seven
01:39wins behind him.
01:40His ability with the conundrums is really quite extraordinary, we've never seen anything like it.
01:47But you've got to get past Lee Nixon, who's joined us from Kirkham near Preston, where he's a supermarket produce
01:52team manager.
01:54Loves his local football team, AFC Fylde, and saw them win the FA Vows at Wembley. Good man.
02:00That's when you're not having fun in Ibiza. You've been three times, but your favourite music is anything but Miley
02:07Cyrus.
02:08Now this is all way over my head. What's Miley Cyrus got to do with Ibiza?
02:12I don't know really.
02:14OK. What's so special about Ibiza?
02:19It's just a certain atmosphere there, I suppose. I've not been for a few years, but when I did go,
02:25I'd like to go back.
02:26It was good fun?
02:27It was. It was brilliant.
02:28Sort of night-time fun?
02:31Bars and dancing and singing and what have you.
02:32All that sort of thing, yeah.
02:33Lovely. Brilliant.
02:35I think you'd like it, Nick.
02:37There was a time.
02:38Was there?
02:39It's not going to come back, though, is it?
02:40I don't think so. Let's have a big round of applause for Lee Nixon and Thomas Carey.
02:50And over in the corner, of course, Susie on this Tuesday and joined for the last time until we can
02:56drag him back, implore him to come back if he's not off on some expedition somewhere.
03:01Sir Ronald Fiennes, a wonderful explorer, adventurer, the writer of, I think, 23 books, he was telling us.
03:08The latest is Heat, which is out, I think, next week.
03:11Brilliant.
03:12Much of which is devoted to this extraordinary thing that at the age of 71, you ran the Marathon de
03:19Sable in, I think, temperatures of 50 degrees centigrade.
03:23Centigrade. Extraordinary thing.
03:25And you finished it and raised a load of money for Marie Curie.
03:28So, I'm going to ask for a big round of applause.
03:31Go on for Sir Rand Fiennes.
03:36And now, let's wish him well as Thomas Carey kicks off Countdown Today.
03:44Letters.
03:45Hi, Rachel.
03:46Hi, Thomas.
03:47Can I have a consonant, please?
03:48You can indeed, thank you.
03:49Start today with T.
03:51And a vowel.
03:56And the last one, N.
04:13Stand by.
04:44Well, Thomas.
04:45Seven.
04:46A seven, Lee.
04:47I'll risk a seven.
04:48Thank you, Thomas.
04:50Pianage.
04:51And Lee.
04:52Epponate.
04:54Pianage, I'll start with.
04:56Pian in North American is a person who does menial work.
05:01And pianage is the act of that, sometimes used as a synonym for slave labour, I think.
05:06And eponage was the other.
05:08Epponate.
05:09Epponate.
05:12That's not there, I'm afraid.
05:14Bad luck.
05:15Sorry, bad luck, Lee.
05:16What do we have in the corner, I wonder?
05:19Sir Rand.
05:19A weapon.
05:21Yes.
05:22A weapon.
05:23Said with determination.
05:25And Susie?
05:26Potage, negate, a few sixes there.
05:29OK.
05:29Yeah.
05:30Thank you very much.
05:32Letters came for Lee.
05:33Hi, Rachel.
05:34Hi, Lee.
05:34Can I start with a vowel, please?
05:36You can, thank you.
05:36Start with A.
05:38And another.
05:39E.
05:40And a consonant.
05:42R.
05:44And another.
05:46C.
05:47And another.
05:49D.
05:51And another.
05:53S.
05:54And a vowel.
05:57I.
05:59And a consonant.
06:01M.
06:03And I'll finish with a vowel, please.
06:06And finish with O.
06:08And here's the countdown clock.
06:10Dear David.
06:22Bye-bye.
06:23Bye-bye.
06:29Bye-bye.
06:31Bye-bye.
06:33Bye-bye.
06:34Bye-bye.
06:35Bye-bye.
06:36Love you.
06:38Bye-bye.
06:39Bye-bye.
06:39Bye-bye.
06:40Bye-bye.
06:41Yes, Lee. Seven. Seven. Thomas. Eight. Lee. Medi-Coles. And Thomas. Ido-Craise. It's fair, I can tell you that.
06:55And it means a mineral consisting of silicate of calcium, magnesium and aluminium. Very great.
07:01Good. Well done. Remarkable. Remarkable. And in the corner? Cardies are there. And comrades. That's another eight. Comrades. Comrades. Very
07:14good.
07:15All right. Now it's numbers time. First up is Thomas. One large, please. Don't need to ask any more. Thank
07:22you, Thomas. One large, five, little.
07:25And for the first time today, the numbers are seven, five, another five, one, nine, and the big one, 75.
07:34And the target? 767.
07:37767.
08:09Yes, Thomas? 767. Thank you very much. And Lee? 767. Thomas.
08:14OK, nine plus one. Nine plus one is ten.
08:18Times the 75. Times the 75. Times 75, 750. And add everything else. And then five and five and seven,
08:24four, seven, six, seven.
08:26And Lee? Yeah, I'll do it the same way. There we go. Are we happy? All right, well done.
08:3625 plays ten as we go into our first tea time teaser, which is gum store. And the clue, they
08:41won't be buying gum at the store, they'll be shopping for fine foods.
08:45They won't be buying gum at the store, they won't be buying gum at the store, they'll be shopping for
08:49fine foods.
09:06Warm welcome back. I left you with a clue, they won't be buying gum at the store, they'll be shopping
09:11for fine foods.
09:13Why? Because they're gourmets. Gourmets. There we are. 25 plays ten. Thomas in the lead at the moment. Lee. Letters.
09:23All right, can I start with a vowel, please? Thank you, Lee.
09:26U. And another.
09:29E. And a consonant.
09:32T. And another.
09:34L. And another.
09:38X. And another.
09:41L. And a vowel.
09:44A.
09:45And I'll finish with a vowel, please.
09:49U.
09:51Oh, I've got another one. And a consonant, please.
09:53And a three you want.
09:54C.
09:55Stand by.
09:57And a vowel.
10:26Is there anything senses you need?
10:27Lee?
10:28I've got a five, Nick.
10:30A five...
10:31Thomas? Seven.
10:33And your five, Lee? Exact.
10:35Exact, and? Ullulate.
10:39Yes.
10:40One of my favourite words, Liz.
10:42If you ever stub your toe and you go about
10:44hopping and singing and wailing at the same time
10:46you are ululating.
10:47It means to howl or wail as an expression
10:50of strong emotion. 32 plays
10:52ten. Thomas, a letters game.
10:54Consonant, please. Thank you, Thomas.
10:57T. And a vowel.
10:59I.
11:00And a consonant. L.
11:02And a vowel. O.
11:04And a consonant. D.
11:06And a vowel. U.
11:09And a consonant. S.
11:11And a vowel.
11:13I.
11:15And a vowel, please.
11:16And the last one. E.
11:19Done by.
11:20D.
11:51Um, Thomas.
11:53Eight.
11:53And eight.
11:54Eight also.
11:55Two eights.
11:56Thomas.
11:56Solitude.
11:58Solitude.
12:00Very good.
12:01What have we got in the corner there?
12:03Saran.
12:04Outside.
12:05Yes.
12:06Yes.
12:07Any else, Susie?
12:08We had solitude, but there are quite a few sevens.
12:10Tedious, idolised, doilies, as in paper doilies.
12:13That kind of thing.
12:16Forty plays 18.
12:18As we turn now to our second numbers game of the day, Lee.
12:22Hi, Rachel.
12:22Can I have one large and five small, please?
12:24You can indeed.
12:25Another one from the top and five from the others.
12:28And this time, the five others are one, six, three.
12:33Another six.
12:34And five.
12:35And the big one, 50.
12:36And your target, 674.
12:39Six, seven, four.
12:40Six, seven, four.
13:11So, Lee?
13:13676.
13:14676.
13:15Thomas?
13:15Yeah, just 676.
13:17All right.
13:18Let's start with you, Lee.
13:19I did.
13:20Five minus three is two.
13:21Five minus three, two.
13:22Plus 50.
13:24Plus 50, 52.
13:26Six plus six plus one is 15.
13:28Six.
13:28Six plus six is plus one is 13.
13:3113.
13:32And times are two together.
13:33Yep.
13:33Six, seven, six.
13:34Two away.
13:35Well done.
13:35Thomas?
13:36Exactly the same.
13:38There we go.
13:38Yeah.
13:38Strikes me that it could be a difficult one then, Rachel.
13:42It was just about in there.
13:45If you say 50 plus six is 56.
13:49Times that by six for 336.
13:54And then add the one for 337.
13:58And then five minus three is two.
14:01And times them together.
14:02Oh, well done.
14:03Well done.
14:06Very good indeed.
14:08So 47 plays 25.
14:10As we turn to Sir Ranulfians for the last time until we can get him back again.
14:16And you've done some extraordinary things.
14:18But I guess not everything went to plan.
14:22No, the only, when I got born, because my dad had just been killed, I only wanted to do what
14:28he had done.
14:30Mm-hmm.
14:30And so I got into the army.
14:32But because of the lack of A-levels, I got constantly overtaken by officers who had been
14:38to Sanchez, because they had got A-levels.
14:40Yeah.
14:40And then I saw a notice asking for officers to apply for the SAS.
14:45Yes.
14:46And in those days, nobody had ever heard of them.
14:48It was before Harold Wilson started to use them for PR purposes.
14:53Mm-hmm.
14:54But I had heard of Scandinavian Airlines services.
14:58And so I put my name down.
15:00And you get sent to Hereford.
15:03Mm-hmm.
15:03And there was a selection course.
15:04And there were 190 other soldiers trying to get in.
15:0830 other officers, pretty much all of them built like brick houses.
15:14Mm-hmm.
15:15I was quite happy when this lot got ruthlessly eliminated in only 10 days, down to only two
15:22soldiers and three officers.
15:24And to my surprise, I was still there.
15:25I think probably because they were selecting people from a physical, not intellectual point
15:31of view.
15:32Mm-hmm.
15:32But unfortunately, on the 11th day, they switched.
15:35So I had to try to become alert.
15:37But what we had to do was to steal 200,000 pounds from the local bank in Hereford.
15:44Brilliant.
15:45In great detail, which the SAS check.
15:48And I had Barclays, the other officer had Lloyds.
15:51So I rushed down to the town.
15:53But the bank was already closed.
15:54So I could not get in to do a careful burglary plan.
15:57Mm-hmm.
15:57So I went around the back, and I banged on the back window.
16:00And luckily, the bank manager opened up.
16:03He was a charming bloke, very naive.
16:06And I explained I had come from Germany.
16:08I was trying to get into the SAS.
16:10I had brought all my family silver with me.
16:13This bit was not true.
16:14And he said, no problem.
16:15We at Barclays are very secure.
16:17He showed me all the electronic burglar system.
16:20So I thanked him.
16:23And in those days, it was carbon paper.
16:25I copied the bank rate plan in great detail.
16:27One copy to the SAS just in time.
16:29And me and the other guy had the day offs.
16:31We went up to Birmingham.
16:32We saw a film and had a spaghetti dinner.
16:35And very stupidly after dinner, I left my copy of the bank rate plan in the restaurant.
16:40And the manager, later in court, basically gave the plans to the police.
16:48There was a ministerial inquiry in Westminster, front page of the Times, why SAS officers were
16:54stealing from banks.
16:56I was up before the commanding officer who basically said any more behavior like that
17:00and I would be thrown out of the regiment immediately.
17:04But I survived in the regiment in different parts of the world for about 18 months.
17:09And then, unfortunately, I was asked by a friend to help blow up a civilian property with army
17:17explosives and out of friendship, I did.
17:20And I got thrown out of the SAS for misuse of army explosives.
17:25Wonderful stuff.
17:26Thank you very much.
17:28Great story to me.
17:3347 to 25.
17:35Thomas, help us with the letters game.
17:37Continent, please.
17:38Thank you, Thomas.
17:58And lastly, Y.
18:01Stand by.
18:02And lastly, we'll see you next time.
18:33Yes, Thomas?
18:34Seven.
18:35Seven, Lee.
18:36Dodgy seven.
18:37So, Thomas.
18:38Existed.
18:40And there we go.
18:42We happy?
18:44Very happy.
18:44Not at all risky in the countdown world.
18:46It's to take in and feed livestock in return for payment.
18:50That is to adjust.
18:51Yes, indeed.
18:52All right.
18:53And what else have we got in the corner?
18:54Gayety and ageist.
18:57Ageist?
18:58Yes.
18:58Oh, we don't like that.
18:59We don't like ageism.
19:01For 54 to 32.
19:03Lee, step forward.
19:05Can I start with a vowel, please, Rachel?
19:08Thank you, Lee.
19:08A.
19:09And a consonant.
19:11Z.
19:12And a vowel.
19:14O.
19:15And a consonant.
19:17R.
19:17Consonant.
19:18N.
19:20Consonant.
19:22T.
19:23Vowel.
19:25A.
19:27A vowel.
19:29E.
19:30And I'll finish with a consonant, please.
19:33And finish with F.
19:35Stand by.
19:36A vowel.
19:39Diseased.
19:40And a vowel.
19:52A vowel.
19:53And a vowel.
19:58No answers.
19:58Do I understand.
20:05I'll break it this way.
20:06Bear with a vowel.
20:06yes leave else try a seven Thomas just six and you're six on eight or Nate
20:15Lee for night for nature no not there unfortunately the formate which is the
20:24sort of formic acid but not for Nate sorry me so I'd like what can we have
20:29Saran Taser yes Suzy frozen is there and I was hoping for Tarzan because the
20:37man office here but sadly that's capital T right okay frozen so 60 plays 32 numbers
20:46are back Thomas one last place thank you Thomas last time from you for a while one
20:50large one and five little ones and these numbers are nine four eight seven
20:58six and the big one 75 and this target 576 576
21:35yes Thomas 576 and Lee 575 575 so Thomas 75 minus 7 75 minus 768 add 4 add 4
21:4972 times 8 well done straight there very good very good very impressive
21:57so 70 plays 32 as we get into our second tea time teaser which is Emma hits and the
22:04clue Emma hits rock bottom in terms of her acting ability Emma hits rock bottom in
22:10terms of her acting ability
22:29warm welcome back a warm welcome back I left with the clue Emma hits rock bottom in
22:34terms of her acting ability and the answer is hammiest and you're smiling where does
22:40this come from hammiest and well how me is supposed to look back to a ham fatter and
22:46a ham fatter was a low-paid actor who used to take off very heavy makeup and pan makeup
22:52with ham fat literally so is that right they were ham fatters well students all that 70 plays 32 Lee
23:01help us out with the letters game foul please Rachel thank you Lee Oh consonant B and another
23:09P and another T and a vowel I and another a and the consonant H and another M and I'll
23:28finish with a consonant plays and finish with K is the countdown clock
23:35a
23:48small
23:49and
23:49and
23:49I
23:49and
23:54and
23:56and
24:01I
24:05Yes, Lee?
24:07Six.
24:07Six.
24:08Thomas?
24:08Six.
24:09Lee?
24:10Katipole.
24:12And?
24:12Optima.
24:13And Optima.
24:17Yes, absolutely fine.
24:18Lee, what was your three?
24:19Katipole, K-A-T-I-P-O.
24:22It is a highly venomous New Zealand spider, as I'm sure you knew.
24:28That's an interesting word.
24:29Optima is great.
24:29That's the plural of Optimum, the most favourable situation.
24:33Of course.
24:34And we had one more six, which was a phobia.
24:38A phobia.
24:39A phobia.
24:39All right.
24:40Thank you very much.
24:4176, base 38.
24:43And Thomas, letters.
24:46Consonant, please.
24:47Thank you, Thomas.
24:49R.
24:49And a vowel.
24:51O.
24:52And a consonant.
24:53T.
24:54And a vowel.
24:55E.
24:56And a consonant.
24:58N.
24:58And a vowel.
25:00I.
25:01And a consonant.
25:02P.
25:04And a vowel.
25:06U.
25:08And a consonant, please.
25:11And lastly, S.
25:13Stand by.
25:14And a consonant.
25:31And a consonant.
25:32And a consonant.
25:33And a consonant.
25:33And a consonant.
25:34And a consonant.
25:35And a consonant.
25:35and a consonant.
25:36And a consonant.
25:45Thomas eight and eight and Lee nine my word Thomas routines and Lee eruptions fantastic
26:04eight proteins proteins not pretty good yeah lots of eights actually pointers routines as
26:11we've had eruptions excellent yeah well done well spotted well spotted 76 to 56 and Susie
26:19what have you got today I am going to look at the story behind the phrase bringing home the bacon
26:25in other words but if you're the main breadwinner in the family that's what you do they bring home
26:30the bacon and it's sometimes suggested to be the story of the Dunmo flitch and it's a tradition
26:36which still continues to this day every four years in great Dunmo which is in Essex and it's based on
26:41the story of a local couple who in the 12th century impressed the the pyre of little Dunmo so much
26:49with
26:50their marital devotion that he awarded them a flitch which was a side of bacon and today a couple show
26:58their devotion and have to prove it to everybody and they win the prize too much much applause by the
27:05the local populace and it's definitely authentic Geoffrey Chaucer mentions it in the wife of Barth's
27:11tale but never for us the flitch of bacon though some may win in Essex at Dunmo but the exact
27:17phrase
27:18bringing home the bacon dates only as far back as 20th century at the 20th century and American English
27:24where bacon has been a slang term for the body for quite a long time and because of the body
27:30it's the
27:30ideas of livelihood and income and the source of that is that bacon comes from the body of a pig
27:35so
27:35fairly literal but one field of endeavor in particular in which the body that is the bacon is the key
27:41to
27:41your fortune is boxing and it's in that sport that the expression really became widely used there was
27:48one particular fight by between Joe Gans and Oliver Nelson called battling Nelson the lightweight world
27:55lightweight championship on the 3rd of September 1906 and the post standard which was a New York
28:01newspaper reported that before the fight Gans received a telegram from his mother Joe the eyes
28:07of the world are on you everybody says you ought to win Peter Jackson will tell me the news and
28:11you bring
28:12home the bacon he won and the New York Times printed a story saying that he's replied by telegram they
28:19had not only the bacon but the gravy as well but it was that particular fight and its use in
28:24boxing
28:25there after that bringing home the bacon became incredibly popular very good well done thank you
28:31now then where where are we Lee after that extraordinary nine you're back on with letters game
28:38vowel please Rachel thank you Lee a the consonant v and another h and another g and a vowel e
28:52and another
28:53a and another i and a consonant m and another and the last one d stand by
29:09so
29:19you
29:33yes leave six six Thomas six Lee damage and imaged fact is the same for us those
29:44two that's it and no more yeah no more than six well done good enough 82 62 20
29:50point difference Thomas final letters game consonant please thank you Thomas
29:56s and a vowel a and a consonant n and a vowel I and a consonant ah and a vowel
30:06oh and a
30:08consonant Q and a vowel a and consonant please and the last one P done by
30:50Thomas eight and Lee eight not written down
30:56so Lee Perry knows and Thomas pioneers and pioneers pioneers is great how are you spelling
31:07perinose p-e-r-i-n-o-s-e okay and not though there is prunose which is a botanical
31:15term
31:15but not perinose I'm afraid Lee and in the corner so ran senior thank you very much
31:20ninths play 62 final numbers game Lee one large and five small please Rachel thank you
31:26Lee one big one five little ones coming up and for the final time today the little ones are six
31:32nine
31:33nine ten two and four and the big one twenty five and this target nine hundred and forty two nine
31:41four two
31:44so
31:57so
31:58so
32:14Yes, Lee?
32:15941, not written down.
32:17941. How did Thomas get on?
32:19942.
32:21So, Thomas?
32:2225 times 9.
32:2425 times 9, 225.
32:26Add the 10.
32:27Add the 10 for 235.
32:29Times 4.
32:30Times by 4 for 940.
32:33And add 2.
32:34Very well done again. 942.
32:36Well done.
32:37Well done indeed.
32:40All right, so, you're on 100, Thomas, and it's conundrum time.
32:45Fingers on buzzers, please.
32:46Let's reveal today's countdown conundrum.
32:52Why, Thomas?
32:53Dehydrate.
32:55Dehydrate. Let's see whether you're right.
32:56I'm sure you're right.
32:58Why do I doubt you?
32:59Dehydrate.
33:00Brilliant.
33:00Well done.
33:05Well done indeed.
33:06I'll come to you in a minute, Thomas.
33:08Lee.
33:10Well played.
33:1162.
33:11I think that's one of the highest scores, actually, that anybody has scored against young Thomas
33:16Kerry.
33:17But on the day, of course, Thomas has got 110 and you've got 62.
33:20So, it's back to Kirkham with our very best wishes.
33:25And take this goodie bag with you.
33:26I will.
33:27All right.
33:27Well done.
33:28Now, Thomas, that's fantastic.
33:30You're an octa champ.
33:31We'll see you at the finals.
33:32And you're our highest scoring.
33:35You're our number one seed so far.
33:38So, you've done incredibly well.
33:39We're very proud of you.
33:40Brilliant stuff.
33:41Well done.
33:44Well done.
33:46Now, in the sleeve, in the sleeve.
33:49Susie, thank you so much.
33:50And, of course, Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
33:52It's been a great pleasure and an inspiration having you here.
33:56And please come back.
33:57Don't get yourself into trouble on some expedition.
33:59You come and see us again soon, please.
34:01Thanks very much.
34:02And great luck with the book.
34:03Out next week.
34:04Ranulph Fiennes, Heat.
34:07A good read by all accounts.
34:08Thank you very much.
34:09Brilliant stuff.
34:09Well done.
34:10Thank you very much.
34:11And tomorrow, two more contestants.
34:15Two new contestants.
34:16He'll be relieved that Thomas is out of the way.
34:18I think.
34:18Time for the opponent that strikes fear in the heart of many contestants.
34:21The whiz kid.
34:22Absolutely amazing.
34:23I think so.
34:23Extraordinary.
34:24Yep.
34:24Beating a few people that could have been octo champs in their own right.
34:26Very, very good run.
34:28See you tomorrow.
34:29See you tomorrow, Rachel.
34:30Join us tomorrow.
34:31Same time, same place.
34:33You'll be sure of it.
34:34A very good afternoon.
34:35You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com, by Twitter at C4Countdown, or write
34:42to us at Countdown Leeds LS3 1JS.
34:45You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:54All holders, tonight's Obsessive Compulsive at 8 is especially for you.
34:59Not telling you what?
35:00Watch it.
35:01Next, it's 15 to 1.