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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:05APPLAUSE
00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio
00:35on what would have been Evel Knievel's 80th birthday.
00:39Evel Knievel, what a daredevil he was.
00:42Motorbike man, held together with metal pins, basically.
00:45He did something like 75 ramp-to-ramp jumps.
00:50The big one, of course, was the Snake River Canyon in Wyoming.
00:55It didn't work out, actually, but it was a hell of a jump.
00:58And it didn't work. And there we are.
01:00He didn't die, as in a sense he should have died
01:04on one of these crazy, crazy stunts, but he died at the age of 69.
01:08Had he lived, it would have been his birthday.
01:10So wherever you are, jumping in the celestial realm,
01:14Evel, happy birthday, mate.
01:17I don't know, you've done a few stunts in your time.
01:20Yeah. You have. You had that motorbike job, do you remember?
01:23Oh, that was a bicycle. Bicycle, yeah.
01:26On a tightrope, five storeys up.
01:28What else have you... Well, that's fair height.
01:30Yeah, I went through fire.
01:32I think twice the temperature that an oven is normally.
01:35Oh. Flames. Yeah.
01:37And I worked with eunuch.
01:39LAUGHTER
01:40This is not dangerous.
01:42You never know what's going to happen.
01:44You never know what's going to come out of your mouth.
01:46Yeah, but it's not going to kill you, is it?
01:48Well, you never know. It could kill my career.
01:50Oh, wow.
01:52Was it actually pretty terrifying? Because some people just don't...
01:55I'm not a big fan of height,
01:57but I am very kind of gullible
01:59and believe things that people say quite comfortably.
02:03But it was science, Rachel, so you had it worked out, I think.
02:07Anyway, good for you. I wouldn't do it.
02:09I'd be terrified. Absolutely terrified.
02:13Hmm, Rachel. Who's here?
02:15Paul Hollidge.
02:17Crystal Palace fan and teapot owner.
02:20I know. What more do you want?
02:22Nothing. That's it now.
02:24Brilliant.
02:25You're joined by Martin May,
02:27a restaurant deputy manager from Adlington in Lancashire,
02:30who served some famous faces with big appetites, too.
02:35Boxer's Tony Bellew.
02:37He probably ate half the place out, did he?
02:39He ate most of it.
02:40Tyson Fury. He's a character.
02:42Absolutely.
02:43And then, just to round it all off,
02:45you had Mark LeBette from The Chase on as well.
02:47That's good fun.
02:48Absolutely. It's brilliant. Great bloke.
02:50Good luck to you both. Good luck to Paul and Martin. Good luck.
02:54Here we are.
02:56And Susie's over in the corner.
02:58And for the last time, a very pleasant guy, a good player.
03:02It's none other than Clive Anderson, TV presenter
03:05and funny man, comedy writer as well.
03:07Well done.
03:11Now, Paul Hollidge, off we go.
03:13Hello, Rachel. Hi, Paul.
03:15Could I have a consonant, please? Thank you. Start today with G.
03:18And another?
03:20T.
03:21And another?
03:23W.
03:24And a vowel, please?
03:26A.
03:27And another?
03:28E.
03:29And a consonant?
03:31T.
03:32And a consonant?
03:34N.
03:35Vowel?
03:37E.
03:39And another vowel, please?
03:41And lastly, O.
03:43And here's the Countdown Clock.
03:52CLOCK TICKS
04:16Paul? Only a four there.
04:18Martin? A six.
04:20Paul? Just...
04:22Nat.
04:23And Martin?
04:24No, Tate.
04:26Clive?
04:27I'm not going to take away this, this is a brilliant one from Susie's.
04:30Wagonette.
04:31Oh, that's a nine.
04:32Yeah.
04:33Brilliant.
04:34APPLAUSE
04:38Is that a French sleeping car on a railway?
04:40Is that a wagonette?
04:42It's a four-wheeled horse-drawn pleasure vehicle,
04:44typically open with facing side seats.
04:46Thank you very much.
04:47Martin, your letter's game.
04:50Afternoon, Rachel.
04:51Afternoon, Martin.
04:52Can I get a consonant, please?
04:53Thank you. Start with F.
04:56And another?
04:58S.
04:59And another?
05:01R.
05:03Can I have a vowel, please?
05:05A.
05:06And another?
05:07I.
05:08And one more?
05:10O.
05:12And a consonant?
05:14T.
05:15And another?
05:17L.
05:19And a final vowel, please?
05:21And a final E.
05:23Stand by.
05:48MUSIC PLAYS
05:56Martin?
05:57Eight.
05:58And?
05:59Eight as well.
06:00Martin?
06:01Floaters.
06:02Are you a floater?
06:03Yeah.
06:04Any more floaters over there?
06:06APPLAUSE
06:08We'll go to the various meanings of that, I dare say.
06:11Floaters, trefoils.
06:12And Susie, anything else?
06:14No, trefoils, lovely.
06:15Small European plants of the pea family.
06:17Pea-lobed leaves, a bit like clover.
06:2014, please.
06:21Eight.
06:22And, Paul, your numbers game.
06:24OK. Can I have two large numbers, Rachel, and four small, please?
06:27You can indeed. Thank you, Paul.
06:29Two from the top row, four not from the top row,
06:31and the four little ones to start are nine, one, ten and eight.
06:36And the large ones, 25 and 75.
06:40And the target, 979.
06:43Nine, seven, nine.
06:45MUSIC PLAYS
07:16Paul?
07:17982.
07:19Martin?
07:20981.
07:21981.
07:23Now, Martin.
07:2575 plus 25.
07:28100.
07:29Plus eight plus one.
07:31Yep.
07:32Times nine.
07:33981.
07:34Two away.
07:35Mm, very good.
07:37Rachel, can you do it?
07:39979?
07:40This was actually a convenient target if you spot it.
07:4375 plus 25 is 100.
07:46Stop there.
07:47Times it by nine, 900.
07:49And then eight times ten is 80.
07:51And you have one to take away.
07:53APPLAUSE
07:54So sweet.
07:56So, Martin on 21 and Paul on eight,
07:59time for our first tea time teaser, which is tethering.
08:02And the clue.
08:03If there's a nut on the loose, you may need to do this.
08:06If there's a nut on the loose, you may need to do this.
08:09MUSIC PLAYS
08:14APPLAUSE
08:25Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
08:27If there's a nut on the loose, you may need to do this.
08:30You may need to retighten it.
08:32Absolutely. Retighten.
08:35Now, if you'd like to become a Countdown contestant,
08:38you can email countdown at channel4.com
08:41to request an application form
08:43or write to us at contestantsapplicationscountdownleadsls31js.
08:5121 plays eight.
08:53Martin's built up a bit of a lead.
08:55Martin, try this letters game.
08:57Consonant, please, Rachel.
08:59Thank you, Martin. Q.
09:01Can I have another one, please?
09:03M.
09:05And one more.
09:07N.
09:09And a vowel.
09:11A.
09:13And another.
09:15U.
09:17And another.
09:19E.
09:21And a consonant.
09:23R.
09:25Another consonant.
09:27V.
09:29And a final consonant, please.
09:31And a final S.
09:33Stand by.
09:35MUSIC PLAYS
09:39MUSIC CONTINUES
10:03Martin?
10:05A seven.
10:07Not written down.
10:09What might it be, Paul?
10:11Quavers.
10:13Yeah. Both of you.
10:15Well done for remembering to say you hadn't written it down.
10:19Now, Susie, anything else?
10:21No, nothing better than that.
10:23All right, 28 plays 15.
10:25Paul, letters game.
10:27Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
10:29Thank you, Paul. G.
10:31And another.
10:33M. And another.
10:35R.
10:37And a vowel, please.
10:39A. And another.
10:41I. And another.
10:43E.
10:45A consonant, please.
10:47H. And another.
10:49T.
10:51And another consonant, please.
10:53And finally, S.
10:55Stand by.
10:57MUSIC PLAYS
11:05MUSIC CONTINUES
11:27Paul?
11:29A seven.
11:31Yes, Martin?
11:33That's kind of you.
11:35Now, Paul?
11:37Gyrates.
11:39Now, Martin?
11:41Migrates.
11:43Yes, migrates is fine.
11:45Unfortunately, gyrate needs a Y.
11:47OK.
11:49What else can we have?
11:51Well, is mega hits, does that count as a word?
11:53Excellent, yes.
11:55That is all one word. That's really good.
11:57Well done. 36-15.
11:59Martin, how are you with numbers, I wonder?
12:01Can I get six small ones, please?
12:03You can indeed. Six little ones.
12:05Trying to extend your lead confidently.
12:07Let's see if it pays off.
12:09The little ones are one, three,
12:11seven, eight,
12:13three, and six.
12:15And the target...
12:17539.
12:19539.
12:21MUSIC PLAYS
12:31MUSIC STOPS
12:51Martin?
12:53540.
12:55One away. Paul?
12:57A lot nearer than me.
12:59Martin?
13:01Eight times seven is 56.
13:03Eight times seven, 56.
13:05Plus three, plus one.
13:07Plus three, and one for 60.
13:09And then six plus three is nine.
13:11And the other three, yep.
13:13And times them together.
13:15One away. Well done.
13:17Very good. But 539, Rachel, how tricky is that?
13:19I found a way.
13:21If you say eight plus seven
13:23is 15,
13:25three plus three is six,
13:27is 36.
13:29Times those together for 540
13:31and take away the one.
13:33539.
13:35APPLAUSE
13:37Thank you very much.
13:39Well done, Rachel.
13:4143 pays 15. Paul on 15.
13:43As we turn to Clive.
13:45Clive, you were called to the bar.
13:47The criminal bar, I think.
13:49Yes. I got distracted away into the world of broadcasting.
13:51But I had some happy years.
13:53And I thought I'd just mention
13:55the Old Bailey, which is perhaps
13:57the most famous criminal court in the country.
13:59Strictly speaking, it's called the Central Criminal Court.
14:01And there's been a courtroom there
14:03for centuries.
14:05Until 1868.
14:07They used to have public executions
14:09outside the courtroom there.
14:11Big crowds used to go to those public executions.
14:13And some of them could have gone on the London Underground.
14:15Because the London Underground opened in 1863.
14:17And the last execution, a man called Michael Barrett,
14:19happened in 1868.
14:21But they had an open-air courtroom
14:23until 1734.
14:25And they said, we must modernise this.
14:27We can't open it like Shakespeare's Globe.
14:29This is way out of date.
14:31Let's put a roof over it.
14:33So they built it.
14:35And only then they remembered why it was an open-air courtroom.
14:37The reason for it is that people in prison,
14:39even if they're in there for a few weeks,
14:41used to get disease.
14:43They used to get typhus, which is called jail fever.
14:45And the reason why it was open-air
14:47was to stop the judges and the grandees
14:49who were doing the trying from getting it.
14:51So from then onwards, when it was roofed,
14:53everybody started getting typhus.
14:55And the Lord Mayor,
14:57and I think our 60 people,
14:59judges and so forth,
15:01got jail fever.
15:03But still today, judges at the Old Bailey,
15:05especially in the summer months,
15:07carry a nosegay into court
15:09to ward off jail fever.
15:11Whether it works or not, I don't know.
15:13That's just a tradition.
15:15They still have a lot of traditions at the Old Bailey.
15:17The judges have lunch together
15:19every day through the day,
15:21and they all sit in their wigs and gowns
15:23and have lunch, with various guests come in as well.
15:25So it's an unusual courtroom,
15:27all paid for by the City of London.
15:29I went once, actually.
15:31Did you get off?
15:33I did.
15:35But I went because I thought it would be very interesting.
15:37And you've got to check your phone,
15:39your mobile, into the pub across the road.
15:41You can't take a phone in there for some reason or other.
15:43Well, they don't like you photographing things.
15:45I've been trying to campaign for ages
15:47to film court proceedings and televise them.
15:49People get upset,
15:51they might get a bit of a...
15:53too much of a circus.
15:55But people go to court,
15:57they don't really know what to expect.
15:59When they're called to be a jury,
16:01they expect it to be like an American courtroom,
16:03with people jumping up and down,
16:05saying objections, sustained,
16:07and judges banging gavels.
16:09They expect judges to be in long wigs,
16:11none of which is the case.
16:13If you could see it for real life,
16:15all lawyers are decent people underneath.
16:17Well, they can all tell a good story.
16:19Well done. Thank you.
16:21APPLAUSE
16:25They're the best storytellers, I think.
16:27Lawyers are the best storytellers.
16:2943 to 15.
16:31Marching on 15.
16:33Where shall we go? Paul, letters again?
16:35Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
16:37Thank you, Paul. J.
16:39And another, please.
16:41P.
16:43L.
16:45Vowel.
16:47O.
16:49Another vowel, please.
16:51O.
16:53Consonant.
16:55D.
16:57Vowel.
16:59I.
17:01Consonant.
17:03N.
17:05And another vowel, please.
17:07And lastly, U.
17:09Stand by.
17:13CLOCK TICKS
17:15CLOCK TICKS
17:41Well, Paul?
17:43Martin?
17:45Five.
17:47Yeah, slim pickings. Paul?
17:49Paul.
17:51And?
17:53Pound.
17:55And pound.
17:57Can you do... You can do unipod for one-legged person.
17:59Yes, that's unipod.
18:01A unipod is like a one-legged support for a camera, etc.
18:03Yes.
18:05That's a unipod.
18:07You can turn unipod around and have dupion,
18:09which is a rough silk fabric from double cocoons,
18:11but it's still just sixes for us.
18:13Well spotted there.
18:1548-15.
18:17Martin, off we go.
18:19Can I have a vowel, please?
18:21E.
18:23And another?
18:25I.
18:27And another?
18:29A.
18:31And a consonant?
18:33W.
18:35And another consonant?
18:37M.
18:39And a consonant?
18:41B.
18:43And another consonant?
18:45S.
18:47And a final consonant, please?
18:49And a final C.
18:51Countdown.
19:09MUSIC
19:23Martin?
19:25Seven.
19:27Paul?
19:29Just a five.
19:31And your five?
19:33Basic.
19:35Now then, Martin, amoebic.
19:38Amoebic dysentery to be avoided at all costs.
19:41Anything else there, Clive?
19:43No, we've only got as far as amoebic.
19:45We're looking for the dysentery, but it's not there.
19:47Luckily.
19:49Please don't find it. Susie, anything else?
19:51No, nothing better than that.
19:53Thank you. 55-15.
19:55And now, Paul, it's your numbers game. Good luck.
19:59Can I have two large numbers and four small, please, Rachel?
20:01Hugh Kennedy, thank you for two.
20:03From the top, four little.
20:05And around your selection is...
20:15And the target, 414.
20:17414.
20:19MUSIC
20:35MUSIC
20:47Well, Paul?
20:49Yeah, 414.
20:51And Martin?
20:53Yeah, 414.
20:55So, Paul, 50 x 9.
20:57450.
20:59And then take away the 25, the 10 and the 1.
21:01That'll do it. 414, lovely.
21:03And Martin?
21:05Yeah, exactly the same. There we go.
21:07APPLAUSE
21:1165-25.
21:1365-25 in Martin's favour.
21:15We turn to our second tea time teaser,
21:17which is Titan Imps.
21:19And the clue, he's the sort of musician
21:21who loves to put the kettle on.
21:23He's the sort of musician
21:25who loves to put the kettle on.
21:27MUSIC
21:33APPLAUSE
21:41Welcome back. I left with the clue,
21:43he's the sort of musician who loves to put the kettle on.
21:46He's, in fact, a timpanist, isn't he?
21:48Yes.
21:50Where does timpani come from?
21:52He plays the kettle drums, hence the clue.
21:54And timpani is a simple borrowing from Latin,
21:56timpanum, meaning a drum.
21:58That's it. Timpanum.
22:0065-25.
22:02In the lead, all right.
22:04Martin, your letters game.
22:06Can I have a consonant, please?
22:08Thank you, Martin. B
22:10And another?
22:12D
22:14And another?
22:16T
22:18And a fourth?
22:20L
22:22And a vowel?
22:24E
22:26And another vowel?
22:28A
22:30And a consonant?
22:32N
22:34And a final vowel, please?
22:36And a final...
22:38A
22:40Stand by.
23:00B
23:10Yes, Martin?
23:12Just a six.
23:14A six. And Paul?
23:16A six as well.
23:18Martin?
23:20A bandit.
23:22Yes, Paul?
23:24A tabled.
23:26Yes.
23:28What have you got for us, Susie?
23:30There is labiate for seven,
23:32which is a plant of the mint family.
23:34Two-lobed flowers.
23:36Two-lobed mint.
23:38Lovely.
23:4071-31. Now, Paul.
23:42Here we go. Letters game.
23:44Can I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
23:46Thank you, Paul. P
23:48And another?
23:50S
23:52And another?
23:54C
23:56And another, please?
23:58O
24:00A consonant?
24:02T
24:04And another?
24:06L
24:08And a vowel?
24:10A
24:12And another consonant, please?
24:14And lastly, F.
24:16Countdown.
24:26B
24:48Paul?
24:50A seven.
24:52A seven. Martin?
24:54A staples.
24:56Martin?
24:58A couplets.
25:00Yes.
25:02Happy?
25:04Clive?
25:06Paul Katz.
25:08Very nice.
25:10Apostles are there as well.
25:14APPLAUSE
25:16So let's pause now
25:18and be educated, really,
25:20by Susie and her wonderful origins of words.
25:22I hope this doesn't sound too much like a lecture
25:24because the moment you mention the word
25:26prefixes, people's eyes tend to glaze over.
25:28But they can be incredibly useful things
25:30and you can build your own words
25:32if you have a good command of your prefixes.
25:34So I'm going to talk about
25:36the prefix auto,
25:38which, of course, comes from the Greek
25:40simply meaning self.
25:42But it has given us so many different words
25:44in English, so I'll run through some of them.
25:46So an automobile
25:48is obviously self-powered.
25:50In other words, when it was invented
25:52it didn't need a horse to pull it along.
25:54Hence, it was an automobile.
25:56It drove by itself.
25:58An autograph, of course, is written by oneself.
26:00So it's the real deal.
26:02Similarly, an autobiography,
26:04the story of oneself.
26:06Autonomy.
26:08That is the right of self-government.
26:10The nomo there is Greek for law.
26:12But there are a couple that I think
26:14are quite interesting because they're not so obvious
26:16and you have to unpack them a little bit.
26:18The first is autopsy.
26:20Autopsy actually goes back to the Greek
26:22meaning to see by oneself,
26:24to see for oneself.
26:26That's because in medical schools
26:28in the past, students would be gathered
26:30around to see the dissection
26:32of a body, etc., and to witness for oneself
26:34the medical science behind it.
26:36So autopsy was to see for oneself.
26:38And autism as well.
26:40You wouldn't necessarily put that one
26:42on the list.
26:44But when autism was first coined,
26:46it was selfism, really.
26:48And it was originally with reference to a condition
26:50in which fantasy dominated over reality.
26:52And today, perhaps,
26:54considered to be within one's own
26:56interior world, so sometimes sort of lost
26:58in one's interior world.
27:00I'm not sure that people would agree with that definition
27:02nowadays, but it was coined back in the 1920s,
27:0430s, and obviously science has come on
27:06a lot since then.
27:08So also, a really productive prefix.
27:10Excellent.
27:14So good.
27:16Thank you, Susie.
27:1878 plays 38.
27:20Martin in the lead, and it's Martin's
27:22letters game.
27:24Now, Martin, can I start with a vowel, please?
27:26Thank you, Martin. A.
27:28And another?
27:30A.
27:32And a third?
27:34O.
27:36And a consonant?
27:38R.
27:40And another?
27:42T.
27:44And another?
27:46R.
27:48And a vowel?
27:52U.
27:54And a final vowel, please?
27:56And a final O.
27:58Stand by.
28:12MUSIC PLAYS
28:32Martin?
28:34Seven. Paul?
28:36Just a four, I've written down, yeah.
28:38Your four is...? Yeah, just a road.
28:40Outroad.
28:42How are you spelling it, incidentally?
28:44O-U-T-R-O-A-D. Yes, of course, sorry.
28:46It's not there, I'm afraid.
28:48Had you got the E, you could have
28:50the other outroad, but, yeah, it's not
28:52in the dictionary. Sorry, Martin.
28:54And Clive?
28:56Is outroar a word?
28:58Can you do that? Like a lion might outroar
29:00another lion? It might well do, yes.
29:02Or it might be an orator in the lion world.
29:04Very good. Orator is there as well.
29:06I was desperate trying to find one that had auto in it
29:08in the literature, so autorad?
29:10Autorad, yes. Is that a word?
29:12It's an autoradiograph, so an X-ray,
29:14in other words, used in genetic analysis.
29:16Excellent. Anything else, Susie?
29:18No, seven to go. We're moving on.
29:20Paul, final letters game.
29:22Off we go.
29:24Right, Rachel, can I have a consonant, please?
29:26Thank you, Paul. G.
29:28And another?
29:30D. And another?
29:32Z.
29:34And a vowel, please?
29:36A. And another?
29:38E. And another?
29:40E.
29:42A consonant, please?
29:44N.
29:46And another?
29:48M.
29:50And a final...
29:52vowel, please?
29:54And a final O.
29:56And the clock starts now.
30:06CLOCK TICKS
30:28Martin?
30:30Eight.
30:32Paul?
30:34Eight or six is...?
30:36Dosing.
30:38Yes. So, Martin?
30:40A demonise. Excellent. Very, very good.
30:42APPLAUSE
30:44A good way to finish there.
30:46Excellent.
30:48And Clive and Susie?
30:50We had those ones, but...
30:52Yes, a demonise. A deeming for seven, otherwise.
30:54Thank you. 86-42 as we go into the final numbers game.
30:58Martin?
31:00Can I have just one from the top, please, and any other five?
31:02Just as simple a selection, possibly.
31:04Let's see. Thank you, Martin. One large, five little.
31:06And the final one of the day is...
31:08six, nine,
31:10one, ten,
31:12another nine, and 100.
31:14And the target...
31:16799.
31:18799.
31:32CLOCK TICKS
31:50Martin?
31:52Yeah, 799.
31:54Paul?
31:56799.
31:58Thank you, Martin.
32:00800.
32:02Ten minus nine is one.
32:04The other nine, perfect.
32:06799. And Paul?
32:08Yeah, exactly the same way. Thank you very much.
32:10APPLAUSE
32:12Thank you, gentlemen.
32:14So, the score, Danny, 96-52 in Martin's favour.
32:16We turn to the last game.
32:18Fingers on buzzers, chaps.
32:20Let's roll today's countdown conundrum.
32:30CLOCK TICKS
32:54Nope. No luck here.
32:56Let's turn to the audience.
32:58Can we see anybody?
33:00Yes, sir.
33:02Yellowish.
33:04Yellowish. Let's see whether you're right.
33:06APPLAUSE
33:08Yellowish. Well done. Well done.
33:10APPLAUSE
33:12Well done indeed.
33:14So, Paul, time's up.
33:16But you've got your teapot.
33:18I've got my teapot. That's all I came for.
33:20Back to Crystal Palace with our thanks.
33:22Ringing in your ears.
33:24Europe next season.
33:26See you tomorrow. Well done.
33:28Good outing. 96. That'll do.
33:30Well done. See you tomorrow.
33:32We won't be seeing Clive sadly until he comes back.
33:34In fact, until he comes back
33:36from the Royal Albert Hall.
33:38Now, what's going on?
33:40Whose line is it anyway?
33:42I used to present a programme here on Channel 4,
33:44Whose Line Is It Anyway?
33:46And it was on Radio 4 before that.
33:48And we've done it on stage.
33:50Edinburgh Festival, Palladium.
33:52And this Christmas, we're on the Royal Albert Hall
33:54for about three performances.
33:56There's a big hall to fill.
33:58So it's in December, part of the Christmas season
34:00at the Royal Albert Hall.
34:02And you can see improvisation before your very eyes
34:04in front of hundreds and hundreds of people, I hope.
34:06It's something like... I think it holds 5,000.
34:08Something like that, yeah.
34:10Brilliant. It's the 30th anniversary?
34:12It must be something like that, yes.
34:14I hope it's a great success for you.
34:16Thank you very much.
34:18And you come back and see us again soon, please.
34:20All right. See you tomorrow.
34:22Thank you very much. I'll do my best.
34:24Join us tomorrow, same time, same place.
34:26You'll be sure of it. A very good afternoon.
34:28Contact us by email at countdown at channel4.com,
34:32by Twitter at c4countdown,
34:34or write to us at countdown, leeds, ls3, 1js.
34:38You can also find our web page at channel4.com forward slash countdown.