- 23/07/2025
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00:30Hello, everybody. Welcome to Countdown on Thursday, December 12th.
00:35And by the end of next week, the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy
00:38will be nestling in the hands of the Series 90 champion.
00:43And Rachel Riley here are the numbers. I think I've got this right.
00:46Between now and then, obviously, seven shows, 70 7-0 letters rounds,
00:5228 numbers rounds, and at least seven conundrums between now and glory.
01:00What jumps out to you about Series 90? Because everyone tells its own story.
01:06I guess this year, we've not had, you know, the wonder kid coming through.
01:11And, you know, even we're looking at today and we've got people that were in so long ago
01:16and people that were in five minutes ago.
01:17So it's been a long series and a lot's changed in the last few weeks.
01:20So it's anybody's.
01:21What do you think, Susie Dent? You know, of all the series you've sat there,
01:25there's been something more unpredictable than usual about this one.
01:30I know, and that is just going to add to the excitement.
01:33And plus, we have all our nicknames as well.
01:35Yes, I love that. Which is fab.
01:37And here to see our first two semi-finalists will be Rory Bremner today and tomorrow.
01:42Lovely to have you back. Thank you.
01:43And so to our number one seed, who almost snuck in the back door, of course,
01:51just here last week, actually finishing off your race to OctoChamp.
01:55880 points. Chris Kirby's back.
01:58He's our number one seed.
01:59But we didn't give you a nickname last week.
02:02And there's so much you could do with Kirby.
02:04I think immediately of the game I played growing up,
02:07throwing the ball across the road.
02:09But Rachel and Susie have taken over this one.
02:11And we're actually going for, I don't know, so it's a hair clip.
02:15Kirby grip.
02:16So your nickname, which is really not great, but we love it.
02:20The grip. The grip.
02:22And you're trying to grip that Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy's number one seed.
02:26But you're up against a great story.
02:29The underdog's underdog.
02:32Because this is our ninth-ranked player of the season,
02:36but our eighth seed, because the eighth-ranked player,
02:39just a little ahead of you, also in five wins.
02:41James just couldn't be here for the quarter-finals.
02:44So you've been waiting on the subs bench.
02:46You've got the call-up, my friend.
02:48Yes. Yeah, terrifying.
02:50Yeah, I'd not been training.
02:53I wasn't expecting it.
02:54But, yeah, so I've got...
02:56I'm coming in here with nothing to lose, as far as I'm concerned.
02:59But here's the thing.
03:00I could paint you as the ultimate outsider here.
03:02Not even in the top eight.
03:04But that's not the truth.
03:05Rachel and I were saying about this bizarre series.
03:08Five wins, 515 points.
03:12His highest score was 108.
03:13My goodness me, if you're an underdog,
03:16I'm as good at presenting this as Geoff Stelling.
03:18And we all know that's not true.
03:20So let's see what happens.
03:21Good luck to Chris and Neil.
03:22Our first quarter-final, our very first round.
03:29And it's you, Chris.
03:30Hi again, Rachel.
03:30Hi again, Chris.
03:31Can I start with a consonant, please?
03:32Nice to see you both joining in with Christmas jumper day.
03:35Good luck with our first quarter-final.
03:37Start today with R.
03:38And a vowel.
03:38And a final vowel, please.
04:04Final O.
04:07At the home and in the studio, let's play Countdown.
04:09We'll see you then.
04:32Time's up, Chris.
04:41Seven.
04:42Yeah, Neil.
04:43I'll try seven.
04:44OK, Chris.
04:45On earth.
04:46And Neil.
04:47I'll try haunter.
04:49A haunter, which I'm assuming can only be given to ghosts.
04:52Nobody else can haunt, only a ghost.
04:54You could be a haunter of shady pubs, for example.
04:58Oh, very good.
04:59Either way, both of them are in.
05:01So that's what they do.
05:02Very well done.
05:037.8.
05:04But was there any better, Rory Bremner?
05:07There was another seven.
05:08There was Harton.
05:09But with all these letters we were holding out for a hero.
05:12A little bit more, a few letters more.
05:14And you get here unto.
05:16Here unto.
05:16Fantastic.
05:18Fantastic.
05:18Old school.
05:19Old school.
05:20And it means, it's a very formal way of saying to this place,
05:23to this document, you know, I subscribe here unto.
05:27That kind of thing.
05:28But it will give us an eight.
05:29All right.
05:29Neil, let's call again.
05:31Hi, Rachel.
05:31Hi, Neil.
05:32Could I have a consonant, please?
05:34You could indeed.
05:35R.
05:36And a vowel.
05:37I.
05:39And a consonant, please.
05:41S.
05:42And another.
05:44P.
05:44And a vowel.
05:46And a final vowel, please.
06:02Final I.
06:04And 30 seconds.
06:06And 30 seconds.
06:06And a vowel, please.
06:07And a vowel.
06:07And a vowel, please.
06:07And a vowel, please.
06:08And a vowel, please.
06:08And a vowel, please.
06:09And a vowel, please.
06:09And a vowel, please.
06:10And a vowel, please.
06:11And a vowel, please.
06:11And a vowel, please.
06:11And a vowel, please.
06:12And a vowel, please.
06:12And a vowel, please.
06:12And a vowel, please.
06:13And a vowel, please.
06:13And a vowel, please.
06:13And a vowel, please.
06:14And a vowel, please.
06:15And a vowel, please.
06:15And a vowel, please.
06:16And a vowel, please.
06:17And a vowel, please.
06:18And a vowel, please.
06:19And a vowel, please.
06:20And a vowel, please.
06:21And a vowel, please.
06:22And a vowel, please.
06:36Neil? Just six.
06:39And Chris? Yeah, just six as well. Not written down.
06:43Just to delay your luck, Neil, you went the needle there. What have you got, Chris?
06:47Spirit. Spirit. And for you, Neil? Pistol.
06:50Pistol and spirit. Very nice indeed.
06:53Oh, the cagey there in that round. Was it better again?
06:56We had some Christmassy ones in there. Sprout was in there, obviously.
06:59I really thought spiritual was in there, but you did need another A or something for that.
07:04Yes. What have we got, Poilus? P-O-I-L-U-S?
07:08Yes, Poilu, I think, if you take it from the French.
07:11We're a million miles away there, Grando.
07:14I'm so sorry. Sorry to my French degree teachers.
07:17That is totally fine. They were infantry soldiers in the French army once upon a time.
07:22Poilu, yeah. And we can take it to a severn, not with the place name Tripoli,
07:28but with the use of that word for a stone, and it's a decomposed limestone
07:33that's used as paste for polishing things.
07:35OK. All even in our first quarterfinal as we get to our first numbers round.
07:40Chris? The usual, please. One large, five small.
07:43One large, five little. I wonder how long this will continue for these finals.
07:47Let's see if it separates you early or not. The first numbers.
07:50One, seven, nine, one, four, and one hundred.
07:56And the target, 195. 195.
07:59Number's up.
08:00Now, we'll see.
08:01We'll see.
08:02We'll see.
08:03Talk now.
08:15That's what you want, to settle the nerves.
08:32Chris, 195.
08:33Yeah, 195.
08:34Yeah, and Neil?
08:35Yeah, 195.
08:36Absolutely, with you two.
08:37Go ahead, Chris.
08:379 minus 7.
08:392.
08:39Times 100.
08:40200.
08:41Minus 4, minus 1.
08:42Yes, this one's never going to separate you two.
08:44And Neil?
08:45Similar, but different.
08:471 plus 1 is 2.
08:48Times 100.
08:509 minus 4 is 5.
08:52Yeah.
08:53Same result.
08:55Nice.
08:58Right, let's get our Tea Time teaser.
09:00Re-notion.
09:01Re-notion.
09:03It sounds like the brown note can hit the high note.
09:06It sounds like the brown note can hit the high note.
09:09Tenor.
09:10Welcome back.
09:27Re-notion becomes tenorino.
09:29Tenorino.
09:30I've no idea why.
09:30Let's go over to the dictionary corner.
09:32It sounds like the brown note can hit the high note.
09:35Tenor.
09:36Oh, yes.
09:37Money.
09:37OK.
09:38We're there now.
09:39And tenorino?
09:40We know the three tenors, but tenorino?
09:43Yeah, in a choir, this would be a high tenor.
09:46Yeah.
09:46Love it.
09:46All right, who's your tenor on here?
09:4823 points apiece.
09:51Neil.
09:51Brilliant.
09:52Let's go.
09:53Can we start with a vowel this time, please, Rachel?
09:55Thank you, Neil.
09:55And a consonant?
09:58R.
09:59And another?
10:01N.
10:03And another one?
10:05M.
10:06And a vowel, please.
10:08A.
10:09And another?
10:10E.
10:12And a consonant?
10:14R.
10:15And another consonant?
10:17P.
10:19And a final vowel, please.
10:22A final O.
10:24Thanks, Rich.
10:25MUSIC PLAYS
10:27Time's up, Neil.
10:57I'm going to risk a seven.
10:59Have to.
10:59Chris?
11:00Seven.
11:01No risk at all.
11:01Neil?
11:02I'm hoping it's not capitalised, but I've got Emperor.
11:05Emperor.
11:06And for you, Chris?
11:07Manrope.
11:08And manrope.
11:10Yeah, absolutely fine.
11:11Emperor, absolutely fine with a small e.
11:14And manrope also is a rope on the side of a ship's gangway,
11:17so you can steer with it.
11:18You were whispering Repo Man to me.
11:22And that is in the dictionary, but it's two words.
11:25OK, and in terms of anything else that often happens in these big games,
11:28Neil and Chris might have done your job for you, Rory.
11:30Both words, manrope, emperor, and that's all we had.
11:34Let's try again then, Chris, your letters.
11:36Let's start with a consonant, please.
11:37Thank you, Chris.
11:38N.
11:39And another one?
11:41S.
11:41And another?
11:43C.
11:44A vowel?
11:45I.
11:46Another one?
11:47E.
11:49Another one?
11:50O.
11:51And a consonant?
11:53G.
11:56Another consonant?
11:58W.
12:02And...
12:03A final vowel, please.
12:07Final E.
12:08And half a minute.
12:09From one Much сначала.
12:10To anotherbie.
12:10S.
12:11And half a minute.
12:11One perfect while moving through up.
12:12This is acalled wrong pattern.
12:13No horizon.
12:14And well, I've never done it.
12:15One perfect second.
12:15Within chickpea.
12:15And then have our личity.
12:16And how is it the other one?
12:17Hope for a while-
12:18To another 이상, if I was to show your Şekers of innage.
12:21And this is where there's something else that happens.
12:24I feel one of a människor Wen and a deceased.
12:25Hope for a Site One nurturing.
12:26MUSIC
12:39Chris. Eight, I think.
12:41Neil. Just a six from me.
12:43The six from you.
12:44Sewing.
12:45But Chris likes a gamble too.
12:47We saw that on his race to OctoChub and this is going to be one, maybe.
12:50Eschewing.
12:51OK, you need an H in there for, like, eschewing.
12:56But I will obviously check because it might be in there without spelling.
12:59It's not, unfortunately.
13:00It's not.
13:01You would need the H.
13:02Wow, so Neil gets the points.
13:04Rory, you?
13:05Well, we had seven.
13:07We had cognise.
13:08Cognise for seven.
13:10Yes.
13:11It's a shame because if you had Jonathan Ross in the corner,
13:13you could have had recognise.
13:15You could have used a W and had a nine letter.
13:18You know we can't afford Jonathan Ross.
13:20Well, listen, yesterday Neil was sitting at home.
13:23He'd settled in for Christmas and here he is, 24 hours later,
13:27in the lead against our number one seed.
13:30But so long to go, as you know.
13:32And Neil, you're picking these numbers.
13:35Can I have two large and the rest small, please?
13:37Two large.
13:38No sudden moves to try to extend the lead.
13:40Just a gentle two large, potentially.
13:42This time your four little ones are five, two, three and seven.
13:46And the big two, 50 and 75.
13:49And we need to reach 568.
13:51Five, six, eight.
13:53Numbers up.
13:54And we'll be right back.
13:55Let's get started.
13:58The first, we'll be right back.
14:005-6-8, the target.
14:27Neil Holland?
14:285-7-2.
14:30Four away, Chris Kirby.
14:32Yeah, 5-6-8.
14:33And he's nailed it, he doesn't like being behind, off you go.
14:3775 times 7.
14:395-2-5.
14:40Plus 50.
14:415-7-5.
14:42And then minus the 5 and the 2.
14:43Well done.
14:445-6-8.
14:45Brilliant.
14:47Four points in it now, a champion back in the lead, but only Justin.
14:51A good point to mention and all the excitement of the quarterfinal.
14:55Of course, we're all in the Christmas jumpers today.
14:57The studio will have Christmas throw up on it next week.
15:01Carol singers and everything again.
15:02But this is officially Christmas jumper day today, isn't it?
15:05Yeah, another few quid going in, save the children's direction.
15:08Yeah, yours is very good indeed.
15:10Susie, borderline not a Christmas jumper, but I'm going to let it pass.
15:14Dent.
15:15I'm going to let it pass.
15:15What's it say?
15:16Sparkle.
15:17Sparkle.
15:17It's on borderline for me.
15:19All right, let's stay Christmassy, Rory.
15:21And let's talk about your role at Christmas.
15:24Because I think when you can do voices, surely you get asked to do everything.
15:29Whether it's a Grinch impression, Father Christmas, everything.
15:31Yeah, when I was young, when my children were younger, I'd get roped in to do Father Christmas
15:36at their school.
15:37And I'd sort of turn up and, because Father Christmas is quite frightening for kids.
15:41So I thought, how can I stop them bursting into tears, basically.
15:45So I thought I'll put on a silly voice.
15:46I did the voice.
15:48Hello, hello, kids.
15:49How are you?
15:49How are you?
15:49And I realized I was doing Boris Johnson.
15:52It's even more frightening if you think about it, because, you know, many of the children
15:55might be mine.
15:55But no, anyway.
15:57We continue.
15:58So I used to do all this, and I used to sort of fall over, because, again, if you see
16:01a silly man falling over, you know, you're no longer frightened of him.
16:04And so that was my, that was my sort of go-to, was Boris and falling over.
16:08But, funny enough, actually, this year has been, you know, the 12 days of Christmas?
16:12Yeah.
16:13I was thinking about it.
16:14Of course, we've had a change of government.
16:15But looking back at the last 14 years, in fact, since Brexit, in the eight years since
16:20Brexit, the Tories gave to me, this is true, nine education secretaries, eight home secretaries,
16:25seven foreign secretaries, six different chancellors, five prime secretaries,
16:28high ministers, four of those resigned, three Boris babies, that we know about, two kings
16:37or queens, and a partridge in a pear tree.
16:40Brilliant.
16:43And I bet as you were working that out, and it was all falling into your place, you were
16:47like, yes, that's worked.
16:49That's worked.
16:50Fantastic.
16:51Right, here we go then.
16:5240, 36, four points at it.
16:55Let's get back to our number one seat.
16:58Under a bit of pressure here, your letters.
17:01Can I have a consonant, please?
17:02Thank you, Chris.
17:04N.
17:04And a vowel.
17:06O.
17:07A consonant.
17:09S.
17:10A vowel.
17:10A.
17:11A consonant.
17:13T.
17:14A vowel.
17:14A.
17:16Another consonant.
17:19N.
17:20Another consonant.
17:22D.
17:25And a final consonant, please.
17:29Final N.
17:30And here we go again.
17:31A vowel.
17:32A vowel.
17:33A vowel.
17:33A vowel.
17:34A vowel.
17:34A vowel.
17:34A vowel.
17:35A vowel.
17:35A vowel.
17:36A vowel.
17:36A vowel.
17:36A vowel.
17:36A vowel.
17:37A vowel.
17:37A vowel.
17:37A vowel.
17:37A vowel.
17:37A vowel.
17:38A vowel.
17:38A vowel.
17:38A vowel.
17:38A vowel.
17:39A vowel.
17:39A vowel.
17:40A vowel.
17:40A vowel.
17:40A vowel.
17:41A vowel.
17:41A vowel.
17:41A vowel.
17:42A vowel.
17:42A vowel.
17:42A vowel.
17:43A vowel.
17:44A vowel.
17:44A vowel.
17:45A vowel.
17:45A vowel.
17:45A vowel.
17:46A vowel.
17:46A vowel.
17:47A vowel.
17:48A vowel.
17:48A vowel.
17:49MUSIC PLAYS
18:01Chris. Seven. Neil.
18:04I'm going to risk an eight. He's going to risk an eight to retake the lead.
18:08What a ding-dong battle. Chris. Donates. OK.
18:11Your risk didn't pay off. Well, Neil. Endnotes.
18:15Endnotes would be in the dictionary, but you need two E.
18:18We need two E's. And we don't have two E's, Neil.
18:22But, yeah, it's there waiting for you in the dictionary next time.
18:25It's a brilliant word, but just not this time. What was there?
18:28We had tendons, which would give you another seven.
18:31And Chris's donates, of course, right? Well, there you go.
18:3447.36. Now, 11 points in it.
18:37Neil, you're back in control. Try and close that gap.
18:40A consonant, please. Thank you, Neil.
18:42M. And another. T. And one more.
18:47P. And a vowel, please. U. And another. I. And a third one. O.
18:57A consonant. R. Another consonant, please. Q. And a final vowel, please.
19:07Final E. And start the clock.
19:09And start the clock.
19:10Time.
19:11Time.
19:12Time.
19:13Time.
19:14Neil.
19:42That's seven.
19:43Chris.
19:44Seven.
19:45What have you got, Neil?
19:46Poutier.
19:47Poutier.
19:48And Chris?
19:49I'll go for proteum.
19:51Proteum is in the dictionary and it is the common stable isotope of hydrogen.
19:57Very good.
19:58And poutier, we don't need explain.
20:00No.
20:02Seven points.
20:02It's Rory Bremner.
20:04No, poutier.
20:05We had torque for six, but no.
20:08They're the champs for a reason.
20:10That's it.
20:11OK.
20:12Let's go again.
20:13Third numbers round of the day.
20:14Chris Kirby, it'll be your last time choosing them in this quarterfinal.
20:19Let's go four large, please.
20:20We'll just have a little bit of fun, not to try to extend the lead.
20:22Maybe both.
20:24Let's see.
20:25We're upping the ante.
20:26The two little ones this first quarterfinal.
20:28Three, one, and the big one's 50.
20:31One hundred, seventy-five and twenty-five.
20:34And the target, three hundred and nine.
20:37Three hundred and nine.
20:38Numbers up.
20:38One hundred and nine.
20:39Two hundred and eight.
20:40My move on.
20:40One hundred and nine.
20:42One hundred and eight.
20:42The third time you watch.
20:43One hundred and nine.
20:44Two hundred and nine.
20:46One hundred and 11.
20:47Two hundred and numbers.
20:483-0-9. Chris? Yeah, 3-0-9.
21:11And Neil? Yep, 3-0-9. Off you go, Chris.
21:14100 plus 3. 100 plus 3...103.
21:18Times 75 divided by 25. Yeah, there you have it. Simple.
21:22And for you, Neil? The same, slightly different.
21:2575 over 25 is 3. 100 plus 3.
21:28Switch the threes. Same, same. I trust you. Well done.
21:31APPLAUSE
21:34We did warn you this was not David versus Goliath.
21:37We did warn you it was more Goliath-Samson, and that's the way it's turned out.
21:41Just 11 points in it. Go absolutely nowhere as we give you this Tea Time teaser.
21:46Bad spiel. Bad spiel.
21:49There was no bad spiel. In fact, it was quite black and white.
21:53There was no bad spiel. In fact, it was quite black and white.
21:57Bad spiel becomes piebald.
22:02So let's hold our horses and just check in with Susie.
22:07Piebalds.
22:08Yes, they are horses with patches of two colours, usually black and white.
22:12There was no bad spiel.
22:14There was no bad spiel. In fact, it was quite black and white.
22:16Bad spiel becomes piebald.
22:18So let's hold our horses and just check in with Susie.
22:21Piebalds.
22:22Yes, they are horses with patches of two colours, usually black and white.
22:27And actually, it's a nod to the magpie, the colours of the magpie.
22:30At right, Neil, lock and hoppin in six rounds. You're in charge of this one.
22:35A consonant, please, Rachel.
22:36Thank you, Neil.
22:37M.
22:38And another.
22:39L.
22:41And another one.
22:42D.
22:44And one more.
22:45B.
22:46And a vowel, please.
22:47A.
22:48And another.
22:49O.
22:50And one more.
22:51U.
22:52And a consonant, please.
22:53G.
22:54And a final vowel, please.
22:56Final O.
22:57And good luck, everybody.
22:58G.
22:59G.
23:00And a final vowel, please.
23:02Final O.
23:03And good luck, everybody.
23:05G.
23:06And good luck, everybody.
23:07Bye-bye.
23:37That is time. And Neil?
23:40Just a five.
23:41And for you, Chris?
23:42Seven.
23:42Seven for you. This is a big moment at Fields, Neil, the five?
23:47Blood.
23:48All right, number one seed.
23:49Lumbago.
23:51Lumbago, lower back pain.
23:52Was there anything else?
23:54No, there really wasn't. So, yeah, sort of mould and stuff.
23:57But lumbago is your highest scoring for us, yeah.
23:59Right, let's go again. Straight in. Chris Kirby, your choice.
24:03Can I have a consonant, please?
24:04Thank you, Chris.
24:05W.
24:06And another one.
24:08L.
24:09And another one.
24:11R.
24:12A vowel.
24:13E.
24:14And another.
24:15A.
24:16And a third.
24:19E.
24:20A consonant.
24:21T.
24:23Another consonant.
24:25H.
24:27And a final consonant, please.
24:30Final Y.
24:31All right, cut it down.
24:32Ha!
24:44A lira.
24:46A lira.
24:46A lira.
24:46A lira.
24:47A lira.
24:48A opower.
24:50A lira.
24:55anyées.
24:55A Terre.
24:56Aέλ.
24:56Aylie.
24:56A fiery.
24:57Cmäßig.
24:58A gettinby.
24:58A vegetable.
24:58A verso.
24:59Aem. A symbol.
25:00A temas. A预.
25:00Time is up.
25:04Chris? Eight. And for you, Neil?
25:06Just seven. The seven. He's in overdrive
25:08at the moment, isn't he? The seven,
25:10Neil? Wealthy. Yeah, the eight?
25:13Leathery. Leathery's in the dictionary.
25:15Very well done. Beautiful.
25:18We should have spotted it. I didn't. Did you, Rory?
25:21Well, we had two words,
25:22one seven and one eight. Guess which two they were?
25:25Those two. Wealthy and leathery.
25:27Yep. Well, that sounds like
25:28you're not having to do much, so let's stay right there
25:30and it's time to pull your weight, Susie.
25:32Our first quarterfinals Origins Awards.
25:35Yes. Now, I've been in Ireland
25:36all week. I'm actually going to Kew
25:38in London today and to Gordon
25:40Lockhart, who says he read
25:42somewhere that milliners and hat makers went
25:44crazy because they were using mercury
25:47to cure their fur skins.
25:49Could you elaborate for us, please?
25:50So, he's almost told us the entire
25:52story in that single
25:54question, but I will elaborate.
25:57And I'm going to start with the phrase
25:58mad as a hatter, just to keep it linguistic,
26:00because most of us would think
26:02it started with Lewis Carroll and
26:04Alice in Wonderland, but a few people
26:06would know that there was a tale
26:08of real suffering
26:10behind it, because
26:12indeed, it does involve
26:14poisoning by mercury.
26:16And, I'll let you know,
26:18essentially felt hats were once
26:20all the rage. So, if you think of a top hat,
26:22that was a felt hat. Most of them
26:24were made from beaver fur
26:26if they were of high quality, but the cheaper
26:28ones used fur such as rabbit instead.
26:30And with those cheaper ones,
26:32in order to get the sort of matted
26:34fur that you would automatically get on a
26:36beaver skin, they used
26:38a mercury compound, normally
26:40mercury is nitrate, to kind of
26:42roughen the fibres a little bit and help
26:44it to stick more easily.
26:46And they were then turned
26:48into felt, which was immersed into
26:50some boiling acid solution to
26:52thicken it and to harden it.
26:54And it was quite a complicated
26:56process.
26:57And in all of them, the workers were
26:59essentially housed in very poorly
27:02ventilated spaces and
27:04sort of early factories.
27:05And, of course, they would breathe in
27:06these mercury compounds and the
27:08metal would start to accumulate in
27:10their bodies.
27:11And it is that kind of
27:12cumulative effect, really, because
27:14it can eventually cause kidney
27:16damage, brain damage and that kind of thing.
27:18And thankfully, it's been a very
27:20long time since then, so mercury no longer
27:22used in making hats.
27:25But when we say mad as a
27:26hatter, unknowingly
27:28for most of us, we are actually referring
27:30to those people who really did undergo
27:32these horrible changes
27:34in their mental health and their
27:36personality, thanks to this compound
27:38that they were using.
27:39Strong origins of words.
27:40Thank you so much.
27:41OK, four rounds still to go.
27:47Neil, if you are going to truly be a
27:49Rocky, this would be the moment to do it.
27:51Your letters.
27:52A consonant, please, Rachel.
27:53Thank you, Neil.
27:55S.
27:56And a vowel.
27:58U.
27:59And a consonant.
28:01C.
28:02And another consonant.
28:04N.
28:05And a vowel.
28:05O.
28:08And a consonant.
28:10S.
28:11And another consonant.
28:13V.
28:15A vowel.
28:16A.
28:18And a final consonant, please.
28:22Final R.
28:23And let's play.
28:55That's time, Neil.
28:56Uh, seven.
28:57Chris.
28:58Seven.
28:59Neil.
29:00Savers.
29:00Savers.
29:02No.
29:03Savers.
29:04For seven.
29:05Very nice.
29:06Is it going to be a very brief chat here,
29:08or can we add anything?
29:09No, just uncross another seven, that's it.
29:11That's it.
29:12Yeah, uncross.
29:13And Savers.
29:1486 plays 60.
29:16Chris Kirby.
29:17Can I have a consonant, please?
29:18Thank you, Chris.
29:19D.
29:21Add a vowel.
29:22I.
29:23A consonant.
29:23F.
29:25A vowel.
29:26A.
29:28A consonant.
29:29M.
29:31A vowel.
29:32E.
29:34A consonant.
29:35C.
29:39Another vowel.
29:41Another I.
29:43And another vowel, please.
29:45And, to finish, E.
29:48Last letters.
29:55E.
29:56MUSIC PLAYS
30:19That's it, Chris.
30:21Stick with a six.
30:22And Neil?
30:23I'm going to risk an eight.
30:24You have to.
30:24You have to.
30:25I love his style.
30:26I love it.
30:27Chris, you're sticking with a six.
30:28Defame.
30:29What's the eight?
30:31Femicide.
30:31Oh, yes, a gory, horrible word.
30:33But femicide in the dictionary?
30:35It is in the dictionary.
30:37Rory, what was your highest six?
30:39We were just stuck on defame, yeah.
30:41So you pulled that out of the bag.
30:43Well done.
30:43Wow.
30:43Well done.
30:44So what does that mean?
30:45It means it's 86-68.
30:47You think it's a long way back, but Neil is in charge of the last numbers.
30:52Can we have six small, please?
30:54Keep the dream alive, going for the lowlands, low numbers.
30:59See what I did there?
31:00Right, final numbers.
31:01Ten, one, one, uh-oh, four, five, eight.
31:07And the target, 511.
31:10Five, 11, last numbers.
31:13Five, 11, last numbers.
31:385-1-1. Neil Holland.
31:47Er, 5-0-4.
31:485-0-4. Chris?
31:515-1-1.
31:52Oh, wow! Wow, off you go.
31:5510 plus 5 plus 1.
31:57Ooh, 10 plus 5 plus 1, 16.
31:59Times 4 times 8.
32:01Times 4, 64, times 8 is 512.
32:06And then minus the 1.
32:07Second one, 511.
32:08Well done.
32:09Wow!
32:1296-68.
32:13Let's go, Neil.
32:14Push hard to the end.
32:15Let's reveal this quarterfinal.
32:17Countdown conundrum.
32:18MUSIC PLAYS
32:22Chris couldn't get it.
32:38Neil couldn't get it.
32:50Neil couldn't get it.
32:52The whole studio is drawn a blank.
32:55It can't be an ING.
32:57You would have got it if it was.
32:59So it's got to be something surprising.
33:01Let's reveal the answer to the countdown conundrum.
33:05Right.
33:06Sub-region it was.
33:08Neil, I'm going to come to you first.
33:10You didn't have time to practice and maybe showed a bit in the middle rounds, a bit ring rusty.
33:15You should be so proud of it.
33:16How do you feel?
33:17Fantastic.
33:17Yeah, I was really glad.
33:18You know, I'm really surprised to be coming back, to be honest.
33:20Yeah.
33:21So, yeah, I've had a great time.
33:23It's been, you know, the previous episodes on this have all been lots of fun.
33:27Yeah.
33:27It's the main thing.
33:27Absolutely.
33:28It's been a real joy to have you back.
33:30And Chris is a delightful number one seed.
33:33By the way, there's no errors or graces or arrogance that comes with it.
33:36That was really interesting.
33:37And you changed your tactic close today with five vials at one stage, four large.
33:41You were doing things we didn't see in the regular season.
33:45Are you going to change things up a bit?
33:46Yeah, possibly.
33:47I probably should keep it simple, though.
33:48But I think at this stage, everyone's a quality player, aren't they?
33:51And Neil was just amazing there.
33:53And femicide is just ridiculous, though.
33:55Yeah.
33:55Very well played.
33:56Brilliant.
33:57Oh, cut your breath.
33:58Do it all again tomorrow, guys, yes?
34:00Oh, that's close.
34:01Well, you came in from the sub-region, and I think I've been demoted to the sub-region.
34:06So, it's an honour to be on the show with you.
34:09Brilliant, yes.
34:10And tomorrow, we have a second quarter-final.
34:12Fiona Wood against Helen McGivern.
34:14Normally, I have a favourite.
34:15This time, I don't know.
34:16We disagree on who's going to win tomorrow.
34:19That's how close it is.
34:19We're not going to say which way.
34:21Let's just do it all again.
34:22Same time tomorrow, second quarter-final.
34:24We cannot wait.
34:25We'll be waiting for you.
34:26You can count on us.
34:28You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com.
34:33You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:37That way, I am going to be sure.
34:38Exactly.
Recommended
34:48
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