- 34 minutes ago
This episode was kindly donated by SuperLegendary.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Thank you very much.
00:30Good afternoon, good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown Studio. On the day around 30 years ago it was. My
00:38word, that was a day and a half, that was a night and a half because one and a half
00:43billion people, Rachel, were glued to their television stations to see the great Live Aid concert.
00:50It was, of course, started off organised by Bob Geldof and Midyur and it was a riot and they put
00:56together the most incredible, incredible concert of all time in order to raise relief funds, of course, for the poor
01:04people who are starving in Ethiopia.
01:06And 16 hours of live music and some of the great acts too. The big hits of the day, of
01:13course, were Queen and Freddie Mercury. That was amazing. In his t-shirt. God bless you.
01:18Brilliant. And then Phil Collins played, then he screamed across out to Heathrow, hopped on Concord and played then in
01:26Philadelphia. It was a wonderful, wonderful thing. I can't remember how much they raised, but it was an extraordinary effort.
01:32So, there we are. You sort of could have heard it sort of thing, couldn't you, if you'd been a
01:38bit nearer?
01:39Well, I had a bit of a, you know, there was a stomach in the way of my listening. Yes.
01:43Because I was still in the belly at the time.
01:44Were you? But you could have felt it, like... I think I probably had, I might have grown ears at
01:49that point. I'm not sure. I'll have to check the diary.
01:51All right. Now, who have we got with us? We have Judy Burstford, of course, is back again, our crucial
01:57conundrum queen. Five wins under your belt. Well done indeed.
02:01And you're joined today by James McPherson, an IT support analyst from Chessington. Big Tottenham Hotspur fan. Indeed.
02:08And ran into young Mr. Bale, Gareth Bale, once upon a time. Yeah, I met Gareth Bale a couple of
02:14times. Yeah. Wonderful player. So fast. Brilliant, yeah.
02:17And now he's off with Real Madrid. Scoring goals out there? Yeah, he is, yeah. Unfortunately. You'd like him back?
02:23I'd love him back.
02:24How much did you get rid of him for? 86 million, I think. Which I think was his second highest?
02:28The record. It was the highest. Still the highest at the moment, yeah.
02:31Amazing. And do they think they've got a bargain or not?
02:35The fans don't seem to be taken to him, actually, for some reason, but he scored the Champions League winning
02:39goal for them last season.
02:40I can't understand it. Well, you've got to score a few goals for 85 million. Yeah, yeah.
02:46Wonderful. Welcome, James McPherson. Thank you. And a big round of applause for you and Judy Bursford.
02:55And over in the corner, of course, Susie. And joined for the last time, until we can persuade her to
03:00come back, the wonderful Helen Fospero.
03:03It's been great fun having you. Some great, great stories.
03:06I won't take much persuading. I'll come back any time.
03:09Bring your mum as well. Shall I bring mum? And dad, maybe, in the audience.
03:12Sure. Sure, because your mum's a big Countdown fan, isn't she?
03:15My mum and my children are big Countdown fans.
03:17Excellent. Jack's only five, so he's getting three letter words now.
03:20That's brilliant. About the same as me.
03:23Now then, what shall we do? Judy, shall we have a letterscape?
03:27Yes.
03:27All right. Go on then.
03:29Consonant, please, Rachel.
03:30Thank you, Judy.
03:31Q.
03:33And another.
03:35S.
03:36And another.
03:38R.
03:40Vowel.
03:41U.
03:42And another, please.
03:44I.
03:45And another.
03:46E.
03:49Consonant.
03:51G.
03:53Another consonant.
03:55T.
03:57And another consonant.
03:59And lastly, L.
04:01And here is the Countdown clock.
04:04G.
04:05Vowel.
04:07I.
04:08I.
04:20A.
04:34Well, Judy?
04:35Eight.
04:37An eight.
04:37James?
04:38Just a six.
04:40And that six?
04:41Squire.
04:42Yes, Judy?
04:43Quilters?
04:44A quilter.
04:45You certainly can be a quilter.
04:47Yes, that's absolutely excellent.
04:49It's quite popular these days, isn't it?
04:50A popular pastime to be a quilter.
04:52It was always a big American deal, wasn't it?
04:54They were always making quilts.
04:56Memory quilts and that kind of thing.
04:57Yeah, yeah, exactly.
04:59Right, so quick lead for Judy.
05:01Eight points.
05:02Now then, James, your letters came.
05:04Hi, Rachel.
05:05Hi, James.
05:06Now, let's start with a consonant, please.
05:08Start with S.
05:09And another one.
05:11R.
05:13And a third.
05:15N.
05:17And a vowel.
05:18O.
05:19And another vowel, please.
05:22E.
05:23And another one.
05:25A.
05:27And a consonant.
05:29S.
05:31And a vowel.
05:33I.
05:35And a final consonant, please.
05:37And a final L.
05:39Stand by.
05:40And a vowel.
05:59And a vowel.
06:00And a vowel.
06:00And a vowel.
06:00and a vowel.
06:10well James six Judy eight and eight James learns Judy ailerons ailerons
06:20good countdown word that one isn't it though yes Helen knows about ailerons
06:25having flown with the red arrows I do with my g trousers on um solar eyes we
06:31had which is eight and reason for six thank you all right 16 points now then
06:37it's numbers time Judy one large five small please with what you know thank
06:42you Judy one from the top and five little ones and for the first time this
06:46week the numbers are six eight three four seven and 100 and the target 250 250
07:29Judy two five six two five six James and a two five zero so tell us how you arrived at
07:37that
07:37figure three times a hundred three times 100 300 seven times eight seven times
07:45856 take it away take it away for 244 and plus the six lovely 250 well done thank
07:53you very much well done James 10 points 10 good points so it's 16 plays 10 as we
08:00move to a tea time teaser which is ape snack and the clue the Americans go ape for
08:06this type of snack the Americans go ape for this type of snack
08:33pancakes pancakes there we are 16 to uh 10 Judy six points in the lead James and I'll start with
08:40a
08:40vowel please thank you James a and another you and a consonant T and a vowel I and a
08:55consonant G and another consonant please W and a vowel please O and a consonant L and a
09:10T and another consonant T and lastly T stand by
09:41let's go
09:47james risky five judy six so james aglow aglow yes outwit outwit very good you're doing a lot
09:59of that judy yes what have we got over there helen we can outlaw yes and agouti for six
10:05that's it susie there's also tortog t-a-u-t-o-g which is a grayish olive edible rat which
10:13is a type of fish
10:14with strong teeth and thick lips i'm not sure i'd like to meet one of those
10:17all right 22 plays 10 now judy letters time have a consonant please rachel thank you judy s and
10:28another f and again d and a vowel a and another e and another o consonant s another consonant
10:46g and another consonant and the last one n countdown
10:56so
11:08so
11:09so
11:24Yes, Judy.
11:25I think I've got an eight.
11:27An eight, James?
11:28Just a seven.
11:29And that seven?
11:31Dosages.
11:32Dosages, good word.
11:33Judy?
11:34Seasoned, is it there?
11:36Oh, you need to ease.
11:38Oh, okay.
11:38Yes, sorry, Judy.
11:40And in the corner there, Helen?
11:41We had dosages at seven and fades at five.
11:46All right.
11:46So 22 plays 17.
11:48And now we're with the numbers again.
11:50We're with James on a numbers game.
11:54I'll try four from the top, please, Rachel.
11:55You can.
11:56Thank you, James.
11:57Four from the top, bro.
11:58And two little ones.
11:59We'll see how we get on with this.
12:00The little ones are six and five.
12:03And the big ones, 25, 75, 100 and 50.
12:08And the target, 511.
12:11Five, one, one.
12:41The, the general audience.
12:42The, the general audience is three and one.
12:42The, the general audience are six and five.
12:44James 512 one away Judy 509 I haven't let mine down you have finished all right
12:52we're going to talk to James first anyway five times 100 five times 100 is 500 75 plus 25 is
13:01175 yep 100 over 50 is two it is times the six four one away five another well done thank
13:10you
13:10James but one away is still you know looking for another number isn't it Rachel it is or none
13:17away would be 75 minus 50 is 25 divided by 25 is 1 add to 100 for 101 times by
13:285 for 505
13:29and add on the 6 of 511 there we go right down the bottom
13:33all right well done Rachel 511 perfectly done executed in an exemplary fashion as ever 22 to
13:42James is 24 points now then that's something to think about Judy as we turn to Helen we've heard
13:49some great stories from your time as being a TV reporter that New York story was extraordinary
13:54but have you ever had any awkward moments I've had too many awkward moments to count really
14:00but I suppose one that really springs to mind is when I was an entertainment correspondent and I
14:06had this seemingly dream job doing the Cannes Film Festival going to the Oscars and also going to
14:12celebrities homes all over the world and it was a real privilege and a very exciting role to have
14:18but I did put my foot in it on more than one occasion and the one that really sticks out
14:23is I was
14:23invited to Luther Vandross's mansion and my editor had said he just bought this big new house and was
14:30going to renovate it and we were going to meet him and have a look round so before he arrived
14:35I was
14:36allowed a little sort of peek round with the cameraman just to work out where we'd film and I mean
14:41the
14:41style was totally over the top it was zebra and you know leopard skin rugs everywhere lots of garish
14:47crystal bright colors and really not terribly tasteful but an amazing property so then Luther
14:54arrived and we did the whole thing where on camera I meet him in the entrance hall fabulous marble
15:00everywhere and I said to him so you know this is a fantastic project for you know what are your
15:06plans
15:06for it what are you going to do with it and he just paused and looked at me and told
15:12me with a bit
15:12of a wry smile that he just spent 25 million dollars renovating it just really wanted the floor
15:20to open and swallow me but he was and bless him he's not with us anymore fantastic musician he was
15:26very generous spirited and did see did see the funny side of it and when I've been there a while
15:31it sort of grew on me a bit but he could he took it in good heart that's a nice
15:35thing he did he took
15:36it in very good spirit and everybody would have done that and he let us look everywhere I mean he
15:39talked us through his fridge at one point he told me that sometimes he had eating problems he'd either
15:44eat lots or not eat enough and so he had a variety of sort of strange things in his fridge
15:48you know
15:48buckets and buckets of ice cream and all sorts of all sorts of different things he showed us everywhere
15:53and he was a lovely lovely man and obviously a huge talent did he die very young I think he
15:59was sort
15:59of fun guessing now but mid 40s or 50s it was tragic really tragic yeah okay 22 to James is
16:0824 well done
16:10James Judy now then not another cliffhanger I hope it's your letters game the continent please Rachel
16:18thank you thank you Judy P and another D and another one B vowel please I another E and another
16:31O
16:32consonant T another consonant P and another consonant and lastly K stand by
16:49you
17:19judy six a six james and a six judy tips and james popped bopped yes you go bopping
17:29bop helen tipped and topped six and six and susie anything else no just say six is unfair
17:37nothing better who would have thought it 30 plays 28 james your letters game start with
17:43a constant please thank you james p and another one please m and a third y and a vowel please
17:57i and another one a and another one please o and a consonant please t and a vowel
18:12you and a consonant please and a final r stand by
18:19so
18:48james
18:50uh six a six judy seven seven james uh trampy trampy and topiary
18:59guys just so fantastic well done very good um trampy is in by the way in case you're wondering
19:05about that what does it mean somebody behaves in a trampy vampy way yes or looks and it looks
19:11a bit trampy trampy sort of seen only a woman could be a tramp in that sense am i right
19:17or
19:17wrong i think you could look a bit trampy nick
19:21in the right outfit we could make it happen she's a tramp anyway um anything else changing
19:29the subject quickly for you yes uh two six ones as well atrium and myopia myopia he said
19:36looking closely at it 35 to 30 judy's back in the lead now then it's judy's numbers game now
19:43one for the top thank you one for the top five little another close contest for you
19:48all right let's see if this can separate you the numbers are 10
19:53three eight seven another three and a large one 25
19:58five and the target three hundred and seventy three seven zero
20:05so
20:17so
20:19so
20:33Yes, Judy?
20:353, 7, 1.
20:363, 7, 1, James.
20:393, 6, 8.
20:403, 6, 8.
20:41So let's turn to Judy first of all.
20:43Judy?
20:4525 multiplied by 7 plus 8.
20:48Multiplied by 7 plus 8 for 15 is 375.
20:53No, sorry, I made it 350, but I've got it wrong.
20:57Sorry, Judy.
20:58We're stepping away, so we're with James.
21:00James McPherson.
21:023 times 25.
21:043, 25 is 75.
21:078 minus 3 is 5.
21:098 minus the other 3, 5.
21:11Times 75.
21:12375.
21:14And minus the 7.
21:15And take away this 7, which you haven't used yet.
21:183, 6, 8.
21:192 below.
21:20Well done.
21:20Well done.
21:21My word.
21:22You've taken the lead again by 2 points, James.
21:24But let's get this 370 straightened out.
21:27Rachel?
21:28Well, if you say 8 minus 3 is 5, add it to the 25 for 30 and the 7 for
21:3537,
21:36and then you just have to terms it by 10.
21:38Well done.
21:39Well done.
21:40All right.
21:42So, Judy's playing with us again.
21:4535 to James is 37.
21:47As we go into a tea time teaser, which is can't help.
21:50And the clue, I can't help you out with money, I've only got this.
21:54I can't help you out with money, I've only got this.
22:12Welcome back.
22:14The clue was, I can't help you out with money, I've only got this.
22:19Only got what?
22:20Only got a planchette.
22:22Now, Susie Dent, what is a planchette?
22:25Good word.
22:26It's a plain metal disc out of which you make a coin.
22:30So, it's not currency on its own, but it's, yeah,
22:33it's the flat disc that is used to make the coins.
22:35Before stamping or however they do it.
22:37Before all of that imprinting, yeah.
22:38OK.
22:3935 to James is 37.
22:41And, James, you're back on with the letters game.
22:44I'll start with a vowel, please.
22:46Thank you, James.
22:48O.
22:49And another one, please.
22:51E.
22:52And a third.
22:54A.
22:56And a consonant.
22:57H.
22:59And another one.
23:01J.
23:02And another one, please.
23:04R.
23:06And another one, please.
23:08N.
23:10And a vowel, please.
23:13U.
23:14And another consonant, please.
23:16And lastly, F.
23:19Stand by.
23:19listening andina subscribe 200きます,
23:21This is China.
23:22I'm more than listening to this.
23:22As I went to the섯 and cross Taj mercado.
23:23I'm more than espectowed.
23:35I'm more than altura than that.
23:38I'm more than эн� organisms I'm more than the Evangel Phone I found.
23:39I'm more than ever.
23:39I'm more than 3025 times.
23:39I'm higher than 75 minutes caught up.
23:40I'm more than paling high.
23:40I less than 예민.
23:42You're not ready to know.
23:43But I don't think about that.
23:43I'm more than ever.
23:43Tell me about that problems I believe.
23:47You're getting the answer.
23:50Well James? Risky five. Risky five Judy? Risky five. Alright. So James? A ferno. And? A honer. A honer. What
24:03does Susie think about that? Okay no ferno unfortunately and there's no honer either. Neither are we. Inferno and then
24:10it's not specified to honer. Correctly termed as riskies then weren't they? Yeah. Helen? We had a not so risky
24:16five which was heron.
24:18Very good. A heron. But I don't think we had anything more than five did we? No. That was it?
24:23Very poor. Alright. 37 plays 35. James still in the lead by those two points. Judy your letters game. Running
24:30out of time but knowing you will spring a surprise on us. Consonant please. Thank you Judy. V. And another.
24:40C. And another. D. Vowel please. E. And another one. A.
24:48And again. O. A consonant. P. And another one. H. And another one. And the last one N. Stand by.
25:04A consonant. P. And another.
25:35Judy. Just five. Five James. Got a seven not written down. Right. But let's hear from Judy first. Cheap. And
25:44James.
25:45Poached. Poached. Poached. Very very good. Yes. Excellent. Very good said in that one. What else have we got over
25:50there Helen Susie?
25:52We got phoned quite quickly which was a six. Yes. And Deacon. Yes. Another six. Yeah good. But also poached.
26:00Yeah. That was my one. Deacon. Yeah. Anything else? No. Not at all. I was just thinking of the origin
26:05of poaching as in the animal sense which is to put it in your pocket or in a bag. A
26:09posh.
26:10Yes. So the poaching bit comes in. Yeah. Indeed. So 44 plays 35. I'll let you simmer for a minute
26:17Judy while we talk to Susie or rather Susie talks to us in her wonderful origins of words. Susie.
26:23I'm going to be talking about the wonderful wonderful insect that is a bee and unfortunately I can't give you
26:28a Chris Packham-esque history of the bee but I can talk about a little bit about how it's influenced
26:34language in terms of idioms and expressions and we're all very familiar with them.
26:38I'll start with the bee's knees which of course is one of those incredibly fanciful formulations that came about in
26:44the 1920s. It was the flapper era. People loved playing around with language and I know I've mentioned my favourite
26:50the elephant's adenoids on the show before. That was one of them. It's the elephant's adenoids. It's the cat's whisker.
26:56It's the bee's knees.
26:57Quite interesting. And the humble bee has been the source of a lot of other expressions. We talk about having
27:02a bee in our bonnet of course which is an incredibly evocative phrase. An eccentric whim, a craze on some
27:08point, something you're incredibly obsessed with or preoccupied with.
27:12And making a bee line for something. That's a straight line between two points on the earth's surface and that's
27:17the idea, the image of a bee returning in a straight line to its hive.
27:20But I'm often asked for the origin of the spelling bee which seems a little bit odd. And in fact
27:27that is just purely because of the bee's social habits. Incredibly social insects. They work united to the benefit of
27:36the hive.
27:37And there were many examples of bees which were social gatherings in which people would pull together, club together and
27:42help. There was a husking bee when farmers in succession would bring in each other's harvests.
27:47There was a church bee where people again would raise money for the church. There were dark applications of the
27:53term as well. There were lynching bees which were pretty horrible in the dark days of the American South where
27:58people would hunt someone down and punish them rather horribly.
28:01But the happier term spelling bee, which is simply a party assembled to compete in spelling. That's my kind of
28:07party. It's first recorded in the 1870s.
28:11Brilliant. Thank you very much.
28:17Wonderful. Thank you. So, here are the ball facts. 35 to James is 44. Now, James, are you going to
28:27clinch this now at Letters Game?
28:29I'll start with a consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, James. S.
28:33And another one, please. T. And a third. N. And a vowel, please. E. And another. I. And another one,
28:48please. A.
28:51A. And a consonant, please. D. Another consonant, please. R. And a consonant again, please. And lastly, M. Stand by.
29:05Atered time in the
29:05A. and Santi� Cada
29:18Letters Game
29:18A. and barn
29:20And a linguist
29:20And a consonant, please.
29:20So, now, touch the
29:21And a consonant, please.
29:24And a consonant, please.
29:27A. and lat
29:35Yes, James?
29:37An eight.
29:38An eight, Judy?
29:40Eight.
29:41Right.
29:42James?
29:43Mardiest.
29:44Mardiest and?
29:46Minarets.
29:47Minarets.
29:48Very, very good.
29:49Helen?
29:50We spotted an eight quite quickly, actually.
29:52Strained.
29:54Strained, yes.
29:55Strained became strained for the extra letter.
29:58Lots of nice eights.
29:59D trains, medians.
30:01Couldn't find a nine, but it was quite a nice one.
30:03All right, so here we are.
30:0452 to 43, and we go to Judy for the final letters game.
30:09Judy?
30:10Consonant, please.
30:11Thank you, Judy.
30:12R.
30:13And another one.
30:16T.
30:17And again.
30:18L.
30:19And another.
30:21S.
30:23Vowel.
30:24A.
30:26And another one.
30:27U.
30:28And another.
30:30E.
30:31E.
30:32Consonant.
30:34W.
30:36And another consonant.
30:38And the last one.
30:39R.
30:41Countdown.
31:12Yes, Judy?
31:13Seven.
31:13A seven, James?
31:15Just a six.
31:16And your six?
31:17Waters.
31:18Waters, Judy?
31:20Saluter.
31:21Saluter.
31:22Yeah, I think you can be a saluter.
31:25You can.
31:25Yeah, very good, Judy.
31:26Helen?
31:27Coming from Grimsby, you've got to have trawlers in there at eight.
31:31Wonderful.
31:32All right, so here we are, James,
31:33final numbers game.
31:35Can I get four large again?
31:36You can indeed.
31:37Your last chance to avoid Judy's speciality,
31:39crucial countdown conundrum.
31:41Right, the last numbers game of the day is four and three.
31:45And the large four, 50, 25, 75 and 100.
31:50And the target, 128.
31:52One, two, eight.
32:25So, James?
32:26One, two, eight.
32:27Thank you very much.
32:28Judy?
32:28One, two, eight.
32:28So, James?
32:30Uh, 100 plus 25?
32:33125.
32:34Plus three?
32:34Yeah.
32:35Thank you, Judy.
32:36Let's just go through the motions.
32:38Yes.
32:38There we go.
32:39Same.
32:40All right.
32:41That means that you've taken us to another crucial conundrum, Judy Bersford.
32:45So, Judy and James, fingers on buzzers.
32:48Let's reveal yet another crucial countdown conundrum.
32:58Judy?
32:59Imitation?
33:01Imitation.
33:14I think we're going to have to change your name.
33:17Judy Crucial Bersford.
33:19My word.
33:19What an extraordinary.
33:2170 to 62.
33:22James, I share your pain.
33:24Yeah.
33:26You were there all along.
33:27Bad luck.
33:28Bad luck.
33:29Will you take this back to Chessington with our very best wishes?
33:32I will do, yeah.
33:33Well done.
33:34All right.
33:34Now, Judy, I don't know what to do with you, except that we'd like to see you back tomorrow.
33:40Okay.
33:41Wonderful.
33:41See you tomorrow.
33:43And we shall see Susie tomorrow, but sadly, not Helen until we get you back with your mum.
33:50With my mum?
33:51With your mum.
33:51Is that a promise?
33:52I'll bring my mum next time.
33:52No, please do come again, because, you know, wonderful stories.
33:55You're rather good at the game, too.
33:56Well, thank you.
33:57I have just learnt, actually, that I wasn't clear on all the rules and the numbers, and
34:00that you don't have to use all of the numbers.
34:03Perhaps that'll be helpful next time.
34:06Next time I'll remember that.
34:07Do that.
34:08Anyway, you come back and see us again.
34:09It's been a pleasure.
34:10Thank you for having me.
34:11All right.
34:11Wonderful stuff.
34:12Rachel, see you tomorrow.
34:14See you tomorrow.
34:14Have a good night's sleep.
34:15Indeed, I shall.
34:16All right.
34:16Join us tomorrow, same time.
34:19We'll be waiting for you.
34:20And so will Judy Crucial-Bersford.
34:23You'll be sure of it.
34:25Good afternoon.
34:27You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com, by Twitter at C4Countdown,
34:33or write to us at Countdown Leeds LS3 1JS.
34:38You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:44Now, are you ready to play TV's toughest quiz?
34:47It's back for a new series, 15 to 1.
34:50Coming up next.