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00:31Good afternoon and welcome to Countdown Studios.
00:33Well, it's the beginning of the week and we're edging towards the end of the school summer holidays.
00:39Many parents, of course, will be sighing with relief. Some will not.
00:42Some will say, oh, we shall miss you as you go off to school.
00:46Dreading the routine of the school run, perhaps.
00:49But children, some will love going back, making new friends, catching up with their old friends.
00:54And some will go back with dread. It depends on the kid. It depends on the school.
00:59But some people, Rachel, are now saying, you know something, summer holidays, six weeks, and in some cases more, is
01:06just too long.
01:06It should be sort of spread around, you know, more during the year.
01:10What were your summer holidays like? Too long? Too short?
01:13They were, oh, no, when you're at school, you just wanted the summer holidays to carry on forever.
01:17I didn't want to go back to school.
01:18And it was only when you get to uni when you want the summer holidays to be shorter,
01:21because you have to work during the summer holidays.
01:22And you want to go back to your mates and have fun at uni.
01:24Exactly.
01:25But, yeah.
01:26Let the kids run free in the summer, however.
01:29All right.
01:30Now, we've got two new contestants, starting with Graham Stanley from Cardiff, a retired arborist, a tree man.
01:39And you started working with trees from a very young age, I think, when you were stuck up one.
01:45Yeah.
01:45Rescuing a cat or something.
01:46What were you doing up there?
01:47When I was about eight.
01:50Yeah.
01:50It was down at Fontegary in South Wales.
01:53Yes.
01:53And I had a flying toy, which got stuck up in the tree above a cliff.
01:58Yeah.
01:59And I went up to get it out, and I slipped, and I was hanging upside down from a crook
02:05in the tree.
02:06Yeah.
02:06And there were two RAF lads there, and they got me down.
02:11And since then, I've been interested in trees.
02:13But all kids should climb trees anyway.
02:15Well, yeah.
02:16It's great fun, isn't it?
02:16Yes, it is.
02:17Welcome, Graham.
02:18Now, you're joined today by Nick Meredith, a Royal Navy commander from Plymouth, stationed at Mons in Belgium.
02:25Likes cooking and scuba diving, and worked in submarines, I think.
02:29And one thing about submarines you didn't like, perhaps, was boarding them from a helicopter.
02:34Yes, that's true.
02:35I'm not actually that keen on helicopter flying anyway, but you have to get winched down from the helicopter,
02:43which has to hover above the submarine, and then you get winched into a pretty small gap on the top
02:47of the fin.
02:48And it's the same coming off, obviously, so it's not that enjoyable.
02:53It's fairly tense.
02:54And this is out at sea, obviously.
02:56Absolutely, yeah, yeah.
02:57Sometimes, you know, 150 miles out at sea.
03:00And if the sea state's a little bit rough, then the fin isn't steady.
03:04Fascinating.
03:05Well, good for you.
03:06Well done, Nick Meredith.
03:07Well done, Graham.
03:08Let's have a big round of applause.
03:15And over in the corner, having had a restful weekend, the wonderful Susie Dent, joined for the first time in
03:22the Countdown studio by Baroness Tanny Gray-Thompson,
03:26one of Britain's greatest Paralympic athletes.
03:29And now, in the House of Lords, public speaker on business, sport and politics.
03:33You're most welcome, Tanny.
03:35Thank you very much.
03:36Most welcome.
03:37We'll have lots of stories from you later on and throughout the week.
03:40But right now, it's down to business with Graham.
03:43Graham, let's let us get him.
03:45Hello, Rachel.
03:46Hi, Graham.
03:46Can I have a consonant, please?
03:48Start the week with N.
03:50And another.
03:52M.
03:53And a third.
03:56T.
03:57And a vowel.
03:58O.
04:00And another.
04:02U.
04:03And a consonant.
04:05C.
04:07And another vowel.
04:10I.
04:13And another vowel.
04:16E.
04:16And finish with a consonant, please.
04:18And finish with R.
04:20And here is the countdown clock.
04:23.
04:23.
04:23.
04:23.
04:50MUSIC CONTINUES
04:53Now, Graham.
04:54Seven.
04:55A seven.
04:55Nick.
04:56Seven as well.
04:58Thank you, Graham.
04:59Counter.
05:00Nick.
05:00I've got counter too.
05:02Yes.
05:03And over in the corner.
05:05Now then, Tammy, Susie.
05:08Well, there's recount as well as an option, which is a seven.
05:12And there's an eight as well, which is neurotic.
05:15Neurotic.
05:16I know all about that.
05:18Neurotic.
05:20Well done.
05:22Very good indeed.
05:23Seven points apiece.
05:24Nick, it's your letters, Ken.
05:26Hi, Rachel.
05:27Hi, Nick.
05:27Can I have a consonant, please?
05:29Start with S.
05:32And another.
05:34B.
05:35And another.
05:38D.
05:39And another.
05:42R.
05:42And a vowel.
05:45And a vowel.
05:46And a vowel.
05:49O.
05:50And a consonant, please.
05:54S.
05:56A vowel.
05:59I.
06:00And a final consonant.
06:03And a final V.
06:06Countdown.
06:08And a vowel.
06:24And a vowel.
06:25And a vowel.
06:26And a vowel.
06:26And a vowel.
06:26And a vowel.
06:26And a vowel.
06:26And a vowel.
06:26And a vowel.
06:28And a vowel.
06:37well Nick I've got a six a six gram six as well Nick broads and radios and
06:47radios yes can we be in six there Tani well the best I got was five which was
06:54visor so yes I'm only five and yet we've had visors you can also have
07:00advisors and that would give you an eight thank you thank you very much Tani
07:08sighing with that in a resigned fashion they're 13 points apiece and it's Graham
07:14first numbers game Graham one large please Rachel thank you from anywhere
07:19else one from the top five little and the first numbers game of the week is ten
07:24four three seven five and the large one 75 and the target 108 108
08:06yes Graham 108 108 Nick 108 thank you Graham five minus four is one yep add it to the ten
08:16eleven
08:16multiply by three thirty three and add it to the 75 perfect 108 lovely Nick slightly
08:23differently 75 plus five is 80 yeah four times seven is 28 four times seven 28 and
08:32add them together lovely well done well done indeed 23 points apiece so 23 points
08:40apiece as we turn to our first tea time teaser which is hang tiny and the clue
08:46Oliver said he'd do this for you dear Oliver said he'd do this for you dear
09:06welcome back I left you the clue Oliver said he'd do this for you dear and the answer is anything
09:14anything remember the song 23 points apiece Nick let us go have a consonant please thank you Nick
09:22M and another T and another S and a vowel U and a vowel E and a consonant H and
09:41a consonant
09:42G and a vowel E and a vowel E and a final consonant E and a final consonant E and
09:54a final D
10:26yes Nick a six a six Graham I haven't got anything Nick I'm afraid I made a mistake don't worry
10:34let's rely on Nick then Nick hugest
10:38absolutely fine fine yes good six and in the corner Tani this six which is gashed yes yeah uh there
10:50is a lovely um yiddish word there for uh seven normally hear it in North America um miss sugar uh
10:57m e s h e g a uh and it means mad or crazy
11:03excellent excellent thank you very much all right 29 to Nick Graham on 23 and it's Graham's letters game
11:09a consonant please thank you Graham L and another S a third M and a vowel O and another I
11:25and another E and a consonant please
11:32and a consonant please and the last one W
11:39and the phantom
11:41and the last one W
11:43and the last one W
12:12Graham.
12:13A seven.
12:14A seven.
12:15Nick?
12:15No, I've got a seven, too.
12:17Graham?
12:18Morsels.
12:19Morsels.
12:20Nick?
12:20Smilers.
12:22Like those.
12:24Absolutely fine.
12:25Yes, both of those.
12:26Just checking Smiler was actually specified, and it is.
12:29All right.
12:30Now, Tani, Susie?
12:32Seven, there's Rissol.
12:34Yes.
12:34And you came up with a great one.
12:36Yes.
12:37It's just when you look at it, it looks a bit strange, but mossier,
12:40as in this bank is mossier than yours, or than over there.
12:43I never even thought of that as a word, so it was great.
12:45No, I know, it's strange.
12:46But, yeah, in the dictionary, another seven.
12:48Very good indeed.
12:50And now, Nick, it's numbers game.
12:52I have two from the top, please, and four from anywhere else.
12:55You can indeed, thank you, Nick.
12:56Two little, two large, four little, rather.
12:58And for the second time today, small ones are nine, eight, six, and four.
13:04And the big two, 125.
13:06And the target, 824.
13:09Eight, two, four.
13:11And the big two, five.
13:18And the big two, five.
13:27And the big three, five.
13:27And the big one.
13:41Nick 824 824 Graham 824 Nick 8 times 100 8 times 100 800 and 4 times 6 24 together
13:54lovely and Graham 100 plus 9 minus 6 103 times 8 times 8 perfect again well done all right
14:07there's still that slender lead six points to Nick 46 plays Graham's 40 as we turn to Tanny
14:15Tanny Gray Thompson and Tanny we've had lots of sports people over the years Olympians too
14:20but nobody who's come here with five Paralympic Games under their belts and 11
14:29goals that's amazing but which gold was more special perhaps than the which was
14:36the the juiciest gold oh it would be the tenth one that I won which was 100
14:44meters in Athens so I knew it was gonna be my last games and my first event of the
14:50games is the 800 meters which was my strongest event being unbeaten over 12
14:53years it was mine to lose and I did lose it spectacularly badly and then I came
14:59back and I'm one the hundred meters which is my weakest event but some that all the
15:04people had come to watch were great you know and they would sort of after my
15:08hundred was saying that was really bad and go yeah I know I was there thank you
15:11very much and my daughter who will never forgive me for this she was only two she
15:15didn't watch my 800 so when I asked her did you see it she looked at me she
15:19said no I was eating a hot dog but when I won the hundred she came running up to me
15:24she said mommy mommy I love you and then the person who was looking after her
15:27because she wasn't allowed in the village with us obviously she turned to the
15:31person and said I've been nice to mommy so can I now have an ice cream so it
15:37doesn't matter what you achieve your family are always very levelling and very
15:40grounding so I've been hugely fortunate my family were there through through the
15:44whole of my career so it's it's sports brutal and you know it's it's a huge
15:49privilege competing for the British team but but you win and you lose and
15:53there's no given doesn't matter how good you are when you're on that start line
15:56you're all equal that's right that's right well it's a huge privilege having you here
16:01thank you very much
16:08wonderful now Graham few points to catch up on let us get a consonant please Rachel
16:15thank you Graham H and another tea and a third n the vowel a another oh and another
16:30hey at a consonant L another n and a final vowel please and a final a count down
16:44and a final vowel please and I'll give you a minute to catch up on let us get a
17:14solitude, I'll give you a minute to catch up on the other side for some of the
17:14Yes, Graham?
17:16Seven.
17:17Seven, Nick?
17:18Seven as well.
17:19Graham?
17:20Manhole.
17:21Manhole and?
17:22Ethanol.
17:24Ethanol.
17:25Very, very good.
17:27Yep, very good seven.
17:28Though you might just kick yourself.
17:31Go on.
17:33We've got the M, it's methanol.
17:35Methanol.
17:36Methanol.
17:38All right, 47 plays Nick's 53, and it's Nick's letters game.
17:42Nick?
17:42I have a consonant, please, Rachel.
17:44Thank you, Nick.
17:45N.
17:46And another?
17:48R.
17:50And a vowel?
17:52U.
17:54And another vowel?
17:56O.
17:57And a consonant?
17:59P.
18:00Another consonant?
18:02T.
18:03Another consonant?
18:06F.
18:07A vowel?
18:09I.
18:11And a final vowel, please.
18:13And a final E.
18:16Stand by.
18:17BELL RINGS
18:19A vowel, please.
18:47Nick?
18:48Nick. Seven. Graham. And seven. Nick. Routine. And? Protein. And protein. Yes. Protein is a good one. There's also an
19:00eight, isn't there? There is, yes. Eruption. An eruption. Well done.
19:06All right. So, still about six points. 60 plays. Graham's 54. Two good players. Now then, Graham, it's a numbers
19:14challenge for you. One large and five from anywhere else, please.
19:19Thank you, Graham. One from the top. And five. Little again. And for this round, your little numbers. A six.
19:26One. Four. Three. Eight. And the last one, 75. And your target. 767.
19:34767.
20:06Yes, Graham? No. Lost it. Nick. 766. One away. So, Nick. 75 times six plus four.
20:18Er, six plus four. Times 75. Ten times 75. 750. Er, three minus one. Three minus one is two. Times
20:28eight. Times eight is 16. And that's one away.
20:33Well done. Well done. Not perfect, though. That's why we turn to Rachel. Rachel, can you crack that for us?
20:40Er, leave it with me. Certainly will. Certainly will. So, 67 plays Graham's 54 as we turn to our second.
20:47And tea time teaser, which is cheap tie. And the clue. If you've got this around your neck, you'd better
20:53see a doctor.
20:54If you've got this around your neck, you'd better see a doctor.
21:13Welcome back. I left with the glue. If you've got this around your neck, you'd better see a doctor.
21:18And the answer is petechia. I think. Let's ask Dr. Dent. What is this?
21:26Petechia. Yeah, they're tiny red or purple spots that can appear on your skin. And they can be...
21:33I mean, they're not always very dangerous, I think. They can disappear.
21:37Well, we'll try and avoid that. Thank you, Doctor.
21:39But what's Rachel been up to? Rachel, you've got that smile.
21:43Yes, I found it in there. If you say four times six is 24, minus three for 21, and add
21:5075 for 96.
21:52Times that by eight for 768. And you've got one left over. 767.
21:57Well done. Well done, Rachel.
22:02Well done. So, Nick on 67. Graham, 54. As we turn to you, Nick, for your letters game.
22:09Consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, Nick.
22:11G. And another.
22:14R. And another.
22:17N.
22:18And another.
22:21C.
22:22And a vowel.
22:24A.
22:25And another vowel.
22:27I.
22:28Another vowel.
22:30E.
22:31And a consonant.
22:35Y.
22:36And a final consonant, please.
22:40And a final R.
22:42And the clock starts now.
22:45And a vowel.
23:12M.G., which is a compartimentary.
23:16hmm Nick seven Graham and say and seven Nick rearing and reading and reading yes
23:28now what is the corner got for us and I'm giggling slightly cuz I've got a
23:32seven but it's round here that's fine that's fine and the girls popular
23:37countdown with that one and there is earring grinder and but there is an age
23:44we take reading and add the Y have ready-ing
23:52the grander is there too I think for the same sort of thing 74 please 61 gram your
23:59letters game a consonant please thank you Graham L and vowel a and another I and
24:10the consonant P and another T and a vowel E and another vowel a consonant please G
24:25and we're finished with a consonant and finished with s stand by
25:01Graham seven a seven Nick seven as well Graham gapiest and Nick Pilates
25:10um I'm afraid I have to disallow both of those um gap is not in the dictionary um not specified
25:19I'm
25:20afraid and Pilates as a capital P because it's an eponym named after Joseph Pilates
25:27so I'm afraid I have to disallow both of those I'd like to stand still 74 to 61 but
25:32what can we have Tani oh there's a couple of sevens they're spatial and my
25:37favorite is piglets yes piglets they're quite sweet actually piglets now Susie and
25:42and Tani you'll enjoy this because we turn to Susie now for her little piece of
25:46brilliance three minutes of brilliance and her origins of words uh well um if you ever wondered
25:53why politicians lobby uh each other I've been thinking uh quite a lot recently because the
25:58presidential election is coming up in the US about political terms um particularly US uh political
26:04terms where uh lobbying in the US is is particularly strong at the moment and the answer you might be
26:10able to guess is a very literal one um I'll go back to the word lobby itself a lauber in
26:15um old
26:16high German so very very old German was a shelter of foliage um so you could have a nice bower
26:21for
26:21example of flowers or trees and that would be your lauber eventually it moved into English uh to mean a
26:26covered walkway and later then a passage or an anti-room but that word lauber is actually linked to
26:31lodge as well in English um and in 1640 we can date this exactly uh lobby was first applied to
26:39the
26:39anti-room of the house of commons uh and this was where the lobbyists uh went to work to um
26:46before
26:46and after parliamentary debates to try and bend the ear of a politician and persuade him or her to their
26:52cause soon moved over to uh America though where uh lobbyists again were influence seekers who would hang
26:59around outside legislative chambers to again try and uh you know influence and persuade their
27:05representative but one story actually uh believes that it actually referred to a hotel lobby first
27:11and foremost in America and this was the Willard Hotel in Washington DC and it was supposedly used by
27:18President Ulysses S Grant since in the 19th century to describe the political advocates who would hang around
27:24in the hotel lobby uh where Grant who apparently would enjoy a cigar and a brandy uh would be sitting
27:30and they would surreptitiously or not so surreptitiously uh try and influence him in some way either enter a
27:35debate or uh or talk to his aides uh and to try and get him to to go their way
27:40politically the term actually
27:42goes back much much further uh than Ulysses S Grant but certainly in America that was where it really came
27:48to the
27:48for possibly the Willard Hotel who knows but lobbyists actually hang around in actual lobbies and that's
27:54where they do their business indeed well done yeah thank you 74 to 61 and Nick penultimate letters game
28:07a consonant please Rachel thank you Nick p and another d and a vowel u and another vowel o and
28:21a consonant
28:23l another consonant n a vowel e another vowel i and a final consonant please and a final
28:37p count down
29:10Yes, Nick?
29:11A risky eight.
29:13A risky eight.
29:15I wonder if you're taking the same risk, Nick?
29:18Unlipped.
29:19And unlipped as well.
29:20Well, and what do we think about that?
29:26Sorry, I'd be quite mean in this game.
29:28Unclipped, unzipped, unripped, but not unlipped.
29:32I'm sorry.
29:33Never made.
29:34What can we have?
29:36Tannigan?
29:36As a seven, there's nippled.
29:39Yes.
29:40Yeah, and that was about it, actually.
29:44All right.
29:4474 to 61.
29:47Final letters game.
29:48Graham?
29:49One large, please, Rachel.
29:51One large consonant or vowel?
29:56One large consonant.
29:58D.
29:58And another.
30:01Z.
30:02And a third.
30:04L.
30:05And a vowel.
30:05A.
30:07A.
30:08And another.
30:09E.
30:10And another.
30:11O.
30:13And another.
30:14A.
30:16The consonant.
30:17T.
30:19And the last consonant, please.
30:21And the last one.
30:22S.
30:23Counter.
30:25And the eighth consonant, please.
30:27And the eighth 소개.
30:47And a fourth emoji, you know.
30:47Like another.
30:47More.
30:53And the last one.
30:55graham seven a seven nick just a five that five is uh stole graham zealots zealots excellent
31:07pretty good yeah excellent well done and tanny i had zealots as well so uh i'd only got as far
31:15as zeal and then i realized there are a few more letters so i got seven with zealots thank you
31:19very
31:19much all right 74 please 68 and it's the final numbers game nick two from the top and four small
31:27ones please thank you nick two large four small and this game is not over by any stretch the last
31:32final numbers game is ten three five one and the large two 125 and the target 522 522
32:15five two two graham five two two thank you nick
32:19uh five times 100 500 25 minus three is the 22. yeah there we go and graham exactly the same
32:32well done so here we are
32:38into the final round which is uh crucial conundrum time it's a crucial one gentlemen fingers on buzzers
32:46let's reveal today's countdown conundrum
33:20No, two good players stumped, but who in the audience will take a risk?
33:26Yes, sir?
33:27Parachute.
33:28Parachute. Let's see whether you're right.
33:32Parachute. There we are. Well done.
33:38Well done indeed. All right.
33:41So, today goes to Nick Meredith.
33:4484 points to 78 on a crucial conundrum.
33:47Well done, Nick. We shall see you tomorrow.
33:50Well played. Well played.
33:52And sadly, Graham, we will not be seeing you tomorrow.
33:55It's back to Cardiff with a goodie bag and our very best wishes.
33:59Thanks for coming.
34:00Thank you. Travel safely.
34:02All right.
34:03And Tani, great to have you here. We'll see you tomorrow.
34:07Indeed. And Susie, of course.
34:10See you tomorrow, Nick.
34:10All right. And Rachel, of course.
34:11Yeah. There's still a couple of weeks left of the school holidays, so any teachers and students watching can still
34:15enjoy Countdown for a little bit longer.
34:18Absolutely. See you tomorrow.
34:19See you tomorrow.
34:20Same time, same place. You be sure of it. A very good afternoon.
34:23You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com, by Twitter at C4Countdown, or write to us
34:30at Countdown Leeds LS3 1JS.
34:33You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash Countdown.
34:41The big fat quiz of everything. Yes, everything. Jimmy Carr with a whole heap of questions tonight at night.
34:49Next today, fill your house for free with GOC, upcycling at its very finest.