Countdown recap for Wednesday 14 April 2010.
C1: Champion Claudia Tyson (1 win, 83 points.) From Ampthill, Bedfordshire. She works as a civilian nurse for the armed services. She is very delighted to own a Countdown teapot, which she won yesterday after beating 7-time champion Peter Zyss.
C2: Challenger Andy Bosworth. From Oakwood, Derbyshire. He works as a revenue management manager. He enjoys the cinema and music, but admits he's tonedeaf and can't play any musical instrument. He enjoys playing football. Last year he climed Mount Kilimanjaro.
DC: Susie Dent and Dave Spikey.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: V P I O I N S R A
R02: N H S P T E I A P
R03: N T O E U R Y O G
R04: Q T S D B A E A L
R05: 25, 5, 10, 3, 7, 1. Target: 346.
TTT: FREDTRUE - "Patch was put down, but by a gardener, not a vet"
R06: D S N S R E U I M
R07: T S N D E I U L R
R08: W C B C K E A E N
R09: M S C O A U R D E
R10: 2, 8, 5, 9, 3, 7. Target: 465.
TTT: CODCHEST - "Put an end to the rumours about the whisky, perhaps?"
R11: I U E T G Z L R O
R12: R J T N H I E A M
R13: V T E A O N P T E
R14: 7, 5, 10, 1, 9, 2. Target: 131.
R15: C A T T L E R U N (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: V P I O I N S R A
C1: PAVIORS (7)
C2: APRONS (6)
DC: PINS (4) ASPIRIN (7) PARISON (7)
OT: VIRINOS (7) VIRIONS (7)
Score: 7–0 (max 7)
A stonewall start by Claudia there.
A VIRINO is a hypothetical infectious particle thought to be the cause of scrapie and other degenerative diseases of the central nervous system; consists of nucleic acid in a protective coat of host cell proteins.
A VIRION is the infectious form of a virus as it exists outside the host cell, consisting of a nucleic acid core, a protein coat, and, in some species, an external envelope.
Round 2: N H S P T E I A P
C1: HAPPIEST (8)
C2: THESPIAN (8)
OT: EPITAPHS (8) NAPPIEST (8)
Score: 15–8 (max 15)
Round 3: N T O E U R Y O G
C1: router
C2: goonery
DC: TOURNEY (7)
OT: OROGENY (7) OUTGONE (7) YOUNGER (7)
Score: 15–8 (max 22)
Uh-oh
A double blank there by the contestants. 
OROGENY is the process of mountain making or upheaval.
Round 4: Q T S D B A E A L
C1: BLASTED (7)
C2: STABLED (7)
DC: BALDEST (7)
OT: ABLATED (7) DATABLE (7) ABLATES (7) ASTABLE (7)
Score: 22–15 (max 29)
ABLATED/ABLATES comes from ABLATE, which is to remove or dissipate by melting, vaporization, erosion, etc.
Round 5: 25, 5, 10, 3, 7, 1. Target: 346.
C1: 345. ((10 + 3 + 1) x 25) - 5 (7)
C2: 345. ((10 + 3 + 1) x 25) - 5 (7)
RR: 346. ((10 / 5) x 7 x 25) - 3 - 1 (10)
Score: 29–22 (max 39)
Dave tells 2 stories about his time in the NHS, when he worked in the haematology department.
Teatime teaser: FREDTRUE -> RETURFED
Round 6: D S N S R E U I M
C1: SUNDRIES (8)
C2: INSURED (7)
DC: SURMISED (8)
Score: 37–22 (max 47)
Round 7: T S N D E I U L R
C1: DILUENTS (8)
C2: INSULTED (8)
DC: UNDERLIT (8) INTRUDES (8)
OT: UNLISTED (8) DILUTERS (8) STUDLIER (8) INSULTER (8) LUSTRINE (8) NURDIEST (8) TENDRILS (8) TRUNDLES (8)
Score: 45–30 (max 55)
STUDLIER comes from STUDLY, which means virilely attractive; muscular and handsome.
Round 8: W C B C K E A E N
C1: WEAKEN (6)
C2: WEAKEN (6)
Score: 51–36 (max 61)
Round 9: M S C O A U R D E
C1: corsade
C2: SCOURED (7)
DC: CAROUSED (8)
OT: COMRADES (8) MERCADOS (8)
Score: 51–43 (max 69)
Claudia gets her TORSADE and her CORSAGE fused into a made-up word, which lets Andy squeeze the gap down to 8 points.
Susie's Guess The Origin challenges Dave to guess the connection between Bailey, Baxter, Chandler, Kemp, Chapman, Fletcher, Marshall, Fletcher & Dexter. They're all jobs. Susie then tells the origins of Spikey, Riley & Stelling.
Round 10: 2, 8, 5, 9, 3, 7. Target: 465.
C1: 467. (((7 x 8) - 9) x 5 x 2) - 3 (7)
C2: 460.
RR: 465. (((2 + 8) x 9) + 3) x 5 (10)
Score: 58–43 (max 79)
Unfortunately for Andy, the 6 small gamble doesn't pay off, as Claudia takes the gap back up to 15 points.
Teatime teaser: CODCHEST -> SCOTCHED
Round 11: I U E T G Z L R O
C1: GOITRE (6)
C2: OUTLIER (7)
DC: GOUTIER (7)
Score: 58–50 (max 86)
But, Andy gets the lead back down to 8 again, with a nice 7.
Round 12: R J T N H I E A M
C1: MARINE (6)
C2: theramin
DC: HAIRNET (7) MINARET (7)
OT: THERIAN (7) MERANTI (7) RAIMENT (7)
Score: 64–50 (max 93)
Is the score about to be tied.........., No. Andy's doubtful 8 is just that. Although, I think he was thinking of THEREMIN, that weird musical instrument.
THERIAN is an adjective relating to animals belonging or pertaining to the group Theria, comprising the marsupial and placental mammals and their extinct ancestors.
Round 13: V T E A O N P T E
C1: TEAPOT (6)
C2: NOVATE (6)
DC: PATENT (6)
OT: NEPETA (6) NOTATE (6) OPTANT (6) PATTEN (6) PATTEE (6) POTEEN (6) POTENT (6)
Score: 70–56 (max 99)
A flat round means the game is still not safe for Claudia.
Round 14: 7, 5, 10, 1, 9, 2. Target: 131.
C1: 131. (((9 x 2) - 5) x 10) + 1 (10)
C2: 131. ((7 + 5) x 10) + 9 + 2 (10)
Score: 80–66 (max 109)
Yet again, the 6 small doesn't pay off for Andy, as both contestants get the relatively easy target.
Round 15: C A T T L E R U N
No one buzzes. The answer was RELUCTANT.
Score: 80–66 (max 119)
No-one gets the conundrum, apart from a woman in the audience, but Claudia is now a 2-time champ and will hope for 3 in a row tomorrow.
Will she do it
Find out with yours truly tomorrow.Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Claudia:
Total score - 80
Raw score - 86
Total % of max - 67
Raw % of max - 72
Total average score per round - 5.3
Raw average score per round - 5.7
Number of maxes - 8
Andy:
Total score - 66
Raw score - 86
Total % of max - 55
Raw % of max - 72
Total average score per round - 4.4
Raw average score per round - 5.7
Number of maxes - 7
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=62