Monday 13th January 2014 (series 70 prelim 6)

[Andy McGurn]

Countdown recap for Monday 13 January 2014.

C1: Champion Bobby Banerjee (5 wins, 428 points.) Bobby is now on five wins having beaten Helen Keating 79-18 on Friday, a game which generated what maybe the most posts in a spoiler thread in the history of C4 countdown – at least for a regular heat game
C2: Challenger Ray Sykes. Ray is retired printer from Huddersfield, who Nick describes as having once took part in a “Full Monty” during a trip to Turkey. Ray tells Nick that he and all but one of his fellow participants were of a certain build and they thus called themselves “Four fatties and a skinny b*****”.

DC: Susie Dent and Helen Skelton.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: T N S R I E A O W
R02: L E D A H O G M I
R03: 1, 2, 2, 7, 9, 25. Target: 344.
TTT: ARISEBED - "They arise from their bed and don't have a full shave"
R04: L E D U G I T O L
R05: R S F A E I R T A
R06: 9, 4, 5, 5, 7, 25. Target: 483.
R07: M X O E T Y T A I
R08: P O S U P I R M O
R09: 1, 2, 5, 25, 75, 100. Target: 458.
TTT: ISELLROB - "I sell rob a couple of these to keep him dry"
R10: D E N I S E N R C
R11: N T A O V N K E A
R12: J U R I T S A O M
R13: B E N H I S G A D
R14: 8, 1, 2, 5, 3, 75. Target: 603.
R15: M O A N L E E C H (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: T N S R I E A O W

C1: RATIONS (7)
C2: STAINER (7)
DC: NOTARISE (8)
OT: NOTARIES (8) WAITRONS (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)

Seven points each in round one. Bobby goes for what maybe the most spotted plural in countdown history, while Ray pays tribute to Only Connects equivalent of Conor Travers.


Round 2: L E D A H O G M I

C1: GLEAM (5)
C2: MODEL (5)
DC: HIDALGO (7)
OT: HEMIOLA (7)
Score: 12–12 (max 15)

Level pegging here for the contestants but DC impress with HIDALGO. HEMIOLA is a musical term which occurs when two groups of three beats are replaced with three groups of two beats

Round 3: 1, 2, 2, 7, 9, 25. Target: 344.

C1: 344. (2*7)*25-(9-2-1) (10)
C2: 343.
Score: 22–12 (max 25)

Bobby is spot on and goes ten ahead as Ray misses the first numbers game.


Teatime teaser: ARISEBED -> BEARDIES

Round 4: L E D U G I T O L

C1: TILLED (6)
C2: glitted
DC: DILUTE (6) GULLIED (7) GUILTED (7)
Score: 28–12 (max 32)

Six more points for Bobby to give him a good lead at this stage. Ray’s word is neither valid or in the selection.


Round 5: R S F A E I R T A

C1: RAFTERS (7)
C2: straifes
OT: AIRFARES (8)
Score: 35–12 (max 40)

Another good spot by Bobby, Ray misspells STRAFES and falls further behind. Everyone, including DC, misses AIRFARES.

Round 6: 9, 4, 5, 5, 7, 25. Target: 483.

C1: 484. (5*4)*25-(9+7) (7)
C2: 484. (5*4)*25-(9+7) (7)
RR: 483. (5*9)+25-(5-4)*7 (10)
Score: 42–19 (max 50)

Easy to get one away as both contestants do. Its an impressive spot by Rachel to redeem herself after missing a few last week which one would normally expect her to get.


DC Guest: Helen tells two stories of situations where she did not have the right clothes for the occasion, leading to embarrassment on her part.


Round 7: M X O E T Y T A I

C1: MOAT (4)
C2: MEATY (5)
DC: MOIETY (6)
Score: 42–24 (max 56)

Ray wins a round for the first time, reducing his deficit to just 18. A poor round by Bobby with just four


Round 8: P O S U P I R M O

C1: POROUS (6)
C2: MOORS (5)
DC: POMPOUS (7)
Score: 48–24 (max 63)

Bobby redeems himself by beating the challenger on this round. DC spot the only seven.


Round 9: 1, 2, 5, 25, 75, 100. Target: 458.

C1: 458. (5+1)*75+((100/25)*2) (10)
C2: 456.
Score: 58–24 (max 73)

It looks like the game is all but over for Ray as Bobby solves the Tony Atkins special to go 34 points clear.


Teatime teaser: ISELLROB -> BROLLIES

Round 10: D E N I S E N R C

C1: DENIERS (7)
C2: DINNERS (7)
DC: CINDERS (7) INCENSED (8)
Score: 65–31 (max 81)

Nick congratulates Ray on DINNERS and then says that (given Ray’s weight) that his no stranger to dinners. This draws a laugh from the studio, including from Ray himself. Its fortunate for Nick that Ray does find this funny.


Round 11: N T A O V N K E A

C1: ATONE (5)
C2: TANK (4)
DC: TAKEN (5) NOVENA (6)
OT: NEKTON (6) NOVATE (6)
Score: 70–31 (max 87)

Five more points for Bobby as Ray is out of breath and struggling to keep up. NEKTON are acquatic animals that are able to swim independantly of water currents


OoW: Susie explains the meaning ofthe phrase “no great shakes” which stems from the use of dice shakers in gambling. She also explains the origin of HAZARD which also has roots in gambling.


Round 12: J U R I T S A O M

C1: RATIOS (6)
C2: MOIST (5)
DC: RIOTS (5) JOUST (5) AMORIST (7)
OT: ATRIUMS (7) MATSURI (7) SAUTOIR (7) TOURISM (7)
Score: 76–31 (max 94)

Bobby’s RATIOS mean that he has won for a sixth time. A MATSURI is a festival celebrated by followers of the (Japanese) Shinto religion.

Round 13: B E N H I S G A D

C1: BANISHED (8)
C2: DASHING (7)
DC: HEADINGS (8) DEBASING (8) BASHING (7)
OT: BEADINGS (8) SHEADING (8)
Score: 84–31 (max 102)

An impressive spot for Bobby, having won the game he seems to be very relaxed and heading for a big score. Ray seems to take the fact that hes losing with good humour and clearly seems to be enjoying his day on TV.

Round 14: 8, 1, 2, 5, 3, 75. Target: 603.

C1: 603. (75*8)+3 (10)
C2: 603. (75*8)+3 (10)
Score: 94–41 (max 112)

A simple numbers game takes Ray to 94 points and on the verge of scoring his first century and highest score to date.

Round 15: M O A N L E E C H

C1 buzzes on 17 seconds to say CHAMELEON which is correct.
Final Score: 104–41 (max 122)

Bobby spots the conundrum to take his score to an impressive 104. Nick commiserates Ray who responds by saying he’s going on a diet. There have been some real characters in the challengers role in the early part of series 70. This is good of course but it would be nice to see some really good players as well.
Still Bobby’s been a worthy champion for the start of the series and now has a really chance of making octochamp. Join Callum tomorrow to see if he can make it seven wins.




Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70