Episode Cats91

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Episode Cats91, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 14, Episode 5 was a special episode broadcast on 22 September 2017, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 14.

Acting Team Captains Jason Manford and Lee Mack were the contestants, along with Joe Wilkinson and Fay Ripley who were their teammates respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host.

The match saw Jason Manford, with the assistance of Joe Wilkinson, winning by 33 – 30 in a 7-rounder and they won a Countdown jukebox.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Alex Horne & the Horne Section, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) Likewise in previous episodes, the Horne Section played various pieces throughout the show. Most notably, they were Wannabe by the Spice Girls albeit in a loop after the lyrics "So tell me what you want, what you really really want" during the Introduction, a remix of various TV game show tunes in Round 2 which were Mastermind, Blockbusters, Question of Sport, The Crystal Maze, Going for Gold and Bullseye, famous French music in Round 4 as he claimed "It's the Anniversary of France this year", a medieval rendition of the Countdown clock music in Round 5 and a rendition of Y.M.C.A. after Round 5.

2) Just as Joe finished introducing his prop, a robot named SID with the respective Countdown letters pasted on it to form it's name started to smoke, forcing his co-creator and one of the show's two models, Fabio to take it backstage.

3) During the 30 seconds in Round 1, both Rachel and Jimmy performed acrobatics in the middle of the studio by balancing on a hoop suspended in mid-air much to Fay's disgust which was caught on camera. Similarly, at the end of Round 3, Jimmy attempted to dive into a small pool from a height but ended up "missing" it and hitting the studio floor.

4) In Round 2, as Jason did not declare any target as he relied solely on Joe to present the solution, it is stated as a blank here.

5) During the 30 seconds in Round 6, one of Alex's band members had a duel with Jimmy in the middle of the studio using "pistols" in a Wild West fashion with the screen changing colours similar to that of a very old film. They fired at Jimmy's Countdown mug and the Oxford Dictionary of English respectively before it ended in a cliffhanger with Jimmy biting his opponent's bullet and spitting it out.

NOTE 1: In this version, both players' declarations were allowed, although points were only awarded for the best answer.

NOTE 2: The figure derived for Joe in Round 4 is assumed to be 1938, based on his words that he was 1362 away from the target.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Joe & Jason	Score	Lee & Fay	Others	Max.
1	DERTSOIDL	tilters ☓ SOILED	0 – 7	SOLDIER testoid ☓	DELTOIDS*, TIDDLERS, TODDLERS	8
2	50 4 2 6 7 5 → 711	711 — 50 × 2 × 7 + 6 + 5	10 – 17	711 715 7 × 2 × 50 + 6 + 5		18
TTT	MRSBULGE	She's a real moaner.			GRUMBLES
Rnd	Selection	Jason Manford	Score	Lee Mack	Others	Max.
3	YQAERSANW	WEARY	10 – 24	YAWNERS		25
Rnd	Selection	Joe Wilkinson	Score	Fay Ripley	Others	Max.
4	75 1 3 1 3 6 → 576	1938	10 – 24	—	RR: 576 = (6 + 1 + 1) × (75 − 3) / (75 ÷ 3 − 1) × (3 + 1) × 6	35
TTT	OHSLAPIT	Then call me an ambulance.			HOSPITAL
Rnd	Selection	Joe & Jason	Score	Lee & Fay	Others	Max.
5	OAEPRSAHV	AREAS POSHER	16 – 30	SHAVER SAVER	AHORSE*, AREPAS*, ASHORE*, EPHORS*, HAVERS*, HOARSE, HOPERS*, HOVERS*, OPERAS*, PAAHOS*, PAREOS*, PASEAR*, PAVERS*, PERVOS*, PHARES*, PHAROS*, PHASER*, PHASOR*, PHRASE*, PROVES*, RAPHAE*, SARAPE*, SERAPH*, SHAPER*, SHROVE*, VAPERS*	41
TTT	DICKMIME	You copied me.			MIMICKED
6	RKSLTEIES	STRIKES SLEETS	23 – 30	KITES SISTER	KEISTERS*, KESTRELS, LEISTERS*, RITELESS*, TIRELESS	49
7	SITSINPOO	POSITIONS (25.75 seconds)	33 – 30			59