Episode Cats80

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Episode Cats80, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 12, Episode 6 was a special episode broadcast on 17 February 2017, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 12.

Acting Team Captain Jonathan Ross and Regular Jon Richardson were the contestants, along with Johnny Vegas and Michelle Wolf who were their teammates respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host.

The match saw Jon Richardson, with the assistance of Michelle Wolf, winning by 42 – 29 in an 7-rounder and they won a Countdown ball pit.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Pappy's, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent.

Just before Round 5, both team captains Jonathan and Jon tok part in the "The Countdown Ball Pit Challenge". In the ball pit itself, there were balls with letters marked on it and both of them had to spell a nine-letter word Jimmy gave in the fastest time possible; Jonathan got POPPADOMS while Jon got SECATEURS. Jonathan spelt out his word faster, thus five points were awarded to his team.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) In Round 1, as Johnny did not make it clear whether he wanted a vowel or consonant for the first two letters, Rachel gave him a consonant and vowel respectively. Also, after Jon declared his word, he threw an eclair into the centre of the studio, presumably due to the lack of enthusiasm from the audience.

2) In Round 2, the original target was 200 which could have been easily achieved using: 100 × 10 ÷ 5. However, being too easy, Rachel asked CECIL to re-calculate a new target much to the dismay and disappointment of the guests.

3) During the 30 seconds in Round 3, Jimmy sliced kebab and gave it to the guests except for Jon who was a vegeterian; instead he threw him a lettuce for him to eat, to which Jon made a pun saying that although he was not involved in the round, he made up some good "lettuce". Jonathan who was also not playing got the seven-letter word ETHANOL.

4) During the bonus round, in an attempt to mess things up and make the difficulty harder, both Jonathan and Jon "plunged" into the pit and made a mess in the studio with all the balls spilling out.

5) In Round 6, Jonathan Ross declared SURETIES which Susie was "surprised" he got it. However, Jon blew the cover and revealed that Susie passed a piece of paper to Jonathan with that word on it; Johnny then proceeded to destroy the evidence by "eating" it. As a result of the cheating, his word was declared void and thus both teams got seven points each instead.

6) Finally during the Conundrum, after Jon said the correct answer, before Jimmy could finish saying his sentence "Why did the others...", Jonathan proceeded to finish and say "...even bothering to turn up when they know for surety we're going to lose?", to much laughter in the audience.

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

NOTE 2: Round 5 should have been thrown out based on the original rules on Countdown as there were more than five vowels in the selection. However as the contestants couldn't be bothered, the round was kept. This episode also marked the last appearance of the Pencam which was used in Round 2.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Johnny & Jonathan	Score	Jon & Michelle	Others	Max.
1	CULMAISER	CLAIMER MISER/LASER/CURLS	7 – 0	CREAMS CLAIMS	ALMURIES*, AURICLES*, CLAIMERS, CLUMSIER, MIRACLES*, MUSCLIER*, MUSICALE*, RECLAIMS	8
2	100 1 10 5 6 8 → 687	686 587	7 – 10	687 687 ☓ (6 + 1) × 100 − 8 − 5		18
TTT	NUDESNOG	They're wet and dirty.			DUNGEONS
Rnd	Selection	Johnny Vegas	Score	Michelle Wolf	Others	Max.
3	OAOHNEPTL	PHONE	12 – 15	PHONE	HANEPOOT	26
Rnd	Selection	Jonathan Ross	Score	Jon Richardson	Others	Max.
4	25 4 2 1 3 10 → 136	135	12 – 25	136 (4 + 1) × 25 + 10 + 3 − 2		36
TTT	THINARSE	Full of short and curlies.			HAIRNETS
Rnd	Selection	Johnny & Jonathan	Score	Jon & Michelle	Others	Max.
5	IAUEOADRM	DREAM maraude ☓	22 – 25	moudier ☓ moader ☓	DIORAMA, MAROUDI*, URAEMIA	48
TTT	RUBSADLY	This feels weird.			ABSURDLY
6	EIUSTXERS	SEXIEST SURETIES*	29 – 32	SEXIEST exiters ☓	EXITUSES*	56
7	BONEGIRTH		29 – 42	BOTHERING (12.5 seconds)		66