8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 23

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8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 23 was a series of six special episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown that began on 29 July 2022 and ended on 2 September 2022.

With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the plexiglass in Dictionary Corner was removed, although the celebrities were still socially distanced as a precaution. The audience has also returned to full capacity with all of them no longer required to wear masks.

Several changes were made to the gameplay as well, one of which was that whoever was in the chair where the late Sean Lock used to sit and/or when Jon Richardson is absent would be called "Guest Team Captain" rather than "Acting Team Captain". Another change was that if the game ended in a Draw, no one would win the prize for that episode, in contrast to both teams sharing the prize in the past should it happen. The outro's music had also now reverted back to the normal version heard during pre-pandemic times as well (Episodes 3 to 5 were aired out of order as they had the opening music in the credits).

Notably, the third episode of this series, which kept plexiglass as it had been filmed in 2021 when restrictions were still in place, featured Bradley Horrocks, the runner-up of Series 77 of Countdown, helping out Jamali Maddix and Joe Wilkinson.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
Cats143	29/07/2022	S	Joe Wilkinson & Richard Ayoade	28 – 28	Jon Richardson & Lucy Beaumont	Jimmy Carr	Rachel Riley					Finlay Christie	Susie Dent	75
Cats144	5/08/2022	S	Harriet Kemsley & Alan Carr	37 – 24*	Jonathan Ross & Maisie Adam	Jimmy Carr	Rachel Riley					Huge Davies	Susie Dent	65
Cats145	12/08/2022	S	Jamali Maddix, Bradley Horrocks & Joe Wilkinson	73* – 56*	Jon Richardson & Jo Brand	Jimmy Carr	Rachel Riley					Rachel Parris	Susie Dent	75
Cats146	19/08/2022	S	Sara Pascoe & Richard Ayoade	11 – 35	Jon Richardson & Chris McCausland	Jimmy Carr	Rachel Riley					Morgana Robinson	Susie Dent	60
Cats147	26/08/2022	S	Joe Wilkinson & Roisin Conaty	14 – 43*	Jon Richardson & Nabil Abdulrashid	Jimmy Carr	Rachel Riley					David O'Doherty	Susie Dent	64
Cats148	2/09/2022	S	Russell Kane & Jonathan Ross	48 – 28	Alan Carr & Judi Love	Jimmy Carr	Rachel Riley					Josh Jones	Susie Dent	68

* Includes 5 points from a bonus game.