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Episode Cats118

From Countdown

Episode Cats118, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 18, Episode 7 was a special episode broadcast on 6 September 2019, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 18.

Regulars Sean Lock and Jon Richardson were the contestants, along with Katherine Ryan and Joe Wilkinson who were their teammates respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host.

The match saw Jon Richardson, with the assistance of Joe Wilkinson, winning by 33 – 29 in an 7-rounder and they won a Countdown pancake kit which was a pair of frying pans.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Adam Riches (pretending to be Sean Bean), and the lexicographer was Susie Dent. The 1980s pop singer Paul Young also made a special appearance on the show as Joe's mascot.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, two cameramen could be seen after Joe commented that they were not doing anything, to which one of them, an elderly woman, showed the middle finger and replied "go f*ck yourself Joe" to much applause from the audience. Later, a brief reference was made to Episode Cats107 where Jon made a dark joke about killing kittens. Finally, Sean introduced his own website which actually does exist. [1]

2) In Round 1, the clock music was replaced with Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young and he was invited back to sing, only to have it cut out by the normal clock music during the last few seconds, leaving him without a chance to utter a single word and causing him to walk off the stage in anger. He would later appear again after the Conundrum where he was invited by Jimmy to sing Come Back and Stay, only for the closing theme to cut him off again, sending him into a rage by kicking the microphone stand.

3) In Round 2, the original target was 102. However, seeing how easy it was coupled with Joe cheering, Rachel pressed CECIL again. Unfortunately, it backfired on her twice by generating 700 and 809, both easy targets before she pressed a third time which generated 719.

4) In Round 4, Sean assisted Katherine by giving the solution: (9 − 1) × (100 + 4). Hence, this was considered cheating and no points were awarded to their team.

5) Just before the second Teaser, Adam summoned a member of the audience and tested his braveness by popping two party poppers close to him. If he was caught flinching, he would be hit by Adam until "he passed out". However, the poppers he popped were not loud, thus he passed the test and was let off. Later, just before the third teaser, similar to what happened in Episode Cats84, he asked Jon to punch Yakult bottles from his "udder" and drink it. Jon refused to drink it due to his veganism and Adam drank it by himself much to everyone's disgust.

6) In Round 6, as Jon asked for "a final letter", Rachel offered him an explicit choice between the vowel E and the consonant T. During the 30 seconds in Round 6, Jimmy was "knighted" by someone pretending to be Queen Elizabeth II (Her appearance was not credited). After which, they both engaged in an intense kissing scene which at one point, caused Rachel to use her arms to cover her eyes.

7) During the Conundrum, as Joe's team had already won, he decided to "leave" for the restroom, resulting in Jon having to unscramble it by himself.

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

NOTE 2: For reasons unknown, this episode was swapped around with Episode 5 and aired a fortnight after its original air date. Also, this episode marks the first time a Conundrum has been reused from this version of the show, having previously been unsolved on Episode Cats14 five years earlier.

This episode was given a short-notice repeat on 19 August 2021 as a tribute to Lock, whose death was announced the previous day, with the credits interrupted by a slide commemorating Lock.

A short segment of this episode was sampled in the 20 May 2021 episode of Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont's sitcom Meet the Richardsons.

Rounds

Rnd Selection Katherine & Sean Score Jon & Joe Others Max.
1 GSROILETA SOILER
LOITERS
0 – 8 GLOATERS
LATER
ALGORIST*, ALIGOTES*, GASOLIER*, GIRASOLE*, LEGATORS*, REGALIST*, RIGOLETS*, SERAGLIO* 8
2 100 8 1 8 2 10 → 719 720
720
0 – 18 719
719 ☓
100 × 8 − 10 × 8 − 1


18
TTT NEEDTUSH Yes please! ENTHUSED
Rnd Selection Sean Lock Score Joe Wilkinson Others Max.
3 MUNHTERPI THUMPER 7 – 18 HUNTER HUMPIER*, MINUTER*, PINETUM*, REPUNIT*, RHENIUM*, RUNTIME*, TRIUMPH*, UNMERIT*, UNPRIME* 25
Rnd Selection Katherine Ryan Score Jon Richardson Others Max.
4 100 1 4 10 9 2 → 832 832 ☓ 7 – 28 832
8 × 100 + (10 − 2) × 4


35
TTT PENISART Good to decorate your house. PAINTERS
Rnd Selection Katherine & Sean Score Jon & Joe Others Max.
5 TONDWTEAS sweatted ☓
DONATES
14 – 28 towndates ☓
TEAS
DOWNSTATE 53
TTT BONKLIST This could get messy. INKBLOTS
6 CIADRFUHT FRUIT
ARCH
19 – 33 CHAIR
drut ☓
HAIRCUT 60
Rnd Selection Katherine & Sean Score Jon Richardson Others Max.
7 OILYPANTS PONYTAILS
(30 seconds)
29 – 33 70