Episode Cats155

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Episode Cats155, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 25, Episode 3, was a special episode broadcast on 26 January 2024, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 25.

The Team Captains were Rob Brydon and Jon Richardson, their teammates were Katherine Parkinson and Babatunde Aléshé respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host.

The match saw Jon Richardson, with the assistance of Babatunde Aléshé, winning by 33 – 22 in a 7-rounder and they won a Countdown butter churner.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Adam Buxton, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent. Joe Wilkinson also made a special appearance just before Round 5 where he was introduced as the magician "The Great Alfonzo" and was riding a quad bike, destroying the mechanical conundrum board and parts of the studio in the process of doing so.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, Babatunde brought a beat machine, to which he would play a sound effect throughout the show when his team had beat Rob's team. Later on, Rob had a wheel that contained some of the products he had done the voiceovers for the corresponding advertisements, garnering everyone's admiration when he narrated the catchphrases according to how it sounded.

2) In Round 1, after Jimmy assembled a robot on a makeshift table, Rachel summoned a much larger robot from backstage which not only kicked and destroyed Jimmy's one, but also attempted to grab Jon, notably causing Babatunde to flee from his seat out of fear he was a target.

3) During the 30 seconds in Round 3, Jimmy and Jon played the game "Mortal Kountdown" on an arcade machine (a parody of Mortal Kombat), with Jon finishing off Jimmy through stomping his head. Interestingly, the arcade screen was actually a feed of what the audience at home were seeing.

4) In Round 4, due to Katherine forgetting that 6 Small was a possible combination, she was visibly dismayed after requesting Jon to pick the smallest Large number selection (which was correctly zero).

5) In Round 5, Joe deliberately flung out the A in an attempt to prove Jon that he would mess up the game. The letter was subsequently tossed back by Jimmy, however, it was not placed properly on the letters board (the next vowel, O, was also misaligned).

6) In Round 6, Joe requested Rachel to pick a card while the letters were being picked. Halfway through, he caused a pack of cards to crash down from the ceiling and in his hand were a pair of cards with the three of diamonds. However, Rachel had picked the card with the nine of spades, causing Joe to comment his trick did not work as he was not on his quad bike.

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

NOTE 2: During the Conundrum, while Jon initially buzzed in, Rob took the chance to steal and gave an incorrect answer, deranger ☓. Therefore, due to this mismatch, Jon's team is considered to have blanked out. Additionally, the conundrum contained two valid solutions: REDRAWING and REWARDING.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Katherine & Rob	Score	Jon & Babatunde	Others	Max.
1	TEUSMOJKT	MUTES STOKE	0 – 6	MUSKET SMOKE	MOUKETS*	7
2	50 10 5 9 7 6 → 804	782 3690	0 – 16	804 804 (10 + 6) × 50 + 9 − 5 (10 + 6) × 50 + 9 − 5 *		17
TTT	BATHEROB	Works best if you're naked.			BATHROBE
Rnd	Selection	Rob Brydon	Score	Babatunde Aléshé	Others	Max.
3	FERASEPNI	PRAISE	6 – 16	eraser ☓	FAERIES*, FREESIA*, PERFINS*, PERINEA*, PERINES*, PRASINE*, REFINES, REPINES*, SAFENER*	24
Rnd	Selection	Katherine Parkinson	Score	Jon Richardson	Others	Max.
4	7 6 9 1 5 2 → 748	665	6 – 21	742 (5 × 2 × (9 + 1) + 6) × 7	RR: 748 = (7 × 6 × 9 − (5 − 1)) × 2	34
TTT	PURETURD	What a mess.			RUPTURED
Rnd	Selection	Katherine & Rob	Score	Jon & Babatunde	Others	Max.
5	GRLAOCFED	GRACED GRACED	12 – 27	☓6 FORCED	CORDAGE*, DOGFACE, FORAGED*, FREGOLA*, REDCOAL*	41
TTT	HESTRIPS	It's a hairy one.			HIPSTERS
6	TYURAEPAS	surpate ☓ PAYER	12 – 33	PASTRY —	SEPTUARY*	49
7	WANGRIDER	REWARDING** (28.5 seconds)	22 – 33	☓ (2.25 seconds)		59