Episode Cats168

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Episode Cats168, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 28, Episode 1 in the UK and Series 17, Episode 3 in international markets, was a special episode broadcast on 25 July 2025, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 28.

The team captains were Richard Ayoade and Bob Mortimer, their teammates were Harriet Dyer and Tom Allen respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the presenter.

The match saw Richard Ayoade, with the assistance of Harriet Dyer, winning by 77 – 10 in a 7-rounder thanks to the conundrum being worth 34 points in a failed attempt to let Bob and Tom win, and they won a Countdown karate kit consisting of a pair of karate outfits with bands and belts (Fabio, the show's permanent male model and another model demonstrated some moves while wearing the kits to the tune of You're the Best by Joe Esposito).

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Ian Smith, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent. Joe Wilkinson also made a brief appearance in Round 6 where he came "crashing" down from the studio ceiling after Jimmy pressed a button called "Do Not Press" when choosing between two other options, "Cash Drop for Audience" and "Dream Holiday Giveaway".

Just before Round 5, a bonus round called "The Countdown Acting Challenge" took place where both teams were supposed to recreate a scene from a movie with the aid of additional props. Richard's team was given a scene from the 2001 movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring while Bob's team was a given a scene from the 1963 movie From Russia with Love. Jimmy felt that Richard's team was better on the basis of the voices, thus five bonus points were awarded to them.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, Richard presented a portrait of the late writer Harauld Hughes (1931-2006) (who looked similar to him in terms of his appearance) before reciting one of his poems. Later on, Bob showed off his mascot which was one of his cats named "Django Untrained", and it involved one of the stage managers bringing it up for him.

2) In Round 1, the clock music was replaced with an uncredited guitarist strumming Spanish-like music, with Jimmy performing tango moves using dancing shoes to the side of the studio.

3) In Round 3, Jimmy drove a mini sports car around the studio asking for the celebrities' declarations and asking Susie for the validity of those words after "winning" an online auction.

4) During the final four seconds of Round 4, Bob used a reed to play the notes of the clock music.

5) In Round 5, Rachel alternated the letters for the selection even though Richard asked for "five consonants and four vowels", thus the right order on the board should have been BJNDPOAEO.

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

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Harriet & Richard	Score	Bob & Tom	Others	Max.
1	IEUSHMOCS	CHIMES HOMIES	6 – 0	MUSIC MICE	CUISHES*, HOCUSES, MISCUES, MUSHIES*, SCHMOES	7
2	25 100 3 10 6 1 → 475	— 466 (100 + 25 − 10) × (1 + 3) + 6	11 – 6	— —	RR: 475 = (6 − 1) × 100 − 25	17
TTT	RINSEBOB	Don't look down.			SNOBBIER
3	EAONTSLEI	STOLEN SLATE	17 – 0	SLANT NEAT	TOENAILS	25
Rnd	Selection	Richard Ayoade	Score	Bob Mortimer	Others	Max.
4	75 2 8 3 10 4 → 748	748 75 × 10 − 8 ÷ 4	27 – 10	748 75 × 10 − 2		35
TTT	BOOBLEAK	Tom Allen, for example.			BOOKABLE
Rnd	Selection	Harriet & Richard	Score	Bob & Tom	Others	Max.
5	BOJANEDOP	BONED JAPED	37 – 10	OPEN DANE	BEDPAN, BOOPED*, POONED	46
TTT	BOBSREAR	Let's keep it dry.			REABSORB
6	GLCAITENU	GLUTEN GLUTEN	43 – 10	lagune ☓ UNIT	CINGULATE	64
7	TOMFARTED	FORMATTED (27 seconds)	77 – 10			98