Episode Cats174

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Episode Cats174, billed as Series 29, Episode 1 in the UK, was a special episode broadcast on 16 January 2026, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 29.

The Team Captains were regulars Rob Beckett and Jon Richardson, their teammates were Katherine Parkinson and Judi Love respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host. John Tothill subsequently joined Rob's team as an additional teammate just before Round 5 as they were behind, with the team's nameplate being changed to accommodate him.

The match saw Jon Richardson, with the assistance of Judi Love, winning by 74 – 17 in a 7-rounder thanks to the conundrum being worth 29 points and in a failed attempt to let Rob's team win, and they won a Countdown fencing kit.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Spencer Jones, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, Rob revealed that he was wearing extra long sneakers and demonstrated walking with them around the studio. Later on, Jon featured tribute band artworks, one of which was oasisters which led to two uncredited women walking up on stage to perform Don't Look Back in Anger by the namesake band Oasis and ended with both of them feuding with each other in reference to Oasis' fallout in 2009. Finally, Spencer made use of a glove to blow it and tie it into different figures similar to a balloon.

2) In Round 1, as the audience groaned at Katherine for selecting a vowel as the last letter, she went with a consonant instead. Immediately after, two dogs (which Jimmy named them as "Barker Balmer" and "Oprah Woofrey") sat on a couch, with Jimmy acting as a counsellor to deal with their "marriage issues". The time ended with the dogs "reconciling" and "paying" Jimmy £500 for the service.

3) In Round 2, despite Judi not hitting the target, she presented her solution which left Jimmy and Rob laughing in tears despite the incorrectness, with the former joking that she should be his accountant.

4) In Round 3, the clock music was replaced with Feel the Burn by Billen Ted and was used to accompany Jon and Jimmy exercising using a pilates machine.

5) During the 30 seconds in Round 6, Jimmy proceeded to "brush" "Barker Balmer"'s teeth (which were a set of false ones) on a dental chair which ended with him noticing an uncanny resemblance to Rob's smile.

6) After the conundrum was solved by Judi, she proceeded to do a victory lap by shaking the hands of audience members seated in the front row and even embraced one of them.

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

NOTE 2: In Round 4, the solution was provided by Jon after he obtained it out of time. Additionally, it was assumed he initially had the same solution as Katherine's even though he was not asked to present.

NOTE 3: As part of John's introduction, he played a short tune on his clarinet. Subsequently, he proceeded to do so as an accompaniment to the actual clock music in Round 5 and hence, he is considered to not have played that round.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Katherine & Rob	Score	Jon & Judi	Others	Max.
1	ENAGISLUC	CLAUSE ALIENS	0 – 7	GLANCES UNCLES	LUNACIES, SCUNGILE*	8
2	100 25 50 10 9 7 → 112	112 112 9 − 7 + 10 + 100 9 − 7 + 10 + 100*	10 – 17	112 99 ☓ 50 ÷ 10 + 7 + 100		18
TTT	WANGSITE	Is it hot in here?			SWEATING
Rnd	Selection	Rob Beckett	Score	Judi Love	Others	Max.
3	ETSAIOTRE	teatees ☓	10 – 23	STEREO	ITERATES*, TEARIEST, TOASTIER, TREATIES, TREATISE*	26
Rnd	Selection	Katherine Parkinson	Score	Jon Richardson	Others	Max.
4	25 50 4 5 6 10 → 223	224 25 × 10 − 5 × 4 − 6	17 – 30	224 25 × 10 − 5 × 4 − 6*	RR: 223 = 50 × 4 + 25 − 10 ÷ 5	36
TTT	ARSESNOB	Thank you my lady.			BARONESS
Rnd	Selection	Katherine & Rob	Score	Jon & Judi	Others	Max.
5	OMDIATNTE	TAINTED TAINTED	17 – 38	DOMINATE donte ☓	ANTIDOTE, TETANOID*, TOMATINE	44
TTT	ROBSPOLE	Try and keep a straight face.			BLOOPERS
Rnd	Selection	Katherine & John & Rob	Score	Jon & Judi	Others	Max.
6	NOLUREQKG	longure ☓ NOR LONER	17 – 45	LOUNGER NO		51
7	FREEGROIN	foraging ☓ (10.75 seconds)	17 – 74	☓ FOREIGNER (3.25, 13.5 seconds)		80