Episode Cats175

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Episode Cats175, billed as Series 29, Episode 2 in the UK, was a special episode broadcast on 23 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 Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Roisin Conaty respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host. Sam Nicoresti 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 her.

The match saw Jon Richardson, with the assistance of Roisin Conaty, winning by 50 – 47 in a 7-rounder and they won a Countdown camouflage kit which consisted of two jackets that blended in with both the studio's wall and floor.

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

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, Rob flashed his nipples to Jimmy as he wanted to show they were big in size, to which the latter wished it would be attached to his prop (a custom defibrillator consisting of a car battery that produced sparks). Later on, Jon showed off his prop which was a binman named Phil strapped onto the front of a bin truck's bumper as "revenge" for people attaching stuffed animals in front of bin trucks, while Kiell introduced a parrot named Aurora, but it failed to do the tricks he rehearsed before the show.

2) In Round 1, the clock music was replaced by the Countdown Tongue Choir (consisting of a group of nine uncredited men) moving their tongues to produce a music piece, with the performance conducted by Jimmy.

3) In Round 3, the selection was chosen by Rachel after Rob asked her to do so. Later in the same round, Jimmy "built" a beer keg around Jon and after it was completed, obtained beer via a tap from the bottom and got him to chug nearly all of it from a glass. Subsequently, all the celebrities were presented with a glass of beer each.

4) Just before Round 5, Sam introduced his prop which was a train set, alluding to the Trans-Siberian express and how he was also trans.

5) During the 30 seconds in Round 6, Jimmy played an arcade game called "Face Invaders" (a play on Space Invaders), with the console's screen being shown to the audience at home. It turned out the enemies were part of Rob's teeth, and an animation played where he crushed Jimmy's spaceship. After the round ended, it was revealed Rob had AUDITS and Jon had MARAUDS, but both words were discarded.

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

NOTE 2: The solution in Round 2 was provided by Jimmy.

NOTE 3: In Round 3, Roisin originally declared a nine-letter word, but the mistake was spotted by Jon and she corrected herself soon after. Despite this being considered cheating, Jimmy allowed her the points.

NOTE 4: The conundrum had two valid solutions, STAUNCHED and UNSCATHED.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Kiell & Rob	Score	Jon & Roisin	Others	Max.
1	SWNPEOAUL	WEAPONS LEAPS	7 – 7	WEAPONS PLANES	APOLUNE, NOPALES*	7
2	50 75 3 1 10 10 → 847	840 800 75 × 10 + (1 + 3) × 10 + 50	12 – 7	848 ☓ 847 ☓	RR: 847 = 10 × (75 + 10) − 3	17
TTT	SENDTITS	Open wide.			DENTISTS
Rnd	Selection	Rob Beckett	Score	Roisin Conaty	Others	Max.
3	RETIMASET	MATTERS	12 – 15	MISTREAT	EMIRATES, EMITTERS*, ESTIMATE*, ITERATES*, MEATIEST*, STEAMIER, TEAMSTER*, TEARIEST*, TEATIMES*, TERMITES*, TREATIES*, TREATISE*	25
Rnd	Selection	Kiell Smith-Bynoe	Score	Jon Richardson	Others	Max.
4	9 10 3 4 7 5 → 185	184	12 – 25	185 (10 + 9) × (7 + 3) − 5		35
TTT	PENISHAT	Don't be so dramatic.			THESPIAN
Rnd	Selection	Kiell & Sam & Rob	Score	Jon & Roisin	Others	Max.
5	RGONEICNR	CRINGER CORNERING GONER	30 – 43	CORNERING rinse ☓		53
TTT	SEENFART	Seal that up.			FASTENER
6	TAUDISMAR	STADIUM AUTISM RUDIST	37 – 50	MUSTARD mitau ☓	ARAMIDS*, ATRIUMS*, DATURAS*, MARAUDS, MATSURI*, SAMURAI, SUDARIA*, TRAUMAS	60
7	NUDECHATS	STAUNCHED** (22.25s seconds)	47 – 50			70