Episode Cats176

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Episode Cats176, billed as Series 29, Episode 3 in the UK, was a special episode broadcast on 30 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 Miles Jupp and Judi Love respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host. Dane Buckley subsequently joined Jon'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 both teams tied with a score of 30 – 30 in a 7-rounder, and they all won a Countdown dog bed.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guests were Róisín and Chiara, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent. Pasha Kovalev, Rachel's husband, made a special appearance in Round 3 where he was the last person seen exiting out of Jimmy's car.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, Jon tried to act "bad" by sitting backwards on his chair, dressing up like a gangster and pretended to vape, the latter of which hilariously failed as he initially forgot to remove the stopper from the apparatus. Later, Rob would show off several phallic-shaped cacti as his props.

2) Just before the first teaser, as part of the anecdote, Róisín pretended to act hysterical and dressed up as a bride with a veil. Holding flowers, she then climbed onto the table, advanced on Jon and "kissed" him while the tune of Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer was playing.

3) In Round 3, Jimmy drove a small car to the side of the studio, to which 13 uncredited extras (excluding Pasha as mentioned above) came out of it dressed in various outfits, with some of them carrying items such as a ladder and balloons.

4) Just before Round 5, Dane brought a jalebi as part of his segment about his grandmother, to which all the celebrities were given one each to eat subsequently.

5) In Round 6, the clock music was replaced firstly with a rave version of it, followed by a country version of it and ending off with a Spanish version of it (notably, the first version of the clock music used between 1982 to 1989 could be heard in the background for the Spanish version). A Spanish dub of Jon's voice was then made following the end of the music, but it went haywire and forced Jimmy to switch the voice to a nasal one.

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 4 was provided by Judi, before being completed by Jon.

NOTE 3: In the credits of the episode, Dane's surname was incorrectly spelt as "Buckleyy".

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Miles & Rob	Score	Jon & Judi	Others	Max.
1	MCPAEOTIL	CLIMATE/POLEMIC PETAL	7 – 7	COMPILE/compilate ☓ PLATE	COMPLEAT*, POETICAL	8
2	100 50 75 6 2 9 → 359	357 359 6 × 75 − 100 + 9	17 – 7	358 342		18
TTT	MEATBELL	Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom.			MELTABLE
Rnd	Selection	Rob Beckett	Score	Judi Love	Others	Max.
3	EGMSIETYR	MISERY/MISTER	23 – 7	MISTY/TIMER	GERMIEST	26
Rnd	Selection	Miles Jupp	Score	Jon Richardson	Others	Max.
4	50 25 75 2 7 10 → 192	—	23 – 14	193 75 + 25 + 2 × 50 − 7	RR: 192 = 2 × 75 + 25 + 10 + 7	36
TTT	OILEDNUT	You can see the shape of it.			OUTLINED
Rnd	Selection	Miles & Rob	Score	Jon & Dane & Judi	Others	Max.
5	NOEAISNEW	SINEW SWINE	23 – 20	INSANE NEWS NOISE	SWANNIE	43
TTT	IDNOSHME	Anything for a good time.			HEDONISM
6	TAFSELADI	DILATES FADES	30 – 20	FASTED FALSE LADIES	ALIASED*, DETAILS*, FAILTES*, SEALIFT*, STIFLED*	50
7	SICKPENIS		30 – 30	PICKINESS (11.75 seconds)		60