Welcome to yet another Worsley Recap, the last before I head off to Manchester on Wednesday to film the finals. Before that though, there is still plenty to play for in the battle to secure a place in the top eight so let's get this show on the road.
Instead of informing us of what the mighty Countdown research department has come up with this week, Nick talks about how being a TV star leads to doing work for charity and hopefully raising money. Rachel tells us that as well as appearing on Celebrity Mastermind recently, she has also been on The Bank Job, where she raised £36,000 for her charity. Apparently the answer to her first question was boobs which she feared might be wrong but it turned out to be right. I'm sure you'll all have your own ideas on what the question was. Anyway, before this gets out of hand, let's get down to the serious business of the day.
C1: Champion Nick Hall (2 wins, 171 points.) A therapist from Stratford-upon-Avon, he has already knocked out two apterites, the first being Kerry(-Ann) Alcock on a crucial conundrum and Danny Morton on Friday more comfortably. Now he's on his hattrick.
C2: Challenger Clare Chisholm. A fitness class manager from Midlothian, she is also a fan of TV comedies, mostly Scottish ones. Hopefully her performance won't resemble one today.
DC: Susie Dent and Chris Packham.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: V G R O A E M S A
R02: R U W B S E I J A
R03: N F E I T E R N A
R04: L S T I E S B O R
R05: 50, 25, 3, 5, 6, 2. Target: 136.
TTT: ITSOARED - "It soared through the sky by Jupiter"
R06: T N C U E O F R I
R07: D N K T E A I O Q
R08: S T Y E I A C V O
R09: D T D E U I L S O
R10: 100, 75, 9, 10, 2, 8. Target: 682.
TTT: BITANGER - "Showing a bit of anger when telling someone off"
R11: R H A O P M P A E
R12: S P M I U A N L O
R13: D W C G A I E X A
R14: 75, 100, 9, 8, 3, 7. Target: 904.
R15: N I S E P L U M S (conundrum)
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Round 1: V G R O A E M S A
C1: ORGASM (6)
C2: GROVES (6)
DC: AROMAS (6) SAMOVAR (7)
OT: SAGAMORE (8)
Score: 6–6 (max 8)
An even start by the contestants, with DC finding a seven and an eight hiding in there.
A SAGAMORE is an American Indian term for a chief.
Round 2: R U W B S E I J A
C1: BRUISE (6)
C2: BRUISE (6)
DC: RUBIES (6) BRAISE (6)
OT: ABJURES (7) JABIRUS (7)
Score: 12–12 (max 15)
Not an easy round as everyone in the studio settles for six, but there are a couple of sevens available.
Round 3: N F E I T E R N A
C1: FAINTER (7)
C2: FAINTER (7)
DC: TRANNIE (7)
OT: ENTRAIN (7) FEINTER (7) INFANTE (7) INTERNE (7) RETINAE (7) TRAINEE (7)
Score: 19–19 (max 22)
Nice and flat here, with everyone registering their first maximums of the day.
INFANTE is a term referring to the second in line to the throne in Spain and Portugal, normally the second son.
Round 4: L S T I E S B O R
C1: STORIES (7)
C2: BLISTERS (8)
DC: LOBSTERS (8)
OT: BOLSTERS (8) BRISTLES (8) BRISTOLS (8)
Score: 19–27 (max 30)
Clare strikes the first blow.
Round 5: 50, 25, 3, 5, 6, 2. Target: 136.
C1: 136. 5 x 25 + 6 + 3 + 2 (10)
C2: 137.
Score: 29–27 (max 40)
Just the 114 methods to choose from to reach the very low target but Clare can't find any of them. Her good work in the last round has been undone as Nick takes the lead for the first time.
Chris Packham has wrestled with lions and swum with great white sharks before. He informs us that being injured by animals has always been part of his life and that it's not too painful after a while. Not something I'd like to try.
Teatime teaser: ITSOARED -> ASTEROID
Round 6: T N C U E O F R I
C1: COUNTER (7)
C2: COUNTER (7)
DC: NEUROTIC (8) FORTUNE (7) CONFUTE (7)
OT: INFECTOR (8)
Score: 36–34 (max 48)
An easy seven for both Clare and Nick, with a good eight from DC.
Round 7: D N K T E A I O Q
C1: INTAKE (6)
C2: TONED (5)
DC: DONATE (6) TONKED (6) TANKED (6)
OT: ATONED (6) DAIKON (6) DETAIN (6) IODATE (6) KENTIA (6) OINKED (6) TIENDA (6)
Score: 42–34 (max 54)
Clare forgets to stick the A at the front of her word as Nick edges further ahead in a flat round.
An IODATE is a salt or an ester of iodic acid.
Round 8: S T Y E I A C V O
C1: ACTIVE (6)
C2: COVETS (6)
DC: SOCIETY (7) AVOCETS (7) OCTAVES (7)
OT: ACTIVES (7) COSTIVE (7)
Score: 48–40 (max 61)
Now it's Nick's turn to miss the opportunity to add a letter to his word as you can put the S on ACTIVE. He probably assumed it was just an adjective but it can also be a noun, meaning an active from as a verb.
Round 9: D T D E U I L S O
C1: DILUTES (7)
C2: DUSTED (6)
DC: OUTSIDE (7) TODDLES (7) DELTOIDS (8)
OT: SOLITUDE (8)
Score: 55–40 (max 69)
Nick's lead extends to double figures, while DC come up with DELTOIDS. Nick the host asks both contestants where the deltoid muscle is (since they both have appropriate jobs) and sure enough, they both know the answer.
OoW: Susie explains the origin of the phrase "in spades".
Round 10: 100, 75, 9, 10, 2, 8. Target: 682.
C1: 682. (9 - 2) x 100 - 10 - 8 (10)
C2: -
Score: 65–40 (max 79)
Oh dear, Clare is not a big fan of the numbers, or so it seems. She completely blanks here, allowing Nick to extend his lead to a quarter of a century with a well worked solution. Clare has a mountain to climb.
Teatime teaser: BITANGER -> BERATING
Round 11: R H A O P M P A E
C1: MAPPER (6)
C2: HAMPER (6)
DC: PAMPER (6) PAMPERO (7)
OT: AMPHORAE (8)
Score: 71–46 (max 87)
DC do well to pick a seven out of that lot, with a very obscure eight (unsurprisingly) being missed by everyone. It is the plural of AMPHORA, which is a tall ancient Greek or Roman jug with two handles and a narrow neck.
Round 12: S P M I U A N L O
C1: PLAINS (6)
C2: PLAINS (6)
DC: MOPANIS (7)
OT: LIPOMAS (7) MALISON (7) MONIALS (7) MOULINS (7) PLASMIN (7) PLASMON (7) SOLANUM (7) SPUMONI (7) SUNLAMP (7) UPSILON (7)
Score: 77–52 (max 94)
Loads of sevens but none of them are that common to be fair to the contestants. DC pick out the old favourite MOPANIS.
Round 13: D W C G A I E X A
C1: CAGED (5)
C2: WAXED (5)
OT: ACEDIA (6)
Score: 82–57 (max 100)
A nasty selection here as no one sees the only unusual six.
Round 14: 75, 100, 9, 8, 3, 7. Target: 904.
C1: 904. 100 x 9 + 7 - 3 (10)
C2: 904. 100 x 9 + 7 - 3 (10)
Score: 92–67 (max 110)
Nice and easy, allowing Nick the chance to claim his first century.
Round 15: N I S E P L U M S
C1 buzzes on 16 seconds to say PLUMINESS which is incorrect.
C2 buzzes on 20 seconds to say SIMPLENESS which is incorrect.
The answer was LUMPINESS.
Final Score: 92–67 (max 120)
But both get it wrong as it's left for a man in the audience to win himself a mug. A comfortable win for Nick in the end against a decent opponent, although Clare did start well. Nick is certainly showing some goos skills and right now I would not be surprised to see him at the finals on Wednesday. Can he get his fourth win tomorrow? David Barnard will reveal all. Then next Monday, in what could possibly be the game in which Nick is crowned an octochamp, you should hopefully be able to watch 8-bit Countdown with Graeme again.
I'll be back for another Worsley Recap in two weeks, same time, same place, you'd better make sure of it!
Good afternoon.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=66
