Episode 20 Debatable

APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome to Debatable, where, today, one player must answer

a series of tricky questions to try to walk away with

a jackpot of over £3,000. But they're not on their own, they will

have a panel of well-known faces debating their way to the answers.

Will they be all talk and no action?

As always, that's debatable, so let's meet them.

Charting their way to the answers today,

we have musician and cheesemaker Alex James,

we have broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen,

and comedian Hal Cruttenden.

APPLAUSE

It's the panel that has everything, Esther.

I really think this panel could go all the way.

Well, you've got a winner of Celebrity Mastermind here.

-Yes, you do.

-Yes.

And you've got the guy who knows everything about music and cheese here.

-We're basically bigging this panel up, this can only go one way.

-Absolutely.

-And of course,

there's really nothing in the world that you don't know about.

-Oh, there's so much I don't know about.

-OK, give us your strengths,

what are you going to bring to the dance today?

-A certain amount of general knowledge.

-Yes.

I did study English.

I was a contestant, briefly, in Strictly Come Dancing.

-So...

-So you're a born winner, that's what we're saying.

Well, sometimes luck is on my side, so I'm hoping for that.

Now, you mentioned that Hal has won Celebrity Mastermind,

-with the highbrow topic, Hal, of?

-The films of Rocky.

The films of Rocky, come on!

-OK, so apart from Rocky movies, what are you...?

-I'm quite good at history.

-Good at history.

-I'm quite good on geography.

I'm terrible on things that people think I'd be good at, like food.

-Food is covered, Hal.

-Yeah.

Food is covered by the rock god, cheesemaker and all-round

Renaissance man that is Alex James. Anything you're looking forward to?

-Well, if we get anything on Joy Division B-sides.

-It's niche.

-French Romantic poetry.

-French Romantic poetry.

That's what I mean, we're all experts on that.

I'm just up for it, really.

OK, that is the panel, let's meet today's contestant.

It is Billy from Audlem.

APPLAUSE

-Hi, Billy.

-Patrick.

-How are you doing, fella?

-Oh, I'm excited.

-You are excited.

-I'm very excitable.

-Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Yeah, well, my name is Billy, I live in 1956, as you can tell.

LAUGHTER

I'm from Audlem, as you've just said,

which is a little village in south Cheshire.

Everything in my house, apart from three things, is from the 1950s.

And the three things that aren't are a television,

a kettle and a microwave bed. And they're great, by the way.

-You can get eight hours' sleep in three minutes, it's fantastic.

-LAUGHTER

When did this interest in the '50s begin?

When I heard Elvis Presley's Hound Dog.

I was sort of switched on to rock and roll then, and it became...

Well, I'm still switched on to rock and roll,

-and rockabilly music as well.

-So, where do you work at, Billy?

I'm an entertainer, I work at two care homes,

which is absolutely fantastic, it's a brilliant job.

-And so, how often do you go in there?

-Five hours a day, four days a week.

-Really?

-Yeah, yeah.

But they can stand just about that much of me.

I'm in a rockabilly band called New Moon Fever.

And when I go to the home, I sing them songs, which is actually taking

most of them back to their youth or their childhood, so that's great.

Now, tell me, how much hairspray do you go through in a week?

-Probably about seven or eight.

-Yeah?

-Tins.

So, as the tension builds, Billy, will the hair stay in place?

-Of course it will. A force-10 gale couldn't shift this.

-OK, good.

-Are you ready to play?

-I am ready to play.

OK, here we go, let's play Round One.

OK, Billy, Round One is multiple choice.

Four possible answers, we have four questions in this round.

£200 for each correct answer, a possible £800 up for grabs.

So, here we go, let's get cracking. Here comes your first question.

Oh.

OK. I think Duran Duran is out of a science fiction film,

I think, or something like that.

Mogwai, not a clue, so maybe it might be that. Possibly.

Don't worry, I'm sure our panel can bring their expert knowledge

-to this. Panel, your debate starts now.

-Well, Alex.

-Well, Mogwai once made T-shirts saying Blur are rubbish.

-Ah.

LAUGHTER

Does that make them good or bad?

Actually, it was a bit ruder than that.

LAUGHTER

-I've never heard of them, though.

-Nor have I.

Apart from that, nor have I.

But... Wasn't mogwai a gremlin?

That's what a gremlin is before it turns into a gremlin, a mogwai.

So that's the only one I know that is in a film.

Procol Harum is Latin, isn't it? What it means, I'm not sure.

But I think it's a Latin phrase.

You could say it means anything and we would have been like,

-"Oh, really?"

-Well, there you are. I don't know whether that means...

I would have said it probably doesn't come from a film,

in that case. Black Sabbath sounds filmic, does it?

It does sound like it's a film, doesn't it?

It's a devil worshippers' meeting.

It sounds like the sort of horror film I would never go and see,

-so that could be a film.

-I know quite a lot about horror films,

and I've never heard of one called Black Sabbath.

OK, what about Duran Duran?

-Duran Duran is a mad scientist in Barbarella.

-Oh, right.

-Well, there you are.

-It's a brilliant film.

-There you are.

So, we are saying Duran Duran comes from a film,

Mogwai comes from a film.

Yeah, I'm pretty certain... I'm pretty confident, Billy,

-we can discount those two.

-And Black Sabbath...

-But we still need to choose one.

-Right, which should we go for?

I... I think Procol Harum.

I think Procol Harum.

Um, do you know what, I think Black Sabbath.

Right, two out of three, so the consensus is,

two out of three think Procol Harum is the answer to the question.

I like it, Esther.

I like the way you pulled the consensus together and

ignored the only musician on the panel.

LAUGHTER

Billy, any sense in there from our panel?

Yeah, lots, really, because Procol Harum,

to me, sounds like it's completely and utterly made up.

So... Do you know what, I think I'm going to change what I said

earlier on and go for Procol Harum, I think.

OK, you're going with the panel, you're going with Procol Harum.

-Whoa!

-For £200, to get us up and running, the correct answer is?

Oh, dear.

Procol Harum.

APPLAUSE

-Well played, Billy.

-Well played, panel.

You're up and running. So, Procol Harum got their name from the name

of a cat that was owned by a friend of the band.

It is actually a corruption of the Latin,

which means "beyond these things", Esther.

Good scholarly Latin knowledge there.

Dr Durand-Durand was the baddie in the classic Jane Fonda movie Barbarella.

Mogwai were cute creatures, you were right, Hal and Alex, in Gremlins.

Black Sabbath took their name from a 1963 horror film starring

Boris Karloff. Billy, you are up and running, £200 into the prize pot.

-Thank you very much.

-APPLAUSE

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, everybody.

Here comes your next question.

Wow. I don't know.

I'm going to say table tennis, just as a sort of first guess.

OK, first thought, table tennis.

Panel, can we bring some knowledge to this? Your debate starts now.

-Do you know what...

-I was going to say, I did play fives at school.

-What is it?

-It's a game with gloves, it's a hard ball on a glove.

And it's just like that, you have two gloves on your hands and

you play left-handed and right-handed.

It's, like, smaller than a squash court.

So, fives doesn't seem likely, does it? Badminton.

-That doesn't sound too likely to me.

-I love a game of badminton.

-Do you like a game of badminton?

-No. This is not my best subject.

What was the thing they played at the Olympics when people

-didn't wear much and they were jumping on the sand?

-Volleyball.

It's volleyball.

-Apparently, Enid Blyton used to like a game of nude tennis.

-Really?

That was a thing in the '50s.

I am not surprised, because, gents, between ourselves, I have

just been decluttering recently and I have found photographs of

myself on my 50th birthday

running round the garden wearing only a hat.

LAUGHTER

Oh, the laughter this has provoked.

I'm just thinking, the viewing figures for this have shot up.

And we actually have that picture...

LAUGHTER

I... Badminton is good, I think it's quite easy,

because it's so slow, isn't it? Well, unless people are smashing it,

it's kind of like big, lovely, airy fairy, back and forth.

But squash is the most like tennis, isn't it?

It is, but it's a different sort of action.

I've got a feeling I know this, I've got a feeling it's table tennis.

Because I'm sure I heard it somewhere and went, "That's not

"like tennis, that's a very different sport, isn't it?" But...

-I don't want to be responsible.

-I've only got a slight hunch.

OK, so I am going to say that the answer to this question is

table tennis.

Billy, I have to admit, I have heard nothing of that debate after Esther

told me that she used to run around the garden with just a hat on.

-I think they may have said table tennis, did they?

-No idea.

LAUGHTER

Maybe Fred started at a young age on a table tennis table,

-you know, and then progressed to tennis.

-OK.

The panel went for table tennis.

-Billy, you're going with table tennis.

-Yeah.

For £200, the correct answer is?

-It is!

-Thank you very much.

It's unbearable, that wait, isn't it?

Very well played, panel. Good knowledge there, Hal.

He won the Table Tennis World Championships in 1929 before

becoming a tennis champion, winning all four major tennis titles in the 1930s.

Well done, panel, well done, Billy.

-Another £200 into the prize pot, you're up to £400.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-APPLAUSE

OK. Next question, here it comes.

Benedictine does ring a bell. As they did.

They rang a bell, didn't they? But, yeah, maybe...

My gut instinct is Benedictine, for some strange reason.

For some strange reason, you're thinking Benedictine.

Panel, can we sort this out? Your debate starts now.

Well, we know, don't we, that there is a liqueur called Benedictine?

So maybe that's, you know, that's their niche.

-I think that's their niche.

-Don't all monks drink quite heavily?

LAUGHTER

Or make quite a lot of alcohol?

I thought that was quite a big thing,

as recompense for all the other things they've given up.

-You're saying it's a HABIT with them?

-I'm saying it's a habit, yes.

GROANS

I think Trappists, aren't they the most closed order?

Are they silent?

-I feel that they are the silent order.

-Yes, they are.

Now, that would either drive them to drink,

or it would prevent them making drink?

Do we know where any of these outfits are from? Because...

Buckfast is British, is it?

Buckfast is from Buckfastleigh, I think, in Devon, isn't it?

Buckfast, Buckfastleigh, Benedictine.

It just seems Benedictine, doesn't it?

It just seems like that's the one, so I am drawn to that,

-but I can't remember...

-He's going to Benedictine.

-Don't blame me.

-But aren't they French?

-He's been right twice. They are.

-So, who...

-Buckfast is a British...

-Who's in Devon?

Franciscans you get in Britain.

-We've not mentioned Carthusian, who are they?

-We haven't. I've no idea.

Carthusians.

Have we ever heard of them?

I'm off Benedictine.

He's been right twice, so it's rash.

I'm saying, not Trappist.

I'm saying, never heard of Carthusian.

Let's say Franciscan. For no reason.

-Shall we go for Franciscan for no reason?

-Could be.

-Absolutely.

For no reason, we're going to say, Franciscan.

-OK, Billy?

-Well, yeah.

Me gut instinct was Benedictine, actually. As one of the panel said.

But... Do you know what?

Because I don't know much about anything, I'm going to go

-with the panel on this one, I'm going to say Franciscan.

-Come on!

Well, look, you've gone with the panel...

Gone with the panel so far and it's worked out.

£200, the correct answer is...

-I've got a bad feeling.

-Yeah, so have I.

ALL GROAN

Sorry! You were right again. Aw!

There we go, panel. Benedictine.

It was developed by Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.

So, well done, panel, with all the knowledge you brought to that.

-Quite, yes!

-Got that wrong.

-Billy, no money added this time.

-No, OK.

You're still on £400, but you still have one more question to go.

Here it comes.

Well...

The Other Boleyn Girl,

because it sounds older than the rest of them to me.

-OK, I like...

-As in, Anne Boleyn, you know.

-Yeah, no, like the logic there.

-Yeah, yeah.

So, essentially, you're saying that because the character in the book

may have been older, that may have been the first book?

Maybe, I don't know.

It's as good as anything that may possibly come up from the panel.

Panel, your debate starts now.

Well, Hal, you have been right every time.

Even when I overruled you once, foolishly.

-So, what is your view about this?

-Well, my hunch...

Gone Girl, I don't know Gone Girl. Is that...?

-Yeah, that's quite recent.

-Oh, it was recent.

-I remember being at my sister's wedding in 2003...

-Yes.

..and discussing Girl With A Pearl Earring.

So I know that book was around 2000, 2001.

Because I think the movie was coming out, something like that.

When was The Girl On The Train?

That's come out recently, so is that a recent book?

Yes, that's quite recent.

And The Other Boleyn Girl is definitely later than 2003.

I would go with Girl With A Pearl Earring,

but I could be so completely wrong. Because I've read none of them.

Let's discount Girl On The Train,

because it was recently read on Radio 2.

So I think that's the most recent.

And The Other Boleyn Girl, I think of as about...eight years ago,

-something like that.

-Right, yes.

-I'm just guessing.

-No, I think, yes.

So, are you thinking that

The Girl With A Pearl Earring is the earliest?

Well, I know I was having a conversation about it 14 years ago.

And what was your view, Alex?

Either The Other Boleyn Girl or Girl With A Pearl Earring.

I think it's time to come to a conclusion.

-And you have been consistently right.

-Yeah.

And you said The Girl With A Pearl Earring.

So the answer to the question is The Girl With A Pearl Earring.

So, based on a conversation that Hal remembers from

a wedding that took place over 10 years ago...

I mean, when I go to a wedding, Hal,

I can't remember any conversation the day after!

Hal must have remembered this for a reason.

And maybe this is the reason he's remembered it.

-Must have been meant to be.

-Oh, yeah.

-So I'm going to go with that then.

-OK.

No pressure, Hal.

The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier,

was it published first?

-I could hug you! He's good, isn't he?

-He's good.

I'm a mental wreck. I'm a nervous wreck. Every time, I'm like...

Well done, well done, Hal.

Girl With A Pearl Earring was published in 1999.

The Other Boleyn Girl was published in 2001.

Gone Girl, 2012.

The Girl On The Train, published last, 2015.

Well done, panel.

-Very well played, Billy.

-Thank you.

-Another £200 into your prize pot.

-At the end of Round One, you're on £600.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-APPLAUSE

So, Billy - Round One has completed, what do we make of our panel so far?

I think they're great, that's what I think. I think they're really great.

Is there anybody standing out in a good way or a bad way?

Like you, I can't get the image of Esther out of me mind

with that hat on.

-I really can't.

-I mean, that's been a gift to us all.

Yeah, yeah! Thank you for that.

So, that's standing out, for obvious reasons.

But, Hal, of course, has been right on quite a few occasions.

And Alex made cheese.

-So, what is there not to like?

-OK.

Well, you still have to choose one of these fine people

-at the end of the show. So keep a close eye on them.

-OK.

Let see how they cope with pictures, it's time for Round Two.

OK, Billy, Round Two is the picture round.

We need you to put three pictures in order.

Three questions in this round,

the money goes up to £300 for each correct answer.

Here comes your first one.

Wouldn't you think I'd know this?

Gut instinct, again, flute, oboe and bassoon.

OK, that's your gut instinct.

Let see if our panel can bring any knowledge to this.

Panel, your debate starts now.

Well, turning to the musician...

Well, um, I'm actually a bass player,

-which isn't quite a musician.

-Oh.

It's like a musician's best friend.

LAUGHTER

But a lot of bass players do play the bassoon.

-The bassoon is a bass instrument.

-OK.

-And a very tricky one.

-I'd bet the farm that that's the lowest.

-Yep.

I actually bought an oboe last year.

-And I'm struggling with it, if I'm honest.

-OK.

It's definitely quite high and squeaky when I play it.

And I've had a flute for some time.

Um...

A flute would go very high, but I think the natural register of

the flute might be lower than the oboe.

Well, I think we've done it, haven't we?

So our answer is

oboe, flute, bassoon.

The pain on Alex James' face as the panel lock that answer in.

My first thoughts were flute, oboe and bassoon.

We can say bassoon is the lowest, obviously.

But I thought flute was higher.

But I don't own any of those two instruments. So let's go with Alex.

-It's oboe, flute and bassoon.

-OK, you're going with the panel.

For £300, is that the correct order?

Oh!

Wrong order.

Don't tell me it's flute, oboe and bassoon.

-It is, it is, it definitely is.

-ESTHER:

-It must be.

Hang on, look, there's no need for recriminations this soon.

LAUGHTER

Let's see the correct order.

Well, look here.

Flute, oboe, then the bassoon.

The smaller woodwinds play higher pitches,

while the larger instruments play the lower notes.

Tough luck, panel.

Hard luck, Billy. You're still on £600.

Here comes your next picture question.

Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon.

-So, you're pretty sure on this?

-Yes.

Let see of our panel are as sure as you. Your debate starts now.

Well, we know, don't we, that when Jack Kennedy was assassinated,

LBJ, Johnson, took over.

-Sworn in on the plane, wasn't he?

-Yes.

So, obviously, the earliest one, Jackie Kennedy.

-Got some nice visual clues here, haven't we, as well?

-Yeah.

-In terms of the fashion?

-Yeah, in terms of the fashion.

Yes, you can see, because... Oh, actually...

When was... ? Nixon was '60...

Oh, no, he'd be '70... He was '68, was he?

Yes. Sorry, I'm just... So I'm pretty sure that's definitely right.

That this is the right order.

I did know that Lyndon Johnson...

-Lady Bird Johnson?

-Yeah.

-She wasn't a Lady.

What if she'd been British and been made Lady Lady Bird Johnson?

-Indeed.

-Who calls their children Lady Bird?

Sorry, I just thought that's amazing,

-I've never heard of Lady Bird Johnson.

-Have you not?

-No, I really didn't know.

-She was a little, little thing.

-What, like a Lady Bird? Is that why? Was it a nickname then?

-No.

Did she have red with black spots?

Not noticeably, not noticeably.

-I think that's pretty definitely...

-Right.

So, our answer is, it goes, in order,

Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon.

-So, Billy, our panel pretty definite on this one too.

-Yes, I am.

Even though, when the pictures first came up,

I thought Pat Nixon was somebody of Coronation Street.

But she does look like somebody off Coronation Street, from the 1960s.

She actually looks like Emily Bishop.

Yeah. I think it's what I said earlier.

And the panel said as well.

OK, we're all in agreement.

Here we go, we're going for Jackie Kennedy the earliest,

then Lady Bird Johnson, then Pat Nixon.

For £300, is that the correct order?

It is, it is.

APPLAUSE

Jackie Kennedy, the wife of President John F Kennedy,

who served from '61- '63.

Her second husband was Aristotle Onassis,

one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Lady Bird Johnson - Claudia Taylor was what she was christened.

She served as first lady of the United States from '63-'69.

The wife of Lyndon B Johnson.

And then, Pat Nixon, first lady of the United States from '69-'74.

Pat Nixon was never formally Patricia, she was christened Thelma.

Well played, everyone.

£300 into the prize pot, you're up to £900.

APPLAUSE

OK, here comes your final picture question, Billy.

I actually haven't got a clue.

Because I'm not very good with geography.

-Don't worry, Billy, I'm sure our panel can sort this out.

-Oh, yeah.

Your debate starts now.

Definitely New Delhi furthest south, it's got to be. Hasn't it?

ALEX INHALES

Are we unsure about that?

-No, we're not unsure, we're just thinking.

-OK!

Um, Washington is further south than one realises.

Just as New York is further south than one realises.

-We played in Washington, and it was very cold and wet.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

-But it's very hot in the summer.

-Yes ...

It's one of those places that's very hot in the summer and...

Just going by personal experience,

because when I went to Moscow and we played there, it was very hot.

-Really?

-And actually, we played... Our first gig in Moscow,

it was going well, and then we did Country House, you know...

# Oh, he lives in a house... #

..and they all started crying and going absolutely mental.

And we were... "Oh, this one! They really like that."

And apparently, it was like, when communism collapsed,

that was the big song at the time.

And it was the first floodgates of Western music opening to them.

You should really have changed it to dacha.

# He lives in a dacha Very big dacha in the country... #

Sorry. They're called dachas, aren't they?

Country houses in Russia. Could I have a question on that to show off?

Do you know what's weird?

I've been to and Moscow in the winter and Washington in the summer.

But it's really been freezing cold or really hot. So...

Personally, with my total ignorance of this subject,

because I haven't been to any of these places, I would say,

going from north to south, it would go Moscow, Washington, New Delhi.

-That seems...

-That's my gut feeling as well.

And I'm really glad I'm not the only one.

It's his gut feeling.

How does that help us?

LAUGHTER

It does seem that that's it, logically, doesn't it?

Moscow never gets as hot as Washington,

so it should be Moscow, Washington...

It should be, shouldn't it? And last time, we overthought it, didn't we?

-Yes, yes, we did.

-You know, we went wrong.

So I think we should keep it nice and simple, and at least

we all agree with each other, so Billy can blame all of us.

If we say that from north to south it goes

Moscow, Washington, New Delhi.

Don't overthink it. Wise words there from Esther.

Luckily, there's no chance of me overthinking anything, is there?

So, yeah, go on, then, we're having that.

Moscow, Washington and New Delhi, please, thank you.

OK. Again, go with the panel.

For £300, is that the correct answer?

Yes, it is. APPLAUSE

Thank you very much.

Yes, it is. Moscow is furthest north.

-Roughly on the same latitude as Glasgow.

-Wow.

As we can see from our map.

Washington DC is further south than you think, Esther,

you were right, on the same latitude as southern Spain.

And New Delhi, roughly the same latitude as the Sahara desert.

-So, well worked out, panel.

-Thank you.

-Well done, Billy.

It means, at the end of that round, you're on £1,200.

Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

So, there's still another £1,500 up for grabs.

It's time for Round Three.

OK, Billy, in this round, you'll face questions that contain

three statements about a person, a place or a thing.

Only one of them is true. We just need you to find the true statement.

It is the final round,

so the money goes up to £500 for each correct answer.

A possible 1,500 up for grabs, here's your first question.

So...

Again, another pattern forming, I don't know.

So, let's go with A, shall we?

So you're thinking A,

you're thinking Henry VIII died during his lifetime?

Yeah.

Panel, can you bring some sense to this? Your debate starts now.

OK, well.

I know that the Civil War did not begin during Shakespeare's lifetime.

-No.

-He died well before that.

Thank goodness you know that.

He died about 1609 or something?

Somewhere around there.

Henry VIII died, I think, pretty sure... I'm pretty sure...

It was 1509 he came to the throne, that's what I remember.

But I'm pretty sure...1540s, Henry VIII. I don't know.

So, do you know when Shakespeare was born?

Shakespeare, well, he's operating,

the plays are coming out, like, 1580s, 1590s, early 1600s.

Or 1590s and 1600s.

And I think he's about...

I think he dies about...

So I think he's...

And he's not particularly old. And if Henry VIII died 1540s...

I think he's too... I think Shakespeare's born about 1560s.

Say he's about 30 when he's writing plays, 1590s,

so he's 1560s, say.

But the third one is the one that I think it is. But I have no idea...

-Have you read Don Quixote?

-No. Have you?

It's a thumping, breeze block of a novel. No, I've tried it.

-But it's a novel, isn't it?

-Right.

And didn't novels...

Sort of come a bit later than plays?

Um... Absolutely.

As novels, certainly.

But was this more of a sort of saga,

picaresque sort of thingamabob?

Hmm, true.

Are we going to say it was Cervantes,

or are we going to say it's Henry VIII?

It's hard, because the one I would be going for is the one that

-I am least sure when that came about.

-Which is Cervantes.

Now, personally, I wouldn't have thought that.

-But you have been consistently right.

-And I don't know whether...

-I have sometimes been wrong, so I'm going to go with you.

-OK.

I'm going to say the truthful statement is that...

HAL SIGHS

-Which one did you say? Cervantes?

-LAUGHTER

We are saying Cervantes wrote Don Quixote

during Shakespeare's lifetime.

Wow, Billy, a lot of good history knowledge there from the panel.

That was very informative.

-You know when I said A at first?

-Hmm.

I REALLY meant C.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-OK.

-Yeah.

That was convincing.

So, by a process of elimination, I think,

they believe that Cervantes wrote Don Quixote during his lifetime.

-You're also going for...?

-I'm going for C as well, yeah.

-You're going for C.

-Yeah.

For £500, the correct statement is...?

It is C! APPLAUSE

-Very well done.

-Brilliant.

Henry VIII died in 1547.

Shakespeare was born in 1564.

The novel Don Quixote was published in two parts.

Part One in 1605 and Part Two in 1615.

Both Shakespeare and Cervantes died in 1616.

2016 saw many events marking the 400th anniversary

of the death of both writers. Very well done, panel.

Well worked out. Well played, Billy,

-that means you're now up to £1,700.

-Wow, thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

And still two more questions in this round. Here comes your next one.

It's B.

Because I used to keep chickens, you see.

And they walk like that, don't they?

Like that. And T rexes walk like that, don't they?

Because they've got them little arms, haven't they?

And chickens have got wings in place of them.

Panel, does any of this make sense? Your debate starts now.

-Myself, I think he's right, actually.

-Yes.

-Birds are dinosaurs, aren't they?

-Yeah.

When you said, "It's B," I was like, I'm glad you said that,

-because I think it's B.

-It's definitely B.

It was in Jurassic Park, wasn't it?

It was in that movie, that they're from birds.

-Or birds are from dinosaurs.

-They are. Dinosaurs are...

-And there's a theory that maybe dinosaurs were feathered.

-Yes.

So all these scaly-skinned creatures

that are in the sci-fi films and so on may be wrong.

Have you ever had chickens? Have you ever kept them?

No. What do you think?

When they're born, they look really like dinosaurs.

What about the budgies yawning, though?

I don't think birds yawn, do they? Have you ever seen...?

I've seen baby birds opening their mouths very wide for food,

but not because they're sleepy.

They've got a funny little beak arrangement though, budgies.

Have they? That's a very good budgie impression.

And what about owls rolling their eyes?

That just seems so silly.

-Why would they?

-There has been one that's done it, probably.

-No, because...

-And it's been caught on camera,

"Ugh, I can't believe it." On a really bad day.

One of these statements is true.

We are going to go for the chickens and ostriches being

the closest living relatives to the T rex.

OK, our panel have talked that one out.

-Yeah, that's it then, B.

-OK.

-We've almost got universal knowledge on this one.

-Yeah.

So, everyone's in agreement, going for B,

chickens and ostriches are the closest living relatives

to the T rex.

For £500, is that the true statement?

It is.

APPLAUSE

-It is.

-Thank you, sir.

Scientists compared dinosaur collagen protein molecules

with a wide variety of living animals.

Including humans, chimps, mice, chickens, ostriches,

alligators and salmon.

The T rex collagen proved to be most similar

to ostriches and chickens. And the next closest match was alligators.

So, £500 into your prize pot, it means you're up to £2,200.

Wow, thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

You're doing ever so well, Billy.

Let's see if we can get this up to 2,700

with your final question in this round.

Gosh, I don't know.

I suppose any of those three could possibly be true, couldn't they?

However, I don't know.

I like the Edwin Hubble connection though.

-I do like that.

-OK. You like the Hubble connection?

-I do like that.

Panel, let's see if we can bring some science to this?

Your debate starts now.

We know it's possible to see them from Scotland, don't we?

-Because that sometimes happens.

-If the cloud ever clears...

If the cloud ever clears.

..from Scotland. You need clear conditions. Sorry, that's awful.

I know...

Yeah, that's the thing, I know for a fact you can see them in Scotland.

Well, I think Edwin Hubble was a guy who worked in an observatory

in California in the early 20th century.

But I would have thought a phenomenon that's been around,

you know, since the Earth was spawned,

would have been named by ancients,

not by a 20th-century cosmologist.

It looks much more like an 18th-century name,

doesn't it, aurora borealis?

-I'm feeling good about this one.

-OK, what's true then?

I know my counsel hasn't been 100% reliable,

but I think you can see them from Scotland. Sometimes.

I think you can see them from Scotland sometimes.

Do you think it's impossible to see them

-from the International Space Station?

-No, I don't.

Because they're upper atmosphere,

-so I'm sure you can see them from above as well as below.

-OK.

-So, we are unanimous.

-Yeah, unanimous.

-Unanimous, OK.

We the panel think it's possible to see

the Northern lights from Scotland.

So, Billy, that's what our panel thought on this one.

-What do you think?

-If it's unanimous that you can see

them from Scotland - and maybe the clue's in the title,

Northern, Scotland,

even more north than I am, and that's North!

I'm going to go with C.

You're going with the panel, you're going with C.

Is it possible to see the Northern Lights from Scotland?

For £500.

It is!

Lovely.

Thank you very much.

Well done.

Very well played, panel, well worked out.

A number of stunning images have been taken

from the International Space Station.

-There we go, there's one of them.

-Wow.

The term aurora borealis has been around since the time of Galileo,

who may have coined it.

-Well played, guys.

-Thank you.

-Well done, Billy.

It means, at the end of Round Three, your prize pot is up to £2,700.

Wow, lovely, thank you very much.

Thank you.

-So a very, very tidy sum, Billy.

-Yeah.

-If you manage to bag the cash today, any plans?

-Yeah, I want to go

to Graceland to see where Elvis lived.

I know he won't be in, but I'd still like to go there.

LAUGHTER

OK. Well, look, Billy, there's only one question between you

and the £2,700, that is the final debate.

In the final debate, you will only have one question, six possible

answers, only three of them are correct.

We need you to give us all three correct answers.

However, you will not be on your own.

You will choose one of these fine intellects

to help you in your quest.

So, based on their performance so far today, Billy,

who would you like to join you in the final debate?

Will you be reaching for the stars with Alex?

Will it be the girl with the pearl earring

and very little else, Esther? LAUGHTER

Or will you be cracking open the Buckfast and celebrating with Hal?

Well, obviously, I want to take all of them with me

and I can't do that. So, no disrespect to anybody,

-but Hal, please.

-OK, Hal.

-Thank you.

-Please join us for the final debate.

-OK, Hal.

-Right.

-Billy has chosen you for the final debate.

You are looking apprehensive, but feeling confident?

I'm honoured to have been chosen, so I'm going to give it my best shot.

-I'm honoured that you're up here.

-I'm really sorry if I get it wrong.

OK, Billy, it is the final debate question, so you get to choose

from one of these categories. Have a look at this.

Well, I bet you'd be great at European royalty,

and you'd think I'd be all right at music, wouldn't you?

It's dangerous, pop music, cos it could be any time, couldn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-I'm OK about 1982.

-I'm OK, 1950.

-Yeah!

But European royalty, they're going to... Oh!

See, I'll be honest with you, I wouldn't know a thing about

European royalty and I might not know much about music,

-but I might know a little bit more, and I think you, mate.

-Yeah.

-I might know a little bit.

-You know everything about everything.

-Oh, God.

-Let's go with pop music. Do you want to do that?

-Yeah, yeah, OK.

-Go on, then. Go on, then,

-we'll go with pop music.

-OK, Billy, you're going for pop music.

It really had to be music, let's be honest.

-I mean, come on, you're in a band and... Yeah?

-Yeah.

OK, Billy, you've gone for pop music. £2,700 up for grabs.

We're going to put 45 seconds on the clock.

-We wish you the best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Here it comes.

Your final debate starts now.

Right, not a clue. I honestly haven't got a clue.

-I was looking for Thriller. Billie Jean, definitely.

-Yeah, yeah.

Um...

-Earth Song was big, wasn't it? For a few reasons.

-It was big.

But did it get bigger cos of Jarvis Cocker running on interrupting?

Yeah, I don't know.

-Earth Song was big, so maybe Billie Jean, Earth Song.

-Yep.

-I don't even know Jam.

-I was going to say, I don't either.

-Ben.

-Ben was about a rat.

-Yeah, but Ben was from the '70s

-and it was harder to get a number one in the '70s.

-Yeah, yeah.

So I think Ben was less likely.

-15 seconds.

-Are we saying Earth Song, Billie Jean

and Smooth Criminal? Is that what you're going for?

Earth Song, Billie Jean... Yeah, is that what you're thinking?

-Yeah, I am, yeah.

-Black Or White's a big song, though, isn't it? No...

-Five seconds.

-Earth Song, Billie Jean, Black Or White.

Do you reckon? Or Smooth Criminal? You choose.

I need three answers, Billy.

Earth Song, Billie Jean, Black Or White.

OK.

If Hal was Esther, I'd ask him to hold my hand, I'm that nervous.

-Yeah.

-I would.

-That's fine, I mean, Hal can...

-Do you still want me to hold your hand?

-Yeah, yeah.

-OK.

-Right.

-OK, Billy.

-Positive thinking now.

-Yeah.

-Positive thinking.

-OK, you're going for Earth Song, Billie Jean

and Black Or White. You know we need all three of these to be correct

for you to win the £2,700.

The first song you gave me was Earth Song.

To stay in the game, was it a number one single for Michael Jackson?

It was!

-I'm sweating now, aren't I?

-Yeah.

-I'm sweating now.

-It was the 1995...

-Wow.

-..Christmas number one.

-OK.

Next, you said Billie Jean.

-I'm sure that was.

-We need this to be right

to keep you on track for the £2,700.

Was Billie Jean a Michael Jackson UK number one?

-It was.

-Yes!

-Oh, God.

-Thank you, Hal, thank you.

Billie Jean number one in 1983.

OK, so it all boils down to this.

You were toying between Smooth Criminal

and Black Or White as the clock was running down.

You plumped for Black Or White.

We're really hoping it is Black Or White for £2,700.

Was Black Or White a Michael Jackson UK number one single?

It was!

-You are fantastic!

-Well done, Billy.

-Thank you every so much!

-Very well played.

Wow, thank you.

-Black Or White number one in 1991.

-Wow.

-Billy, you leave with £2,700.

-Wow!

Thank you very, very much.

-Thank you.

-Very well played.

That is it for Debateable. Just enough time for me to thank

our fantastic panel, to Hal Cruttenden, to Alex James,

to Esther Rantzen. I hope you've enjoyed watching.

We'll see you next time for more heated debates.

For now, it's goodbye from me!