Episode 3 Britain's Brightest

We scoured the land for ordinary people with extraordinary powers.

When I was three,

I'd already learnt the flags of every nation in the world.

My fastest time for solving a Rubik's cube is 7.91 seconds.

It was an unusual talent search.

What is 9 X 12? 108.

9 X 12, 108.

As we searched for Britain's Brightest.

I didn't go to university, but I'm not dumb.

They had to pass brain-busting tests...

Ooh, you are horrible.

..show feats of dexterity.

Oh, God, that's hard.

Finally, 24 made it through.

-Yeah!

-Well done.

THEY CHEER

They come from all walks of life.

I am absolutely ruthless.

I'm really competitive. I'm definitely doing it for the title.

But just one can win £50,000 and be crowned Britain's Brightest.

If I don't make the final,

it's because there's other people in this competition

who are just as determined as I am, but not brighter.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome your host, Clare Balding.

CHEERING

Hello and welcome to Britain's Brightest,

a new kind of talent competition.

While not all of us can sing, dance or juggle,

all of us can think and we are testing intelligence

in completely new ways.

We've got amazing challenges involving logic, memory,

maths, spelling, emotions and intuition

and our ultimate winner will leave with a first prize of £50,000.

From this evening's six players, the top-scoring contestant

will guarantee themselves a place in our final.

So let's meet our first two.

I'm Zahra, I'm from London

and I'm a medical student training to be a doctor.

I wanted to become a doctor since I was very young actually.

I always went round dressed up as a doctor,

solving people's problems, diagnosing them.

It was meant to be.

My inspiration is my mother, she's always been there for me

and supported me in everything that I've done.

I'm very, very proud of her.

What a lot of people don't know about me

is that I've actually got a black belt in taijutsu.

That's a type of martial arts. I guess you'd better watch out.

And it means that I've got a lot of determination and stamina

so I've got what it takes to go the distance on this show.

Coming on the show is meant to be,

because my name actually translates to "bright" in Urdu.

Being one of the youngest in the competition at only 20 years of age,

I think that a lot of people will underestimate me,

but that would be to their downfall and to my advantage.

I'm Stephen, I'm from Wolverhampton, I'm a senior risk manager

for a bank and a keen cyclist.

I'm married to Zana, we have three boys, Thomas, Daniel and Callum.

My sons are really excited about me being on Britain's Brightest.

I'm always telling them how clever I am

and now they've got a chance to see whether I am or not.

Stephen has been the cleverest person I've probably know.

HE LAUGHS

The problem is, if he wins he may not get through the door with his head.

This is probably true.

It's a bit incongruous to be on Britain's Brightest

and be a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan because that infers a lack of logic.

In my spare time, I like to do a lot of cycling

and I'm afraid it's become my new addiction.

It culminated last year with me doing a coast-to-coast 190 mile

bike ride to raise some money for charity.

I think people will probably see me as an easy-going, laid-back,

fun-loving guy, but that does hide a vicious competitive streak.

I will fight tooth and nail to win.

Please welcome Zahra and Stephen.

APPLAUSE

Hello.

Welcome to Zahra and Stephen. You've got a lot of support here tonight.

Maybe it's the Wolverhampton Wanderers crowd, you know.

-Because you're a big Wolves fan, aren't you?

-I am, yes.

Now how much does sport play a role in your life,

because you support football but you're a cyclist too?

I do a lot of cycling. I work out percentages when I'm cycling along,

how far I've done, how far I've got left,

have I got enough food and drink to get me through that.

This presumably is when you're doing a long-distance cycle?

No, no.

Do you think physical fitness might play a part tonight?

I think if you're feeling strong and not jaded and tired,

then it does help your brain to work quicker.

That's my belief anyway.

Now, Zahra, we heard you say there you are only 20.

Is this going to have any relevance tonight?

I don't think age really should play a part in this at all.

If anything, it'll just mean other contestants underestimate me

and then I'll blow them out of the water.

-CLARE LAUGHS

-Fighting talk!

-You mother's very important to you.

-Yes, she is.

If you were to win Britain's Brightest,

what would you do for your mum?

Oh, I would send her to a spa every day for one.

I would also take her on lots of holidays

and just make sure that she gets everything that she deserves

because she's really inspirational and means the world to me.

Well, good luck to both of you and let's get some points

on the leaderboard with your first challenge.

It's a test of judgement, perception and being brutally honest.

Come with me.

APPLAUSE

In front of you, you will see 26 people.

There are 13 men, 13 women, a couple of recognisable faces.

Good evening to everybody. Hello. Thank you for being with us.

Hello to Jodie Prenger. Hi, Jodie. Hello to Henry Kelly.

-Hi, Clare.

-Thank you for being here. Hello to Jack.

Jack has no shirt. It's not because he's been gambling,

it's because he competes in World's Strongest Man.

But for you, Zahra and Stephen, you have to look very closely

and take in all the clues that you can

because I want you to guess how old they are.

In a moment, I'll give you a target number

and you then have to select people whose possible ages

when added together, will match that number.

There are three rounds

and the closest to the target number in each round will win.

So your first target number, and you only need one person for this, is...

22.

So, Zahra, Stephen, off you go. Try and select a 22-year-old.

And there are four of them.

This is testing social perception and it's something that's very alive

and very necessary in our brain but it is very, very hard

because there's lots of things that confuse you about age.

Zahra's made her selection and she's picked Abigail.

They're quite scary. Yeah, everything.

I think Rhys, if you come down.

Go on, Rhys. Are you all right there, darling?

And Stephen has selected Rhys.

APPLAUSE

Zahra. What drove you towards Abigail?

Probably the fact that 22 is quite close to my own age group

and she looks like people I go to uni with so that was probably

one of the main reasons and just her dress sense and things like that.

Well, let's find out how close you were.

There are four people within that crowd who are exactly 22.

Is Abigail one of them? Abigail, how old are you, please?

She is one of them. Well done, Zahra.

Bang on it with 22. An excellent start, well done.

Now, Stephen. What are you like at assessing people's ages?

Well, I think Zahra has the advantage in this round

because everyone under the age of 28 looks about 16 to me.

I've got to that age, I'm afraid.

But I've got a 20-year-old son and Rhys just looks a little,

maybe a little older than him so that's why I went for him.

You need to be bang on here, Stephen.

Yeah, yeah, I can see that.

So, Rhys, how old are you, please?

-Told you.

-Rhys is only 18.

-Yeah.

Stephen, you rather predicted that this wouldn't be your forte.

Zahra, that means you win the first round of this game,

congratulations with Abigail being 22.

Thank you both so much.

So for this next round I'm going to ask you to select two people

whose ages add up to a target number and your target this time is...

55.

So two people whose ages add up to 55.

Off you go and you can have as close a look as you like

-but don't touch them!

-CLARE LAUGHS

Stephen's made his first selection.

Stephen's gone for Geoff...

..and he's gone for Sidrah as his second choice.

Now, Zahra...has chosen Laura first.

She's hovering right in front of Jodie

but she's not going to go for Jodie, she's going to go for Matthew.

Matthew comes down in his uniform.

APPLAUSE

So, Stephen, you think Geoff is...

Top-end twen... Probably about 29.

-29, but you'd be even...

-Maybe 30. Yeah. Yeah.

-Maybe 30?

-And you'd be happy with that?

-Yeah.

Geoff, how old are you, please?

-33.

-33.

Which means, if Sidrah is 22, you will be spot on 55.

Sidrah, how old are you, please?

22. Well done, Stephen!

APPLAUSE

Back in the game.

Zahra, your selections, you've gone for Laura and Matthew.

Now, talk me through Laura.

OK. Laura, I thought, looks quite young

but I had a feeling that she's a bit older, so I think that she's 29.

Laura, how old are you, please?

28. Well done!

APPLAUSE

Well done, Zahra.

Just one off.

That is fantastic work.

Now, you need Matthew to be 27.

How difficult do you think it is, when somebody is wearing uniform,

does that make it harder to assess their age?

Um, it might do, although I wasn't really concentrating on his uniform.

I tried to look at him as a person

and I tried to imagine him with a bit more hair.

So you need Matthew to be 27. If Matthew...

And I thought he was 26.

-You think he is twen...?

-I thought he was 26.

Matthew, how old are you, please?

Zahra, you were right, he's 26

but that means that you are one out in your calculations

and your total is 54.

It means that Stephen wins the round and it's one round apiece.

And thank you very much the four of you. Thank you!

APPLAUSE

So the final round will be the decider.

-Stephen, I feel you're getting better at this.

-Yep.

It's getting more up towards the higher age range

that I'm a bit more comfortable with.

-That will play to your strengths, you think?

-I would hope so, yeah.

And, Zahra, you're so good at it that you predict the exact age,

even when you know you're wrong - which is incredible.

Right, let's give you your final target number.

You will find two people whose ages add up to...

-96.

-96.

Off you go.

Have a good look at them.

They've been incredibly accurate so far.

I mean, Zahra within one and spot on.

Stephen spot on, with his total of 55.

Henry Kelly's looking wonderfully wistful.

I'm not sure if he's hoping to be ignored...

or hoping to be picked!

Zahra has selected Amanda and she has also selected Rui.

-Stephen has selected Stephen...

-I'll take a gamble on you, David.

..and David.

APPLAUSE

Well done.

Zahra, what did you think about Amanda, how old do you think she is?

I think that she is 44.

That number just jumped out at me when I saw her, to be honest.

It's just instinct.

And she looks lovely tonight, I have to say.

LAUGHTER

Well, you said your instinct tells you that she is 44,

let's find out whether your instinct is correct.

Amanda, how old are you, please?

Your instinct is sensational, Zahra, well done.

APPLAUSE

So you need Rui to be 52.

Yeah, I did think he is 52.

I don't know, I've got a few relatives about his age, so...

that's kind of why I assumed that he was about 52.

Let's find out, then. Rui, how old are you, please?

54, just two years out. That's not bad, well done.

-APPLAUSE

-Well done, so 98 is your total.

So, Stephen, if you can get exactly 96, or one either way,

you will win this round.

-You've gone for two men.

-Yep.

And what was the sum you did in your head?

The way Stephen's dressed, he's clearly into his mod music,

so I thought between 42 and 44.

But it's tricky because that look's all back

because of Bradley Wiggins, you know?

It is all back, but if you get close up to him there are a few wrinkles,

and that, so I thought he's probably an original mod.

-So you think he is...?

-So I'll go for 40...probably 43.

You think that Stephen is 43.

Stephen, how old are you, please?

-40.

-Stephen's 40.

-Same age as me.

-Exactly the same age as you.

-Yep, yep.

So, you need David to be 56.

He strikes me as, you know, a man who likes his rock music.

Sort of, probably, from the, sort of, early '70's, kind of, music.

I don't know, so I, kind of, aged him on that basis.

I'm going to say he's 56

cos then it looks like I'm really clever if he is.

It will make you feel very clever

and you'll win the round if he is 56.

David, how old are you, please?

The answer is 60.

APPLAUSE

-A little older.

-So your total is 100.

-Two out.

Zahra is closer, that means Zahra wins the round

and she collects another two points

but thank you very much to our four who were selected, there.

Thank you so much to Jodie and to Henry,

and to all of our crowd, and thank you for playing.

APPLAUSE

After that challenge, Zahra, you have scored four points,

Stephen, you have two points

and there are still plenty more opportunities to increase those

points totals, but for now, ladies and gentlemen, Zahra and Stephen!

APPLAUSE

Now, scientists are in two minds whether there's intelligent life

out there but there's plenty of it down here.

The ordinary brain has an incredible 70,000 thoughts every single day

but we weren't looking for ordinary brains,

we were looking for extraordinary ones.

Hi, I'm Kim, I'm from Glasgow,

and I'm a secretary and psychology student.

I live with my partner, Wendy.

I'm on Britain's Brightest to represent all secretaries

and admin workers who, we all know, run the offices,

and to show that we should never be underestimated.

The most important part of our day!

Kim is THE most competitive person ever.

I am a terrible loser.

Possibly, even, a worse winner.

If I beat someone on a board game I tend to jump up and yell, "Loser!"

"Loser! Loser!"

and then do my victory dance.

I have an irrational fear,

which could be used against me by the other competitors

but the only way they could use it is if they wave broccoli about.

I'm terrified of the B word.

If it was announced that I'd won Britain's Brightest

I would be jumping about with Clare Balding doing the victory dance.

This is the victory dance.

My name's Bernie, I live in Dorset

and I'm a professional crossword compiler.

Before that, I was a cost accountant...

..which wasn't very romantic and exciting.

I have a wife called Ren...

He's crazy, who knows what he's going to do next?

..we've been married for 33 years.

I like living on the edge.

Cryptic clue compiling, which is a big part of my job,

it's a game to me.

He's got a VERY good brain.

I'm being paid to play with words, which is fantastic.

I think I've got a wide range of problem-solving skills.

Bernie's strengths? Gosh, I can't think of anything!

These are my bookcases.

There's books on film, British history,

all human knowledge is there, really!

He's not at all competitive. He just loves the game.

I was always the sort of person that didn't win raffles,

so to win something like this would be amazing.

APPLAUSE

Please welcome Kim and Bernie.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome, both of you, to Britain's Brightest

and, Bernie, you are bright tonight!

-Am I?

-Yes. You've gone for the lucky red.

-Oh, I see, the shirt. Yes.

-Yes.

We heard you say on the film

that you're the sort of guy that doesn't win raffles.

-Hmm.

-Does this mean you're unlucky?

No, I don't think so, it just means that I WAS unlucky.

-This could be the time that your luck changes.

-Exactly, exactly.

And in terms of a career choice, you do what you love.

Well, words, yeah.

I'm playing with words all day long so it's just right for me.

-Now, your wife is in the audience tonight.

-Yeah.

It seemed to me that you have one of those very healthy relationships

where she doesn't actually think you're that clever.

No, exactly. Keeps my feet firmly on the ground!

-And that's important, I think.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Kim. Hello.

-Hello.

I do love your victory dance. I like it very much.

I hope we're going to have lots of excuses to see that tonight.

I hope so!

You said that you were here representing all secretaries and PAs.

Yes. Because, at the end of the day, we run the world.

Do you think your boss appreciates how much you do?

Yes, in a very quiet, understated way.

What, he never tells you?

Yes, I think his words were, "Yeah, well, you're smarter than you look".

LAUGHTER

And what did you say back to him?

I can't repeat it! LAUGHTER

Good luck to both of you, thank you very much for being contenders.

Bernie and Kim, it is time to get you on the leaderboard.

This is your first challenge.

You're about to see words appear in the air around you

and what you have to do

is strike out the words that are incorrectly spelt,

leaving the one word that is correctly spelt.

So, for example,

here are three words that I should know fairly well.

I knock out the two that I think are wrong, leaving the one word,

"Fetlock," that is correctly spelt, so you understand?

This is the perfect game for you, Bernie.

I hope so. I hope so.

What about you, Kim, how's your spelling?

I think it's fairly good.

I'm a secretary, so I have to be able to spell properly.

Kim, you're up first.

So, Bernie, if you wouldn't mind disappearing backstage

so you can't hear or see anything of Kim's first round.

-Comfortable?

-Mm-hm.

Let's play.

CAFFEINE is correct.

REGISTRY is correct.

Oh, no, PERSEVERANCE was correctly spelt.

Last one.

Well done, AFICIONADO correctly spelt.

-Three out of four. Well done, Kim, thank you.

-Thank you.

And now let's put Bernie on the hotspot.

Thank you, Bernie.

-Happy?

-Yep.

Let's play.

CAFFEINE is correct.

REGISTRY is correct.

Oh, PERSEVERANCE was the correct one.

So three out of four, Bernie.

You got exactly the same one wrong as Kim, interestingly.

You have tied Round One.

It means that your points roll forward to Round Two,

-which will now become worth double points.

-Right.

-Ladies and gentlemen, Bernie.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Let's have Kim back.

Now Kim, you and Bernie tied Round One.

-Oh!

-Yes, I know.

That means the points roll forward to Round Two.

This becomes doubly important, and in Round Two,

you are going to see four words,

three of which are incorrectly spelt.

Kim, let's play.

Well done, SABBATICAL is right.

Oh, PENINSULA was the right one.

SABOTAGE is correct, well done.

This is the last one.

-No! CHANGEABLE was right.

-AUDIENCE GROANS

Oh, what a shame.

Well, two out of four. For now, Kim, thank you.

APPLAUSE

So here comes Bernie,

-and, as I explained, this round now worth double points.

-Right.

You'll see four words. Good luck.

-Right, thank you.

-Let's play.

SABBATICAL is correct.

No, PENINSULA was right.

Good change there. SABOTAGE is right.

This is your last one.

CHANGEABLE is correct. Well done, Bernie.

And with three out of four in that round, you have won Round Two,

you have won both sets of points and you lead by four points to nil.

-Well done, Bernie.

-Thank you.

-APPLAUSE

And Kim comes through to take the spot.

Now, Kim, the pressure is on.

You HAVE to win Round Three because Bernie took the second round

and, with it, double points. He leads four-nil.

You're going to see four words again,

less time, three of them are incorrectly spelt.

Good luck, and let's play.

No, ANNIHILATE was correct.

EGREGIOUS was correct.

Well done, BATTALION is correct.

No! ASSESSMENT was correctly spelt.

Ugh. Oh, well.

I'm so sorry, one out of four.

All right, Kim, we'll wait and see. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And Bernie leading by four points to zero in this game.

If he wins this last round, it'll be a clean sweep,

you'll take all six points.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

Let's play the final round.

Well done, ANNIHILATE is right.

Yes, EGREGIOUS is correct.

BATTALION is correct. One more.

ASSESSMENT is correct.

Four out of four, Bernie, that is sensational.

-Well done, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-APPLAUSE

-Kim, come on back here.

Kim, Bernie scored four out of four in that final round.

That means that he takes all six points from the spelling game,

and, I'm sorry, but it just didn't go your way, did it?

No, I panicked. Not as good under pressure as I thought! LAUGHTER

Bernie, for you, you were genuinely nervous before it, weren't you?

I was, yes, and I did cross my arms over once or twice,

which was a strange feeling.

But what a great start!

I'm pleased with it, obviously. Yeah, really pleased.

For now, thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen, Kim and Bernie.

APPLAUSE

And here's another fantastic fact.

If you stretched out all the blood vessels in your brain,

they'd go round the Earth more than four times.

Fortunately, we didn't have to go that far

to find our last two contestants.

I'm Sam, I'm from Tunbridge and I'm an aspiring entrepreneur.

I'm not just a pretty face.

I just graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge

with a degree in theoretical physics and, conveniently, I got a first.

I'll be impressed if I can find someone who can take me down

on a maths round.

I did do competitive sport for the university.

Tried to be a pole-vaulter, tried to be high jumper...

I've tried every niche.

I think he's got a competitive streak.

When he first learnt pole vault,

he kept going, even with blood on his hands, until he'd mastered it.

My tactics? I guess I'll use what I learnt in pole vault.

Go for speed, aggression, poise and elegance.

If you try to beat Sam at anything, you're going to struggle.

I'm a very competitive guy. I'm here to win.

I want to be crowned Britain's Brightest

and then I can finally go away, buy my own house somewhere.

It's not particularly cool to be 22 years old, living with my parents,

but the dream is to have a yacht with a light-up dance floor.

I'll keep working till I get there.

I'm Liane, I'm from Oldham and I'm a Management Systems Assessor.

For several years now, I've represented the UK

on the British team at the World Puzzle Championships.

I've been to Hungary, to Croatia and to Turkey,

representing the UK there.

I've recently taken part in a 24-hour puzzle competition.

Housework goes out the window. Puzzles are more important.

One of my passions is horse riding,

and I take part in an event called Trek.

Trek consists of orienteering, control of paces and obstacles.

This morning, at home,

my children were going round the house singing,

# Mum's on the telly... #

# With her floppy belly

# Na na, na na

# Na na, na na. #

I just laugh. It's all part of it in our house.

If I won Britain's Brightest, I think I'd absolutely be ecstatic with that,

and I'll be able to tell my husband,

"I'm the brightest. You listen to me."

Please welcome Liane and Sam.

APPLAUSE

Sam, Liane, welcome.

My word, you fairly ran down that tunnel, Sam,

-you couldn't wait to get here.

-I did indeed, yep.

Now, Sam has a world record.

-I do have a world record.

-What is it?

I have the world record

for running the 400 metres in a sumo suit in the fastest time.

Isn't that good?

APPLAUSE

Just paint me the visual picture of running 400 metres.

So you've got your 12 kilogram sumo suit on, as you do,

and then you run 400 metres.

And how fast did you do it? What is your world record?

I think it's 1 minute 26, I believe.

That's not bad, in a sumo suit, actually.

-And, let's be honest, it's a world record.

-It is for now.

So well done, Sam. Yes.

APPLAUSE

-Liane.

-Good evening.

-The puzzle queen.

-Yes.

24-hour puzzle competitions?

Thoroughly enjoy it.

Once been, you're totally bitten and addicted to it.

And does your brain get weaker as the hours go on,

or do you somehow find a strength at two in the morning?

You find a strength that keeps you going.

I think that's helped by plenty of sugar,

plenty of high-sugar drinks, as well, and that keeps the adrenaline flowing

and keeps you wide awake through it all.

I'm not sure that's a health tip we should take on board!

-But it works for you, Liane.

-It's all right for the 24 hours.

Well, Sam, Liane, this should be an intriguing battle of brains.

It's time to get you both on the leaderboard.

I'm going to lock you up in these two rooms,

which you seem remarkably relaxed about.

It's not actually that type of a show.

You must use the power of your brains to escape.

The rooms are full of puzzles.

Every time you correctly solve one, the room will go momentarily green.

There are three stages, and the first player to solve each stage

will win two points, up to a maximum of six points in total.

Good luck to both of you. Liane and Sam, please take your places in the chairs facing the briefcase.

OK, thank you.

In front of you is a briefcase with a folder on top.

Solve the puzzle and you'll have the code to open the case,

which will lead you to the next stage of the game.

So, if you're ready, your time starts now.

"It's an open and shut case.

"Second Tuesday in January.

"First Sunday in May.

"Second Sunday in June."

Sam's gone for the calendar,

to look up the number relating to each of those days.

Now, the second Tuesday in January is the 8th,

so, if he's right, the first digit of the lock will be 8.

Liane has gone to the yellow board.

Oh, no, the red alarm is telling her that's the wrong thing to do.

Meanwhile, Sam has discovered that the first Sunday in May is the 5th,

and the second Sunday in June is the 9th,

giving him the code 859.

Oh, yes, it works. Sam has got the case open.

But, next door, Liane's still not even seen the calendar.

With the first puzzle solved, the light box behind Sam has come on

and inside the case is the next puzzle.

It's eight transparencies which, arranged correctly,

will create a plan of the room.

Liane's finally found the calendar and can now crack the code.

Sam's taking his time on the floor plan jigsaw,

and it's allowed Liane to catch up. She's opened the case.

After a slow start,

will Liane's experience in puzzling give her an edge?

Sam's nearly there.

-He's done it.

-APPLAUSE

That's the end of stage one, and he takes two points.

He's created the floor plan of the room.

The corner is highlighted,

-showing him where the next challenge is located.

-Oh, God.

Starting to panic a bit, and Liane is catching up.

She's finished her jigsaw,

and on the floor plan, she's spotted the filing cabinet flashing.

That's the clue that Sam's missed.

It's the key to cracking the code on the yellow board.

Where Liane is very thorough, Sam goes for speed.

..got 14 being P.

Whether that means...

He's going to try and come up with his own theory.

..16, that's the 16th one...

16th letter in the alphabet, but then that wouldn't work...

But Liane has worked out

that the number 14 has been filed under the letter P.

If she looks through the rest of the files,

she'll discover the other letters

that correspond to the numbers on the board,

and she can crack the code.

What could I do next? I could...do something like this.

Sam hasn't looked in the filing cabinet once...

And that fits...

-..but...

-..and 3 is there. And 1 is there.

-..he's being creative...

-What could that be?

That. Sorted. But where would that be?

..and he's being logical, and he's got it

without looking at a single letter in that filing cabinet.

He has seen that it says, "Open the laptop."

OK...

He needs to solve the sum.

Paperclips plus pencils, squared,

minus test tubes, divided by books equals the safe key.

Shouldn't be too hard.

Liane's worked out the code.

She's catching up with Sam,

who's trying to find all the elements of the equation.

So, four paperclips plus two pencils equals six,

squared makes it 36,

minus the eight test tubes that Liane has just found equals 28,

divided by the books.

Now, at first glance, you'd assume there are eight books,

but take a closer look.

Sam hasn't been careful enough,

and can't figure out why his answer doesn't match any of the safe keys.

Whoever solves this equation will earn the next two points.

Liane's not taking any chances,

and is actually counting each of the books.

She finds there are seven, not eight,

she's gone for safe key number 4,

and she's right. 28 divided by 7 equals 4.

-APPLAUSE

-She opens the safe and wins two points.

Inside, she's found nine metallic blocks, and the instruction...

Eight will fit snugly in the case, leaving one left over.

Oh, you've...

Oh! Tricked me.

Sam's realised his mistake, and grabs key number 4.

They're neck-and-neck again.

But who will be quickest to arrange the shapes and get the next clue?

This is where Liane is really strong.

She has the puzzle-solving experience.

Sam tends to rush...

-..and he gets frustrated.

-Nightmare.

Liane is nearly there.

-She's done it.

-APPLAUSE

Behind her comes the message...

She has to rearrange the letters of the word on the remaining block

to find the shape.

The word is PATHOGEN.

Sam is still struggling to get those blocks to fit in the case.

..so we're left with this.

So that could go in there.

Liane has quickly solved the anagram.

It's HEPTAGON, and the next puzzle appears...

Liane has gone straight for book number 8 off the shelf.

She's pulled something out, but she's missed the instructions.

The last...

Sam has FINALLY managed to get those blocks into the case,

but he hasn't spotted the next clue.

Er...

Next door, Liane is re-tracing her steps.

She has that book again, and this time sees the instructions,

"Snap this to reveal the code for the door."

She snaps the stick, the room has gone dark...

..and UV light picks out those three numbers - 8, 4, 1 - up on the wall.

She's so close. This is the last puzzle.

Look up, Liane!

Just look up, it's on the wall.

This is giving Sam a chance to catch up.

Come on, Liane, look up. Step back, look up!

"Rearrange the word on the remaining block to find the shape."

Sam's getting there.

Turn around, Liane. Turn around!

Bingo, finally!

She sees "841," keys it into the panel...

EXPLOSION

..and the challenge is over! Liane takes the final two points.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well done, Liane. Well done!

-You blew the door off!

-Oh, that was...er....

You blew the door off, and you didn't even react!

-Fantastically well done.

-Oh, thank you very much.

Sam, you started so well...

But then it all went to pieces. The briefcase, it all went wrong.

-You're frustrated, aren't you?

-I am, yeah, yeah.

Liane, it seems what really suited you

was the fact that you were so methodical.

-You go through things, and that earned you points.

-It did.

I was slow picking up the calendar in the first place.

I just didn't spot that.

I was expecting something nearer, for some reason.

Then I got going through the rest of them fine,

and then I just can't believe how long it took me

to step back and look up at the end.

A really intriguing test of both of your brains,

and at the end of that challenge,

Liane, you have scored four points, Sam, you have scored two.

Well done to both of you. Ladies and gentlemen, Liane and Sam.

-Thank you very much, and good luck for the next rounds also.

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

Now, before our next game, here's a fantastic fact.

Shakespeare was responsible for inventing more English words

than any other individual.

If he needed a word, he'd make one up...

-like CHAV.

-LAUGHTER

So, it's fair to say, British brains work in very mysterious ways,

as we've been finding out.

I want you to really concentrate on this scene for the next few seconds.

Try and take everything in.

So have a look at all this fruit here.

Bananas on the left, tomatoes on the right.

Have you got all that? Great.

Now, look away...

and when you look back, I want you to tell me what's changed.

OK, look back.

Did you get it?

Yeah, it was easy, wasn't it?

We've switched these tomatoes with these bananas here,

BUT did you also notice that my shirt changed into a jumper?

Probably not, and what that shows you

is that even when we THINK that we're taking everything in,

our brains have limited attention,

and they focus like a spotlight on the most important things,

whilst our subconscious brains fill in the rest.

-All right, Lee?

-Hi, how you doing?

So, what I'm thinking is, how far can we push this?

Instead of switching a shirt for a jumper,

can we switch Lee for me?

Two boxes of raspberries, £2!

We set up an experiment to see if we can make people's brains

assume that Lee and I are the exact same person.

-Have you got any kiwis?

-Kiwis?

-Yeah.

I'll just have a look. I'll just get these in a bag, OK?

Now, I'm hoping she's concentrating fully on the fruit she's buying.

-I don't think we've got any kiwis today.

-No kiwis?

-No.

OK, I'll just have them then.

-Two for a pound. There you go.

-Lovely, thank you.

Can I ask, did you notice anything strange?

Yeah, you changed. He's down there.

All right, yeah, you did notice.

'Oh, dear, she didn't fall for it.

'I hope this experiment's going to work.

'Next!'

I'll just get you a bag...

There you go.

Can I ask you a question?

-Did you notice anything unusual going on there?

-No.

The first person you spoke to wasn't me.

It was this guy, hiding under the desk.

Did you notice us change places?

-No.

-That's weird, isn't it?

'Well, that worked, but maybe she was just being polite.

'So, let's keep going.'

-Right, ten satsumas... I'll just get you a bag.

-Cheers.

Was it just me you spoke to?

-You didn't speak to anyone else, did you?

-No, no-one.

Hold on a sec. Do you recognise this guy?

-No.

-Hello.

-So, he was the first guy who served you,

but we swapped places.

-Ha, you didn't even notice, did you?

-No, I didn't, actually.

Well, I asked for my oranges, which...

Yeah, the person served me, and then I looked away to look at bananas

and somebody else served me and I thought it was the same person.

It's spooky, really.

'And one more for luck...'

Yeah, I'll just get you a bag...

Can I ask, is it just me you've spoken to at the stall?

Do you recognise this guy?

-Hi, what can I get you?

-No.

-Oh. So he was the first guy that served you.

-Oh, really?!

...as in, he was the first guy you saw,

we swapped places, and you didn't notice.

It wasn't until the end that we realised that anything had changed.

In fact, I still can't remember the first guy serving us.

-No, I can't either.

-No.

'So, what's happening here?'

We don't notice big changes in our surroundings

because we don't expect them to happen.

But, this isn't a failing of our brains,

it's actually amazing,

'because it shows how our brains are able to cut out what's incidental

'and concentrate on what's important.

'So, how far can I push this?'

OK, I'll just get you a bag. Hang on...

You've been tangoed!

Oh, he's turned into a banana now!

Oh, did you spot that?

Too much.

APPLAUSE

Which shows you can get away with just about anything.

Please welcome back all of our contestants,

Zahra, Bernie, Kim, Stephen, Liane and Sam.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Our head-to-head games are now over,

so let's see how our leaderboard is looking...

and in first place, with six points after the head-to-heads,

-it's Bernie.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We have Liane and Zahra tied in second with four points each,

then Sam and Stephen both have two,

and at the moment, Kim is yet to score,

BUT there are 12 points on offer for winning the next game.

Bernie, well done.

-Out in front, very good start from you.

-Thank you.

-The red is clearly for victory.

-Yes.

Our first group game is a test all about numbers.

We're about to teach you a couple of nifty little maths shortcuts

that should help you to calculate difficult sums.

Once you've learned the shortcut, you're going to put it into practice

with a series of quick-fire maths questions.

So here's a number-crunching celebrity with a head for figures.

Hello, I'm Countdown's resident mathematician, Rachel Riley,

and my maths shortcuts can help anyone seem like a mathematical genius,

let alone the contestants of Britain's Brightest.

First up, here's a quick method for multiplying a number by 5.

So we'll take the example 1,246...

and all you do is times this number by ten,

so we'll stick a nought on the end,

and then divide it by 2...

and you get 6,230...

and that's all there is to it.

That's all there is to it,

although you don't have a blackboard and chalk

and you don't have pen or paper, you have to do it all in your head.

But you've learned the trick, so now it's time to put it into practice.

The last person to answer each problem will be eliminated

until only one of you remains.

Let's play.

1,045 x 5 equals what?

Quick as they can, they enter the numbers into their keypad.

That's wrong from Zahra. Try again.

Bernie's got it right, Stephen's got it wrong,

Liane's got it wrong, Sam is right.

Correct from Stephen.

Still waiting for answers from Zahra, Kim and Liane.

Liane's got it right.

It's between Kim and Zahra. Well done, Kim.

Zahra, I'm afraid you failed to answer.

You'll have to step back, you're eliminated from this round.

The answer that you were looking for was...

So, let's give you your second maths question.

It is this...

2,483 x 5 equals what?

Bernie first again.

Liane, I'm afraid you don't get the answer in time,

and you step back, you're eliminated from the rest of this round.

The answer Liane was looking for was this...

Here's your next maths question.

5,823 x 5 equals what?

Bernie's there. Incorrect from Stephen. Try again.

Incorrect from Sam. Try again.

Stephen's got it.

Kim's got it. Well done.

Sam, I'm afraid you haven't. Step back.

The answer you were looking for was this...

So, we have Bernie, Kim and Stephen left.

Kim, I have a feeling you didn't think you'd very good at this.

-You didn't, did you?

-No.

Can we have a little interim victory dance?

Yay! Go, girl!

So three of them remain. One will score maximum points.

Let's find out your next maths question.

It is this...

4,922 x 5 equals what?

Making sure they don't make a mistake.

Bernie took his time, but got it correct.

A mistake from Stephen. Kim is waiting...to be certain.

That's wrong from Kim. Try again. Stephen is mid-number.

Stephen's made a mistake again.

He's going as fast as he can, finally gets it right.

Stephen, well done - and Kim, on that occasion, it flummoxed you.

The answer you were looking for was this...

..but Kim, well done. You step back now.

So it is between Bernie and Stephen...

LAUGHTER

Here is your final question in this round...

9,753 x 5 equals what?

You can see Bernie's lips moving as he tries to work it out,

and then he goes straight for it and enters it onto the keypad,

and he is correct! Bernie, that was sensational.

Well done. Well done to Bernie.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Stephen, I think you've been beaten by a very, very strong maths mind.

Terrific effort from you.

Bernie takes the first round, Stephen finishes second, and Kim finishes third.

If you would all like to step forward once again...

And the answer to that final question was...

Of course it was(!) You got that at home, didn't you(?)

Time now to learn your next shortcut. Pay attention, class.

Thanks, Clare. Now, here's my final maths tip,

and it's a simple method for squaring any two-digit number ending in a 1.

So let's take 51 as our example.

Now, first, round this down to the nearest tens, and we have 50.

Now, we need to square 50, which works out as five squared, 25,

with a couple of noughts on the end...

2,500.

Now, we need 2 x 50, which is 100, and a little 1 on the end.

Add the three of these together for 2,601...

..and it's as simple as that(!)

LAUGHTER

I don't know what's simple about that,

but I reckon Bernie'll be able to do it

and I think a fair few others of you will as well.

This could be very interesting.

21 squared.

21 x 21 equals what? Sam is straight there.

Liane is there.

Zahra, that's wrong.

Bernie's got it right.

Try again, Zahra.

So round it down to the nearest ten, square that...

Well done, Stephen. Well done, Zahra.

I'm afraid, Kim, that time it wouldn't come.

Step back, please.

And the answer you were looking for was...

441.

Here is your next maths question.

91 x 91 equals what?

Sam's got it.

Sam's being very, very quick in this round.

A mistake from Bernie and from Zahra.

A mistake from Liane. Try again.

Zahra's got it.

Stephen's got it.

Bernie's got it.

Finally, Bernie gets it. My word, that was really difficult!

APPLAUSE

And, Liane, I could see how hard you were trying.

I couldn't remember what the shortcut was and it had just...gone.

Liane, step back from the second round.

The answer to 91 x 91 is 8,281,

which is very easy if you have it written down in front of you.

Here is your next maths question.

41 x 41 equals what?

Sam has been incredibly quick in this round

and he wins again, ahead of Zahra.

Bernie and Stephen working it out...

-Bernie, this time, gets it right.

-APPLAUSE

And that means, Stephen, I'm afraid you are out of time

and you will step back.

And this was the answer to 41 squared.

It's 1,681.

So, we have three remaining. Zahra, Bernie and Sam.

61 x 61 equals what?

Well done, Sam.

Well done, Zahra, just ahead of Bernie.

Bernie, you got it right,

but I'm afraid you were just slower than Zahra.

This was the answer that you correctly put in.

3,721.

Bernie, thank you so much.

If we could ask you to step back...

So, it comes down to the two youngest competitors tonight,

Zahra and Sam.

This is your final maths question to see who will win this second round.

This is it...

81 x 81 equals what?

Sam is there. Sam got it right.

Zahra attempted and got it wrong. Bad luck, Zahra.

Well done, Sam.

The answer, which you know, was...

So, at the end of that game...

Bernie, you won it, earning yourself 12 points.

Sam, in second, gets seven points.

Stephen, in third, gets four points.

Zahra in fourth place with two points,

and Kim is fifth with one point.

Liane sadly scoring nothing from the maths round.

Let's see how that has affected the leaderboard.

Bernie is out in front with 18 points.

He has a healthy lead over Sam, who has 9.

Stephen is currently in third place, tied with Zahra, then Liane,

but I'm afraid at the bottom of that leader board,

and therefore leaving us, is Kim.

APPLAUSE

-Oh, Kim, I'm so sorry.

-It's all right.

I wanted to see that victory dance.

-Yay!

-LAUGHTER

Kim, you have been fantastic,

and I think you need to go back to your boss

and tell him he has the most brilliant secretary.

-I won't let him forget it!

-No. Have you enjoyed it?

Yeah, it's been a great laugh. It's been good fun.

Kim, you've been a wonderful contestant.

Ladies and gentlemen, Kim.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So Kim is the first player to leave us

and, at this stage, Bernie, you're out in front.

Do you have any weak spots?

I'm not so good on sort of spatial puzzles

and moving things around,

so I'm not sure if that's coming or not.

Well, we shall find out. Here comes your second group challenge.

Please welcome Keelan Leyser with Charlotte Marie

and David Straightjacket.

APPLAUSE

Now, Keelan and Charlotte Marie are going to do some quick changing

and David, who I'm suspecting his real name is not David Straightjacket, but it could be...

he's going to do some escaping.

All you have to do is pay close attention.

I'll be asking observational questions after the performances,

but to make things trickier,

our acts will be performing at the same time.

So you'll have a lot to take in. Are you ready?

Watch everything. Forget nothing.

Let's start the challenge.

SONG: "Big Spender"

APPLAUSE

# The minute you walked in the joint

# I could see you were a man of distinction

# A real big spender

# Hey, big spender

# Spend

# A little time with me. #

APPLAUSE

# That don't impress me much

# Oh, oh, ooh #

# Don't get me wrong

# Yeah, I think you're all right

# But that won't keep me warm in the middle of the night

# That don't impress me much

# That don't impress me... #

# You think you're cool, but have you got the touch? #

APPLAUSE # This thing called love

# It cries

# I kinda like it!

# Crazy little thing called love

# There goes my baby

# She knows how to rock and roll

# She drives me crazy

# She gives me a hot and cold fever

# And leaves me in a cool, cool sweat. #

# Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire! #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# You kissed me, baby

# Feels good

# Hold me, baby

# Well, I wants to love you like a lover should

# You're fine

# So kind

# I can tell this world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine, mine

# Come on, baby, drive me crazy

# Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

CHEERING

Thank you so much to Keelan Leyser with Charlotte Marie

and David Straightjacket.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now, that's not how they test brightness at Mensa,

but it is the way we do things round here.

On your buzzers. Time for some questions.

What was the colour of the skirt on the poster?

-Sam?

-Pink.

Let's have a look.

-APPLAUSE

-It was, indeed, pink.

How many buckles were there on David's straightjacket?

-Sam?

-Three.

Six.

What summer accessory did Keelan produce during the performance?

Liane?

Sunglasses.

-Sunglasses is correct.

-APPLAUSE

What colour was the trim on David's straightjacket?

-Stephen?

-Green.

-Green is correct.

-APPLAUSE

What colour waistcoat did Keelan change into after the silver?

-Sam?

-Pink?

-APPLAUSE

-Pink is correct.

What type of flower did Keelan make...?

-Zahra?

-Rose?

Let's have a look...

-APPLAUSE

-..and you are correct.

How many musical notes were on Keelan's pink vest?

-Liane?

-Five.

-Five is correct.

-APPLAUSE

What was the colour of Charlotte's third outfit?

-Liane?

-Green.

Green is correct. The first was black and grey,

the second was the red dress, the third was green.

How many buckles was David wearing during his entire performance?

-Zahra?

-Eight?

The total, actually, was 11.

Six on his straightjacket, two on each shoe, one on the belt.

So 11.

What item was Keelan holding

when Charlotte revealed her Union Jack dress?

-Bernie?

-Umbrella.

Let's have a look...

-An umbrella is correct.

-APPLAUSE

Well, that game tested your observational skills,

it also tested your memory, and there was a clear winner.

Liane, you were outstanding. You are the winner of that round.

Sam, you finished second,

but the other three were all tied.

All of that means...

for you, Liane, 12 points are added,

Sam, for finishing second, you will get seven points.

Zahra, Bernie and Stephen will all receive two points.

So, this is it.

Five players started the game. Now, one must leave us.

Let's have a look at the latest leaderboard.

And you will see that out in front is Bernie with 20,

Liane has 16, along with Sam,

but tied in the bottom position are Stephen and Zahra,

which means, for the very first time in this competition,

we will have a tie-break.

Bernie, Liane and Sam, if I could ask you all to step back...

This is a tie-break. You will be asked one question.

It will either test your logic, your verbal skills or your numeracy,

and the subject for your question will be decided

by a spin of this machine.

Whoever buzzes in first and answers correctly will stay.

If you buzz in first and answer incorrectly, you will leave.

Let's start the tie-break.

Let us find out...

what the subject matter will be, and who will that suit best?

Numeracy.

Here is your question. What is one third of 456?

Zahra?

I have to push you for an answer. Quickly.

It's one hundred and...eighteen.

It's not 118, it's 152.

It was a very, very brave effort.

Zahra, you had to take the risk, didn't you?

Yeah, I did. I think I misheard the question, 356, so...

Listen, you've been a terrific contestant.

Good luck with your career and your continued training to be a doctor,

and you do have a brilliant mind.

Ladies and gentlemen, Zahra.

APPLAUSE

And now let's pile on the pressure.

The next challenge will decide who is guaranteed a place

in the final of Britain's Brightest 2013.

It's the toughest test yet,

and it all happens in The Chair.

Your challenge is to estimate when 22 seconds has passed,

and then hit the button.

If you press on exactly 22 seconds, you'll win ten bonus points.

But you won't be able to see a clock, and you'll be busy

trying to make as many four-letter words as you can from our grid.

It sounds deceptively simple. Believe me, it is not.

Each word is worth three points, but if you go over 22 seconds,

for every second you go over, you will be deducted a point.

You're playing in alphabetical order.

Bernie, if you would like to take your place in The Chair,

and if the other three of you would like to disappear,

we're going to put you on headphones and make sure you can't hear or see.

Good luck, Bernie. You've been sensational so far.

And your time starts now.

'The clock disappears.

'Bernie has no idea of how many seconds are passing.

'He has to make four-letter words with letters that are connected...

'horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or in a square...

'CARE and CALP come up very quickly.'

'CALP is questionable. CARE and POLE are good.'

'No word there.'

How did you think you were for time?

I think I've probably gone over by five or six seconds.

CARE, POLE and PORE are all allowed.

-CALP is not.

-Right.

So we'll give you three words at three points each,

that's nine points.

But the crucial thing is the time...

29 seconds.

So, seven over. That leaves you with two points.

Doesn't sound very much, does it?

Well, wait and see, when we see the other three.

-Bernie, for now, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Bernie will disappear backstage, he will not see or hear Liane,

and Liane will be faced with the same grid.

Her challenge is to make as many four-letter words as she can...

..but also to hit 22 seconds.

-OK.

-Good luck, Liane.

Thank you.

Your time starts now.

'Now, Liane is good with puzzles.

'She loves a puzzle,

'but will her competitive instinct take over,

'will she get absorbed by making four-letter words?'

'HERO is her first word, and will she lose track of time?

'She's going to see these words very quickly...'

'This is her strength, but she's lost track of time.'

'Yep, she's now becoming absorbed in the word game,

'and has forgotten the time completely.

'But the timing device in her brain has just stopped operating,

'and also she's now freezing on the words. She's got PINT...

'You need to stop the clock, Liane!

'Stop the clock...'

How do you think you were for time?

Possibly a little bit over. I was hoping to get more words in there.

We can confirm that HAEL is not allowed.

-That leaves you with five words...

-Yeah, that's fine.

-..three points each, that's 15 points.

-Yep.

BUT you were aiming for 22 seconds.

Liane, you took...

-54 seconds.

-OK. AUDIENCE GASPS

That's 32 seconds over the allowed time.

-That leaves you with a score of minus 17.

-That's fine.

Liane, well done. Let's swap our queen of puzzles

for our physicist with a first. Here comes Sam.

Sam, our third contender into The Chair.

-Now, Sam, you are good at many things.

-Thank you.

Are you good at multitasking?

Um...no.

No, I think, is the sad answer to that.

Well, this could be interesting then, Sam.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Sam, your 22 seconds starts now.

'Now Sam admits he's not good at multi-tasking,

'but he's really come into his own

'in the latter stages of this competition.

'The first word is up.

'He's struggling a bit for the second one.'

'Oh, he's hit the clock.'

FARE is fine.

The word LEMA...

-is a figment of your imagination.

-Yeah.

It doesn't exist.

So, one correct word, Sam, gives you three points.

The crucial thing, though, is the time.

-How did you feel for time?

-I think I hit it too soon.

Sam, your time was...

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-..22 seconds! You were bang on it!

That is amazing!

-You were bang on it. You get ten bonus points.

-Woo!

I cannot tell you how hard that is to do.

-Oh, thank you.

-Sam, that was sensational. Well done.

Brilliant.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And let's welcome back our final contestant, that is Stephen.

-Stephen, you've survived in the competition by the skin of your teeth.

-Yes.

-Now, can you go any further?

-I'm going to give it my best.

Good luck, Stephen.

Your time starts now.

'FAAR may be questionable, but FARE is good.

'FEAR is good.'

'Very fast.'

'Three allowable words so far. PONT is good.'

'Stephen needs to start thinking about time now.'

BUZZER

Stephen, the reason that it went red and made the noise

-was you tried to enter the same word twice.

-Yeah, I realise.

So, what did you think your time might have been?

Um...I thought I was around about the 20, 21 seconds mark,

probably just slightly under.