Episode 4 Britain's Brightest

We scoured the land for ordinary people with extraordinary powers.

I've recently graduated from Cambridge University. I got a First.

I have the same IQ as Einstein, which is 153.

It was an unusual talent search...

What is nine times 12? 108.

..as we searched for Britain's Brightest.

People will underestimate me, to their downfall.

They had to pass brain-busting tests...

-Oh, you are horrible!

-..show feats of dexterity.

-Oh, God, that's hard.

-Finally 24 made it through.

-Yeah!

-Well done.

CHEERING

They come from all walks of life.

If I'm honest, I know I'm bright.

It's really important to show that actually being bright

is a really good thing.

But just one can win £50,000 and be crowned

Britain's Brightest.

I am absolutely ruthless.

I will fight tooth and nail to win.

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

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Hello and welcome to the final heat of Britain's Brightest,

a new kind of talent competition

with a £50,000 first prize for the winner.

-ALL:

-Whoo!

But if our players want to come out on top

they won't be judged on singing or dancing, but thinking.

We're testing intelligence in completely new ways.

Challenging the brain's skill at maths, spelling, emotion,

logic, puzzles and memory.

Tonight our last six contestants are fighting

for a guaranteed place in the final.

So let's discover more about our first two players.

My name is Nayomie, and I live in Thames Ditton,

and I'm a tennis coach

and an actress, and I also teach gymnastics to school children.

As an example of my hyper-mobility, I can get my leg behind my head...

..which looks like this.

That used to be one of my party tricks when I was at university.

Nice. Good depth.

'As an actress and tennis and gymnastics coach, you have to be'

at the top of your game, in terms of your body and your mind.

Being a tennis coach, obviously, I'm physically fit,

I've got to think about tactics beyond my game,

and then as an actress, hopefully

I've got the memory skills, the emotional perceptiveness.

If I walked away as Britain's Brightest, as the champion,

I think I would just be ecstatic - I don't know how I'd feel.

I might be speechless, for once, which never normally happens.

I'm Graham, I'm a security guard working in Glasgow.

When I found out that I was one of Britain's Brightest, I was

a bit shocked, it was unreal.

I've always thought that I was quite intelligent, but I'd

never ever thought that I was going to be that high up.

I met my girlfriend, Ashleigh, through Facebook.

Ashleigh does seem to think that I'm a genius,

and she definitely thinks that I can go on and win the show.

I'm a huge, huge Star Wars fan.

My favourite character needs to be little Master Yoda.

I think the guy's an absolute genius,

and the way that he looks at situations

seems to be quite comparable to myself.

"Win you must."

If I won Britain's Brightest, it would definitely give me

the bit of a kick up the backside

that I need to start actually doing things with my life.

Myself and Ashleigh, we've got dreams,

we're just not getting there quick enough, and I think that

the show would definitely drive us on that little bit quicker.

Please welcome Nayomie and Graham.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Nayomie and Graham, welcome to the show.

Nayomie, we heard there that you love sport and also acting.

That could be the perfect combination,

great preparation for this.

Yes, fingers crossed I think with the sports, you know,

a healthy body is a healthy mind, so getting oxygenated out

in my tennis court, fingers crossed, should set me in good stead.

With acting, the performance, you're here in front of a live audience, that's fine for you?

That's it, yes, obviously not such a big crowd normally, but, yeah,

no, hopefully, fingers crossed.

Now Graham, we heard there

that you're using this show as inspiration. In what way?

I was always told in school and throughout university that

I'd so much potential, and I always seemed to get by just enough

to make sure that I was scraping the grades.

So I think that this show's definitely going to give me

the drive, and it's also inspired me

-to definitely go a wee bit further with myself.

-Good on you.

Good luck to you as well, Nayomie, because it's time for your first

challenge, and a chance for you to get some points on the leaderboard.

Here are 25 people.

You may recognise one of them in the middle there, it's Geoff Capes.

They all seem very nice.

Not the kind of people that you'd want to offend

on national television, but I'm afraid you may have to,

because I want you to look at them very, very closely.

You must use your judgment to estimate how much they weigh.

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

and you must then select people whose weights match that target.

There'll be three rounds,

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

So let's set you your first target.

14 stone.

So you're looking for just one person each

who's as close as you can get to 14 stone.

Off you go, have a closer look.

And this is testing social perception,

because you may think it's just luck - wow,

Graham was really quick there, he's gone for Kelvin.

Straightaway, no hesitation, Graham.

We use different parts of our brain to assess people...

Peter, can I choose you, please?

And all sorts of judgments are being made

when we take into account the height, muscle mass.

APPLAUSE

So, Graham, you think Kelvin is very close to 14 stone.

I think he's maybe a bit over it,

but I don't think he's much heavier than that.

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

Kelvin, could you please reveal your weight?

14 stone 12.

-12 pounds over, Graham.

-That's quite big.

Now, Nayomie, you just need to be less than 12 pounds out

to win the first round of this challenge.

Yes, I think because of Peter's height, that's the reason

I think he might pitch 14, but I think he could be under.

So, Peter, could you tell us please how much you weigh?

14 stone four pounds.

Well done, Nayomie, you've done enough to win the first round,

and thank you to Kelvin and to Peter. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

Now I'd like you to choose two people whose weights add up to...

..21 stone. Go for it.

They could either go for two people who are relatively close in weight,

a ten stone person and an 11 stone person, or go for more variation.

-Del Boy, please.

-Graham's gone straight for Del Boy.

-Nicky, could I have you, please?

-All right.

-LAUGHTER

-Nayomie's chosen Nicky.

Carla, can I have you, please?

And now they have their first choice

they're making a quick calculation,

how much do they need the second person to weigh?

Graham's gone for Carla,

and Nayomie taking a while to make this final choice.

Anne, could I have you, please? Thank you.

She has picked Anne.

So, Nayomie, you want Nicky to weigh how much?

I think Nicky's possibly around nine-ish. I hope.

So above...when you say around nine stone,

-above or below for Nicky?

-Probably below.

Well, let's find out. Nicky, how much do you weigh, please?

Eight stone seven,

-well, that's pretty much where you thought she was.

-Yep.

So you want Anne to weigh 12 stone seven

and you will be bang on target.

Yes, although I think she's going to be under.

Anne, how much do you weigh, please?

13 stone ten.

AUDIENCE GASPS

So that's put you a stone and three pounds over.

-Mm-hm.

-That gives you a bit of leeway, Graham.

Now what was your calculation?

Del Boy, I was going for sort of around about the 11 stone mark.

He was weighed with the mobile phone.

-So you want him to be 11 stone?

-I'd like him to be.

Let's find out. Del Boy, how much do you weigh please?

13 stone six.

AUDIENCE GROANS

Ooh, now what are you thinking?

No offence to Carla, but...

LAUGHTER

Say what you need to say, Carla can take it.

I don't think Carla's under eight stone.

You need her to be seven stone eight pounds to be spot on.

Are you hollow?

LAUGHTER

Carla, let's find out, how much do you weigh please?

-14 stone six pounds.

-That's a big way out.

27 stone 12 pounds is your total, that means once again,

Nayomie, you win this challenge, congratulations to you.

Thank you to Del Boy, to Carla, to Anne and to Nicky.

Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

This is your next target weight...

40 stone. Off you go.

Now that is a big target, and Graham needs to get close to it.

Geoff, could I have you, please? Thank you.

He's two rounds to zero down. Geoff Capes has been selected,

formerly a World's Strongest Man, three-time Olympian.

APPLAUSE

Took part in shot put at three Olympic Games.

Graham's gone for Ryan.

So, safe to say, I think they've both gone for the big number first.

Brooklyn, could I have you, please? Thank you.

Graham has selected Kevin and Nayomie has gone for Brooklyn.

APPLAUSE

Graham, you have to win this round to get any

points at all from your first challenge.

So, first of all, the sum that you did in your head was what?

I'm expecting Ryan to be around about 22, 23 stone.

Kevin, I'm expecting around about 17 and a half, 18.

So, first of all, Ryan, how much do you weigh, please?

25 stone five.

So, you need Kevin to be 14 stone and nine pounds.

-I doubt that.

-You doubt it?

-Yep.

Let's find out, Kevin, how much do you weigh?

-17 stone six.

-Yep.

So over by two stone and 11 pounds. Nayomie?

-Yep.

-You went straight for Geoff Capes?

Just because I wanted to say,

"Can I have you, Geoff, please," to be honest.

How much do you think Geoff weighs?

I'm hoping between 22 and 24 stone.

Geoff Capes, how much do you weigh, please?

With a flourish, 26 stone two pounds.

So you need Brooklyn to be 13 stone and 12 pounds

to be spot-on.

-Yep.

-But obviously as Graham has gone well over,

-you've got a bit of leeway.

-Yes.

Let's find out. Brooklyn, how much do you weigh, please?

14 stone five pounds.

But 40 stone and seven pounds is your total

and that means that, once again, Nayomie, you have won, well done.

Well done.

APPLAUSE

A clean sweep, Nayomie. Three rounds to zero.

You scored six points, Graham,

I'm afraid no points for you,

but there are still plenty more opportunities for you to add

points onto that leaderboard so we'll see you again later.

Ladies and gentlemen for now, Nayomie and Graham,

and thank you to everybody who took part in the weight challenge.

APPLAUSE

Now here's a question - who has the bigger brain? Men or women?

The answer, it pains me to say, is men,

but I should point out that women have more nerve cells

and connectors, and their brains work much more efficiently,

so, boys, it's not size that counts, it's how you think.

Our next two players think brilliantly.

My name's Claire, I'm from just outside Glasgow,

and I work for a stockbroker's.

I have a little boy called Oliver, he's nine years old...

She's very clever.

..and he's the absolute love of my life. Ahhh.

I'm really pleased to have been picked to be

a contestant on Britain's Brightest.

It's just made me feel that perhaps I'm not as silly as I thought I was.

I've been training my brain in preparation for the show

by doing various puzzles and quizzes,

and I've also tried to eat healthier as well,

because I know that certain foods are good for the brain.

Today we're going to have some nice salmon fillets,

just because they're full of omega three,

which is really good for your brain.

I became a member of Mensa when I was about 18 or 19.

It meant going through various quizzes and tests,

and my IQ at the time came back as being

in the top two per cent of the population, so I know that I've got

it in me to be Britain's Brightest, and I just hope I can show that.

Hi, I'm Andrew, I'm 41, and from Pontefract,

and I work in a bank call centre.

I'm married to Caroline, we've got three children.

They can't wait to see Daddy on television.

I think my wife thinks that's it a bit weird that

I'm coming on a programme like Britain's Brightest.

She suggests that I'm forgetful all the time, and if only

I could apply my brightness to things that happen in everyday life.

Domestically, no, he has, no, no skills.

I absolutely love numbers. All the time, always have done.

I just enjoy manipulating spreadsheets

and various figures, and collecting information like that.

I also go running, so when I'm running

I work out how fast I'm doing and how well I'm doing each time I go.

I have a very strong competitive nature. I love to win.

When I think I'm the best,

I want to prove that I'm the best at something.

I hate to fail.

Please welcome Claire and Andrew.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Hello, Andrew and Claire, welcome to the show.

-Hiya.

-Very nice to see you both here.

Claire, first of all, brain food?

-Yes.

-What did you eat today?

So, today I've had some bananas, I've tried to be good

and eat some salad and some broccoli, things like that,

just things that'll feed my brain hopefully.

And do you notice a difference?

Oh, absolutely. Although I like junk foods, I definitely notice

that my brainpower sort of takes a bit of a tumble with that,

so I do see a difference.

Now, as for you, Andrew,

your wife clearly doesn't rate your brightness at all, does she?

I think that she thinks that she would probably beat me

-if we were on here together.

-But the main reason she doesn't rate it

is, for her, it's not a practical brightness?

No, not at all. She can go out, leave me with a load of household chores,

and when they come back, they're still to be done.

What have you been doing? Sitting doing puzzles?

Absolutely, yeah, I love doing that.

Good luck to you both, to Andrew and to Claire,

and it's time for you to take on your first challenge.

Come and join me.

APPLAUSE

You are about to be surrounded by floating words.

Now, two of them will be spelt incorrectly.

So, for example, here are three words that I've just used.

I knock out the incorrectly-spelt word,

the screen turns green,

that's the right answer and then your next challenge will come up.

Andrew, I'm going to send you backstage

so you can't hear or see anything. Thank you for now

-and Claire, let's move you into position, and good luck.

-Thank you.

Right, let's play the first round.

"Aerial" is correct.

Well done. "Extravagant" is right.

Oh, sorry. "Forebode" was the correct answer there.

"Dachshund" is right. Well done.

Claire, you've scored three out of four in your first round.

A bit disappointed I got that one wrong,

but better than I thought, so...

-Let's get Andrew back out. For now, thank you, Claire.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Andrew, are you ready for this spelling challenge?

-I think I am, yes.

-Let's start your challenge now.

Well done. "Aerial" is right.

No. "Extravagant" was correctly spelt.

No. "Forebode" was the right one there.

And well done. "Dachshund" is correctly spelt.

At the end of that first round, Andrew, you had two correct answers

from a possible four.

Claire had three, so she has won Round One.

For now, thank you, we'll see you again in a moment.

And Claire, welcome back. Round Two awaits.

APPLAUSE

So Claire, congratulations, you got three out of four.

Andrew only got two out of four, so you win Round One.

This time you'll see four words. Three of them are incorrectly spelt.

-Right.

-So, Claire, if you're ready, let's start Round Two.

-OK.

Very quick. "Sovereign" is right.

Ooh, bad luck. "Aggravate" was correctly spelt.

Well done. "Changeable" is right.

What a shame. "Rudimentary" was the correct one there.

-You were so quick with your movements.

-I know.

-Maybe too quick on a couple.

-I knew when I went for that one

that was the wrong one to go for, but not to worry.

-Two out of four. For now, Claire, thank you.

-Thank you.

And let's bring Andrew back out.

APPLAUSE

So, Andrew, are you mentally prepared?

-Absolutely, yeah. Ready to go.

-Let's play Round Two.

Well done. "Sovereign" is correct.

Ooh. "Aggravate" was correctly spelt.

"Changeable" is right.

Well done. "Rudimentary" is correct. You score three out of four

and Andrew, that means you win Round Two.

Thank you, Andrew.

Well, let's bring Claire back out for her final round

and let you know, Claire, that Andrew won the second round,

-which means that you currently stand at two points apiece.

-OK.

The third round will make all the difference.

You're going to see four words again. You have slightly less time,

so your speed of movement could be quite useful here.

-OK, just need to get the right answer!

-That is true.

Let's start the third and final round.

Well done. "Genealogy" is correct.

Oh. "Emissary" was correct.

"Orthogonal" is correct, well done.

Very quick and correct.

"Therapeutic" and that was your final challenge.

Three out of four, Claire.

Well done. The speed of movement did come into it.

Absolutely, yeah, and I'm glad I got quite a few right there.

Well done, Claire. We'll wait and find out

whether that's enough for you to win the game. Thank you for now.

Let's bring Andrew back out again for his final round.

If you're ready, let's play.

Well done. "Genealogy" is correct.

Oh, no! Bad luck.

Out of time, I'm afraid.

And well done. "Therapeutic" is correct.

So, Andrew, at the end of that round,

you scored two out of a possible four. Let's get Claire back out

and find out whether that was enough.

Claire, with three out of four, you won that final round

and that means, Claire, you have four points.

Andrew, you have two. Plenty more opportunities to win more points.

You'll be back very shortly for our first group game,

but for now, ladies and gentlemen, Claire and Andrew!

Our next two contestants are highly focused and totally energised.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm James.

I'm currently studying chemistry at the University of Hull

and I'm from Guildford in Surrey.

My biggest passion is probably Rubik's Cubing.

Three, two, one...

I found my dad's in the cupboard

and obviously I enjoy puzzles, so I had to learn how to solve it.

I've got to the point now where

I'm travelling across Europe to compete in competitions.

My fastest time in solving a Rubik's Cube is 7.91 seconds.

-Just over 22 seconds.

-No, I'm not happy with 22!

I can also solve a Rubik's Cube with my feet. I can also do it

blindfolded as well.

I'll definitely apply the things I've learnt from the Rubik's Cube

to Britain's Brightest.

Visual memory, pattern recognition. That'll all play a key role.

I've always considered myself clever,

but to be able to get this far on the show, I'm really pleased,

but even if I won Britain's Brightest,

my mum would still tell me to tidy my room.

I'm Alan. I'm from St Helens in Lancashire

and I work in a drugs research laboratory.

Ever since I was a child, I've been a massive fan of horse racing.

I am currently trying to visit every track in the UK.

I have five more to go, so nearly there.

I like to pit my wits by taking all the information in

of all the form of all the different horses, jockeys, courses, etc,

and trying to apply that information to try and find the winner.

And sometimes...I can.

When I was three years old,

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

I love maths. As a child,

I was adding up and taking away as soon as I could walk.

Ever since then, I've always wanted to learn.

A day when I haven't learned a new fact is a day wasted.

I'm hoping that the mathematics side of my skill set

is going to be able to come out to the fore and that would be helpful.

If I could win Britain's Brightest, it would be incredible.

I've always had a very high opinion of my own talents

and if I could win the show, it'd prove that I was right for once.

APPLAUSE

Please welcome Alan and James.

CHEERING

Welcome to both of you.

Thank you for being contestants in Britain's Brightest. Now, Alan,

you learnt all of the flags around the world by the age of three?

So I'm led to believe. I don't actually remember it myself

but I have it on good authority that's the case, yes.

-And do you still know them all?

-I still know a fair few.

But you've clearly got a brain that is thirsty for knowledge.

Oh, very much so, yeah, I'm always looking to learn something new,

little facts, interesting pieces of information,

anything I can get in there, that's great.

And James, you are the youngest we've ever had

-on Britain's Brightest, so welcome to you.

-Thank you.

19 years old. The Rubik's Cube,

and I know you can do it with your hands,

you can do it blindfolded, you can also do it with your feet.

-Yes, I can.

-How?

With your feet. LAUGHTER

Yes, thank you. Thank you, James.

But with your toes... How?

You don't pick it up with your feet, you use the floor

and just turn sides with your toes, basically.

Well, Alan and James, let's get you both on the leaderboard.

Come over here.

Now for this game, like a James Bond villain,

you're going to have your own personal volcano.

You'll be faced with multiple choice logic questions.

Give me the right answer and you'll build up lava in your volcano.

If you give me the wrong answer, that lava will go to your opponent.

In each round, the first to make their volcano erupt is the winner.

So you should both be very good at this, and Alan, you love puzzles.

I do, but I'm up against a very tough competitor, I think,

-so it should be a good game.

-James, looking forward to it?

Yes, definitely. Hopefully, mine will erupt first.

That's what you want.

The first question decides who will take control of the game

so, both of you, stand by on your buzzers and good luck.

Here is your question.

What next?

-BUZZER

-Alan.

128?

128, is that the correct answer?

It is the correct answer.

It is the previous number times four.

Well done, Alan, so your volcano comes to the foreground.

There it is, bubbling away

and your first question to put lava into that volcano is this.

160?

Is that the correct answer?

It is. Congratulations. You have lava added.

You add 38 each time to get that answer.

James, your turn. This is your first question.

What comes next?

6.11pm.

Is that the correct answer?

It is. Well done, James,

time moving forward by one hour and 18 minutes each time.

Alan.

What comes next?

12.11am.

Is that correct?

It is. Fantastically worked out,

time moving forward by one hour and 24 minutes each time.

Back to James.

What comes next?

36.

36, is that the correct answer?

It is. Do you know why?

Divided by six.

Divide by six, absolutely.

Alan.

What comes next?

64?

You say 64. Is that correct?

It is. The reason?

-Divide by eight.

-Divide by eight, obviously.

James, back to you.

If you get this wrong, Alan's volcano will erupt,

so a bit of pressure on you here

and here is your question.

What comes next?

121.

You say 121. He has to be right here. Is that correct?

It is. Well done,

it's 14, 13, 12, 11, squared numbers in reducing order.

Back to you, Alan.

If you get this question right, your volcano will erupt.

If you are wrong, then James' volcano will erupt.

What comes next?

79?

Is that correct?

It is and boom! Well done, Alan,

they were prime numbers in descending order.

Congratulations, Alan. You take the first round,

James, you will get your chance to start this round first.

Slightly different questions now, and here is your first one.

-Have to hurry you, James.

-Saxophone.

Is saxophone correct?

It's not. Trumpet is what you were looking for

and your lava passes to Alan.

Alan, your first question.

Dong.

Is dong correct?

It is, it's a currency question and you knew it.

James.

Serbia.

You say Serbia. Is that correct?

It is. Capital cities, of course.

Alan.

One.

Is one correct?

It's not, I'm afraid. The correct answer was four.

You had to think Scrabble.

-Ah.

-Scrabble values.

-Yep.

So, James, back in the game here, you needed that

because Alan's lava passes to you and your next question is this.

15.

Is that the correct answer?

It's not. Alan was shaking his head, because you knew, didn't you?

-11.

-11 is correct.

Alan, you get lava from James

and you have a chance now to make your volcano erupt

if you get this question correct.

Venice.

You say Venice.

-You're not sure.

-I'm not, no.

Is Venice the correct answer?

It is!

APPLAUSE

-Well done, Alan.

-Thank you!

-Yes, the Rialto crosses the Grand Canal in Venice.

I knew it was Italy somewhere, but I didn't know whereabouts.

Well, you lead now by two rounds to zero

so four points for Alan, so far, James, none for you

and Alan, you start the third round.

What comes next?

Um, GHUV.

You say GHUV. Is that correct?

It is correct. Do you know why?

Every letter is sort of two along, or two backwards?

That's it, moving pairs towards the front and end of the alphabet

starting from MNOP. Moving to James,

let's look at your first question in this round.

What comes next?

D.

Is D the correct answer?

It is. Do you know why?

I think it's scales on a piano.

It is, it's alternate musical notes on the treble clef. Well done.

Alan.

What comes next?

I'll go for M.

Is M correct?

It is correct, and I get a feeling that was a stab in the dark.

Is it letters made up of straight lines?

It is to do with their mirror image,

that they're the same on the vertical axis in the mirror.

James, playing catch-up once again.

What comes next?

Red?

You say red. Is red correct?

It is correct. It's to do with an Olympic Archery target

and the way the colours go from outer to inner, so well done.

Alan, back to you.

What comes next?

-Brown.

-Is brown the correct answer?

It is the correct answer. In this case,

it's a snooker question, which you knew

and it's the colours of the balls in descending numbers of points.

James, if you get this next question wrong, Alan's volcano will erupt.

What comes next?

JQJR.

You say JQJR.

Is that the correct answer?

It's not, I'm afraid.

That means your lava passes to Alan. Alan's volcano will erupt.

APPLAUSE

The correct answer, James, you were looking for was JPJQ

and it's to do with the first letter moving forward,

two letters each time and then repeated in position three

while second and fourth move forward three each time,

which if you got that at home, that is amazing. Well done to you.

So after that challenge, James, I'm afraid no points for you.

Alan, you get six points. You dominate this particular game,

but we'll see you both shortly in our first group challenge.

For now, ladies and gentlemen, James and Alan!

APPLAUSE

OK, it's a well-known fantastic fact

that we only use 10% of our brain,

or I should say, it's a well-known fantasy we only use 10%

because in truth, we use the whole lot.

Your brain is like your house -

just because you don't go up to the attic much

doesn't mean it's not packed full of stuff.

Although we use the whole brain, it's not perfect,

as you're about to see.

Multi-tasking is something a lot of people brag about,

but is it just a myth?

Can anyone really multi-task?

I can walk and talk at the same time, and they are two quite complex

and different skills,

but what if I tried to do two things at once

that required similar brain functions?

Have you ever tried to talk and send a text message at the same time?

KEYS TAPPING It's not as easy as it sounds.

That was supposed to say,

"I'm really good at multi-tasking." Oh, dear.

Your brain really struggles when it has to

divide its attention between two different streams of information.

To show you just how difficult it is to do two things at once,

I'm going to take you on a tour of the capital.

As we go, I want you to count the number of times you hear me

say the word "London" and the number of times you see a red bus.

OK. Are you ready to start counting? Off we go.

Welcome to London.

London is one of the largest cities in Europe

and London is the capital of England.

Nearly eight million people live here

and London has one of the largest bus networks in the world.

There are around 7,500 London buses travelling on

more than 700 London bus routes and that's the end of our London tour.

OK, how did you get on?

How many times did I say London?

And how many times did you see a red bus?

Did you get that? It was tricky, wasn't it?

Actually, research is currently being done into

whether we can really multi-task at all.

When you go from chatting on the phone to writing an email,

current research suggests that it can take up to a minute to

recover your train of thought.

So that means that we don't really multi-task, we just switch

from one task to another, and if you've put multi-tasking on your CV

and you really want to be honest, it might require a bit of a re-write.

Please welcome back all of our contestants,

Claire, James, Andrew, Nayomie, Alan and Graham.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-You've all faced a head-to-head

and here is how our leaderboard is looking.

Tied in first place with a maximum six points each, Alan and Nayomie.

APPLAUSE

In third place, we have Claire with four points,

then Andrew with two, and at the bottom of the leaderboard

at the moment, Graham and James.

Now, this means that Alan and Nayomie,

you've made the most sensational start.

There you are, standing next to each other,

can you feel the brain waves coming off her, Alan?

-There's SOMETHING coming off her, but I can't tell what.

-LAUGHTER

-Thanks, Alan!

-Any time!

Well, this should be fascinating because after the next game, whoever

is at the bottom of the leaderboard will be leaving Britain's Brightest.

But everything could change,

because the next game is worth 12 points to the winner.

I'm going to show you some pictures that are visual clues to

famous names.

So, for example, if I were to show you...

A claw...a deer...

then you'd think, "Mmm, is that a shell? What kind of shell is it?

"It's a winkle!"

And a man...you would get...

-ALL:

-Claudia Winkleman.

-Claudia Winkleman, exactly,

this is great to play at home.

There are two rounds with four picture puzzles in each.

Once you've buzzed in and given me

a correct answer, you can step back and enjoy the rest of the round.

But give me a wrong answer,

and you'll be locked out for the rest of that question.

Are you ready?

Let's have a look at our first picture.

No-one's going to buzz in. I will show you the second picture.

Anyone going to take the chance?

Here's the third picture...

BUZZER

-Alan.

-Albert Einstein.

You say Albert Einstein.

There was a pint of ale, a bird, an iron - what's the fourth picture?

It is indeed a stein.

Well done, Alan, you can step back and watch the rest of the round.

-Very, very good.

-APPLAUSE

So, the remaining five, let's have a look at your next picture puzzle.

Here's your second picture.

-BUZZER

-Nayomie.

-Jilly Cooper.

-Chilli, and then the dove coo...

-Cooing.

So, you need the third picture to be something that might say,

"per..." Let's have a look, see what it is.

It's a pair of aces. Is it Jilly Cooper?

It is Jilly Cooper, well done, Nayomie, fantastic!

The next picture puzzle is for the remaining four.

BUZZER

Graham.

Is it Bruce Springsteen?

On the basis of one picture. Is it Bruce Springsteen?

Let's have a look at the second picture,

which is a coiled spring, and the third picture is a kettle steaming.

It looks like it might be Bruce Springsteen

and it is, well done, Graham!

Fantastic. Just one picture!

So for the three of you who are left,

only two of you will score points in this round.

Here's your next picture puzzle.

No-one brave enough to go for it on one picture,

let's show you the second.

Let's show you the third.

-BUZZER

-Andrew.

Morgan Freeman?

Morgan Freeman.

Mug, gun, Morgan, three, yep,

let's have a look at the fourth picture puzzle.

It is Morgan Freeman, well done, Andrew, you can step back.

Claire and James, just two of you remaining, only one of you can

score any points from this round, so here's your final picture puzzle.

Neither of you prepared to buzz in after the first picture,

let's show you the second.

We'll see the third picture.

-BUZZER

-Claire.

Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson, the mic, the microphone,

the ale for Michael, the jack, what is the fourth picture?

And it is the sun. Michael Jackson is correct - well done, Claire,

you scored the final points on offer.

Congratulations. If the other four would like to step forward.

Let us play Round two.

Now, we're looking for book and film titles here.

Once again, it's Alan who's brave and first on the buzzer

but will he get it right? Alan, what do you think?

Watership Down?

What's the second picture?

It's a sheep. Water, sheep - and the third picture...

is an arrow pointing down, well done, Alan,

it is Watership Down - outstanding, and maximum points again.

You can now step back. Thank you, Alan.

So moving on to your second picture puzzle.

No-one buzzing...

-BUZZER

-Claire.

Mona Lisa?

Mona Lisa. On the basis of the Mo, Mo Farah.

Is it Mona Lisa?

It's not, I'm sorry, you're locked out. Graham.

Is it Mona Lisa Smile?

No, it's not, I'm sorry.

So, Claire and Graham, you are locked out for the rest of this puzzle.

Nayomie, Andrew and James remain.

Let's have a look at the second picture.

BUZZER

-James.

-Moby Dick?

Mo Farah, the bee, the last picture was somebody digging...

-It is Moby Dick, well done, James.

-APPLAUSE

You can step back and relax.

So all four of you back in the game, let's have a look at your next

picture puzzle and here is your first clue.

No-one buzzing in, let's have a look at your second clue.

-BUZZER

-Nayomie.

Edward Scissorhands.

Head. The ward, hospital ward...

What would the next picture be?

Pair of scissors. And the final picture...

Hands! Well done, Nayomie! That was a great guess.

And you can step back.

So Graham, Andrew and Claire remain. Here's your next picture puzzle.

-BUZZER

-Graham.

-Pursuit Of Happyness?

-Is it Pursuit Of Happyness?

It's not, I'm afraid, Graham.

You're locked out for the rest of this puzzle,

so, Claire and Andrew, here's your second picture.

-BUZZER

-Andrew.

Brokeback Mountain.

Brokeback Mountain. The empty wallet or purse. The back.

What would the third picture be?

It is a mound, and the last picture...

..is a tin. Brokeback Mountain.

Well done, well done, Andrew. Very well worked out.

So, Graham and Claire, only one of you can score

a point from this round - this is your final picture puzzle.

Neither of you buzzing in, let's have a look at the second picture.

The third picture may be the one, let's have a look.

And your fourth and final picture is this.

-BUZZER

-Graham.

Is it Some Like It Hot?

Sum, a maths sum, lie, somebody lying down...

The sports kit, "kit" and "hot", the high temperature on the thermometer.

Some Like It Hot is right. Well done, Graham!

You take the final points on offer in this round.

Bad luck, Claire, no points in that, step forward the other four.

So at the end of that game, Alan, for finishing first,

that earns you 12 points.

Nayomie in second, you get seven points.

There's a three-way tie in third - Graham, Andrew and James

will all get three points, and I'm afraid, Claire, you get nothing.

So let's see what all of that means to the leaderboard...

Now that means we decide who goes and who stays

with an all-or-nothing tie-break question.

Alan, Nayomie, Andrew and Claire, please step back.

Graham and James, to decide this tie-break

the category of question will be selected randomly by this Tie-break Tower -

it could be verbal, it could test your numeracy or your logic.

Give me a correct answer and you stay in the competition.

If you're wrong, I'm afraid you're out.

So think carefully before you buzz in.

Let's find out the category.

Just in logic. So here is your tie-break question on logic.

If cat is 24 and pet is 41, what is dog?

-BUZZER

-Graham.

Is it 19?

Graham, I'm afraid it's not 19.

The answer is 26, with each letter having a numerical value,

so one for A, through to Z at the end, and if you add together

D-O-G, which you can do at home, you would come up with 26.

You said at the beginning you were going to use this programme

for inspiration, do you think it still has the power to inspire you?

Definitely, it's been a good time, it's been a great experience

and I think I'm definitely going to take it and apply it.

Graham, I'm afraid it means that you are the first player out

tonight of Britain's Brightest, but you have been a fabulous contestant.

Ladies and gentlemen, Graham!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-And James, a lucky escape for you!

-Indeed.

How are you feeling?

I thought I was gone for a second, there. Definitely escaped that one.

And Alan, you are flying away in front -

at the moment, you look untouchable.

It's a good start but there's a long way to go yet.

Before the next group challenge,

we've got a very special guest in the audience.

It's Olympic Gold Medallist Anna Watkins.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Anna, hello. It's fantastic to see you here.

How often do you sort of think about what you achieved in 2012?

Well, I'm not getting my medal out

and looking at it over my breakfast cereal every day,

but every now and again I'm going into a school

and showing it to the kids and they still scream with excitement,

it's brilliant, and while they're looking at the medal,

I can tell them about what it's like to set a goal and achieve the dream.

Well, you are now studying for a PHD in mathematics, aren't you?

-Yes.

-So are you happy to be part of our next mathematical challenge?

Well, I prefer to have ten years of practice,

but I'll give this a go!

We will give you about ten seconds, if that's OK,

and see how you get on against our five remaining contestants.

So far, we have tested their brains in all sorts of ways.

Now, we're going to set them the challenge with the help of Britain's favourite dance crew -

it's Diversity!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

MUSIC STARTS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, Diversity! They are absolutely fantastic.

Now, you were able to stand back and, with everybody else, watch that for pure entertainment, but...

Diversity are about to perform a few dance routines

and this time, they're going to have numbers on their clothes,

so you need to watch very carefully.

There are three performances

and after each one, I will ask some quick-fire maths questions

based on the numbers that you will have seen them wearing.

Are you ready? Let's start the challenge.

ROBOTIC SPEECH: # We are Diversity Di-Di-Di-Di-Diversity. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So here are your questions...

What was the total sum of the numbers you saw?

You've all entered an answer.

Let's have a look at what you said.

You have all gone for 33,

and the total sum of the numbers was, indeed, 33. Well done.

How many numbers were evenly divisible by three?

You've all entered an answer. Let's have a look.

And you've all said zero, apart from Nayomie, who says one.

The correct answer is zero.

I'm afraid, Nayomie, for you, no points there.

Can you calculate the average of all the numbers you saw?

Let's have a look, see what you said.

All of you have gone for 11 and all of you are correct, well done.

And finally, how many prime numbers did you see?

You've all answered and you have said...

..three. And again you are all correct, well done.

So another set of questions will follow the next performance.

Let's play...Diversity Maths.

# Rewind... #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Your first question... How may odd numbers did you see?

See what you said...

You've said two, with the exception of Claire, who says four.

The correct answer was two. Sorry, Claire.

What is the sum of the second highest and the second lowest number that you saw?

All your answers are in. Let's see what you said.

All of you going for 42, apart from Claire who said 66,

and the correct answer was 42.

What was the total sum of all of the numbers?

All your answers have been entered.

Let's have a look.

Alan, Nayomie and Andrew all say 120, James says 110,

Claire says 127.

The correct answer was 120.

So well done to three of you.

And finally, what is the mean of all the numbers?

And you said?

Four of you said 24, Claire you said 39

and I think you know 24 was the correct answer.

So very well answered by most of you.

Incredibly, at the end of that second round,

Andrew and Alan have not got a single question wrong.

So will this final round separate the two of you?

Time for the last performance.

Watch carefully, let's start the challenge.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

They are sensational - Diversity!

Ashley, Jordan, Warren, Terry, Sam, Mitchell, Perri, thank you!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I love that they love it so much!

And here are your questions...

How many times did the digit 9 appear amongst all of the numbers?

And you said?

Claire says 4, everybody else says 3.

Claire is either wrong or she's the only one that got it right.

Claire, you're the only one who got it right, well done!

Next question. How many even numbers were there?

Everyone's answered.

You all said 3 and 3 was the correct answer.

Well done.

Next question, what is the sum of the two lowest

and the two highest numbers?

Well, let's have a look and see what you thought.

So what they were trying to work out was the two lowest numbers

which were 6 and 9 added to the two highest numbers.

One of you was correct with 182, James, well done.

What answer do you get

if you subtract the smallest number from the largest number?

You've all answered and you said...

93, you all say 93,

99 minus 6. You are all correct, well done.

And at the end of those maths challenges,

extraordinary, I can reveal that three of you got exactly the same number

of answers correct and that was Alan and Andrew and James. Well done, you!

Not far behind was Nayomie.

And Claire struggling a little there bringing up the rear. Now, Anna, how did you get on?

I think I did about the same as those three.

You didn't just do about the same, you did exactly the same.

You got 10 out of the 12 questions correct

and you would have tied with them for the lead, so, well done, Anna.

Anna was playing for fun, but, for these five, this is serious.

Alan, Andrew, James, tied in first place, you will now receive eight points each.

Nayomie, you will receive two points.

Claire, I'm afraid you score nothing.

So let's see how those scores have affected the leaderboard.

Alan's still out in front with 26.

Nayomie is in second, closing in is Andrew, then James.

I'm afraid detached

at the bottom is Claire.

That means you're going to be leaving us now

and it didn't quite work tonight, did it?

The brain wasn't quite firing?

It wasn't really my night tonight.

I got a bit distracted by all the dancing and all the hunky men!

But not to worry, I've had a fabulous evening, thanks very much.

Thank you so much for taking part in Britain's Brightest.

Ladies and gentlemen, Claire.

APPLAUSE

Now here's a fantastic fact.

Every time you have a brand-new thought, you create a fresh

connection in your brain.

So when you just heard that fact, you all made a new connection.

Yet sometimes our brains can deceive us

and to prove it, we went out on the streets.

OK. Here's a quick experiment for you.

I want you to read aloud the colours of the words that are about to

appear on the screen.

It's the colour of the lettering itself that I want.

Easy right? But now try it again.

Not so easy, is it?

And that's because the words are directly contradicting the colours.

Not clear what I'm talking about?

Right, I just need two victims to play a prank on to explain it all.

-So we've got Alan and Rosanna here, hello.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

And would you say you're competitive with each other?

-Sometimes.

-Sometimes.

-Who would you say is smarter?

-I am definitely the smartest one!

I've got a task for you both.

So take this tablet here, let me...

'Time for stage one of the prank.'

In this task you're going to swipe through some words

and you just have to say out loud the colour the word is written in.

Alan and Rosanna, on your marks, get set, go!

-Red.

-Blue.

-Orange. Black.

-Red.

-Pink.

-Blue.

-Yellow.

-Yellow.

-Black.

-Brown. Green.

-Pink. Blue.

-Blue.

-Grey.

-Yellow.

-Orange.

-Brown.

-Green.

-Green.

Wow!

OK, you've even got one more, you've got... I mean...

-Rosanna is a very clear winner, how does that feel?

-Devastating!

Absolutely devastating and for you?

-I'm so sad.

-Very proud.

So we're going to change the words. 'So Rosanna was the clear winner.

'But now for stage two of the prank.'

'Alan simply has to repeat what he's just done.

'But Rosanna has now been given words where the text contradicts the colour.'

On your marks, get set, go!

-Pink.

-Red.

-Yellow.

Red. Orange. Blue.

Purple. Orange. Yellow. Brown.

-Blue.

-Brown.

-Green.

So you have to go back

because you got some of those wrong.

So we do have a victor there. Alan, how does that feel?

Oh, I feel victorious!

'Yeah, right, Alan.

'So why did Rosanna do so much worse the second time?'

There's a part of Rosanna's brain for recognising words

and there's a part for recognising colour.

But if they're both working at the same time, they're

fighting for attention, leaving her confused.

You feel really panicky, like you should be able to say

something really simple as reading out a letter and the colour,

but your brain just gets all mushed up.

You can try this on someone at home and make them

appear a lot dumber than they really are.

I would call it a very hollow victory.

-In fact, I think the winner is you.

-Ah...

I think you won.

Well, congratulations to all of you for getting this far.

Now this challenge will decide who is guaranteed

a place in the final of Britain's Brightest 2013.

It's the toughest test so far.

Your challenge is to estimate when 21 seconds has elapsed

and then you hit this button.

If you press on exactly 21 seconds you will win 10 bonus points,

which sounds simple, 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 the grid that will be in front of you.

Each word is worth three points,

but you'll lose a point for every second that you go over 21.

You're going to play in alphabetical order,

that means, Alan, you will be first.

You may take to the chair, Alan.

If the three of you would like to disappear

and remember 21 seconds is the magic number.

Good luck, Alan.

And your time will start now.

ROTE straightaway.

Alan loves puzzles, he loves words

but the danger here is that he will get distracted

by creating words and will lose track of time.

He thinks he's worked out a system for this

but will he be able to stick to the system, will the system work?

Alan, you made four words there.

All of them are correct, all of them are allowable,

you score three points for each one.

So that gives you 12 points, but how did you think you were for time?

I might have been just a little bit quick on the button there.

How long did Alan take?

25 seconds.

-So you were four seconds over.

-Surprising.

We take four off your score of 12, which leaves you with a score of 8.

Alan, well done.

We'll reveal how your score compares to the others when we've seen them all.

Here comes Andrew.

Well, Andrew, the key thing to focus on

is trying to hit that button after exactly 21 seconds.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

And your time starts now.

Now Andrew has virtually admitted that he loses

track of time when he's playing puzzles, because the same

part of the brain, the parietal lobe, measures time and focuses.

Now, he's struggling with the board here immediately.

He can't see any words. Now he gets TERN.

If he has got a system for calculating time...

No, he presses the button there and looks rather dejected.

Andrew, you made two words but one of them,

-GART was a made-up word, wasn't it?

-It was, yes!

It was, so we're not allowing that.

We'll give you TERN, that's three points.

So time is absolutely essential here.

How close did you think you were?

I thought I was running out of time and probably a little bit over.

I really lost it on that one.

Well, let's see how long you took...

27 seconds.

-So you were six seconds over.

-Yes.

And that means your three points are wiped out.

You lose another three as well and you score minus 3.

-Bad luck, Andrew. Thank you.

-Thank you.

And let's bring in James.

Good luck.

And the time starts now.

He's away now. He took ages to find the first words

and then suddenly started seeing words

and now he's got engrossed by the game and time's gone out the window.

He's forgotten about the time challenge!

James, very interesting, you've come up with five words, all of them are

allowable, so you get three points for each of those,

which gives you 15.

Now, what do you think happened with the time?

I'm honestly not too sure.

I did lose it a bit in the middle so I had to make a bit of a guess.

Well, let's have a look and see how long you took.

James, you took 43 seconds, so you were 22 seconds over,

which means that you finish with minus 7.

Thank you, James.

And let's bring in our final contestant, that is Nayomie.

-How are you doing, Nayomie?

-I'm good, thank you.

Settle you into that chair. So, Nayomie, are you ready?

Yes.

Good luck. Your time starts now.

One elephant, two elephant, three elephant, four elephant...

Well, this is the first time we've actually heard somebody

counting out loud which is a great technique,

but will she slow down in the counting as she makes the words?

She's seeing the words very fast, this is excellent,

but she is slowing down with her counting

and we may have to check a few of these words.

So, Nayomie, you put in eight words, three of them, I'm afraid, are disallowed,

PRET, GRAT, and GART.

That gives you five allowable words, three points each, that's 15 points.

Now, you're the first contestant who's started counting out loud

and we'll see whether that was effective or not

when we reveal your time.

26 seconds.

I knew I was over.

That's not bad. That leaves you with 10 points.

Nayomie, thank you. Well done, you can join the others

and I will reveal all of your scores.

That was absolutely fascinating,

but because she made the most words

and she wasn't too far over time, the winner is Nayomie.

You're in first place, you take 12 points.

In second place was Alan, you get 7 points.

Andrew, you finished third which gives you 4,

and James, I'm afraid, fourth place scores you no points at all.

Let's see the final leaderboard.

In fourth place with 11 points is James.

In third place with 17 points is Andrew.

In second place we see Nayomie on 27 and he's led from start to

finish, our winner tonight with 33 points is Alan.

And although you came in here as a man who was very

good at puzzles, who clearly has great mathematical skill,

you wouldn't necessarily have known that that would have been enough to win.

There are so many different skills that you need on this show that

you'd never find one person to be able to go through and win them all.

It's a case of doing as well as you can on each individual event

and I just had a little bit of luck on my side and I got through.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

I'm afraid, though, James having clung on,

having made sure you didn't go out on the first,

the very first tie-break, this is now your time to depart.

What have you learnt from the challenges that you faced this evening?

I've gained so much experience. Being the youngest, I came here

not expecting to win but trying my best and having hung on

from that first game and got this far I'm really pleased.

You've done brilliantly well, James. It's been lovely having you here.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, James.

And the good news for Nayomie and for Andrew is that it's not

all over. You've got one last chance to stay in the competition.

This is your Fight For Survival.

Your scores up to this point have been wiped,

because this is all or nothing.

The winner will secure a place in the last chance play-off.

On the screen is a grid of numbers. Pick a number to reveal

a question or puzzle, it might play to your strengths or it may not.

Once you've picked a number, your clock will start counting down

until you give me a correct answer.

If you can't, you can pass

and choose another number from the grid - it will cost you time.

When you've given me a correct answer, your opponent must

pick a number and tackle a challenge as their own clock starts ticking.

If your clock runs out of time, it's game over,

you're out of the competition.

Since every second counts, there won't be time for me

to give the answers, but you can find them all on our website -

bbc.co.uk/britainsbrightest

Andrew, you are first to play.

We've put 90 seconds on the clocks.

Let's start this Fight for Survival. Pick a number.

Number 1.

Which circles comes next in the sequence?

Pass.

-Pick another number.

-2.

2.

-25 pence.

-25 pence is correct.

-Stop the clock.

-3.

Nayomie 3. EastEnders is to London as The Killing is to...?

Pass.

Pick another number.

-4.

-4.

Can.

Can is correct, stop the clock. Pick another number, Andrew.

-5.

-5.

Er, 8.

-Pick another number.

-6.

6.

-Dandelion.

-Pick a number.

8.

-Pass. 9.

-9.

Number 9.

Hay.

Correct, stop the clock. Andrew.

-10.

-Number 10.

Multiply.

Correct, stop the clock. Nayomie.

-12.

-Number 12.

Line.

-Pick another number.

-12...8.

Pass.

-Pick another number.

-23.

-D.

-Correct. Stop the clock. Andrew.

-20.

-Number 20.

Pass.

-Pick another number.

-21.

343.

-Pick another number.

-22.

F Major.

-Pick another number.

-24.

3,125.

-Correct. Nayomie, pick a number.

-20.

Nought.

-Stop the clock. Andrew.

-25.

Andrew, you are out of time.

That was an amazing game, well played both of you.

-Well done.

-Really good.

Andrew, you were well ahead,

then very clever tactics by Nayomie going back to a question that

she'd seen before because she knew she could do that and you ran out.

Yes, I spotted the answer as soon as I said "Pass" so I knew

the answer to it, but couldn't go back.

You have been brilliant.

Sadly, though, you are leaving Britain's Brightest at this point.

Nayomie, did you in the middle of that Fight For Survival think,

"Oh, no, he's going to win this, I can't get one right."

Well, when I spotted "nought" I thought that was my only lifeline

so I just had to hope that I was going to get to it.

-It is a place in the play-off, well done!

-Thank you.

Thanks to all our incredible contestants.

To Anna Watkins, Geoff Capes and to Diversity and congratulations