Episode 8 Debatable

Hello, and welcome to Debatable, the quiz show where talk is cheap,

but celebrity chat can win a contestant money.

Today, one player must answer a series of tricky questions

to try to bag our jackpot of ?2,000.

But they are not on their own as they will also have

a panel of celebrity brain boxes, debating their way to the answer.

Will they help or will they hinder?

Well, that is debatable. So, let's meet them.

On today's show, we have

TV presenter Gethin Jones,

broadcaster and journalist

Angela Rippon,

and broadcaster Alice Levine.

APPLAUSE

Let's see who the contestant is today.

It is Adrian Stewart from Croydon.

Adrian, welcome to the show. Thanks very much for having me.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

So, I'm 26 and I am a market researcher for a film charity.

So, in your spare time, what do you get up to?

Well, I quite like making lists,

I like blogging and kind of finding new ideas.

And I'm currently making a chart of sort of light-hearted books,

they are the more kitsch literature.

I just managed to finish all 31 Jackie Collins novels,

which is quite a... LAUGHTER

..sizable. That's a commitment.

Are they genuinely raunchy?

Yes, they are. Really? And they get more raunchy as she gets older.

I even got a signed photo, actually. A signed photo from Jackie Collins?

And the heroine of the main book is Lucky, so it was "Stay lucky."

OK, stay lucky. Let's see if you are lucky today. Let's play Round 1.

This round is multiple choice.

Each question has four possible answers, but only one is correct.

Helping you find the correct answer is our panel.

There they are in all their glory.

Will you go with what they say, or will you go your own way?

It's entirely up to you. There are two questions in this round.

Each question is worth 200 points, so best of luck.

Ready to play? I'm ready to play. Here we go.

Which one of those notes has the Queen on one side and

Jackie Collins on the other? LAUGHTER

I feel like when I pay for everything,

I should check my notes more.

I have an inch that it could be the five,

but I think I might need the panel with this one.

OK, you might need the panel. You are thinking the five.

Let's see if our panel can get off to a good start with this one.

Your debate starts now.

You've got a few 50s in your pocket, let's have a look. Get them out.

Yes, yes. If I actually pull these out, then we are... Look at that.

That... We're not going there, madam. We are not going there.

So, with the fives, am I right in thinking,

Elizabeth Fry is on the five?

Yes, she's the lady in the poke bonnet.

Angel of the prison. Exactly, but...

Is she on the, I've just read it again, the current ones? Yes.

Cos it's all changing. Yes.

The five is changing. The ?20 note is changing.

Who's on the ten?

Uh... Darwin. Darwin's on the ten.

Which one... Is Churchill on one?

Churchill is going to be on one of the new notes.

One of the new plastic... Oh, that'll be the five, won't it?

That'll be the five. But that's not current.

20, is Smith, the economist on the ?20 at the moment?

I don't know who's on 20. Adam Smith. Yes, Adam Smith.

No, it's the fiver. No idea who's on the 50. I don't know who...

Yeah, I've never seen a 50. It's ever such a pretty pink colour.

Yeah, some people call it a salmon, don't they?

Yeah, it's a pretty pink colour, the 50.

But I think... Are we all agreed

that it is the fiver that's got Elizabeth Fry on it?

If that's the current one,

then Elizabeth Fry is definitely on the five. It is.

As it stands right now, I say fiver.

Yeah, reformer extraordinaire, Elizabeth Fry. Fiver.

Our decision

after not too much debate, actually,

is that it's a fiver.

So, pretty decent logic there from the panel.

Has that made you agree with your initial decision?

I think that was very strong.

Yeah, I like the idea of the five.

You like the idea of the five, the panel has gone with the five,

let's see if we can get up and running.

Is the fiver worth ?200?

Yes! It is, it's the correct answer, well played.

What a start! Well done, ?200 in the prize pot.

On one side is Elizabeth Fry, a prison reformer,

the Queen, of course, is on the other.

Jane Austen will appear on the ?10 note from 2017

and Elizabeth Fry will soon disappear from the fiver

and be replaced by Winston Churchill.

You were correct, Darwin was on the 10 and Adam Smith on the 20.

James Watt is on the 50. Ah.

Adrian, we're up and running, ?200 in the bank.

Thanks very much.

Here's your next question.

OK, what's your gut reaction on this one, Adrian?

Well, I don't think it would be Rushdie. Er...

I sort of think it has to be Dickens. He's still selling a lot.

I'm going to go with Dickens.

It's a classic, you're thinking Charles Dickens.

Panel, your debate starts now.

I've read a bit of Billionaire Boy

and I've read a bit of Gangsta Granny for my nephews.

Oh, for David? For David, yes.

And I think Billionaire Boy has been made into a programme, film.

And The Boy In The Frock was a television programme, wasn't it?

Do you think it's relevant that it's in the Noughties? Yes, I do.

Obviously, David Walliams will have released his work in the Noughties.

Salman Rushdie, written some great books but...

Award-winning, does top lists, very critically acclaimed.

Not enough of them, I don't think. Booker Award winner?

Yes, but he writes bricks, doesn't he?

And I don't think they sell in quite as many millions as the others.

Hargreaves. He had the little books, the Mr Men books!

They're tiny.

And they probably sell millions of those too, don't they?

I would say Dickens over Hargreaves.

Yes, even though he sells the littlies, which are... Cheaper.

Cheaper and even sold in their millions.

I was looking at money but it's about how many they sold.

How many sold in the Noughties.

That's a great stat, if David Walliams outsold Dickens.

I didn't want to say this but now you've said that,

it's hard to believe that David Walliams wins that.

You know what I mean? I would shout about that all the time.

That would be my e-mail signature, "I outsold Dickens."

So, it's got to be Dickens,

Walliams or Hargreaves, isn't it?

Great, we've narrowed it down(!) We're gaining one each time.

I think Paddy wants something. He does want something. An answer.

He wants an answer.

David... Our answer is David Walliams.

You went with Dickens. Mm-hm. Your initial thought.

Our panel have said David Walliams.

Anything there to change your mind?

I think I'm going to stick with Dickens because I think

Walliams probably published late into the Noughties,

so he's probably got a lot into the next decade.

OK, you're going to keep it classic, keep it highbrow.

We're going for Charles Dickens.

For ?200, is Charles Dickens the correct answer?

Oh! It was Roger Hargreaves.

The little books. Little tiny cheap books.

Roger Hargreaves has sold over 14 million books in the Noughties.

The somewhat surprisingly high position of Roger Hargreaves

is down, of course, to the continued success of his Mr Men series.

Unfortunately, you didn't manage to get anything for that question

but we are still on ?200 at the end of Round 1.

It's time for Round 2.

So, Round 2 is our picture round.

All you have to do is place three pictures in order.

It sounds simple but it's not.

There are two questions and each correct answer is worth ?300.

So, here we go, Adrian. Let's see if we can get you up.

First thoughts?

I have a feeling white

is in the middle, so I feel

blue and red are interchangeable

at this present stage.

But that's a guess!

OK, that's a guess. So, we don't really know this one.

Can our panel help us out with some proper knowledge?

The debate starts now.

So, I've got white. I'm pretty confident that white's at the top.

And so am I and I'll tell you why. Why is it?

I tell you why I'm fairly confident about it, because I live

just down the road from the Russian Embassy in London!

LAUGHTER

And I drive past it and there's

that flag on its flagpole fluttering,

and it's amazing actually when you think about

how many times you pass something and don't really take it all in.

But I know white is at the top.

So early '90s, red with a gold hammer, USSR,

same as the Chinese flag but the gold hammer was a star.

Then it changed to this

and I'm sure it's white at the top

and red at the bottom.

And blue in the middle?

I know it's definitely white at the top.

So, white and that end. Am I top?

Blue in the middle? Blue in the middle and red at the bottom.

I've got this mad feeling that I want to high-five Angela Rippon.

Is that allowed? Yes!

So, we've decided that the Russian flag has got white on the top,

then blue and then red on the bottom.

So they've gone for white, then blue, then red -

white at the top, red on the bottom.

They are so confident, Adrian,

they are high-fiving before they've even got the answer.

It was a great scene!

I was really hoping when that question came up

that someone would say,

"Oh, I happen to

"pass by the Russian Embassy."

And I wasn't let down.

So, for that reason, I'm willing

to go with the team.

OK, we are going with the team, going with Angela Rippon's

drive-by knowledge that it is white at the top, then blue and then red.

Is it high-fives all round and ?300 in the prize pot?

It's the correct answer. Hey!

It is a white at the top, blue and then red. High-fives all round.

There's the flag.

Good news,

?300 into the prize pot, you're up at ?500.

OK, Adrian, let's have a look at Question 2.

Now, what you really need, you need a panel of people

that have presented shows on the BBC to sort this out.

What are you thinking?

Well, I'm thinking I might have a good inkling with this question.

I'm basing a lot of it on the fonts of the images. Ah!

A Question Of Sport is very '70s looking.

I actually think that is in the correct order for earliest.

A Question Of Sport, EastEnders, Question Time,

but I'm fifty-fifty, looking forward to some BBC support here.

OK, we are going for the fonts.

The panel, Gethin shaking his head, the debate starts now.

The thing is Question Time started on radio, on Radio 4.

Was Question Time always called Question Time? On the telly, yes.

So, it can include when it was on the radio.

No, it's called something else

when it's on the radio. Oh, OK.

EastEnders. First-ever soap opera

on the BBC. Yeah. When?

It's just celebrated an anniversary. Which anniversary was it?

It's not 50 years. I remember being proper young when I heard...

THEY HUM EASTENDERS THEME TUNE ..for the first time.

Is that helpful? No.

Question Of Sport, I love that show. Have you been on Question Of Sport?

I've actually been on a couple of times, Sue Barker,

and then before, David Coleman.

Coleman, you're talking, what's that?

Oh, that's back in the '50s.

Early '60s?

Think about Question Of Sport, was it ever in black and white? Yes.

Well, EastEnders has never been in black and white.

That's true. It's always been in colour.

So, that's got to be the first one, hasn't it?

In its TV incarnation,

maybe it came later as Question Time.

What do we think? Are we agreed on this?

We're agreed? Agreed.

We've debated and we've come to a solution and a resolution.

Our decision is that Question Of Sport

was the first programme,

EastEnders came next and then, Question Time.

So, absolutely no chat about logos there, Adrian.

But they think that Question Of Sport

was in black and white,

then they think EastEnders and then Question Time.

Well, they mentioned dates

and they focused on EastEnders.

I know that's '85.

There was a mention of Question Of Sport

being in black and white,

which I didn't know.

So, I'm pretty happy with that order.

So, I agree with the panel, yeah.

You're going to go with the panel, OK.

The panel and Adrian have gone for Question Of Sport,

EastEnders and then Question Time.

For ?300, is that the correct order?

No! It's the wrong order.

Let's see what the correct order should be,

starting with the earliest.

A Question Of Sport, 1970.

Question Time, 1979.

EastEnders, 1985.

The original host of A Question Of Sport was David Vine.

David Vine, of course!

Before David Dimbleby, Question Time was hosted by Robin Day.

Robin! Unfortunately, you didn't manage to bank anything

for that question, means the total amount banked

at the end of our picture round is ?500.

There's still ?1,000 up for grabs, so let's play Round 3.

In this round, you will face questions that contain

a statement about a person, a place or a thing

but only one of those statements is correct.

You must decide which one.

Two questions in this round.

Each correct answer is worth ?500 so we can still get that prize pot up.

Here's your first question, best of luck.

How are you on space?

I sort of think that the hottest planet is closest to the Sun

could be the most obvious but most correct answer. Potentially!

That's potentially the one you're going towards. Yes.

Let's see if our panel can sort this out for you. Your debate starts now.

Saturn is not the only one that's got rings, so we can throw that out.

There's no way Saturn is the only planet with rings.

The hottest planet I'm not sure about

because Mercury is the closest to the Sun.

It does get extremely hot,

it gets extremely cold,

but Venus is next

and that doesn't change.

And is it known as the

ultraviolet planet? Venus?

Yeah, because of the heat.

I'm very dubious about the first one, Earth is the densest planet.

I mean, we're so small compared...

I think Earth is the densest planet.

I think it is. It could be Mercury

because that's full of metal.

I know there are planets that are more gas-based. All gas!

So, do you think something like Jupiter, which is huge,

is not as dense? Yeah, because it's full of nothing. Full of gas.

I just think Earth is the densest. I agree.

Process of elimination again. I...

I'm so unsure that I'm going to go with the consensus.

All right, so we agree.

Earth is the densest planet.

So, our panel have decided that Earth is the densest.

Based on the knowledge of our panel, who is the densest?

I liked how they came to

a conclusion and I would say

that was the most obscure option,

so therefore, it could be the one that you wouldn't think.

So, I'm happy to go with Earth is the densest planet.

Wow, we're all agreed, Adrian has gone with the panel.

So, for ?500, is Earth the densest planet?

GETHIN: It's got to be.

Yes! It's the correct answer.

And breathe and relax.

According to NASA, Earth is the densest planet.

While Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is hotter.

Gethin Jones. Yes!

It's important that NASA said it but also Angela Rippon said it,

so I feel more that's true.

NASA and Angela Rippon believe that Earth is the densest planet.

Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune,

they also have rings so you were right about that as well.

That is 500 quid that we add to the prize pot,

you're now up to a total of ?1,000.

Well done.

OK,

here is your second question of the round,

we can get your prize pot up to 1,500 for our Final Debate.

Here it comes.

Now, if only we had someone on the panel who was

a Radio 1 DJ and also had scored

a UK number one hit single.

What are you thinking, Adrian?

I keep having flashes of Jarvis Cocker at the Brit Awards

but I think Madonna

and Michael Jackson

might both be born in the same year.

So, you think it could be C, you actually think that Madonna

and Michael Jackson were born in the same year. Mm-hm.

All righty, let's go over to our panel. Your debate time starts now.

So, I agree with Adrian about the Brit Awards appearance,

that sprung to mind immediately when Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage.

But I think that was just a performance from Michael Jackson,

I don't think he was up for an award.

He's never won a Brit award?

He's won lots of... Multiple Grammys.

He's won Grammys, yes. MTV awards.

He must have won a Brit award.

Thriller, isn't Thriller the most...?

They do dole them out, so yeah.

I mean, I've got a Brit award,

we've all got a Brit award.

You're number one? Have you got a Brit award? Yeah, I've got loads.

I've never got a Brit award.

Did he sing on the original version of Do They Know It's Christmas?

No idea. Everybody else did.

I don't think he did, I don't think that's true.

All I know is how to dance to Michael Jackson,

I know nothing else about his music at all, so I defer to you two.

I believe Madonna is 57.

Stage age, I don't know.

I think she's around that age.

This is really random how I know this but Michael Jackson was born

the same year as the last time

the Welsh national football team

qualified for a major European Championship. That's so niche!

When was that? 1958.

When was Madonna born? Don't know.

OK, so he would be today...

What year was he born? 1958. '58. 40...

I think. I've done the maths and she's either 57 or 58

and I think that's how old he would be now.

As I say, I have to admit I know

very little about Michael Jackson

except how much I enjoy his music.

So, I defer to your knowledge

and I think then we'll go with C,

that he was born in the

same year as Madonna.

Born in the same year as Madonna, based on Alice's math.

What do we think?

Actually, I think this is probably the strongest question

I've had in this whole game. Ah.

And I do know quite a lot about Michael Jackson.

I think he was born in the same year as Madonna.

I think that was quite a big year for music,

I know Bush was born the same year and Prince.

I even think I know the answer to A.

I think he sang on We Are The World.

So, I'm quite confident on this.

I'm going to go with the team, I think it's C.

Thank the Lord someone is confident about this.

You're agreeing with the panel, born in the same year as Madonna.

To get the prize pot up to 1,500,

was Michael Jackson born in the same year as Madonna?

Oh! He was.

Born in the same year. Well done.

Both Madonna and Michael Jackson were born in 1958,

which is the last year... There you go! ..that Wales qualified for...

He didn't sing on the original Band Aid song,

Do They Know It's Christmas?

However, he did sing on We Are The World,

you were right about that.

He has won a Brit award.

There he is with Bob Geldof, Best International Male.

Best Music Video at the 1989 Brits and at the 1996 awards,

he was awarded the Artist Of A Generation.

It means that another 500 goes into your prize pot

and we're now up to ?1,500. Well done!

And that's the amount that you are going to be playing for, Adrian,

in our Final Debate.

So, quite a nice sum of money. Yes.

Any plans for that if you managed to bag it?

I've heard a lot of fun things about Dollywood,

so that will get me there and that's very exciting.

And I can even go to the gift shop. You're a Dolly Parton fan? Yeah.

I love you! She's fantastic.

And so, how long have you been a Dolly Parton fan?

It's probably been five years since I've really gotten into the music.

I've enjoyed... I tried to learn the banjo

for a while but I didn't get very far with that.

If I go to Dollywood, I can see people playing banjos for me.

Yes, you can.

So, Adrian, a trip to Dollywood up for grabs, there is only

one question that stands between you and that trip to Dollywood.

It is the Final Debate.

Adrian, you've got to face one question,

that question will have six possible answers.

We're going to need three correct answers

in order for you to win the money.

As before, you're not going to be playing alone but as this is

the Final Debate, we're going to give you the tricky decision

of choosing one of these fine upstanding celebrities to help you.

Once you choose them,

you will have 45 seconds with your celebrity to debate the answer.

Who would you like to join you for the Final Debate?

It's tricky. Erm...

I can't predict the question.

So, I'm going to rely on someone who I think will be quite strong

under pressure and will be able to give quick answers.

So, I'm going to go with Alice, I think.

OK, Alice, would you please come and join us for today's Final Debate?

Go on, Alice!

So, Alice, Adrian has chosen you for the Final Debate,

he has confidence in you.

Do you have confidence in yourself?

I really don't want to let him down, so I'm going to try and stay

cool and calm, and I think we're actually quite a good team.

We have some good shared knowledge and we have different areas as well,

so I think we're going to be OK.

OK, it is shared knowledge that it's all about

and because it's our Final Debate,

we're going to give you the choice of two subjects for that question.

Oh! Politics or sport, Adrian? Oh, er...

Well, pop culture is out of the window. We can rule that out.

I would be particularly weak at sport. As would I. Yes!

I think politics, we can do better on. We can do it. OK, I believe you.

OK, politics, let's lock it in. Here we go.

For your Final Debate,

?1,500 up for grabs, 45 seconds on the clock.

Here comes today's Final Debate question.

Adrian and Alice, for the final time today, your debate starts now.

OK, let's discount Gordon Brown. Gordon Brown, gone.

OK, Margaret Thatcher, how many?

She was 11. She's up there, isn't she?

Heath was quite short, I think he was '70-'74.

Tony Blair was re-elected twice, three times? I think he was long.

I can't remember which one, one of those two, Wilson or Callaghan,

one of them got elected twice and I have a feeling it might be Wilson.

I think you're right. Callaghan was quite short.

I think he was sort of the tail end of Wilson, followed on from Wilson.

And then I think it was Thatcher.

I'm actually quite confident on this.

I think that sounds like a good answer. I think we can do this.

The ones that I was discounting are the ones you're discounting

and the ones that feel like definites are the same for you,

so, yeah, I think that's good.

OK, good. Let's send you to Dollywood.

Adrian, before the question,

you said politics wasn't your strong point,

You've now said you think you can do this.

I need three answers for ?1,500.

Thank God for A-levels years ago!

I think it's...

I think Wilson, Thatcher, Blair.

Wilson, Thatcher, Blair.

If those three Prime Ministers were in office for the longest time,

it's ?1,500, we're all off to Dollywood!

If one of them is incorrect,

then I'm afraid you do leave with

nothing. Best of luck, here we go.

Let's start with Margaret Thatcher.

Was Margaret Thatcher one of the three Prime Ministers

who were in office for the longest time?

She was!

She was,

she was in office for 11 years.

Next, Tony Blair.

Was Tony Blair one of

the three Prime Ministers

in office for the longest time?

To keep us on track for ?1,500.

Yes! He was!

In office for ten years, one less than Margaret Thatcher.

And finally, you went for Harold Wilson.

You were between Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.

If Harold Wilson is the correct answer, it's ?1,500.

Is Harold Wilson one of the three Prime Ministers up there

who were in office for the longest time?

Harold Wilson is the correct answer! Yeah!

Well played. Oh, my God.

Congratulations, well done.

Harold Wilson just shy of eight years.

You've won ?1,500. We're all off to Dollywood!

Well done. Wow. Congratulations.

That is it for Debatable.

There's just enough time for me to thank our fantastic panel -

Alice Levine, well done,

Gethin Jones and Angela Rippon.

I hope you've enjoyed watching and we will see you next time

for more heated debates.

For now, it's goodbye from me.

# Can you give me the fame?

# Can you hurl me the game...

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