Episode 21 Impossible

I'm Rick Edwards and this is Impossible.

Welcome to Impossible, the quiz with the third dimension.

Most quiz shows just how right answers and wrong answers, but here,

we also have impossible answers.

They're not just wrong, they couldn't possibly be right.

Today we have 24 brand-new players.

Hello, players.

-ALL:

-Hello!

Very good feeling about these guys.

We'll be getting to know them over the next two weeks, and every day,

one of them will have the chance to unlock this.

-ALL:

-Whoo!

They are right to whoo. It's an immense exclamation mark

filled with 10,000 shimmering pound coins, which is a total value of £10,000.

At the end of each show,

one of this dazzling two dozen will face the final question.

And here it is.

Today's £10,000 question.

Get this right and all of that cash comes flooding out.

Haris, welcome.

-How are you?

-Good, how are you?

Very well indeed, thank you. Excited about a new group of people.

-What do you do, Haris?

-I'm a medical student.

OK, at what stage are you at?

So, I'm in my fourth year at Edinburgh University.

When do you start getting to, you know, cut into people?

Hopefully, never!

I don't want to do that cutting stuff.

-Oh.

-The doctor stuff, hopefully in two years' time.

Excellent stuff. Lovely to have you here.

-Hope you enjoy the show.

-Thank you.

-Steve, how are you?

-I'm very good, thank you, yourself?

Very good. What do you do, Steve?

I'm actually a full-time dad to my four wonderful children back home.

-Great, great.

-I also work at the local primary school.

-OK.

-I'm the lollipop man.

How long have you been lollipoping for?

About three years now, so, yeah,

I look after the kids during the morning and afternoons,

make sure they get across OK.

And my kids go to the primary school, as well.

Great to have you here, Steve, and everyone else.

A quick welcome, as well, to Jackie,

who is the British Sign Language interpreter for Asif.

She is going to be with us for the whole two weeks.

Good luck to everyone. Are you sort of feeling geed up and ready?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-That's what I like to hear.

Let's crack on. You'll face five multiple-choice questions,

each with three answers.

The right answer will score you a point,

the wrong answer will score you nothing,

but if you choose the impossible answer...

disaster.

That immediately knocks you out of today's show.

You'll have to try again tomorrow.

After five questions, the highest scorer gets the first chance to grab a place in today's final.

Are we all set?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-Here's your first question.

The group has pretty much stuck together here.

22 of you have gone with C, One Direction.

Let's see if that's right.

It is. So a point to all 22 of you.

Now, Linda...

I'm not into boybands.

None of the boybands?

None of them, no.

Why did you go for Take That?

Because it could have been any of them,

but I didn't think it was the Black Eyed Peas.

You think you might have avoided the impossible answer, then?

-Oh, I hope so.

-I hope so too, Linda.

Let's see.

Yes, you have. The Black Eyed Peas are not a British boyband,

they are a mixed-gender American group.

So, we all survive to question number two.

All answers out there.

That does mean that some of you have given the impossible answer,

I'm afraid.

Asif, you have gone for Warhola.

What was your thinking?

Well, it sounds similar to a Tamil word, which is a soup, I think.

OK. The impossible answer...

..is B, Warhola.

Which is the birth name of Andy Warhol.

Famous for his paintings of soup cans.

Never actually made any soup, though.

So we say goodbye to Izhan, Lucille, Harvey, Asif and Kim.

See you all tomorrow.

And the right answer...

C, mulligatawny.

So we point to everybody who went for C.

Let's go on to question number three.

Great teamwork here.

Everyone has gone for A, Jack Dawson.

For the sake of the game, I hope that's not impossible.

LAUGHTER

The right answer...

..is A. Everyone gets a point.

The impossible answer...

C, Johnny Castle, which is Patrick Swayze's character in Dirty Dancing.

Question four, then.

All answers out there.

The majority have gone with C, New England Patriots.

Was that right?

It was.

So a point to all of you.

It does mean that some of you have given the impossible answer,

unfortunately. Clair, Los Angeles Lakers.

Actually, that's a bit embarrassing, because I thought I'd pressed C.

-That is embarrassing, Clair.

-That's really embarrassing, isn't it?

Do you sometimes spell your name Alair?

From now on, I will.

Ndaba, you went with Seattle Seahawks.

-Yes.

-American football fan?

No, not in the slightest.

So just a bit of a guess from you, Ndaba?

I thought New England Patriots, I've heard of them,

but I've heard them too much,

and I thought there's a team that won it that was a bit niche.

-Maybe.

-Let's see.

One of you has definitely given the impossible answer.

Let's see which.

Unfortunately, Alair, it is you. LAUGHTER

Los Angeles Lakers are a basketball team.

So we say goodbye to you and to Linda.

See you tomorrow.

Moving on to the final question of this round.

17 of you still in play and, amazingly,

13 of you are on four points.

Great round. It does mean that this is likely to come down

to those fingers. Question number five.

So we've got 13 As and just four Cs.

Let's check you've all avoided the impossible answer.

You have. That was B, the Floral Dance.

That was a chart hit for Terry Wogan in 1978.

Check it out. Let's see where the points are going.

A, The Colour of Magic

was the first to be published in his Discworld series.

A point to everyone who went for A.

So, at the end of that round, ten of you have got full points,

which is five.

It's incredibly close but I can tell you that the quickest to lock in

their answers across the rounds...

was Jason.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, you have the first chance to grab a place in today's final.

So, Jason, first one down. You seemed quite surprised.

I did. I didn't think I was quick enough.

-But I think that last one got it for me. I knew it.

-Oh, you were right on it.

-I was right on the button.

-Hammering away at the button.

-I was.

-The way I like it, Jason.

-What do you do, Jason?

-Nothing very exciting.

-I work...

-I'll be the judge of that.

-I work for a finance company.

You're absolutely right. LAUGHTER

What do you do in your spare time, Jason?

In my spare time, I have three kids, so I spend a lot of time with them.

Big Cardiff City fan. Sadly.

I also write, I try to write.

-OK, what kind of stuff?

-I've written a fantasy novel.

Oh, wow. Which is why you knew the Pratchett, I presume.

Which is why I knew it, yeah.

It's collecting rejection letters at the moment.

-I'm up to 22.

-This is a thing with writing, isn't it?

You write a couple and then you hit your stride and then you write your masterpiece.

Apparently so. Apparently so.

And what would you do with the £10,000,

if you were to get your mitts on that, Jason?

Well, the garage needs a new roof, but I think we'd end up buying a car.

I was going to say, if you win £10,000 on the show,

and you re-do the garage, Jason, I'll be very disappointed.

OK. Let's focus now.

I'm going to give you a choice of four topics.

Here they come.

History, musical theatre, the UK and sport.

Any of those tickle you?

Probably sport and just hope it's not golf or cricket.

OK, sport, but not golf or cricket.

-Yes, please.

-That's a good caveat.

So you're going to see nine answers.

Here they come.

All relating to sport...

Doesn't feel golfy.

Doesn't feel that crickety. So that's good.

That is good. I'm hoping it might be decathlon.

All right, let's look at the first half of the question.

Which discipline in an Olympic heptathlon.

Close, close.

So five of those answers are impossible,

because they aren't events in the Olympic heptathlon.

You can have five goes and each impossible answer you successfully

identify will add £100 to the daily prize pot.

-Where would you like to start, Jason?

-OK.

I think back to the Olympics and watching Jessica Ennis,

so I'm going to start with...

-..high jump.

-OK.

Is the high jump an impossible answer?

No. The high jump is in the Olympic heptathlon.

OK.

-Pole vault.

-Pole vault.

Is the pole vault an impossible answer?

It is.

We're up and running.

There's definitely a hurdle race in there

but I don't think it's the 400, so 400 metre hurdles.

Is the 400 metre hurdles an impossible answer?

It is. Very nice.

I'm going to go for the 200 metres.

200 metres.

Is the 200 metres an impossible answer?

It's not. Two goes remaining.

It's got to be one of the running ones, so I...

I'm sure the 800... 1500 metres.

Is the 1500 metres an impossible answer?

It is.

Good. So we've put £300 into today's prize pot.

But we need to see if you are going to be paying for that money

and a shot at the £10,000 question in today's final.

So, in a moment, I'm going to reveal the second half of the question

and I'll be looking for the right answer.

Give me the right answer, a place in the final is yours.

Give me a wrong answer and the next best player will have the chance to

steal your place in the final.

The next quickest was Ryan.

-ALL:

-Whoo.

Stand by, Ryan.

There are two impossible answers still up there.

If you give me one of those,

you will sadly be eliminated from today's show.

Shall we have a look at the full question?

-Yes, please.

-All right.

Which discipline in an Olympic heptathlon...

..is the final one to take place?

I might look stupid here, however,

this was what I was hoping it was going to be.

-Oh.

-Because I remember watching...

I say remember watching Jessica Ennis, you know, I did not watch it all.

And I'm pretty sure on that Super Saturday in the London Olympics,

her last event was the 800 metres.

Shall we go for the 800 metres?

-Yes.

-This for a place in the final.

Is the 800 metres the final discipline in an Olympic heptathlon?

It is.

-Well done, Jason.

-Thank you.

You remembered that exactly correctly.

Jessica Ennis's final event at Super Saturday was the 800 metres.

There are still a couple of impossible answer is left up there.

Want to have a crack?

The one that I would have thought automatically was shot put,

but I kind of remember Jessica throwing the shot put, not very far,

so I'd go for discus.

Yeah, absolutely right.

The shot put's in, the discus isn't.

And then one other.

I don't know. I'm not that bothered any more, either.

I knew you wouldn't be, Jason.

You're just thinking about the final. Rightly so.

I'll tell you anyway, just for my own peace of mind,

it's the 100 metres. 100 metres hurdles but not the flat 100.

-Take your place in the final.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

APPLAUSE

So there are still two places left in today's final alongside Jason.

Let's find out who's going to be claiming the next one.

16 of you left in.

-Ready? ALL:

-Yes.

Good luck. Here's your first question.

All answers out there, but we've got nine Bs.

Let's see if the majority are correct.

Yes. Doctor dre. A point to all of you.

It does mean that we're going to be losing one or more of you.

Leon. You went Jay Z.

Yeah. I mean, I know he's a zapper...

A zapper? A rapper!

Yeah, he is a zapper, you're absolutely right, Leon.

But Ice Cube is, as well.

The impossible answer...

Jay Z.

Not a member of NWA.

Has always been a is solo zapper. LAUGHTER

We'll see you tomorrow.

Question number two.

Overwhelming majority have gone with B, newt.

But we do have a bat and a badger.

The right answer, the answer you were looking for...

is B, newt. So a point to everyone who went for B.

Lateefah, if you sort of get into the mind-set of a witch,

would you use a bat or a badger?

-I would use a bat.

-Interesting.

Huw... Huw, famously would use a badger.

LAUGHTER

Just the eye, just the eye.

Don't want to go overboard.

It would sort of be overpowering, wouldn't it,

-a whole badger?

-Yeah.

I don't know. I was engrossed on bat

cos they use sonar and I just didn't see badger.

Oh, so you're thinking bats can't have eyes.

Yeah, I...

And then I thought - newt, they're too small to have eyes.

-I'm not, yeah...

-The newt is too small to have eyes?

-OK.

-I don't know.

-Just turn me off.

-LAUGHTER

The impossible answer...

..was the badger. Doesn't feature in Macbeth

or in that spell, I'm afraid, Huw. We'll see you tomorrow.

Question number three.

Everyone has gone for a A.

Big crew of Father Brown fans.

Are you right?

Yes. A point to all of you.

Played by Sorcha Cusack.

And the impossible answer...

is B, Mrs Hudson, who is Sherlock Holmes' landlady.

Question number four.

A full spread of answers.

The answer you should have gone for...

..C, chia.

So a point to all of you.

It does mean we are going to be losing one or more of you,

because we have got a few quinoas and one Pangaea.

-Steve.

-Yes.

Ever just garnished a drink with some Pangaea?

No. I haven't got a clue what that is,

so I'm assuming it is the possible one, now.

Don't assume that necessarily, Steve.

Ndaba, you went for quinoa.

Not a big fan. Well, I've never had it, but, it sounds...

-What, so you don't know, Ndaba?

-It doesn't sound like it's up my...

-You might absolutely love it.

-It's not up my street.

I like pasta, rice.

-Solid food.

-Fair enough.

Let's go over to our food correspondent. Lateefah.

LAUGHTER

Do you like quinoa?

I just felt like it was an edible thing, so that's why I chose it.

Well, I can tell you that the impossible answer...

It is B, Pangaea.

Pangaea was the huge landmass before all the continents formed.

You cannot put that in a salad.

So we say goodbye to you, Steve, I'm afraid.

See you tomorrow.

Question five.

So we've got mainly Bs and a few Cs.

The impossible answer, the want to avoid...

is A, Aidan Turner, born in Ireland.

Let's see where the points are going.

B, Idris Elba plays Stringer Bell in The Wire.

So a point to everyone who went for Stringer Bell.

So we're finishing around with four of you on the maximum five points.

Haris, Laurence, James and Pam.

But the quickest to lock in their answers across the round...

..was Haris.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations. You have the second chance to grab a place in today's final.

Haris, how does it feel to be down here?

Really good, really good.

Now you're close up with the 10G, what do you reckon?

-What would you do with it?

-I'd hopefully use it to go travelling and do a

-bit of volunteering abroad.

-OK, where would you go?

Explore the African continent.

Very vague, but, yeah...

So what kind of stuff? Doing first aid things, or...?

First aid things... No, more basic than that,

-building shelters and things like that.

-OK.

And then, hopefully, using a bit of the money to then explore afterwards,

-so do a bit of both.

-All right, you've got a choice of three topics.

They are history, musical theatre and the UK.

Definitely not musical theatre. I don't think I could do that.

I'm hoping that I know enough about the UK to maybe get through.

All right, so you're going to see nine answers.

Here they come.

Early thoughts, Haris?

Yeah, they're like major universities, something like that.

Relatively new unis, I think.

OK. So let's look at the first half of the question.

Which Scottish university...

-That makes more sense.

-Five of those answers are impossible,

because they aren't Scottish universities.

You've got five goes and each impossible you successfully eliminate from

the board will add £100 to the daily prize pot.

So, where would you like to start?

De Montfort.

Is De Montfort an impossible answer?

Yeah. It's in Leicester.

All right, four goes left.

-Where next?

-Let's go for Bishop Grossteste.

Nowhere in Scotland has something so fancy and obscure as a name.

-Hopefully not, anyway.

-Is Bishop Grossteste an impossible answer?

It is. It is in Lincoln.

-Three goes remaining.

-OK.

Edge Hill. For a very similar reason.

OK. Is Edge Hill an impossible answer?

Edge Hill is in Ormskirk.

Doing very nicely. Two to go.

Newman.

Newman.

-What do you think about Newman?

-I'm now doing it by process of exclusion,

cos I know some that are definitely Scottish.

I'm not convinced Newman.

Is Newman an impossible answer?

It is.

It's in Birmingham.

So just one more impossible answer left up there.

-See if we can get rid of it.

-So, I was unsure about Newman,

so I'm sure now about St Mary's.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, yeah.

-St Mary's, which you are sure about.

Is St Mary's an impossible answer?

Wonderful. St Mary's is in Twickenham.

The full £500 added to the prize pot.

It now stands at £800.

-Excellent.

-Exemplary grid play, Haris.

-Cheers.

But are you going to be playing for that money and a shot at the £10,000?

-Depends what the second half of this question is.

-It does a bit.

In a moment, I'm going to reveal that.

-OK.

-And then I'll be looking for the right answer.

If you find it, you're in the final.

But if you give me a wrong answer,

the next best player will have the chance to steal your place in the final.

I can reveal that that was Laurence.

There he is, absolutely primed.

So, no impossible answers left up there.

You've got rid of them all. So nothing to trip you up.

Let's reveal the full question.

Which Scottish university...

..is located in Aberdeen?

I'm pretty sure about this one.

-Yeah?

-OK, I think it's Robert Gordon.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, yeah.

-And why so sure?

Because I can locate the other ones and I think I can locate them all

and I'm pretty sure. I don't want to say that now and it's wrong, but, hope...

Yeah, Robert Gordon.

-Yeah. Robert Gordon. Just go for it.

-Yeah, yeah.

-All right.

If Robert Gordon is located in Aberdeen, you are through to the final, Haris.

Is Robert Gordon the right answer?

It is.

APPLAUSE

Do you want to tell me where the others are?

Queen Margaret and Herriot Watt are both in Edinburgh.

Queen Margaret just outside.

And Abertay is Dundee, I think.

Spot on. Well done. You're through to the final.

Just the one place left up for grabs in the final.

Who is it going to be? Only 12 of you are surviving now.

-All ready? ALL:

-Yes.

Good luck. Here's your first question...

The answer you were looking for, the right answer...

..is C, Boring.

A point to all of you.

Ndaba, you went for the town in the USA called Tedious.

-I think it's wrong.

-Definitely wrong.

-Oh, yeah.

-Cos I've given you the right answer, Ndaba.

Yeah, it's a bit complex to be a town name, I think, maybe.

-Lateefah.

-Yeah.

You went for A, Nothing.

Yeah, I just thought it would be a bit awkward to be, like,

"I'm from Boring." So I didn't really think that was a town.

So, I thought that was going to be impossible but now I'm not sure.

Well, one of you has given the impossible answer.

It's Ndaba and Annelies.

There is no town in the USA called Tedious, I'm afraid.

So we'll see you both tomorrow.

Nothing is an abandoned town in Arizona.

Question number two.

Seven Bs and three As.

The right answer...

A point to everyone who went for B, Ken Bruce.

And the impossible answer...

..C, Johnny Vaughan.

Not a Radio 2 DJ.

Simon Mayo is.

On to question number three.

Pretty even split. All answers out there.

Sue, you've gone for Jeremy Deller.

Yeah, I think John Noakes was on Blue Peter

and he did have an incident

with an elephant on the show but I think he might be the impossible one

-so it's between A and C.

-Ryan, that didn't sound like good news for you.

No, I'm not going to lie to you, that was a complete guess.

Not a John Noakes fan?

No, no, I'm not an elephant dung fan.

Oh, you surprise me, Ryan.

LAUGHTER

So I just went straight down the middle.

Let's see if you have given the impossible answer.

I'm afraid so. John Noakes, as you said, Sue,

Blue Peter presenter who did have an incident with an elephant in the

studio. Ryan, Lateefah and Laurence, we'll see you all tomorrow.

Let's give out some points.

The right answer...

..was A, Chris Ofili.

So, a point to Kath, Sonia, Pam and James.

On to question four.

Everyone has gone for A.

Let's see if you're all right.

You are, so a point to all of you.

The impossible answer...

B, plastid, which is found in plants.

So, going into our final question we have four players on four points.

Get those fingers ready for question five.

Five As and two Cs.

James, why'd you go with A Doll's House?

-My sister used to have one.

-Oh, yeah?

Yeah. Good a reason as any, James.

-Well, why not?

-Yeah.

-Pam.

-Yes.

-You're also in the lead.

You went with A, The Rivals.

No, I thought it was Oscar Wilde and I couldn't see any so I thought

The Rivals seemed right.

I don't think it's A Doll's House.

I think that's by Ibsen.

Oh, James's little face just dropped then.

LAUGHTER

The answer you were trying to avoid, the impossible answer was C,

A Doll's House, I'm afraid.

Sue and James, we have to say goodbye to you.

Pam, it is by Ibsen but it's a 19th-century play,

hence the impossible answer.

Sue and James, we'll see you tomorrow.

And the right answer...

was A, so a point to you five.

Which means at the end of that round three of you have finished on

five points. Kath, Sonia and Pam.

But the quickest to lock in their answers across the rounds...

..was Sonia.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, Sonia.

You have the chance to grab the last place in today's final.

-Hello, Sonia.

-Hello.

-How are you doing?

-All right, thanks.

-Sonia, what do you do?

-I'm a puzzles editor.

-Oh, really?

-So I have a few magazines that I have to check the puzzles in them

and just make sure that all the facts are correct and everything's spelt correctly.

Oh, that's interesting. How did you get into that?

Well, I did English at university so I wanted to do sort of editorial work.

So, yeah, just got the job and I've been doing it for 15 years now.

Oh, wow. And what about in your spare time, what do you do?

Well, I've got two children who are five and seven so they take up quite

a lot of time sort of doing different clubs and things with them.

-Yeah.

-I like going to the gym and I've got a ten-kilometre obstacle course

coming up so I'll be in training for that soon.

Oh, nice. That's good fun.

All right, shall we have a look at the topics that are remaining?

-OK.

-They are...

..history and musical theatre.

OK, Well, I don't think I'm going to do very well on musical theatre so it'll have to be history.

OK. More confident in history?

Yeah, I've just been reading A Short History of England, so, hopefully...

-Well, let's see.

-..one of the thousands of facts I haven't absorbed will be in there.

Let's have a look at the nine answers.

Any of them in your Short History of England?

No, cos I think they're US politicians or presidents, one of those.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Let's have a look at the first half of the question.

Which military leader in the US Civil War.

-OK.

-So, five of those answers are impossible.

They AREN'T military leaders in the US Civil War.

You've got five goes.

-Yeah.

-And each impossible that you successfully eliminate from the board

will add £100 to the daily prize pot.

Oh, dear me. I read...

Gone With The wind a few months ago.

That should help me out, shouldn't it?

Right, I'm going for Ulysses S Grant,

because I think he was much later on in US history.

Yeah? Is Ulysses S Grant and impossible answer?

Oh, no.

Oh, dear. That's not a good start.

No, he was a military leader...

-OK.

-..in the US Civil War.

I'm going to go next with...

Reginald D Hunter.

All right. Is Reginald D Hunter an impossible answer?

It is. He is an American comedian who works mainly in the UK.

William S Burroughs.

William S Burroughs.

Heard of him?

I'm going to say I think he's a writer but I'm probably completely wrong but...

Let's find out.

Is William S Burroughs an impossible answer?

He wrote Naked Lunch amongst other things.

I'm going to go with James 'Bonecrusher' Smith.

-Familiar with him?

-No.

-Or his bone-crushing?

-No.

He might be a WWF person.

It's a good name for a WWF person.

Is James 'Bonecrusher' Smith an impossible answer?

He's a former boxing world champion from America.

OK. Stevland Judkins.

Is Stevland Judkins an impossible answer?

Yes, it is. The birth name of Stevie Wonder.

£400 added to the prize pot.

It now stands at £1,200.

And in a moment I'm going to reveal the second half of the question and

I'll be looking for the right answer.

Give me the right answer and you'll be in the final alongside Haris and

Jason. But if you give me a wrong answer,

the next best player will have the chance to steal.

That is Kath.

There is still an impossible answer up there.

-OK.

-If you give me that, sadly you will be eliminated from today's show.

Shall we have a look at the whole question?

OK.

Which military leader in the US Civil War...

..went on to become the 18th US President?

And I'm looking for the right answer.

I'm going to go for Ulysses S Grant.

-Feeling good about your answer?

-Not really.

Is Ulysses S Grant the right answer?

Yes. Just going to tidy up the grid.

The last remaining impossible answer.

-Want to have a guess?

-Stanley Burrell?

Yes. The real name of MC Hammer.

-Well done, you're through to the final.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

For the rest of you, I'm afraid that victory today proved impossible

but we will see you all again tomorrow.

-Bye for now. ALL:

-Bye.

But for Jason, Haris and Sonia it's time for the final.

Jason, Haris and Sonia,

you've managed to put £1,200 into today's prize pot

but only one of you can win that money and the right to face the £10,000 question.

Sonia, what would you spend the money on?

I'd quite like to do a fitness instructor course.

-Uh-huh.

-And I'd like to take the family to Iceland as well.

Great. OK, so, a family holiday and maybe become a fitness instructor.

Haris, you want to go to Africa and do some volunteering work.

-Yeah.

-Build some villages and stuff like that.

-A bit of travelling.

-Yeah.

And Jason's garage is not going to refit itself. LAUGHTER

You're each going to start with ten lives.

There they are. The questions are on the buzzer.

Most of them are normal straightforward questions with normal straightforward answers.

Buzz and get one right, you knock a life off both of your opponents.

Buzz and get one wrong, you lose one of your own lives.

However, some of the questions are impossible,

which is to say there is no answer.

They make no sense, they're illogical.

If you think you've spotted one of these all you've got to do

is buzz in and say, "impossible".

That's bad news for your opponents because they'll both lose two lives.

But if you say that question's impossible when it isn't,

or give any other answer to an impossible question,

it is you that will lose two lives so you do need to be careful.

The last player standing will take the £1,200.

-Ready?

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-Good luck. Let's start.

Which 1980s BBC sitcom

follows the fortunes of the Boswell family?

-Jason.

-Bread.

It is Bread. Haris and Sonia lose a life.

In Shakespeare's Richard III, the title character

says he will exchange his kingdom for which animal?

-Jason.

-Horse.

It is a horse. Lovely start, Jason.

Haris and Sonia, you both lose a life.

On which date in July is Burns Night celebrated?

Sonia.

-Impossible.

-It is impossible.

It's on the 25th January.

Haris and Jason, you both lose two lives.

Which British band's 2006 debut studio album

was entitled Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Haris.

TLS.

It's Arctic Monkeys, I'm afraid. Haris, you lose a life.

Which Canadian won the Formula 1 motor racing drivers' championship

-in 19...

-Impossible.

-..In 1997.

Jacques Villeneuve.

-You lose another two lives.

-Yeah.

Which star constellation features on the Australian national flag?

Impossible.

No, it's the Southern Cross. You lose two lives, Jason.

In which year of the 1970s did the UK switch to decimal currency?

-Haris.

-Impossible.

It was 1971. Haris, you lose another two lives.

You're killing yourself here.

-It's worth it.

-You're down to one.

Which standard size of paper is half that of A4? Haris.

-A5.

-It is A5.

Jason and Sonia, you lose a life.

This is where the Haris fightback starts.

Of which US state is Winnipeg the capital?

-Haris.

-Impossible.

It is impossible. LAUGHTER

Not a US state capital.

It's the capital of the Manitoba province in Canada.

Jason and Sonia, you lose two lives.

Jason, you're now down on three, Sonia, you're on five, Haris, still on one.

Which 1981 film tells the story of the athletes Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams?

-Jason.

-Chariots of Fire?

It is Chariots of Fire.

Sonia, you lose a life.

Unfortunately, Haris, you lose your last life

and you're out of the game.

Which of Henry VIII's wives was the third to be executed?

-Jason.

-Impossible.

It is impossible. He only executed two of them.

Sonia, you lose two lives.

Jake Shears and Ana Matronic are founding members of which US...

-Sonia.

-Scissor Sisters.

..Founding members of which US band? It is the Scissor Sisters.

Jason, you lose a life.

It's now tied. You both have two lives remaining.

Long John Silver is a character in which novel?

-Jason.

-Treasure Island.

..By Robert Louis Stevenson. It is Treasure Island.

Sonia, you lose a life. And you only have one remaining now.

Clinging on.

Which cartoon mouse has nephews called Huey, Dewey and Louie.

-Jason.

-Impossible.

It is impossible. They're the nephews of Donald Duck.

Sonia, you lose your last remaining life.

Haris and Sonia, commiserations, you both go back into the pack.

But Jason, it's time to face the £10,000 question.

APPLAUSE

Very well done, Jason, you are today's winner after that very intense buzzer round

with £1,200. £1,200 is lovely,

but you could be leaving with a whole lot more if you can answer

the £10,000 question.

Here's how it works. I'm going to show you nine answers and then I'm going to ask you

a question. Three of the nine answers are correct.

If you can find them all within ten seconds you win that £10,000.

That's the good news.

The less good news is that three of those answers are wrong.

If you pick any of those you won't win the ten grand.

The bad news is that three of the nine answers are impossible.

Give me any of those and you lose the £1,200.

And I can only accept the first three answers you give.

If you fail to give me three answers before the ten seconds are up

you also lose the £1,200.

Whatever happens you are going to be leaving the show today.

I can tell you that the subject is geography.

Mm? Mm?

-How do you feel?

-I'm OK on things like capitals and so on.

If it's American states I might as well just leave.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah, let's do it.

-Best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Here come your nine answers.

And you're looking for...

..African countries that lie on the equator.

And your time starts now.

Angola, Uganda, Somalia.

Locked in the answers pretty quickly, Jason.

Now you look at your answers,

-fairly happy?

-I'm happy they're African.

-Play it safe.

-OK.

Start down the bottom corner with Uganda.

Is Uganda an African country that lies on the equator?

Yes, it is. APPLAUSE

Nip across to Somalia.

Can you imagine where it is on your kind of visual map?

On the way here I studied a map of Africa for this sort of question and

it all went, so, no, not at all.

I don't know if you're joking about the map thing?

-I'd like to think you aren't.

-I'm genuinely being serious.

-That's fantastic.

Well, let's see if any of it has stuck.

Is Somalia an African country that lies on the equator?

APPLAUSE

Some of it's gone in, Jason.

Just one more to go.

You are one answer away from £10,000.

If Angola is the right answer, the ten grand is yours.

If it's a wrong answer you keep the daily prize pot of £1,200.

If it's an impossible answer...

-..I'm afraid you'll be leaving with nothing.

-Yeah.

We really don't want to see the impossible exclamation mark.

I'm certain it's definitely an African country.

OK. Let's see, is Angola an African country that lies on the equator?

It's not.

But it is an African country so you've won yourself £1,200, Jason.

APPLAUSE

Which I think will get like the roof done on the garage, at least.

-A little bit.

-And then maybe a little holiday as well.

Angola is actually in the southern hemisphere.

The answer you were looking for was Gabon.

Tonga and Laos both impossible.

Sudan is an African country.

-So it's Aruba.

-Aruba was the other impossible.

Jason, well done. £1,200.

Thank you very much for playing Impossible.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers.

-Thank you.

So, Jason leaves us with £1,200.

The rest of us will be back tomorrow when someone else

will have the chance to win ten grand.

This has been Impossible, the quiz where, actually, anything is possible.

Goodbye.