Episode 34 Pointless

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much indeed.

I'm Alexander Armstrong and welcome to Pointless, the show where

the more obscure your knowledge, the better your chances of winning. Let's meet today's players.

-And couple number one.

-Hello, Alexander.

My name is Gail, this is my good friend Russell,

-and we're both from Nottingham.

-Couple number two.

Hi, I'm Leanne, this is my brother Adam,

-and we're from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.

-Couple number three.

Hello, I'm Gemma, and this is my boyfriend Mark,

-and we're from Birmingham.

-And finally, couple number four.

Hi, I'm Dan, this is my wife, Nina, and we're from Bristol.

And these are today's contestants.

Thanks very much to all of you.

We'll find out more about you throughout the show as it

goes along, so that just leaves one more person for me to introduce.

You want the truth? Well, he CAN handle the truth.

It's my Pointless friend, it's Richard.

Hiya. Hi, everybody.

-Good afternoon to you.

-And to you.

Four shows out of five now we've given away the jackpot.

It's such a run.

Our lovely Cardiff friends yesterday taking it home on a Rugby Union

question, of all things, coming up in that. Did very well, didn't they?

Welsh Rugby Union as well, wasn't it? Did very well, didn't they?

Got two wrong answers and then a pointless answer on the last one.

We got two returning pairs from that show, went out in Round One

and Round Two.

Gemma and Mark went out in Round One,

so we need to see more of you this time, and Leanne and Adam, who are

immensely competitive, but they were very unlucky in the second round.

Leanne had a question about cities with famous museums.

She said Prague, and it wasn't in the top 100.

I think they were unlucky, I would say,

-so we should see more of them today.

-Let's hope. Thanks, Richard.

All our questions on Pointless have been put

to 100 people before the show.

Our contestants are looking for those obscure answers that our 100 people didn't get.

Everyone's looking for a Pointless answer, that being an

answer that none of our 100 people gave,

and each time that happens, we will add £250 to the jackpot.

David and Phil won the jackpot last time,

so today's jackpot starts off back at £1,000. There it is.

OK, if everyone's ready, let's play Pointless.

OK, the pair with the highest

score at the end of the round will be eliminated,

but remember, there is to be no conferring during the round.

Best of luck to all four pairs. Our first category today is...

Eurovision.

Russell, so happy with that(!) Can you decide in your pairs

who's going to go first, who's going to go second?

And whoever's going first, please step up to the podium.

Let's find out what the question is. Here it comes.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many countries that

participated in Eurovision 2013 as they could. Richard.

Specifically, we're looking for any of the 26 countries who took part

in the grand final of the Eurovision song contest in 2013 in Malmo,

so any of those 26 countries, please. Very, very best of luck.

Thanks very much indeed, Richard.

Now then, Russell and Gail, you all drew lots before the show,

and today you are going to go first. Now then.

Russell, welcome to the show. What do you do, Russell?

I'm a lecturer in nursing, teach nurses.

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

I've got two dogs and two teenage daughters,

so I walk the dogs lots of places and drive the teenage

daughters other places, so that tends to fill most of my time.

-How do you and Gail know each other?

-We were work colleagues.

We both worked in the same school of nursing, and over a number of years,

we developed a shared interest in football,

and we used to do little staff pantomimes, not just Gail

and I, but staff pantomimes at Christmas,

so we kind of got to know each other well through that.

Now, in any stage in your career, have you followed Eurovision?

It was something as a family we always sat down and watched when

I was younger, so something around the '60s

-and '70s would've been good.

-So not so much Malmo?

Not so much the most recent ones, so I'm going to have to throw

a European country out of my head and hope that they participated.

-I'm going to say Slovenia.

-Slovenia, says Russell.

Slovenia sounds fair enough. Let's see if that's right,

and if it is, let's see how many of our 100 people said it.

Oh, bad luck!

I'm sorry, Russell, an incorrect answer,

which means you score the maximum of 100 points.

They didn't qualify, Slovenia, I'm afraid.

They do semifinals now, don't they? Didn't qualify.

But it's a proper, good obscure answer to start with, Russell.

-I take my hat off to you.

-OK, thanks, Richard.

-Now then, Leanne.

-Hi.

-Welcome back. What happened last time, Leanne?

-I got it wrong!

You did! It was good wrong. It was the right kind of wrong.

-Well, I didn't go with my gut. I changed my mind.

-But actually, no...

Listen, I would've said Prague. I think Prague was a great answer.

So this time I'm going to go with the one I thought first

and not the second one that's trying to take over in my head.

-OK, what's that going to be?

-Azerbaijan?

-Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

Let's see if it's right. If so, let's see how many people said it. Azerbaijan.

It's right! Very well done, Leanne.

-Ooh!

-Nine!

APPLAUSE

That's a great answer. Very well done.

Yes, Azerbaijan came second, which arguably is the best place to

finish, cos you've done very well but you don't have to host it.

LAUGHTER

Their record, actually, is extraordinary.

Since they've joined they've never been lower than eighth. Impressive.

If you're ever looking for an each way

bet on the Eurovision Song Contest, Azerbaijan.

If you're ever looking for a band for a function, Azerbaijan.

What a place to turn up.

They know what they're doing, don't they?

-They certainly do. They certainly do, Richard. Now then, Gemma.

-Hello.

-Gemma, welcome back.

-Thank you.

-And it was Round One last time.

-Yes.

Round One, and that was our musicals round. Yeah, that's right.

Mark gave us Fiddler On The Roof, an incorrect answer. Anyway, listen.

-Gemma, what do you do?

-I'm a physiotherapist.

You see, cos I have got this recurring problem with my hip.

-What do you think it is, Gemma?

-Er... Definitely broken.

LAUGHTER

You think? You think I'm joking. I'm really not. I'm in some pain here.

-Sit down and swap roles.

-You see, that's what it is.

-Deep tissue massage.

-Do you want to sit down for a second?

-Nah, I'm all right.

-You sure? I'll take over, I'll do this bit.

-You're all right, you're all right.

-You sure? All right.

-Anyway, listen.

I'll stop all this banging on, but I'll be onto you if it twinges.

-Gemma.

-Yes.

-Eurovision.

-Yes.

-Do you watch it?

-No.

Because we already had a wrong answer, I'm going

to go with one that's hopefully relatively more safe and say Sweden.

Sweden, says Gemma.

Let's see if that's right,

and if it is, let's see how many of our 100 people said Sweden.

Ooh, there we are. 59. 59 for Sweden.

Yeah, they were the hosts, of course, Sweden, in Malmo.

-Robin Stjernberg came 14th.

-Robin Stjernberg.

-Yeah.

-What did he sing?

-You.

-You?

-Yeah.

-An ode to the vowel.

-It was indeed, yeah.

It was part of a suite of songs, 26 songs.

He essentially does the alphabet.

Yeah. That's nice. That's good. Nina.

-Nina, welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

-What do you do, Nina?

-I work in IT outsourcing for a large American company.

-OK.

-And where do you do that outsourcing from?

-From home.

-From home?

Very nice. Nice place to be outsourcing.

-And what do you do in your spare time?

-I like to keep fit.

I like to run, I like to swing kettle bells about, and...

ALEXANDER LAUGHS

Just glad you got to the kettle bells there.

LAUGHTER

-Could have gone anywhere.

-Could have gone anywhere, that one. Erm...

Nina, do you watch Eurovision?

I seem to have something going round in my head, which is probably

-completely wrong, about some kind of amusing song from Russia.

-Russia.

OK, let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many of our 100 people said Russia.

It's right. 59 is our highest right answer.

38.

38 for Russia.

Yeah, Dina Garipova came fifth with a very amusing

song about the failure of the Russian potato harvest.

LAUGHTER

-That's funny before I've even heard it.

-Yeah.

-It wasn't really about that. It was called What If.

-Thank you very much.

So, we're halfway through the round. Let's take a look at those scores.

Nine, the best score of that pass.

Very well done to you, Leanne, puts you

and Adam at the top of the grid at this stage.

Then on to 30, where we find Nina and Dan.

59, Gemma and Mark, then Russell and Gail,

languishing at the top of the board, if I can say that, on 100.

So, Gail, you'll go last.

But you've got a little bit of time to think of a really good

obscure Eurovision participant,

so very best of luck with that. We're going to come back down the

line now. Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK, Dan, we are looking for any country that

participated in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013.

Dan, welcome to the show. What do you do?

I'm also in the employ of a large American IT company,

-working in IT outsourcing.

-Do you do that from home as well?

-I do, yeah.

-That's convenient, isn't it?

-Home life is so interesting these days.

So your commute is all of about 15 steps.

-It is from the bedroom to the office, yeah.

-Oh, how nice.

Did you and Nina meet at work?

LAUGHTER

Surprisingly enough, we did. Many moons ago.

I'm guessing this is before you worked from home.

-That would've been weird.

-That would've been quite strange.

How nice! That's fantastic. Do you actually get a lot of work done?

We do, we do. People say you've got to be very dedicated,

but I find if you just stop work then people tend to notice, so

we carry on and still in employment,

so it seems to work well.

-It seems to be working.

-It does indeed.

-What are your hobbies, Dan?

I do karate.

I'm a student of karate and have been for a number of years now.

-Are you, whatever, the best "Dan" you can be?

-No, no.

-They tend to be older folk, the very dan.

-Oh, really?

-They do, yes.

-But you're quite high up.

-I'm midpoint, shall we say?

But everybody's still learning, you know.

There's a lot to learn and you carry on learning right the way through.

OK. Very good. Just for fun, what are you, what is your rank?

I'm a second dan black belt.

Second dan black belt. Right.

-And called Dan as well, which is nice.

-Dan dan.

-Dan dan.

So that counts as third dan.

It would be, yeah, if said in a row, yeah.

Now then, Dan, there you are. You're on 38.

The high scorers are Russell and Gail on 100,

so 61 or less keeps you from becoming the new high scorers.

OK, looking back

and trying to visualise the boards where we have the results shown,

and the ladies or gentlemen who come up and speak,

Malta resonates with me from somewhere deep inside,

-so I'm hoping... Yeah, Malta.

-Malta.

There is your red line.

If you get below that with Malta, you are through to Round Two.

Let's see how many of our 100 people said Malta. Is it right?

It is right.

Through you go.

23.

61, your total, Dan.

Well, played, Dan, yeah, Malta. La Malta.

They came eighth with Tomorrow.

So, that's a real achievement.

There are only about 17 people on Malta as well.

-Coming eighth is like winning, essentially.

-That's not bad.

-Thanks very much. Now then, Mark.

-Hello.

-Welcome back.

-Thank you.

-Remind us, what do you do, Mark?

-I'm a civil servant.

-Exactly right.

Neatly sidestep around that.

Remind us what you get up to when you're not being a civil servant.

I play a lot of football, support Birmingham City,

-so probably best not to talk about that, to be honest.

-OK.

Let's skirt around that. How did you and Gemma meet, Mark?

We met randomly on a night out in Birmingham.

I was out for a friend's birthday,

Gemma was out with some of her friends from work,

-got chatting and the rest is history, as they say.

-Awww.

-So, you ignored your friend on his birthday?

-Yeah.

-Off you went.

Good. Now then, Mark. There you are. 59.

High scorers, Gail and Russell, still on 100.

What are you going to go for?

I've got several answers kind of buzzing round my head.

Whether they're all definitely in that year's Eurovision,

I'm not sure.

So I'm going to plump for Israel.

-Israel.

-I believe they've done well in the past.

There's your red line. Get below that, you are through to Round Two.

Let's see if Israel's right. Let's see how many people said it.

Oh, no!

Oh, Mark. I'm so sorry. Israel an incorrect answer.

Scores you the maximum of 100 points.

159, your score.

Sorry, Mark. Yeah, they were partying with the Slovenians on the night

of Eurovision, I'm afraid.

Got knocked out in the semis.

-Good news for Gail.

-It is good news for Gail. Now, Adam.

-Hello.

-Good news for you two as well.

You are straight through to the next round,

-even if you score 100 points which I know you won't.

-Hopefully not.

Who knows, there may even be some nul points on this round.

-There may be.

-I'll try my best.

-There might be.

So, Adam, remind us what you do.

I'm a shop assistant at a DIY store.

-That's right. And you work across the floor.

-I do, yes.

-You know everything.

-Various departments.

-You are pan-DIY.

Very good. Are you good at putting flat-pack furniture together?

Yes, that's one of my strengths.

Now then, Adam, there you are on 9. As I say, you're already through.

But still, let's have an answer from you.

Let's see if you can find a nice low score. Leanne did so well.

I'll try and go for an obscure one.

-Estonia.

-Estonia.

Estonia, says Adam. Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many people said it. No red line as you're already through.

Well, it's right.

9 was Leanne's score.

15 is yours. Second lowest score of the round.

So, very, very well done indeed to the pair of you.

-24, your total.

-They came 20th, Estonia.

-They won't be happy with that, will they?

-No.

-They're usually quite handy, the Estonians.

-Yeah.

-Thanks very much indeed. Now, Gail...

-Yes.

-Gail.

Oh, this has become very, very exciting indeed. Extremely exciting.

-Gail, welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

-So, you met lecturing...

-Yes.

-..at the nursing college.

-Yes.

-You no longer do that?

-No.

-I retired about a year ago.

-Do you miss it?

-Well, I miss some...people.

-The camaraderie.

-I miss some people.

-Yes, exactly.

-Yeah.

Exactly. That's quite selective. "I miss SOME people."

-Oh, sorry!

-The others, you know who you are.

LAUGHTER

What do you do with your retirement?

I volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau,

-so that's one day a week...

-Excellent.

-..and then I enjoy life.

Well, I enjoy life there, but I enjoy life the rest of the time.

So, I enjoy sports, keeping fit,

reading, cinema and it's great.

-Very good. Well, great to have you here.

-Thank you.

You have a target of 58 or less.

-Over that, we say goodbye to you.

-OK.

It's been going round in my head.

Erm, I'm going to say Cyprus.

Cyprus, says Gail. Now, do you say that as a complete stab in the dark?

-Or is that quite a well-informed...?

-I said it cos I could pronounce it.

-Most of the others in my head, I would look a fool, I think.

-OK.

There is your red line. If you get below that, you are through

to Round Two. Let's see if it's right. Let's see how many people said Cyprus.

Oh, no! I'm sorry, Gail.

I'm sorry. I'm afraid that's an incorrect answer which scores you

100 points, takes your total up to 200 points.

Sorry, Gail. As you've probably worked out, as with all these

countries, knocked out in the semifinals, I'm afraid, Cyprus.

There's no pointless answers at all.

Let's take a look at the best answers you could have given.

The best answer of all was Armenia which would have scored you 4 points.

Hungary and Georgia both would have scored you 8.

You'd have got 9 for Lithuania, Moldova and Azerbaijan.

12 for Belarus. 13 for Romania. Let's take a look at the top three.

71 for Germany.

Some big scorers here, actually.

You'd have got 76 for Ireland.

And what do you think's top of that list?

I was going to say the United Kingdom.

You would think so, wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong. It's France.

-Really?

-On 77. Yeah, United Kingdom would have scored you...

-See, that's why we don't win.

-Exactly.

-We don't even vote for ourselves.

-Exactly. It's the only time

you're allowed to vote for the United Kingdom and you didn't.

The United Kingdom came fifth. Can you believe it?

65 points for the United Kingdom. It even got beaten by Spain.

-Wow.

-Yep.

-Sign of the times. Thank you very much indeed, Richard.

At the end of our first round, I'm afraid the pair we're sending home

with their high score of 200 is Gail and Russell.

Oh, dear.

It's the curse of the first podium, I'm afraid.

-And Eurovision.

-And Eurovision.

A little bit, yes. I'm sorry. That wasn't your round there.

Mind you, it is such luck of the draw, really.

You found two incorrect answers which means we say goodbye,

but we will see you again next time, Gail and Russell.

I look forward to that. Thanks very much for playing.

APPLAUSE

But for the remaining three pairs, it's now time for Round Two.

And so three pairs remain. Obviously, at the end of this round,

we'll have to say goodbye to another pair in time for our head-to-head.

Leanne and Adam, our brother-sister team from Clacton-on-Sea.

Very well done. Lovely low scoring in that first round.

All looking very strong at this stage. Dan and Nina, very well done.

Decent scoring from you, Gemma and Mark.

Now, Mark, we've only had two answers from you.

We had Fiddler On The Roof last show and we had Israel this show.

-Both of them scored 100.

-Consistent.

-Yes.

-Exactly.

-Sidestep that as well as the job.

-Yes, let's have...

Let's have fewer consistent 100s, I think.

So, yes, Gemma, you're doing very well.

You are carrying Mark at this stage. But let's hope the tables can turn.

Best of luck to all three pairs. Our category for Round Two today is...

Politicians. Can you all decide in your pairs who's going to go first, who's going to go second?

And whoever's going first, please step up to the podium.

OK. And the question concerns...

-Chancellors of the Exchequer, Richard.

-Yeah, on each pass,

we're going to show you six descriptions of Chancellors of the Exchequer.

You just need to tell us who the Chancellors are, please.

There's going to be 12 in all. 12 to have a go at at home. So best of luck.

OK. So, we are looking for these Chancellors of the Exchequer.

Here's our first board of six.

And we've got...

I'll read those all to you one last time.

There we are. Six clues to six Chancellors of the Exchequer.

-Adam.

-Not a great category.

I think I know, "Served as Chancellor for more than ten years,

"became PM in 2007."

Gordon Brown, maybe.

OK. You're going to say Gordon Brown. Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many people said Gordon Brown.

51.

APPLAUSE

51 for Gordon Brown.

Yeah, that question is essentially, "Who became Prime Minister in 2007?"

Half the people in Britain have forgotten already.

I'd say, "That's show business." That's politics, isn't it?

He was the longest continuously serving Chancellor since the 1820s, Gordon Brown.

Thanks, Richard. Now, Gemma.

OK. I'm struggling a little bit.

I'm going to take a guess at the top one

and say...John Major.

John Major, says Gemma, for the top one.

Let's see if that's right and, if it is, let's see how many of our 100 people said John Major.

Well, 51 is our only score so far. You passed that.

Look at that. 17.

APPLAUSE

17 for John Major. And again, this question is...

That's Prime Minister from '90 to '97. 17 people remembered.

He only gave one budget. That was in 1990.

It was the first one ever to be televised.

-Oh! Have you seen the DVD of that?

-It's brilliant.

-The extras...

The outtakes are just hilarious.

When he puts 50p on booze or something, just brilliant.

-The whole place is just cracking up.

-That's hilarious.

-It's so good.

-Yeah.

-Properly good.

-Properly worth getting. Worth getting if you haven't seen it.

-Nina.

-Hello.

-You're the last person to have this board.

-Do you think you can talk us through it?

-No.

A category I was really hoping wasn't going to come up

and the two that I know have already gone.

So, I'm going to have to take a guess and say, "Chancellor

"during Northern Rock banking crisis of 2007," George Osborne.

OK. George Osborne you are putting in charge in 2007.

Let's see if that's right and, if it is, let's see how many of our 100 people said that.

Bad luck, Nina. I'm afraid that's an incorrect answer.

Scores you the maximum of 100 points.

You'll remember him. It's Alistair Darling

and that would have scored you 8 points.

He was under Gordon Brown, of course, when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister

and under John Major when John Major was Prime Minister.

In office during Black Wednesday was...?

-Norman Lamont.

-Norman Lamont, yeah. Would have scored you 9.

The Chancellor from '74 to '79?

-Denis Healey.

-Denis Healey, yeah. Would have scored you 2 points.

And the Liberal?

-Lloyd George.

-David Lloyd George, yep. Bigger scorer, that.

Would have scored you 10. So, the best answer there was Denis Healey.

Thank you very much indeed. Well, we're halfway through the round.

Let's take a look at those scores as they stand.

Gemma and Mark are on 17, Adam and Leanne on 51

and then up to 100 where we find Nina and Dan.

Now, Dan.

That may not be the last 100 scored in this round,

but what we will need from you,

if you are to make it through to the head-to-head, is a lovely low score.

-How do you fancy your chances?

-I was going to say, it may not be

the last 100 scored cos I'm probably going to score another one.

-Well, you'll get first bite of the next board.

-That's fortunate.

Well, let's hope it is. We're going to come back down the line now.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK. Let's put six more clues up on the board. Here they come.

We've got...

I'll read those all one last time.

There we are. Six clues to six Chancellors.

Dan, you're high scorer.

Let's have a good low-scoring answer from you.

I don't know about low scoring, but one of those has made me quite happy

as essentially I was going to say it regardless of the actual clue.

So, I'm going to say, for the father of Nigella,

-Nigel Lawson.

-Nigel Lawson, says Dan.

Nigel Lawson. No red line for you. You're the high scorers.

But let's see how many of our 100 people said Nigel Lawson.

It's right.

48.

APPLAUSE

148.

For now, you are JUST still in the game.

Being Nigella's dad scores you roughly the same as becoming

Prime Minister in 2007.

Thanks so much, Richard. Now then, Mark.

You are into the head-to-head, even if you score 100 points.

This is good news.

I'm starting to think someone doesn't like me.

This is another bad round. Er...

Can't even think of who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer

from May, 2010.

-George Osborne.

-OK.

-Pretty sure that's wrong.

You're going to go for George Osborne. A bit of a punt

on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, youngest since 1886.

No red line for you. You're already through.

But let's see how many of our 100 people said George Osborne.

It's right.

34.

APPLAUSE

34 takes your total up to 51, but you were already through.

Yeah, there he was, hiding away.

There's never been a female Chancellor of the Exchequer.

It's about time. Thanks very much.

Now, 51, Leanne and Adam, that is your score.

The high-scorers are Dan and Nina on 148. If you can score 96 or less...

you're in the head-to-head.

Really bad. Erm...

I'll take a guess. I don't even know if it's the right party...

David Cameron, I don't know.

The first one. That's really wrong, I know.

OK, well, here comes your red line. It's nice and high.

You just have to be right.

David Cameron for that top one. Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many people said it.

I'm afraid an incorrect answer scores you

the maximum of 100 points. Takes your total up to 151.

Sees Dan and Nina into the head-to-head.

-He is a Tory, though. So that's good.

-Oh, OK.

-Yeah, he is.

You know he's a Tory, right?

He's our current Prime Minister. Yeah, it's... The jazz fan was...?

-Ken Clarke.

-Yeah, would have scored you 10 points.

Do you know Thatcher's first Chancellor?

Geoffrey Howe. I was going to say Leon Brittan, but not...

He had that enormous hollow hair, which looked like he had

something nesting in it. Would have scored you 5 points.

These other two are a bit tougher. The longest-ever budget speech...

It's Gladstone. Would have scored you 3.

And the best answer on the board, a terrific answer...

Philip Snowden. 1 point. Very well played if you got that.

Thank you very much indeed.

At the end of our second round, I'm sorry to say it's Leanne

and Adam who we have to send home.

A high score of 151.

No-one likes politics rounds, I know.

But this is where we have to say goodbye, I'm sorry.

But it's been great having you on both shows. Thanks so much

for playing. Leanne and Adam.

APPLAUSE

For the remaining two pairs it's now time for the head-to-head.

Congratulations, Dan and Nina, Gemma and Mark, you're now one step closer

to the final, and a chance to play for our jackpot,

which currently stands at £1,000.

Now, we have to decide who's going to play for that money

and to do that, you are now going to go head-to-head.

You are now allowed to confer before you give your answers.

The first pair to win two questions will be playing for that jackpot.

Best of luck to both pairs. Let's play the head-to-head.

OK, here comes your first question, and it concerns...

That's good, that gets us back on solid ground.

We're going to give you five visual clues now to names

of Michael Jackson UK top 40 singles.

Can you work out what singles we're referring to here?

We're going to give you the years they were hits as well.

OK, let's reveal our five visual clues, and here they come.

I think that's my favourite.

Dan and Nina, you played best throughout the show so far,

so you will go first.

THEY WHISPER

We're going to say A. Going for 1983.

And Beat It.

Beat It, say Dan and Nina.

Gemma and Mark, the rest of the board is yours.

-That's the only...

-That's the only one we knew.

Er...

I can think of some Michael Jackson songs

but whether they relate to those pictures...no idea.

-Do you know who she is?

-No.

Is it somebody who writes books and writes thriller books, maybe?

Oh, yeah, maybe. We'll guess that then.

We'll guess that E might be an author who writes thriller books

of some sort, and Thriller.

OK, you're going to say Thriller. OK.

-No idea who it is.

-E, Thriller. We have A, Beat It, and E, Thriller.

Dan and Nina said Beat It.

Let's see if that's right, let's see how many people said it.

It's right.

29.

Now then, Gemma and Mark have said E is Thriller.

Let's see if that's right

and if it is, let's see how many of our 100 people said Thriller.

Oh, I'm afraid an incorrect answer, which means, Dan and Nina,

-you're up 1-0.

-Not a thriller writer, a tennis player.

-And her name is...

-Billie Jean.

Billie Jean King, that is. So Billie Jean was the answer there.

Would have scored you 26 points.

D is the biggest scorer of all.

Now, C, I think you know roughly.

And the best answer on the board, it really depends on knowing that flag.

If you think through Michael Jackson's songs you can

work it out the one that has a country in it.

But if you know that's the flag of Liberia...

Terrific answer if you got that at home. That's very well played.

Thanks very much. OK, here comes your second question.

Gemma and Mark, you have to win this one to stay in the game.

Best of luck. It concerns...

We're going to give you five names of squares on the Monopoly board

but all we're going to show you is the number of letters

in each word of that square.

Can you work out what these clues refer to, please?

OK, let's reveal our five names, and here they come.

Gemma and Mark will go first.

THEY WHISPER

Yeah, OK.

The second one - 3, 4, 4 - Old Kent Road.

Old Kent Road, say Gemma and Mark.

Dan and Nina, can you talk us through the rest of the board?

Partly. We'd got Old Kent Road, which was going to be our stab.

2, 2, 4 - Go To Jail.

The bottom one we think is Mayfair.

I think we're going to go for...Mayfair.

OK, Mayfair say Dan and Nina.

We have Old Kent Road versus Mayfair.

Gemma and Mark say Old Kent Road. Let's see if that's right

and if it is, let's see how many of our 100 people said that.

It's right.

40.

APPLAUSE

Now then, Dan and Nina have gone for Mayfair.

Mayfair beats Old Kent Road on a Monopoly board,

will it on Pointless? Let's find out.

Yes, it will. Look at that - 35.

Very well done indeed.

Dan and Nina, you're straight through to the final, 2-0.

Well played. The most expensive and the least expensive squares

on the board. Go To Jail would have been a much better answer

cos it would have scored you 13 points.

So that would have been a very good one. Now, 4, 7...

-Free parking.

-Yeah, which would have scored you 2.

The top one is a pointless answer

and it's Electric Company.

-Very well done if you said that at home.

-Thank you.

So, at the end of our head-to-head, we say goodbye to Gemma and Mark.

Well, you've played pretty well up to this point.

I'm afraid this round, though, you were up against Dan and Nina,

who just managed to get better answers than you.

I'm afraid this is where we say goodbye, but it's been great

having you on the show. Thanks so much for playing. Gemma and Mark.

APPLAUSE

For Dan and Nina it's now time for our Pointless Final.

Congratulations, Dan and Nina, you've fought off

all the competition and you've won our coveted Pointless trophy.

You now have a chance to win our Pointless jackpot,

and at the end of today's show, the jackpot stands at £1,000.

We've thrown Eurovision at you, we've thrown Chancellors at you,

we've thrown Michael Jackson songs at you and Monopoly.

And here you are.

You get to choose your category, and you have four options.

Best of luck. Your four options are...

Mercury Prize may be a potential, in terms of it's broad enough

to maybe kind of hide our abject ignorance.

I think it's got to be the Mercury Prize, please.

OK, Mercury Prize it is. Richard.

OK, very best of luck. We'll give you three options here.

We're looking for the name of any album

that has ever won the Mercury Prize.

We're looking for any artist or band who were nominated in 2013.

Or we are looking for any female solo nominees,

so any female solo artist who's ever been nominated for the Mercury Award.

So, any album that's ever won,

any artist or act who were nominated in 2013, or any female solo nominee

throughout the whole history of the Mercury Prize. Very best of luck.

Thanks very much indeed.

OK, you've got up to one minute to come up with three answers,

and to win that jackpot all you have to do is find one pointless answer.

The answers you provide can come from any of these categories

and how you spread them across the categories is entirely down to you.

It could be one from each, two from one, one from another.

Entirely up to you. Are you ready?

-Yes.

-OK, let's put 60 seconds on the board. Your time starts now.

-Any ideas?

-I think we should concentrate on a particular one,

-so I'm going to go Female Solo Nominees.

-I can think of one

and that's that Speech woman who was on the MasterChef programme.

-On Celebrity MasterChef.

-No...

-Pretty sure she was a nominee.

-Did she have a name?

-Speech.

-Oh, right, OK.

So, let's key that in. Do we know when it started?

-No.

-So, we're looking further back in terms of, you know,

people like Debbie Harry, Madonna, Cher.

-Is that, you know...?

-I don't know. I'm pretty sure Elbow won it

-but I don't know what their album's called.

-OK.

Is there anything else in the other two

that you're particularly keen on? Nominees. Who's current?

Emeli Sande, that kind of thing.

-I think it's more obscure than that.

-Is it? OK.

We can go for that as maybe a Female Solo Nominee.

-OK. Happy with that.

-Ten seconds left.

-Who's the other one?

-It's going to be too popular.

-OK, it's something, then.

-Let's go for...

someone who is really good, like Tanita Tikaram.

OK, that's your time up. I now need your three answers,

and if you say which categories they are answering, that would be great.

-OK, so Female Solo Nominees, I think is all three.

-Yeah.

-We're going to go for the well-known Tanita Tikaram.

-Tanita Tikaram.

-We're going to go for Emeli Sande.

-Emeli Sande.

-And we're going to go for Speech.

-Speech.

-Yes.

-Of those three, which is your best shot at a pointless answer?

I'd like to say Tanita Tikaram but I think it's probably Speech.

Speech, we'll put last.

Which is your least likely to be pointless?

I think I'd like to say Tanita Tikaram.

OK, and Emeli Sande in the middle.

OK, let's put those answers up on the board in that order,

and here they are.

OK, your first answer was Tanita Tikaram.

You were...not entirely confident this was going to be...

I'm going to be so pleased if it's right.

Remember, only one of these answers has to be pointless for you to win

that jackpot of £1,000.

It's a sort of starter-level jackpot there

but still nice to go home with. What would you do with that?

I think our little boy, Edward, would enjoy a spree at the toy shop.

-Nina?

-Maybe a little holiday.

-Have to be a very little holiday.

-Yeah.

Well, best of luck. Tanita Tikaram. Obviously it has to be correct.

If it is, and it is pointless, you will win the jackpot.

Let's see how many people said Tanita Tikaram has been

a Female Sole Nominee at the Mercury Awards.

-No great surprise.

-An incorrect answer.

Not a pointless answer. So only two more shots at today's jackpot.

Your next answer was Emeli Sande, again in the category of

Best Female Soloist for the Mercury Prize.

It has to be correct then it has to be pointless for you to win

the jackpot. So, for £1,000,

let's see how many people said Emeli Sande.

No, bad luck.

Two from two.

Only one more chance.

Everything is now riding on your third and final answer,

which is Speech. "That Speech woman."

That's what you said. "That Speech person from Celebrity MasterChef."

OK, now to win the jackpot,

this has to be correct. It has to be pointless.

For £1,000, let's see how many of our 100 people named Speech

as a Female Nominee for the Mercury Prize.

Oh, no. I'm sorry.

Three perfectly good answers. But I'm afraid three incorrect answers.

Unfortunately, you didn't manage to find that pointless answer,

which means you don't win today's jackpot. That will roll over

on to the next show. But we've really enjoyed having you

on the show, and you played fantastically well.

And you get to take home a Pointless trophy each, so well done.

APPLAUSE

That's an unlucky 300 as well cos all of those were good punts.

They're all slightly wrong - Tanita Tikaram had a couple

of big hits with Good Tradition and Twist In My Sobriety

but it's after her time. She was in the '80s.

It started a bit later than that.

But I suspect she would have been nominated at the time.

Emeli Sande just hasn't been nominated.

And I can't accept Speech cos she was always credited as Speech Debelle.

Would have you scored you 1 point if you had said Speech Debelle.

She actually won it with Speech Therapy,

which also would have scored 1 point.

Let's take a look at the pointless answers.

Albums which have won the Mercury Award.

Different Class by Pulp would have been a pointless answer.

Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand. Let England Shake by PJ Harvey.

Her other album also would have been a pointless answer.

Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not.

You knew that Elbow had won it. It's The Seldom Seen Kid.

That would have been pointless.

Other pointless answers - Myths Of The Near Future by the Klaxons.

Dummy by Portishead. XX by The XX.

All of those were pointless answers as well.

Let's take a look at 2013 Nominees.

The brilliant Jon Hopkins, that's an album well worth getting,

and Savages, they were the only pointless answers on that.

David Bowie was the biggest scorer on that category.

And Female Nominees. You could have had...

There's quite a few others on the list.

Bat for Lashes, Beth Orton would have been pointless. Estelle.

Kathryn Williams.

You could have had Kate Rusby, MIA. All sorts of pointless answers.

Very well done if you said any of those.

Really unlucky to get three 100s there.

It's not representative of the answers, in my opinion.

Thanks, Richard. Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to you,

but it's been great having you on the show.

Thank you both so much for playing. Dan and Nina.

Well, Dan and Nina didn't win our jackpot today, which means

it rolls over on to the next show, when we will be playing for £2,000.

AUDIENCE: Whoo!

Join us next time to see if someone can win it.

-Meanwhile, it's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me, goodbye.