Episode 54 Pointless

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much indeed.

Hello, I'm Alexander Armstrong, and welcome to Pointless,

where the aim of the game is to score as few points as you can

by coming up with the answers no-one else could think of.

Let's meet today's players.

APPLAUSE

And couple number one.

Hi, I'm Charlie from Brighton,

and this is my friend Bo from Farnham in Surrey.

Couple number two.

Hi, I'm Carys from Barry and this is my friend Ryan from Plymouth.

-Couple number three.

-Hi, I'm Christy, this is my gran, Jennifer,

-and we're from Arbroath near Dundee.

-And finally couple number four.

Hello, my name's Karina, this is my friend and colleague Helen,

and we're from Faversham in Kent.

And these are today's contestants.

APPLAUSE

Thanks very much all of you.

We'll find out more about each of you throughout the show.

There's just one more person for me to introduce,

the biggest name in daytime quizzing.

Yes, he's a foot taller than Bradley Walsh.

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

Hiya. Hi, everybody. APPLAUSE

Afternoon.

-Good afternoon to you.

-And to you.

-Should be nice, shouldn't it?

Always nice to have grandmother-granddaughter on the show.

-My favourite combination.

-Isn't it?

Actually, no, we had that guy and his probation officer, I liked that.

-That was nice.

-That was nice.

Then we had that grandmother and her probation officer, that was also...

-Yes.

-It's always nice, grandchild and grandparent is always...

-Lovely.

-And I'm sure everyone on the other podiums will be thinking,

"We should probably just step aside here."

It'd be the classy thing to do.

But two returning pairs from last time, Bo and Charlie,

we saw them get knocked out in the first round.

And Ryan and Carys got through to Round Two and got knocked out,

so no-one here who's ever been in a head-to-head before, so, er,

uncharted territory. And Round One,

almost guarantee you there'll be at least one 100 points in Round One.

-Oh, looking forward to that! At least one?

-Yeah, I think so.

I think some people at home are going to love it but, er,

I think it might cause some trouble to others.

I don't know what the question is, but for fun, I'm going to say

there will be three 100s.

-I will note that down.

-That's me.

Yeah, OK, excellent, thank you very much indeed.

Every question on Pointless has been put to 100 people before the show.

Today's contestants, like all contestants, will be looking for

a pointless answer that none of our 100 people gave.

Find one of those and we will add 250 quid to the jackpot.

Kevin and Shirley didn't win the jackpot last time so we add

another £1,000 to that, so today's jackpot starts off at £3,250.

APPLAUSE

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

Now, all you have to remember is that the pair with the

highest score at the end of each round will be eliminated.

Do everything you can to make sure it's not you.

Our first category today is...

Oh, it's Politicians!

I think maybe four I should have said, four 100s!

Yeah, 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, let's find out what the question is. Here it comes.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many...

UK prime ministers and US presidents born in the 19th century. Richard.

Yeah, we're looking for the name of anyone born in the years 1800-1899

inclusive who went on to become President of the United States

or the Prime Minister of the UK, please.

We need first and surnames, please.

Thank you very much indeed.

Charlie, welcome back.

-Now, last time...

-Yes.

Last time, what happened, Round One?

It was French foods and Bo just dropped the ball.

I blame him entirely, none of my fault at all.

-He went with "frites."

-Yeah.

Which some might say was almost an English word, we use it so much.

-Yes, and then you went with "anchois."

-Yes.

-The anchovy option.

-Very nice food. Very good fish.

-Yeah, I'm also a fan of the anchovy.

Er, now, history, and more particularly,

political history of the US and of the UK.

How do we feel about this?

-Pretty confident, actually.

-Oh, that's good.

-Yeah.

Erm, I believe a US president born in the 19th century was

-James Garfield.

-James Garfield says Charlie.

James Garfield.

-He was assassinated, wasn't he?

-I believe so, yes.

There we are, let's find out. Was he born in the 19th century?

Is Charlie right?

He's right.

Still going down, Charlie.

Look at that, two!

APPLAUSE

That is an exceptional answer.

Lovely low score, Charlie. What a great start to the show.

-Two for James Garfield.

-Great answer, Charlie, well played.

Born in 1831, became president in 1881,

and he was assassinated a couple of months after taking office.

-He was president for about two months.

-Yeah.

Thank you very much.

Er, now, Carys, welcome back!

-Now, it was Round Two for you.

-Yes.

Tell us the story of your last Pointless experience.

Erm, well, the round was on Beatles and Rolling Stones songs,

which I think as soon as we saw the category,

we assumed that we would be leaving because I know that

Ryan's most hated topic in the world is The Beatles.

-And so...!

-What did they do to deserve that?!

-I don't know.

Oh, Ryan. Ringo Starr watches this, you know.

He's, whoa... The things he can do with those sticks.

No, erm, so, yeah, unfortunately,

-Ryan gave a name of a song which was a little bit wrong.

-It was.

We'll come to that when we come back to Ryan

cos I want to ask a bit more about that, cos it was a good song.

Remind us what you do, Carys.

Er, I'm an MA student at Cardiff University.

Exactly right, and what do you like getting up to

-when you're not studying?

-I enjoy playing rugby

and I work at the National Museum of Wales as well.

-How often do you work there?

-Just at weekends while I'm studying.

That's a nice thing to do. Now, Carys, how's your political history?

Erm, I don't think it's terrible,

but I wouldn't say it was a particularly strong category either.

Erm, I think that James Ramsay MacDonald is an answer.

OK, Ramsay MacDonald, you are going to say.

Let's see if that's right, and if it is,

let's see how many of our 100 people said Ramsay MacDonald.

It's right.

It's another low score.

Look at that, five! Very well done indeed, Carys.

APPLAUSE

-Five for James Ramsay MacDonald.

-Another very good answer there.

-Proving to be rather good at this round, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-It can go either way with students, can't it?

-It can.

But thus far it's been very impressive.

Born in 1866 in Lossiemouth in Scotland,

the first Labour Prime Minister.

-Thanks very much indeed. Now, Christy, welcome.

-Hello.

-You're here from Arbroath?

-Yes.

-The home of the smokie.

-Yeah.

-What do you do, Christy?

-I'm a student,

English literature student at the University of Aberdeen.

-And what year are you in?

-My final year, fourth year.

Do you know what you're going to do?

-Erm, I actually want to join the police.

-Really?

It's quite, erm, it doesn't really fit with my degree

-but what can you do?

-What can you do?

Any particular department of the police you'd like to be?

Just start off and just see where it takes me, really.

-I'm not entirely sure, so, see what happens.

-OK, good.

Now, how are we feeling about this question?

I'm not too sure if this was 19th century

but it's the only one I can think of,

so I'm going to go Woodrow Wilson.

Woodrow Wilson says Christy. Woodrow Wilson.

Sounds good to me. Let's see if it's right,

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

It is right, very well done indeed, Christy.

It's another great answer, you haven't broken the chain at all.

Eight for Woodrow Wilson.

APPLAUSE

-Very good.

-That's a terrific answer.

Doing very well, aren't they, the students here?

Born in 1856, Woodrow Wilson, was president in the 20th century.

The only president ever to have a PhD.

-In honour of all our students here today.

-That's nice. Good of him.

He had a PhD in political science.

That's just the right area to be a PhD in, I would have thought.

-You would think so to become president.

-Yeah, or dare say,

he could be an English literature graduate, of course.

-As we know, that's an open-ended degree.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Go anywhere with that.

-Really is, isn't it?

-Yeah, isn't it?

-That's what you did, of course.

-Yep.

-How's the English working out for you?

-It's OK, it's OK.

I'm getting by, that's it.

Have you applied for a lot of things?

Erm, not so much now, no.

I'm waiting to hear about a fruit-picking job over the summer,

which would be nice.

-We'll see.

-You'd be good at that.

-Well, I don't know!

A lot of people are better at it, it seems.

They weren't that impressed at the interview but there we go.

Anyway, we'll see, I'll let you know, keep you abreast.

Now, then, Helen...

-Hello.

-Helen, welcome.

-Thank you.

Great to have you here, what do you do?

I am an activities coordinator

in a residential care home for the elderly.

So what are your favourite activities?

Bingo.

-Do you know all the nicknames for the numbers?

-A few.

A few of them. My son thinks I play bingo for a job.

ALEXANDER LAUGHS

-But, er...

-Don't tell him, don't let him in.

-No.

And in your spare time, Helen?

I know what you do cos you produced some biscuits for us!

I did, I am a member of, in fact, I'm the secretary of the local WI.

-Excellent, well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Very good indeed.

Now then, Helen.

I know nothing about politics, erm,

so I am going to go for

-Winston Churchill.

-Winston Churchill, says Helen.

Ooh, that was nice, little murmur,

that was our first murmur of the show.

-Oh, no!

-Very good, no, I think that's a good...

That might be a good murmur.

Let's find out, Winston Churchill, is it right?

How many people said it if it is?

Absolutely right, very well done indeed, Helen.

54 for Winston Churchill.

APPLAUSE

Yes, born in 1874 in Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill.

Thank you very much indeed.

We're halfway through the round, let's take a look at those scores.

Two, the best score of that pass,

Charlie, very well done indeed.

Then up to five where we find Carys and Ryan.

Then up to eight where we find Christy and Jennifer.

And then 54, Helen and Karina.

Karina, what we need is a nice low-scoring answer.

-I shall try.

-Let's hope that's enough to keep you in the game.

We're going to come back down the line.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK, remember, we're looking for the name of any UK prime minister

or US president who was born in the 19th century.

-Karina, a warm welcome to you.

-Thank you very much.

-And what do you do?

I manage the care home that Helen is an activities coordinator at.

Very good, so you're friends,

and you knew each other before then, didn't you?

Yes, we've lived next door to each other for seven years.

-Or neighbours, as we say.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Neighbours.

-So, neighbours then friends and now colleagues?

-Now colleagues, yes.

Excellent. Is Helen doing a good job on the bingo? They must love Helen.

They do, they love Helen, yes. They always notice when she's not there.

I bet! We will!

-Let's hope it's not at the end of this round.

-OK!

-I think it probably will be.

-Well, I don't know.

-I have faith in you, Karina.

-Do you?

-Yep, I do.

So there we go,

US presidents or UK prime ministers born in the 19th century.

I've got two names in the back of my head

and I'm just going to throw out Spencer Perceval.

Spencer Perceval.

-Yes.

-Also assassinated.

-Yes.

-There we are, OK, there you are.

No red line for you as you are the highest scorers,

but let's find out if Spencer Perceval is right.

Let's see how many people said it if it is.

Oh, no!

KARINA LAUGHS

I'm sorry, Spencer Perceval doesn't fall within those years,

-I'm afraid.

-Oh, OK.

-That scores you 100 points

and takes your total up to 154,

-but it's a good answer, though.

-Thank you.

-Sorry, Karina, born 1762.

He was prime minister during the 19th century but not born then,

-I'm afraid.

-OK, thank you.

-But, hey, we got 100 points from someone.

-There we go!

-I was beginning to despair that we would.

-Yeah.

Now, Jennifer, welcome. Lovely to have you here, Jennifer.

What do you get up to in Arbroath?

Well, I'm very happily retired for the past six years.

-What did you use to do before you retired?

-I was accounting.

I worked latterly with young people to help them into work.

Very good, and what do you do with your retirement?

I walk a lot, we have beautiful countryside in Arbroath.

We have coast and we have country, so long, long walks.

Excellent, well, you are through to the next round, even if

you score 100 points, so very well done indeed.

-Let's have a good answer from you, Jennifer.

-Brain just went to mush.

I was about to apologise to Christy because I couldn't think of

anybody apart from the ones that have been said.

Asquith?

OK, have you got, have you got a Christian name?

I was trying to avoid that. Henry?

-You're going to go with Henry.

-It's possibly not.

-Henry Asquith.

OK, no red line for you as you're already through,

but let's see if Henry Asquith is right.

-Oh!

-Oh-ho-ho-ho!

Wow!

Six!

APPLAUSE

6 takes your total up to 14. Very well done indeed, Jennifer.

-Thank you.

-Born in West Yorkshire in 1852.

He's really Herbert Asquith, but, er, it was Herbert Henry Asquith,

always known as HH, and also lots of people called him Henry,

-so I've accepted Henry Asquith.

-Thank you.

-I think it's fair enough.

-Phew!

-His second wife used to call him Henry. I mean...

People called him Henry.

-There you go, people called him Henry, and so do you.

-Yes!

-You may continue.

-Personal friend.

-That's a great score.

Very well done indeed, Jennifer.

Now, then, Ryan, we come back to you. Ryan, how are you?

-I'm really good, how are you?

-Good. Thank you for asking, I'm very well.

No-one ever asks me that.

I think you're the first contestant in Lord knows how many shows

-to ask me how I am. Thank you.

-That's all right.

-I mustn't grumble.

Do you know what? I really must. I must.

This hip is giving me no end of grief.

But, er, no, I really am fine.

So, yes, Ryan, remind us what you do.

Er, I'm currently a teaching assistant

at my old secondary school back in Plymouth.

It's your old secondary school back in Plymouth.

Do any of the lessons that you assist with involve history of

either the UK or the US?

Embarrassingly, most of my timetable...

Well, I say most, the majority of my lessons are history.

-That's brilliant!

-It's brilliant, but...

Our first pointless answer of the round, I think.

I might try Arthur Balfour.

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

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

It's right.

It's not only right, it's a very, very good answer.

Look at that, three!

Second best score of the whole round, very well done indeed, Ryan.

Six is your total.

Terrific answer, Ryan.

He was Conservative Prime Minister from 1902-1905,

but born in the 19th century.

Bo, everyone's done brilliantly, haven't they?

-Haven't they been great?

-They've done... Unfortunately so.

Such a... Everyone. Real teamwork.

Tell you what, there'd be a good way to top off this round,

-wouldn't there?

-Yeah, a pointless answer.

-A pointless answer would be a lovely way to finish.

-That would do it, Bo.

Remind us what you do, what you study.

Well, I do Spanish and politics at UCL,

and last show my linguistics let me down.

Yes, but now it's fine, now we're on politics, which is great.

So, which way are you going to attempt? Which side of the Atlantic?

I don't know, I've got two quite, well, relatively obvious answers

in my head. I'm going to go with the British Prime Minister

-Neville Chamberlain.

-Neville Chamberlain says Bo.

No red line for you, you're already through,

but let's see if Neville Chamberlain is right.

Let's see how many people said it.

It is right.

Ooh, it's not bad, look at that.

Very well done. 11, Bo. that's good, good answer.

APPLAUSE

13 is your total.

Another good answer, yeah, born 1869 in Birmingham.

Born as Arthur Neville Chamberlain.

Erm, there was a few pointless answers. Before we get onto them,

I'll take you through some of the lower scorers.

I know people will have been guessing at home.

You would have got three points for Ulysses S Grant, Harry S Truman.

Rutherford B Hayes would have scored two.

William McKinley would have scored two.

One point for Henry Campbell-Bannerman,

Chester A Arthur, Andrew Johnson and William Howard Taft, or William Taft.

Here's the pointless answers.

One prime minister, the rest are presidents.

You could have had Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, Franklin Pierce.

You could only just have had Millard Fillmore cos he was born

on January 7th 1800, so the first on our list.

And Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, the only prime minister.

Very well done if you said any of those.

Let's take a look at our biggest scorers,

the ones that most of our 100 people said when they were asked online.

You could have had William Gladstone, would have scored 19 points.

Abraham Lincoln with 35, and we've already seen the top answer,

Winston Churchill with 54.

Thank you very much, Richard.

At the end of our first round, the pair heading home

with their high score of 154,

I'm sorry, Karina and Helen, it is you.

You've learned your Pointless lesson for this time.

Next time you will come back and triumph,

I have no doubt, so we'll look forward to that.

Thanks very much for playing, Karina and Helen.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

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

So three pairs remain.

Obviously at the end of this round we'll have to say goodbye to

another pair. I wonder which pair that's going to be?

Our two returning pairs have covered themselves in glory.

Bo, Charlie, well done, we won't mention the "frites."

And, er, Ryan and Carys, superb!

Ryan, if I mention Easy Please Me,

which was the Beatles song that, er, Ryan went for last time.

-Easy Please Me, which...

-That really well-known track(!)

I have to say, if someone hasn't yet done a song called

Easy Please Me, it is up there.

They have done, like, there is a song called it, I just got confused.

It's by Katy B, I think. I went and looked it up.

-Easily confused with The Beatles(!)

-Easy Please...yeah, well, yeah.

And Christy and Jennifer, well done, you are well on your way to

being our finalists, which of course you will be.

We always love a granny-granddaughter combo.

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

Geography. 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...

County Towns...

Richard?

On each pass we are showing you the names of six English counties.

We need you to tell us the county town of each county,

where the council offices are based, according to Whitaker's Almanack.

The county town of any of the counties you are about to see.

-The very best of luck.

-Thank you very much, indeed.

OK, so we are looking for the town, or city, where the HQs of these

county councils are located.

Here's our first board of six.

I'll read those one last time.

Bo?

Yes... Erm...

-Bo...

-I'm not particularly...

-What county are you from, Bo?

-Surrey.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

I am going to go for Surrey and risk embarrassing

myself for a second game in a row and I'm going to say...

-..Guildford.

-Guildford.

I think that's what I would have said, Guildford.

Let's find out. Are Bo and I right?

I will jettison you the minute it's wrong.

It will just be you on your own, if it's wrong.

Let's find out is Guildford, right for Surrey? How many people said it?

-Oh, no!

-AUDIENCE GROANS

-You were wrong, there, Bo!

-LAUGHTER

You and me both. I'm afraid that scores you 100 points.

I think I would have gone for Guildford there, as well.

-It's not, I'm afraid. I'll give the correct answer at the end.

-OK.

-Now then, Carys.

-Hi.

ALEXANDER LAUGHS

-Do you know, I think we are all in the same boat, here.

-Yeah.

Don't worry too much. Which of those tickles your fancy?

I am going to have to pick a place that I know is in one of those

counties and I think there is only one that I know.

I think it's almost definitely wrong

but I'm going to have to say Canterbury for Kent.

You are going to say Canterbury for Kent. Sounds perfectly reasonable.

I'm with you on this.

Let's see if you're right, Canterbury and, if it is, let's see how many people said Canterbury.

No! Oh, Carys.

I don't know what... Evidently, yes, not Canterbury. I'm so sorry.

It scores you 100 points. You are in very good company, though.

Sorry, Carys, it's a big place, got a cathedral and everything

but doesn't have the county council of Kent in it, I'm afraid.

Now then, Jennifer.

I have no clue, at all.

I can't even now think of a town, the brain has gone to mush.

I am going to be really silly and say London, Northamptonshire

and I know it's wrong, obviously. Not a clue.

OK, you're going to say for Northamptonshire, London.

OK, no, fair enough.

Let's...

Yes, let's see, shall we?

I notice for the first time you are not agreeing?

On this one I'm...

This, funnily enough, is the only one I think I might have an idea.

LAUGHTER

I might be wrong but let's find out. Is it London?

No, I'm afraid not. It's not London.

There we are that scores you 100 points, too.

-It's going very well.

-It's really going terrifically well.

I should have asked you to fill in the blanks, I'm so sorry, Jennifer.

Now...

Yeah, I might take a run up at this.

Let's start with the one that isn't London.

-Let's start with Northamptonshire.

-I'm going to say Northampton.

It is Northampton. I think that one was guessable, if I'm honest.

44 points that would have scored you.

-Cumbria?

-Carlisle.

Carlisle is right, 17 points.

-Suffolk?

-Ipswich.

Ipswich, yes. It would have scored you 26.

-Let's do Norfolk?

-Norwich.

Norwich, yes and that would have scored you 35.

They'll be pleased to beat Ipswich. Well done, Norwich.

-Bad luck, Ipswich.

-On the ball!

-Now, these other two.

You said that you would have gone for Canterbury and Guildford.

Now I know Canterbury is wrong, I would have said Maidstone.

-It is Maidstone.

-Yay!

-It would have scored you eight points. And Surrey?

-AUDIENCE:

-Kingston.

I was about to say Epsom.

-Did someone in the audience say Kingston?

-Yeah.

-Correct answer.

Kingston upon Thames.

-It would have scored you nothing at all, a pointless answer.

-Wow!

-Very well done.

-There you go.

-Can we give £250 to the audience, please.

-Yeah.

-LAUGHTER

I have only got about 40 on me, can you sub me the rest?

-I've got nothing, I'm afraid.

-Have you got any...

No.

We'll settle up later, in biscuits. We've got loads.

Thanks very much, indeed.

Well, let's take a look at the scores at the end

-of the first half of the run.

-LAUGHTER

Well done to Bo and Charlie with the lowest score there of 100.

But, Bo and Charlie, you are also the joint high scorers on 100,

as, indeed, are Carys and Ryan, Jennifer and Christy.

Well done/look out.

Yeah, we are going to come back down the line.

Very best of luck to all three pairs. Can the second players please step up to the podium?

Right, all to play for.

Let's put six more county councils on the board and here they come.

We have got...

I'll read them one last time.

Now, remember, we're looking for the town or city where the

HQs of these county councils are located.

Christy, the best of British luck to you.

You've to try and find one you think the fewest of our 100 people knew.

Now, Christy, just take a moment.

-None of those in Scotland.

-No.

My English geography is atrocious at best.

I am going to have to take a wild guess.

I'm going to go, Lancashire is Preston.

Preston for Lancashire.

Let's find out if that's right. Sounds pretty good to me.

No red line as you're joint high scorers

but it might be right, might it? Let's find out.

It's right! Very well done, indeed, Christy, that's a superb answer.

-Ten.

-APPLAUSE

Ten. We now have a game on our hands.

Very well done, indeed, Christy, your total is 110. Very well done.

That's a terrific answer, Christy, very well played.

It's nice that we have to wait for a Scot to give us

-our first correct answer.

-To deliver us? Thanks very much, indeed.

-Now, Ryan, we have a target. You have to score nine or less...

-OK.

..to stay with us, or to be sure of staying with us.

I should probably know better because I did a geography degree.

You didn't have to tell us that, Ryan!

LAUGHTER

I live near Somerset but I couldn't tell you any places in Somerset.

I know one that's probably not right.

I might just take an educated guess

and say that Derbyshire may be Derby.

OK, sounds good.

Let's find out. Derby, is that right for Derbyshire?

There's your red line.

No!

I'm sorry, I'm afraid it's no Northampton, Derbyshire,

when it comes to selecting its administrational HQ.

I'm afraid, that scores you 100 points.

It takes your total up to 200.

Sorry, Ryan, that was mean of us.

Actually, in our poll, 39 people said Derby, as well.

It hasn't been the county town since the late '50s.

I'll tell you what it is at the end of the pass.

-Now then, Charlie.

-Yeah.

Charlie, listen you have to score 99 or less.

How do we feel about this?

I mean, I get lost on my way from the kitchen to the toilet

so geography is not my strong suit.

I'm going to make a similar guess to Ryan

and say, for Leicestershire, Leicester.

-You'd have thought, wouldn't you?

-Yeah.

Leicestershire, Leicester. Let's find out. There is your red line.

It's nice and high.

I would suggest all you have to be is right with Leicester.

Is Leicester the county town of Leicestershire?

It's right! Very well done, indeed, Charlie.

-44.

-APPLAUSE

144 is your total.

You may take your place in the head-to-head. Well done.

Well played, Charlie, that's tough luck on Ryan there.

Absolutely, Leicester is Leicestershire.

Do you want to have a go at the rest of these? Staffordshire?

Staffordshire, I think of somewhere like...

-..Stoke or somewhere like that.

-You're so close, it's Stafford.

Oh, Stafford! Of course it's Stafford! Oh, Lordy.

It would have scored 30 points. Well done if you got that. Essex?

-Chelmsford.

-Yeah, it would have scored you eight.

-Now, Ryan, he said you live near Somerset?

-Yeah.

-What would you have gone for, what's...

-Maybe Yeovil.

-Not Yeovil. It is? AUDIENCE:

-Taunton.

Is the answer, well done, audience.

That would have scored you 17.

And the county town of Derbyshire?

Two points this would score you. It's the best answer on the board.

-Anyone? AUDIENCE:

-Matlock.

Matlock. That's the right answer, very well played.

-Wow!

-Two points. You guys should be playing!

Matlock... Do you know what you have to do?

On the first board, you just have to put the words "crown court" after the thing.

For example, with Preston, there you are.

Preston Crown Court. A lot of people haven't been to as many crown courts as you,

that's the problem. LAUGHTER

Haven't they?

-Not so much.

-Thanks very much, indeed, Richard.

Well, there we are. At the end of our second round,

the pair heading home with a high score of 200,

they were the low-scoring pair in the first round, the high-scoring pair...

That was a tough round, Ryan. I'm sorry. Matlock, I mean...

I love Matlock. What was wrong with Derby?

I should have just gone for Staffordshire or Leicestershire

-and said...

-Yeah, I'm afraid you should have.

Stafford in Staffordshire. Anyway, there we are.

It's been great having you on the show. I'm sorry we're sending you home early but great contestants,

-Ryan and Carys.

-APPLAUSE

But for Christy and Jennifer, Charlie and Bo,

it's now time for our head-to-head.

Congratulations, Christy and Jennifer, Bo and Charlie.

You're one step closer to the final and a chance to play for our jackpot,

which currently stands at £3,250.

APPLAUSE

To decide who is going to play for that, you'll now go head-to-head.

The difference is you are now allowed to confer before you give your answers.

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

This is very exciting. England versus Scotland.

Men versus women.

Granny and granddaughter versus university chums.

This promises to be very exciting, indeed.

Christy and Jennifer, if there was any fun to be had.

I'm not saying that you were being allowed to go through

because we like grandmothers and granddaughters. You put paid to that with that answer,

Preston was fantastic. Best of luck to both pairs.

I think this is going to be an epic third round.

Let's play the head-to-head!

OK, here comes your first question. It concerns...

-Robotic characters, Richard?

-We're going to show you five images now

of robotic characters from various films and TV shows.

We just need you to tell us

the name of the film, or TV show, that each is from.

OK, thanks very much.

Let's reveal our five robotic characters and here they come.

We have got...

There you are, five robotic characters.

Which films are they from?

Christy and Jennifer, you played best throughout the show,

so far, so you will go first.

-WHISPERING:

-Metal Mickey but I don't know.

Just do that because I don't know any.

We are going to go C, Metal Mickey.

C, Metal Mickey.

C, Metal Mickey.

Now Bo and Charlie?

That board is all yours, talk us through it.

A is from AI. Do you know E?

-It's from a German film, I can't...

-Is it?

I was thinking it was a Cyberman.

-Maybe not. Let's avoid E.

-I think we should go with AI, then.

OK, you're going to say, A is AI.

A, AI. So Christy and Jennifer are saying that C is Metal Mickey.

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

Oh, an incorrect answer which means Bo and Charlie,

you merely have to be correct when you say that A is AI.

If you are correct, you will win this question.

You're right, very well done.

17, not a bad score, either.

APPLAUSE

But, the main thing, it was correct, which means

Bo and Charlie, you take an early lead.

After one question you are up 1-0.

Yeah, well played, gents.

B is Bicentennial Man,

the Robin Williams film.

It would have scored you 11.

C is actually a film, not a TV show.

It is Short Circuit.

Some people will remember, it would have scored you 27 points.

Lots of people remembered, in fact.

D is the biggest scorer there.

That's Crichton played by Robert Llewelyn

from Red Dwarf, 40 points.

And the last one, you're right, is a German film from 1927.

It's Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

It would have scored you 12 points.

The best answer on that board is Bicentennial Man.

Very well done, if you said that at home.

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

Christy and Jennifer, you have to win this one to stay in the game.

But Bo and Charlie get to answer first. Good luck.

It concerns...

Booker Prize novels. Richard?

I'm going to show you the names of five novels, all of which have won the Booker Prize.

We have left out the last word. Can you fill in the blanks, please?

OK, let's reveal our five Booker prize-winning novels

with the last word omitted.

Here they are. We've got...

I'll read those all again.

Bo and Charlie, you go first.

-WHISPERS:

-Do you know any of these?

The Sense Of An Ending is the top one. I don't know the others.

We are going with the top answer, The Sense Of An Ending.

OK, The Sense Of An Ending, say Bo and Charlie.

The Sense Of An Ending.

Now Christy and Jennifer, do you fancy taking us through

-the rest of the board, doing some out-loud thinking for us?

-Erm, no.

This should be my strong suit

but, again, it is not.

So we're going to go with Hotel Du Lac.

Hotel Du Lac. Hotel Du Lac.

We have The Sense Of An Ending and we have Hotel Du Lac.

Bo and Charlie went with The Sense Of An Ending.

Let's see if that's right and how many people said that.

It's right.

-Very well done, indeed. Nine for The Sense Of An Ending.

-APPLAUSE

Christy and Jennifer have gone with Hotel Du Lac.

Let's see if that's right and, if it is,

how many of our 100 people said, Hotel Du Lac.

It's right!

You have to win this one to stay in the game.

Is it going to beat nine?

Oh, 25, I'm afraid.

APPLAUSE

Two very good answers there.

Bo and Charlie, well done.

You've whipped it from under their noses.

After only two questions, you are through to the final, 2-0.

Yeah, two good answers there.

There was only one answer that could have beaten The Sense Of An Ending.

Let's fill in the rest.

It's William Golding's Rites Of Passage.

A big score there. Well done to our 100.

It would have scored you 53.

-Do you know the next one, Xander?

-The God Of Small Things.

Absolutely, it would have scored you 26.

And, how about the bottom one? It's the best answer there.

-It would have won the points.

-Moon Tiger.

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively.

Three points, so very well done if you got that at home.

Thank you very much, indeed.

At the end of our head-to-head round,

the pair leaving us are Christy and Jennifer.

I'm not afraid you're leaving us because you're coming back next time and that's wonderful.

I'm sure you'll be even better but it's been a great performance.

-Thank you.

-Very well done, look forward to seeing you then, Christy and Jennifer.

APPLAUSE

But for Bo and Charlie, it's now time for our Pointless final.

Congratulations, Bo and Charlie.

You 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 £3,250.

APPLAUSE

Well...

after chip- and anchovy-gate last time,

um, you've done fantastically well.

We started off with James Garfield - that was a great answer.

Then we had... Yeah, we had Guildford.

But listen, that was a mistake any of us could have made.

-I was lulled into a false sense of security.

-Exactly.

-But that was good. It kept you on your toes.

-He does it often.

And 2-0 in the head-to-head.

So, no, very impressive indeed. Very well done.

As ever, you get to choose your category.

And there are four options. Let's see what they are.

Today we've got...

I reckon playwrights I could do.

-Let's try.

-OK let's try.

-Let's go for American Playwrights.

-American Playwrights it is.

-OK, good luck, gents,

here are your three options.

We are looking for the title of any play by Eugene O'Neill

according to The Library of America.

We are looking for any actor who received a credit

in the film version of Aaron Sorkin's play A Few Good Men.

Or we are looking for any actor who appeared in the film version

of David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross, please.

So, any Eugene O'Neill play,

any actors in A Few Good Men or Glengarry Glen Ross.

Very, very best of luck.

Thanks very much indeed. Now, as always,

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

All you need to win that jackpot is for just one of those answers

to be pointless.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

-Yes.

OK, let's put 60 seconds up on the clock. There they are.

Your time starts now.

Have you got anything?

-Because I've got nothing.

-Nothing.

LAUGHTER

Er...

A Few Good Men...

If we could just guess

-at some American actors.

-Um...

Glengarry Glen Ross...

Was that a British...? American. Er...

-It's all American, so...

-OK. Should we just guess?

Aaron Sorkin... It was an Aaron Sorkin play.

-It must be relatively recent.

-Yeah.

So, who are some relatively obscure but...?

CHARLIE LAUGHS

Gandolfini.

James... Good. James Gandolfini.

-Um...

-Er...

You come up with one.

-Philip Seymour Hoffman.

-Er...OK.

OK. Er, who else can we choose?

Third relatively obscure actor...

-Yeah.

-..in that kind of field.

-Hm.

-Um...

-Steve Buscemi maybe.

-All right.

-Ten seconds left.

-Your three favourite actors.

Essentially, yeah. Three people we really like

and probably won't be pointless.

-Yeah.

-OK, let's try them.

-OK.

-OK.

You're happy with your answers?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

There we are. Your time is now up.

Tell me what those three answers are

and say which category you're answering.

-They are all from A Few Good Men actors.

-OK.

And our first is...

James Gandolfini.

James Gandolfini.

-Then Philip Seymour Hoffman.

-Philip Seymour Hoffman.

-And Steve Buscemi.

-Steve Buscemi.

Which of those who do you think is your best shot

at a pointless answer?

-Maybe Hoffman?

-OK, Philip Seymour Hoffman we'll put last.

-Least likely to be pointless?

-Steve Buscemi.

Steve Buscemi we'll put first.

OK, let's pop those up on the board in that order. And here they are.

We have...

Well, very best of luck.

Your first answer was Steve Buscemi,

the one you thought was probably least likely to be pointless.

Let's just say one of these is a correct answer

and it goes all the way down to zero

and you win that jackpot - £3,250 -

Bo, what would you do with that?

Considering we weren't banking on winning,

I think I'd probably spend it on something nice.

So maybe a few good nights out, a few good meals

and a holiday this summer, maybe.

-OK. Charlie?

-I think I might...

Given the amount of time, I'd try and spend it all in one go.

-Really?

-Yeah. See how far that would get me.

See what you end up...the state you end up in!

-Very full. Lots of good meals, I reckon.

-Yeah.

OK, well very best of luck. Steve Buscemi.

All these answers you've given are for the cast of the film

A Few Good Men.

Let's find out. Steve Buscemi. Is it right,

is it pointless for £3,250?

No. I'm afraid an incorrect answer.

So only two more shots at today's jackpot.

Your next answer is James Gandolfini.

Again, perfectly reasonable guess.

Let's find out, though, if it's right.

If it is, and if it's pointless, you will win that jackpot of £3,250.

How many people said James Gandolfini?

No! Bad luck.

-OK.

-There's a pattern developing.

-There's a pattern evolving.

Listen, this has happened before, quite recently,

where we've had incorrect answer, incorrect answer, jackpot!

-Hm...

-So your jackpot answer has to be Philip Seymour Hoffman

if you're going to win that jackpot - £3,250.

Let's find out if it's right,

and, if it is, how many people said Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Very, very best of luck.

No. Bad luck. I'm sorry.

APPLAUSE

Bad luck.

That category... Well, clearly, from the sort of answers you were giving,

it is a category you would have been comfortable with

-had it just been a film...

-Slightly different...

Unfortunately, you didn't find that all-important pointless answer.

You don't win today's jackpot of £3,250.

That will roll over on to the next show.

But you've been fantastic - on both shows.

Very early exit the first show,

but at this time round you really made your mark.

And you get a Pointless trophy for your troubles. So very well done.

APPLAUSE

Sorry, guys. Great performance from you.

Let's take a look at the pointless answers in the different categories.

Eugene O'Neill plays - huge amount of pointless answers.

Here's a few of them. A Moon For The Misbegotten.

Desire Under The Elms. Mourning Becomes Electra. Strange Interlude.

In fact, every single Eugene O'Neill play, apart from The Iceman Cometh,

A Touch Of The Poet and a Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Those are the only ones that score points at all.

So loads of pointless answers.

If you said one that wasn't there, you've just got yourself the jackpot, so well played.

Let's take a look at A Few Good Men.

The wonderful Christopher Guest, who's in This Is Spinal Tap,

Best In Show, all sorts of things.

Joshua Malina.

He went on to play Will Bailey in West Wing.

Kevin Pollak, who was also in Usual Suspects.

And Kiefer Sutherland, also there.

The scoring answers on that one - Tom Cruise would have got you 26,

Jack Nicholson, 20,

Demi Moore, ten, Kevin Bacon, three,

Cuba Gooding Jr, two, and Noah Wyle, one.

Everybody else pointless.

Now let's take a look at Glengarry Glen Ross,

one of my favourite plays, one of my favourite films.

The wonderful Alan Arkin is a pointless answer.

Bruce Altman.

Two other big stars there - Ed Harris and Jonathan Pryce.

The scoring answers there - Jack Lemmon with eight,

Al Pacino, seven, Alec Baldwin, six,

and Kevin Spacey, two. Everybody else pointers.

Very well done if you got a pointless answer at home.

-And tough luck in the studio, guys. Good performance.

-Thanks very much.

We have to say goodbye to you, Bo and Charlie.

But you've been fantastic. It's been great having you here.

Thank you so much for playing. Bo and Charlie!

APPLAUSE

Sadly, Bo and Charlie didn't win our jackpot today,

which means it rolls over to the next show,

when we will be playing for £4,250.

APPLAUSE

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

-Meanwhile, it's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

APPLAUSE