Episode 35 Pointless

Thank you very much indeed.

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

the game where you are always striving for the lowest score.

Let's meet today's players.

APPLAUSE

And couple number one.

Hi, I'm Stephen. This is my brother Simon. We are from Newark-on-Trent.

Couple number two.

I'm Emily. I'm from Cumbria. This is my friend Iqra from Leicester.

Couple number three.

Hello, I'm Pat. This is Sam.

We are neighbours from a small village near Chester.

And finally, couple number four.

Hi, I'm Vinay. I'm from Bradford.

This is my friend Helen, who is from Leeds.

And these are today's contestants.

APPLAUSE

Thanks very much, each and every one of you.

We'll find out more about you as the show goes on.

So that just leaves one more person for me to introduce.

He is delighted with the new deep tissue massage mode on his chair.

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

Hiya.

-APPLAUSE

-Hi, everybody. Good afternoon.

-Good afternoon to you.

-And to you.

Now, we're on the verge of Pointless history.

-Wow.

-Aren't we? We've given away five jackpots in a row.

Five in a row. Six is the most we've ever given away in a row before.

So we could equal that today if one of our pairs wins.

Three returning pairs. Pat and Sam made it all the way

through to the head-to-head last time.

So they've got to be favourites, I would say.

Vinay and Helen there, on podium four,

got through to the second round.

And podium one, Stephen and Simon. The brothers.

They were on podium one last time.

Got knocked out in Round One last time.

It'd be lovely to see them go a little bit further, wouldn't it?

Indeed. Thanks, Richard.

Now, as you may have picked up, Sharon

and Caroline won the jackpot last time.

So today's jackpot starts off back at £1,000.

There it is. Right, if everyone's ready, let's play Pointless.

APPLAUSE

The only thing you have to remember is that the pair with

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

That's it. Best of luck. Our first category today is...

Can you all decide in your pairs who wants to go first,

who wants to go second?

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

OK, and today's first round question is all about...

Smiths And Joneses. Richard.

On each pass we're going to show you seven clues to famous or

fictional people with the surname Smith of Jones.

Can you give us the most obscure answer, please?

14 in all to have a go at at home. Very best of luck.

OK. Here's our first board of famous Smiths and Joneses.

And here they are.

I'll read those all one last time.

-Stephen. Welcome. Welcome back.

-Thank you.

Remind us what you do, Stephen.

I'm a technical consultant for a telecommunications company.

That's right. Now, what happened last time?

-We were unlucky, I felt.

-Yeah.

-Difficult question.

Obviously we were on this podium last time.

And all the answers I had lined up disappeared before it got to me.

-Those words rounds. They're always tough.

-Difficult, yeah.

You know, you get much less time to think. Also, people don't make...

People can learn from other's mistakes further down the line.

It wasn't bad. There was nothing wrong with

either of your answers. Anyway, Stephen,

that's not going to happen today.

We've got this lovely board of Smiths and Joneses.

What would you like to go for?

OK, I think I'm going to go with what I know, which is

the actor who provided the voice for Darth Vader.

That was James Earl Jones.

James Earl Jones, says Stephen. Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many people said James Earl Jones.

It's right.

21.

APPLAUSE

That'll do, Stephen. Good start to the round.

Well played, Stephen. Of course, so famous for that incredible voice.

James Earl Jones. But he had a stutter when he was very young

and barely spoke between the age of 5 and 14.

-Oh, no.

-Yeah.

-That's a shame.

-It is.

-But beautiful that we all get to enjoy his voice now.

-Exactly.

Beautiful indeed.

Now, Iqra.

-Welcome.

-Yep.

-What do you do, Iqra?

I'm a medical student at the University of Leicester.

Very good. OK. What are your interests outside of medicine?

I do enjoy football.

But I don't want to say that now in case there's a football

question later on. And then it fails.

We both play rugby at Leicester as well.

But it's only a medics women's rugby team.

What do you mean "only" a women's medics rugby team?

That sounds pretty powerful.

Iqra, what are you going to go for on this board?

I'm not too strong on this board. I'm going to stick with what I know,

which is the Doctor Who lead in 2010. Matt Smith.

Matt Smith, says Iqra. Let's see how many of our 100 said Matt Smith.

It's right.

21 is our only score at this point.

48 for Matt Smith.

APPLAUSE

Both under 50. Both pretty decent.

Of course, the second most famous Matt Smith in the country,

after the Fulham centre-forward.

LAUGHTER

Thanks, Richard. Pat, welcome back.

Nice to have you here from Chester, with your neighbour Sam.

-Yes.

-Remind us whose idea it was to come on the show.

Um, well, we were together in the house.

I think it was some sort of a party.

And it was kind of one of those jokes where we said,

"I'd like to go on Pointless." "I'll go on it with you."

And then, here we are.

-That's how we got together, wasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah, exactly.

It was a party in Chester and...

So who sent off the form?

-I sent off the form.

-Very well done.

-That's all turned out marvellously.

Head-to-head last time.

-In fact, not just head-to-head, you were our golden couple.

-Mm.

Oh, dear. Anyway, you are back here. You get another chance.

-Yes.

-How are we feeling about the Smiths and Joneses?

-OK.

What do you want to go for, Pat?

I'm going to go for the singer whose UK number ones in the '60s...

That's Tom Jones.

Tom Jones. OK. Well, 48 and 21 are our only scores so far.

Where will you end up with Tom Jones?

It's right.

53. Not bad at all.

Good grouping.

They say that he insured his chest hair for several million pounds

but I never really buy stories like that.

-That's just... It can't be true.

-That's a publicity thing, isn't it?

It is. Like Marie Wilson insured her beehive haircut.

How can you insure a haircut?

You can't. But it's so easy to get a wig, isn't it?

-Well, exactly.

-Also, how are you going to lose it?

I know. One day a terrible water pistol accident. What's...

LAUGHTER

XANDER SIGHS

Right, now then, Helen.

-Welcome back.

-Thank you.

-Welcome back. Remind us what you do, Helen.

-I'm a trainee solicitor.

-That's right.

And what are your interests, Helen?

I like going to gigs. I like going to see comedy.

I just like to be out of the house, really.

Anything that involves a pint, I'm there.

Helen, what's wrong with the house? SHE LAUGHS

-It hasn't got a bar.

-Yeah.

LAUGHTER

Fair enough. Or a stage.

Now, Helen, this is all your board.

You can talk us through all of those if you like,

and fill in all the blanks.

I would love to be able to do that.

I've been to see Book Of Mormon so I'm absolutely kicking myself

that I've got no idea what the answer to that is.

I'm just going to have to take a guess.

I'm going to go with that one. I'm going to say Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith.

Listen, it's a good name. Let's see if it's right though.

How many people said it if it is?

It is right.

Good old Book Of Mormon.

ALEXANDER LAUGHS HAPPILY

9! You see, Helen!

I think we have just witnessed the first and most genuine...

We've had a couple of surprise...

No, if you've seen Book Of Mormon,

virtually every song is about Joseph Smith.

-It was clearly in your head somewhere.

-Yeah.

-Must have been in there, I suppose.

-Must have been.

-Have you seen Book Of Mormon?

-Just superb.

-You had a quote on the poster.

-I did, yeah.

-Yeah.

-That was quite nice.

-I loved it. I must see it again.

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

But, yeah, Joseph Smith is absolutely the right answer.

I'm very glad. There's a chamber of your brain that you're not aware of.

-Yeah.

-You dug into it.

-The England wicketkeeper.

-Geraint.

-Geraint Jones.

It would have scored you 4 points.

Also plays for Papua New Guinea, cos that's where he was born.

4 points for Geraint Jones.

Seth MacFarlane voices Stan Smith.

And the Wodehouse character.

He's called Rupert Psmith.

Absolutely. That's the best answer on the board.

Thanks very much indeed. Let's look at the scores. We're halfway through.

9. Well done, Helen.

Great answer there.

Then up to 21, where we find Stephen and Simon.

That's more like it.

Then up to 48, where we find Iqra and Emily.

Then 53, Pat and Sam.

Sam, you know what we need.

Nice, low score to keep you in the game.

We can't be sending you home this early.

We'll come back down the line now.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK, let's put seven more Smiths and Joneses up on the board.

And here they are.

I'll read those one last time.

-Vinay, welcome back.

-Hello.

-You were a paralegal, we discovered last time.

-Yes.

-That's right, yeah.

-What are your interests outside the law?

Again, I like live music. Go to a lot of shows.

Is there a particular favourite live act you've been to see recently?

Recently...

Probably Kasabian at the Brixton Academy

was one of the better shows of last year.

Very good. Do you go to festivals?

Yes, I've been to quite a few.

I've been to Glastonbury, I've been to T In The Park in Scotland.

Do you go to festivals looking at the band line-up or do you go to

festivals remembering how good that festival was last time you went?

-It's all about the line-up, definitely.

-All about the line-up.

-Definitely.

-Very good. So, there you are on 9.

Lovely low score from Helen.

-If you can score 43 or less, you are straight through.

-OK.

Hang on, does that laugh mean you think you won't score 43?

-No, I think I've got a couple.

-Good, good.

-He says now.

I'm going to go with the Trinidadian footballer.

Kenwyne Jones.

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

Let's see how many of 100 people said it. There is your red line.

Look at that.

And look at that.

Well done. 10.

APPLAUSE

The lowest score of the round on that podium. Lowest total, I should say.

-19.

-Solid stuff there on podium four.

Yeah, Kenwyne Jones is a very good answer. Safely through.

Thanks very much. Now, Sam.

Yes.

-Sam, welcome back. Here from Chester.

-Yes.

-Remind us what you do, Sam.

-I'm a student.

-What are you studying?

-Business management.

-How is that going?

-Yep, it's going all right.

-It's going well.

-What year are you in?

-I've just finished my first.

All good. Whereabouts are you doing that?

-Leeds.

-OK.

Now, what are your interests when you're not studying?

I play a lot of football. That sort of thing. I go to the pub. Go out.

Do you run into Helen ever? She's out a lot.

LAUGHTER

Sadly not, no.

-She's up in Leeds.

-Next time.

So, Sam.

-Well, Kenwyne Jones has just been stolen off me.

-Mm.

And I don't know a single other one.

XANDER GASPS

So I'm going to go with the South African cricketer.

I'm just going to say Matt Smith.

He's busy, Matt Smith, isn't he? He's doing a lot.

OK, no red line for you as you are the highest scorers.

Let's see if Matt Smith is right.

It is not.

It's a very good cricketing name though, Matt Smith.

-I could easily believe it.

-Yeah.

Sadly it's not true.

153 is your total.

Yeah, sorry, Sam. Not Matt Smith.

If it was, he would be the third most famous Matt Smith.

After Doctor Who and the Fulham centre-forward.

LAUGHTER

OK, now, Emily.

-Welcome to Pointless. Good to have you here.

-Thank you.

You are also a medical student?

Yeah, that's right. That's how I met Iqra.

At Leicester Uni.

How is that going, Leicester? Are you enjoying it?

Yeah, it's going pretty well.

It's a bit different to home, but I've adapted.

As it should be. Fewer lectures at home. Or maybe not. I don't know.

-Maybe you get a lot of lectures at home.

-No, not so many.

No, not so many. And formal dress less often required, I think.

Yeah, you don't need that much in the Lake District.

Whereabouts in the Lake District do you live?

I'm from Cockermouth.

It's quite a small town but there was loads of floods there...

-Absolutely. Famously.

-2009.

-Yeah.

-So it kind of put us on the map a bit.

Absolutely. Very good. Now, Emily.

Good news is it doesn't matter what you score,

you will still get through to the next round.

-Good news.

-Phew-ee. What are you going to go for?

I'm tempted to go for The Cure.

I've seen them so I feel like I should probably know that.

-You've seen them?

-Yeah.

-Very good for a medical student.

-Yeah.

LAUGHTER

Or you could go and see Placebo.

LAUGHTER

Yes, you've seen them.

But you perhaps weren't aware of any of their names.

I think I know it but I'm going to play it safe-ish

so as not to look quite so silly.

And say that Helen Fielding wrote Bridget Jones.

Bridget Jones, says Emily. No red line. You are already through.

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

Wow. Look at that.

Surprisingly low score for Bridget Jones.

Very well done indeed, Emily.

That takes your total up to 75.

Well played, Emily. Better safe than sorry.

Born in 1962, the fictional character Bridget Jones.

So she is now in her mid-50s.

Thank you, Richard. Now, Simon.

-Hello.

-Simon, welcome back. What do you do, Simon?

I'm a business trainer.

A business trainer.

Across the whole field of business or do you have a particular speciality?

-Management training, I guess.

-OK, very good.

Where do you do that?

Are you doing that for another company or do you do it freelance?

I've just left a big communications company...

-Is it the same communications company...?

-Yes.

-Was that quite nice, working with your brother?

-Yes.

-Or were you in very different departments?

-Very different.

Could you meet up for lunch or was it too far away?

-Oh, yes.

-That's nice. Very nice.

-How is it going, the new, the new...

-Yeah, it's early days.

-..start?

-Working for myself. It's very different.

-Yeah.

-How good is your discipline?

-Awful.

-Really?

Yeah, I've got a small child at home, Arthur,

-who loves the show, by the way...

-Hi, Arthur.

And he's a distraction that I don't mind.

But perhaps I ought to do a little bit more work.

-So you are working from an office at home?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-The dining room table.

XANDER LAUGHS

Actually, that's probably better than working in the spare bedroom

because about 10.30 in the morning, you'd be like...

YAWNING: I could probably just do this work lying down like this.

Then after a while... HE SNORES

Yes, so, Simon. You are also through. It doesn't matter what you score.

-Yes.

-The board is all yours. Fill in all the blanks.

I'm pleased about that. I was very good on the last board

but only new Kenwyne Jones on this board.

He's very popular, Kenwyne Jones, on this board. Seems to know everyone.

Yeah, I'm going to guess the lead singer of The Cure.

I think it's Steve Smith.

Sounds plausible, doesn't it?

Just the kind of name you'd imagine the lead singer

of The Clure...of The Cure might have.

Lead singer of The Clure. That's a different matter entirely.

Steve Smith. Let's see. No red line, you are already through.

Let's see how many people said Steve Smith, if it's right.

No Steve Smith.

I'm afraid, Simon, it scores you 100.

Takes your total to 121. But you're through anyway.

Although Steve Smith is the lead singer of The Clure, who were a...

-That's what I was thinking.

-They are a spin-off band from The Eagles.

LAUGHTER

Emily, what would you have gone for for The Cure?

-Robert Smith.

-Robert Smith is the right answer. Yeah.

Would have been a terrific answer as well.

-The White Teeth author?

-Zadie Smith.

The actor is Bruce Jones.

-The Jamaican-born singer?

-Grace Jones.

Biggest answer on the board.

-The test captain, it's not Matt Smith.

-Graeme.

-Graeme Smith.

Graeme Smith actually the best answer on the board.

Thanks, Richard. So, at the end of our first round,

the pair who are heading home, I'm so sorry, Sam and Pat.

Our neighbours from Chester.

Aw, I honestly thought after your performance last time

you deserved a place in the final.

But I'm sorry, we have to send you home at the end of this round.

Thank you so much for playing, Sam and Pat. Great contestants.

-BOTH:

-Thanks.

-APPLAUSE

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

We are down to three pairs. Obviously, at the end of this round,

we will have to say goodbye to another pair.

But, Vinay and Helen, well done. Our lowest combined score.

Helen, our lowest individual score. Joseph Smith. Superb.

Iqra and Emily. Well done. Our newcomers.

Through to the second round.

And, Stephen and Simon, welcome to Round Two.

-Hope you like it.

-Thank you.

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

Can you all decide in your pairs

which of you likes geography the most?

Who is going to go first, who is going to go second?

Whoever is 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...

Capitals Of Countries With A Mediterranean Coastline.

Richard.

Simply looking for the capital city of any country that has any

part of that country on the coast with the Mediterranean, please.

Including all the seas that make up the Mediterranean -

the Adriatic, the Aegean, etc.

Any capital city of any of those countries, please.

As always, by country we mean a sovereign state that is

a member of the UN in its own right.

Thanks, Richard. Now, Stephen. Always tough going first. As you well know.

I'm going to play it safe, I think, though if I get this wrong

it's going to be embarrassing, and I'm going to say Paris.

Paris, says Stephen. OK. Paris.

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

Let's see how many people said Paris.

It's right.

54.

APPLAUSE

Yep. Paris, that's the capital of France.

XANDER GIGGLES

-That's got a bit of a Mediterranean coastline.

-Lovely.

-Beautiful down there.

-Yeah.

OK, now, Iqra, what would you like to go for?

I thought the Mediterranean was elsewhere.

LAUGHTER

It is literally in the middle of the Earth.

-Mediterranean. There it is.

-Oh. OK.

I'm going to go for Portugal then, and Lisbon.

Lisbon, says Iqra. Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many of our 100 said Lisbon.

I'm afraid, Iqra, that's an incorrect answer.

And it scores you 100 points.

I suspect the Mediterranean is where you thought it

was in the first place, actually.

But, yeah, Portugal is on the Atlantic Ocean.

Thank you very much. Now, Vinay.

This one is surprisingly tricky when you're stood up here, actually.

I'm going to say Madrid.

Madrid, says Vinay. Let's see how many of our 100 said Madrid.

It's right.

54 is our only score.

You don't quite make it to that.

But nice grouping.

56 for Madrid.

And that is the capital of Spain. Spain.

-Spain.

-They are really going for it in this round, aren't they?

-Aren't they just?

-Goodness me!

We are halfway through the round. Let's take a look at those scores.

54 the best score of that pass. Stephen. There you go.

Not what I thought I'd be saying at the beginning of this round.

But there you are. Stephen and Simon looking pretty strong now.

Then up to 56, Vinay and Helen.

Then Iqra and Emily on 100. So, Emily,

who knows what might happen in the next pass?

There might be scores flying around. Let's have a low score from you.

We'll come back down the line now,

can the second players please step up to the podium?

So, Helen, we are looking for the capital cities of countries

with a Mediterranean coastline. There are some really nice,

quite obscure countries with Mediterranean coastlines.

-You are not going to get one from me, I'm afraid.

-OK.

I'm terrible at geography. I don't even...

I'm going to say Athens.

OK, Athens. There is your red line.

Get below that with Athens and you are through to the next round.

Let's see how many people said Athens.

It's right.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

54.

There we are. All very much in the same sort of ballpark,

these Mediterranean countries.

110 is your total.

That is the capital of Greece.

LAUGHTER

-At time of recording.

-LAUGHTER

Thank you, Rich. Now, Emily.

If you can score 9 or less, you are through to the next round.

How are you feeling about this as a category?

I'm going to try for Turkey but I'm not sure about the capital.

I'm going to go Ankara.

OK, Ankara, says Emily. Here is your red line.

It's quite low. Let's see if you can get below that with Ankara.

It's right.

Look at that.

It's the lowest scoring of all our answers.

11. Very well done indeed, Emily.

That might get you through.

We will see.

That's a bit more like it, yeah. Good answer.

Ankara, capital of Turkey.

Very good indeed. Now then, Simon. Here we go. Come on.

You have to score 56 or less.

56 or less or we say goodbye to you.

-Yes.

-You have a look of intense concentration there.

-I have an obvious answer.

-Have you had any brainwaves?

-Yes.

-Don't go for obvious.

-No.

I think the capital of Tunisia is Tunis.

But I'm going to go with... It's very risky.

..Monaco.

As the capital city of Monaco.

Monaco, the capital city of Monaco.

Stephen, what are you thinking about that?

My geography is terrible. I trust him.

Your geography is terrible, OK. There is your red line.

Let's see if that risk is going to pay off, Simon. Monaco.

It's right.

Yes! You've done it. Very well done indeed.

That's a good answer. Nobody thought of Monaco.

4.

There we go, Simon. APPLAUSE

58 is your total.

-Well done.

-Very well played, Simon. Terrific answer.

Tunis would have scored you 20 points.

So it would have seen you through as well.

There's two pointless answers.

They are Podgorica, which is the capital of Montenegro.

That's a terrific answer if you said that.

And Ljubljana, which is the capital of Slovenia.

Both of those have got Mediterranean coasts.

Both of those terrific answers. I'll give you the other low scorers.

Sarajevo, Bosnia would have scored you 2.

3 for Beirut, Lebanon.

4 for Damascus, Syria and Zagreb, Croatia.

5 for Tirana. That's Albania, of course.

6 for Rabat, Morocco.

And the top three. A couple of these are familiar.

Athens, that's the capital of Greece.

Madrid, that's the capital of Spain.

And Rome is right at the top there with 70 points, which is

the capital of...?

-I think it's Italy.

-Very good, yeah.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much, Richard. At the end of our second round,

I'm sorry to say it's our medics who are heading home. Emily and Iqra.

111. You were only one point ahead of your nearest rivals.

But you're just out in front. We will see you again next time though.

And I hope you will go even further.

Meantime, thanks very much, Emily and Iqra.

APPLAUSE

But for the remaining two pairs, it's now time for our head-to-head.

Congratulations, Vinay and Helen, Stephen and Simon,

you are now one step closer to the final

and a chance to play for our jackpot, which still stands at £1,000.

Well, you know the deal at this point.

You can start playing as teams. Chat before you give your answers.

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

You have all done better than you did last time.

Vinay and Helen, Round Two. Here you are in the head-to-head.

Stephen and Simon, Round One last time. Now in the head-to-head.

It should be quite a tight match, I hope.

Anyway, best of luck to both pairs. Let's play the head-to-head.

Here comes your first question. And it concerns...

Classic Albums. Richard.

Just going to show you five visual clues to the titles

of classic albums. Can you name them, please?

-I love a visual clue.

-I know you like these ones.

-Love that!

Oh, you lucky things. Visual clues. Let's reveal them.

We have five of them.

XANDER CHUCKLES

OK, there we are.

Five visual clues.

Vinay and Helen, you have been our lowest scorers so you will go first.

We think that we know all but D.

-I don't know D.

-No.

I think we are going to go with E, which is The Bends.

The Bends. The Bends, say Vinay and Helen.

Now then, Stephen and Simon.

We know B and C.

And we knew E.

-I think C will be high so we'll go with B.

-Yep.

Dark Side Of The Moon.

You're going to go for Dark Side Of The Moon.

We have The Bends and Dark Side Of The Moon.

Vinay and Helen said The Bends for E.

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

It is right.

APPLAUSE

17.

17 for The Bends.

Now, Stephen and Simon have gone for Dark Side Of The Moon for B.

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

It's right.

53.

Big score there. APPLAUSE

Well done, Vinay and Helen. After one question, you are up one-nil.

That's actually the biggest scorer on the board.

There is one answer up there that would have beaten The Bends.

It's D, as you'd imagine.

A is Back In Black.

Is that Brian Cox?

-That is Brian Cox, yeah.

-Nice.

It's not really.

C is Bridge Over Troubled Water.

And this is the best answer.

Members of the Pointless production team.

And it is Who's Next,

The Who's only number one album.

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

Stephen and Simon must win to stay in the game.

But you get to answer it first. It concerns...

Crufts, Richard.

Going to give you five clues now to facts about Crufts.

Up to and including 2015. Can you give us the most obscure answer?

Thanks very much. Let's reveal our five clues. And here they come.

I'll read those all one last time.

Stephen and Simon, get conferring.

INDISTINCT DISCUSSION

OK, we're going to go with the body which governs dog breeding standards

and it's The Kennel Club.

The Kennel Club, say Stephen and Simon. The Kennel Club.

Now, Vinay and Helen, talk us through the rest of that board.

THEY LAUGH

Um, to be honest with you,

I only know one and the rest would be guesses.

So we are going to go with the venue and it's the NEC,

which is National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The NEC, say Vinay and Helen.

We have The Kennel Club and we have the NEC.

Stephen and Simon said The Kennel Club.

Let's see how many people said that.

Yep, it's right.

31.

APPLAUSE

Meanwhile, Vinay and Helen have gone for the NEC, the venue.

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

It's right.

45 for the NEC.

Well done, Stephen and Simon. Kept you in the game.

After two questions, it's one-all.

The top two answers. Let's start at the bottom.

The breed of spaniel that's won

seven Best In Show titles is English Cocker.

Glad I didn't answer that.

What would you have gone for?

-King Charles.

-Yeah, I'd have gone for that as well.

The decade the show was first televised.

You could have had a guess at this. There's not that many decades.

-It was the 19...

-'60s?

-'50s.

Actually, first televised in 1950. Unbelievably.

And this is a pointless answer.

The first name of the person who founded the show.

Andy. Andy Crufts.

It's not Andy Crufts, I'm afraid.

Anyone want to guess the name?

-Tom.

-Not Tom.

-Dave.

-AUDIENCE MEMBER:

-Darren.

Not Darren. It's not Darren. Take this seriously.

You know we can have you removed. You know that.

LAUGHTER

The answer was Charles. Funnily enough.

-There we go.

-Pointless answer. Very well done if you said that at home.

-Was he Charles Cruft or Charles Crufts?

-Charles Cruft.

Right, there we go.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

-He was from Barking.

-LAUGHTER

Here comes your third question.

Whoever wins this goes through to the final and plays for that jackpot.

It concerns...

-Richard.

-I'm going to show you some initials now of leaders of British

political parties, plus the party they led and the years

they led that party.

Need you to give us the name of the most obscure, please. Best of luck.

OK, here come those leaders.

And we've got...

I'll read those all one last time.

Vinay and Helen will go first.

We know quite a few of these.

It's just a question of which is going to be the lowest,

which is difficult.

I think we are going to go for the Green Party and Caroline Lucas.

Caroline Lucas, say Vinay and Helen. Caroline Lucas.

Stephen and Simon, what would you like to go for?

-We know a couple, don't we?

-We think.

Do you want to talk us through the board?

Yeah. I believe the top one is Harold Macmillan.

We think Tony Blair is the middle one.

And William Hague the bottom one. But we think he might be quite high.

-So we're going for the top one. Harold Macmillan.

-Harold Macmillan.

So we have Caroline Lucas and we have Harold Macmillan.

Now then, Vinay and Helen. Caroline Lucas.

Let's see how many of our 100 said that.

It's right.

Very well done. 10.

Very good.

10 for Caroline Lucas.

Stephen and Simon, meanwhile, have gone for Harold Macmillan.

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

It's right.

41 for Harold Macmillan.

Quite high there.

Very well done, Vinay and Helen.

After three questions, you are through to the final two-one.

Very well played. Great answer, Caroline Lucas.

Again, we'll start from the bottom.

What do you think Tony Blair scored?

-I should think in the 80s.

-Yeah, 82.

JS is the best answer on the board.

Very well done if you said that.

Thanks very much, Richard.

The pair leaving us at the end of the head-to-head round,

Stephen and Simon. You've done very well.

Good performance across the show today.

Great to have you in the head-to-head. I'm afraid this is the end of the road.

Thanks very much for playing. Stephen and Simon.

-APPLAUSE BOTH:

-Thank you.

For Vinay and Helen, it's now time for our Pointless final.

Congratulations, Vinay and Helen.

You have seen off all the competition.

You have won our coveted Pointless trophy.

It's all going very well indeed.

You now have a chance to win our Pointless jackpot

and equal Pointless history.

It's too exciting for words!

At the end of today's show, the jackpot is standing at £1,000.

There it is. We've thrown Smiths and Joneses at you.

We have thrown countries with Mediterranean coastlines.

That was nice, wasn't it?

And then we had my favourite kind of round, a visual clue round. Albums.

We had Crufts questions. Leaders of political parties.

I mean, what a gallimaufry of different questions

and categories there.

What would you like to see? What will get you into Pointless record books?

-We need music, really, don't we?

-Yeah, music.

-OK.

-Or football, maybe.

-Sport for you.

-Yeah.

OK. Very best of luck.

As always, there will be four choices on the board behind me.

You just have to pick the one you think you can have the best shot at.

Today's selection looks like this.

I don't think we've got particularly good...

'80s Award Winners might be OK. That might be a music one.

-Might be film.

-Do you want to try that?

I don't mind. You choose.

-Let's go with the 1980s Award Winners.

-OK.

1980s Award Winners it is. Richard.

Goodness me. I have to say,

if you ask for sport and you're essentially from Leeds,

I would've thought Sport In Leeds would've been quite a good category.

But you know what, what do I know?

-He'd have been on his own.

-That took me by surprise.

I've had to shuffle my papers.

OK, here is three different questions for you

for 1980s Award Winners.

We're looking for the name of any individual who won the Booker Prize

from 1980 to 1989 inclusive.

We're looking for anyone who won BBC Sports Personality Of The Year

from 1980 to 1989 inclusive.

Or we're looking for any actress who won a Best Leading

or Best Supporting Actress Oscars at the ceremonies from 1980 to 1989.

Booker Prize winners, Sports Personality Of The Year winners

or Best Leading or Supporting Actress Oscar winners in the 1980s.

Very best of luck.

OK, as always, you've got up to one minute

to come up with three answers.

All you need to win that jackpot, go into the Pointless history book,

is for just one of those answers to be pointless. Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

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

Your time starts now.

I know two Booker Prize winners

but I don't know if they were

in the '80s or not.

Which ones?

Angela Carter and Iris Murdoch.

We can go with those if you want

because I am struggling with the sports personality.

Sebastian Coe or something, but he'd be high.

He'd be high, yeah. Um...

Leading actresses...

Actresses, actresses.

I'm struggling on that one.

We should have gone with Sport In Leeds.

THEY LAUGH

Um...

Shall we go with those two Booker Prize ones then?

-Yeah.

-Then pick someone for sport.

-Yeah.

-Can you think of any?

'80s...

I can't think of any. Not from the

-'80s.

-Mind blank.

-Yeah, completely.

Ten seconds remain.

I think we are ready cos we've not got very much.

-OK, but you've got three answers?

-Yes, we do.

OK, well, there we are. We will just let that clock wind down.

Let's have those three answers.

Say which category it is you are answering.

Booker Prize winners - we don't know if they are in the '80s or not

but we are going to go Angela Carter and Iris Murdoch.

Angela Carter, Iris Murdoch.

And then Sports Personality Of The Year.

It's a punt, isn't it? Probably high-scoring. Seb Coe.

Seb Coe. OK, of those three, which is your best shot at a pointless answer?

-One of the Booker Prize ones, I guess.

-Pick one.

They might not be right. Iris Murdoch.

Iris Murdoch we'll put last. Least likely to be pointless?

-Seb Coe.

-Seb Coe we'll put first.

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

And here they are. We've got...

Listen, three good answers on the board there.

Who knows? One of those could easily be pointless.

And we could be handing out our sixth jackpot win in row.

Very exciting. What would you do with your winnings if that were the case?

-Vinay?

-I'm just in the process of buying my first house.

So that would probably help buy exciting things like a fridge

and a washing machine. And such things.

That's exciting(!)

Helen, how about you?

I should probably save mine towards getting myself a house,

but actually, I'd probably go on a nice holiday.

Very good. OK, now, let's put them to the test. Seb Coe.

In this case we were looking for

1980s BBC Sports Personalities Of The Year.

You thought this was probably your least likely to be pointless.

Let's find out if it's correct. And if it's pointless,

it will win you £1,000. How many people said Seb Coe?

Bad luck!

Not Seb Coe.

Not Seb Coe. Not a pointless answer, which means you only have two more

shots at today's jackpot and the record book.

Angela Carter was your next answer.

In this case, we were looking for 1980s Booker Prize winners.

It has to be pointless for you to win.

So for £1,000, let's see how many people said Angela Carter.

Oh!

I'm afraid not Angela Carter. Also an incorrect answer.

Which means everything is now riding on your third and final answer,

which I remember was Iris Murdoch. This was the one you thought

was probably your best shot at a pointless answer.

But it has to be pointless for you to win the jackpot.

For £1,000, let's see how many people said Iris Murdoch. Is it pointless?

Oh! Bad luck!

APPLAUSE

Oh, I'm sorry.

You took a good run up at that.

But I'm afraid you didn't manage to find that all-important

pointless answer. I'm afraid you don't win today's jackpot of £1,000.

That will roll over onto the next show.

But it's been great having you on two shows.

You have performed really well across this one.

And you get to take home a Pointless trophy. So very, very well done.

APPLAUSE

We did not equal the record. We don't equal the record.

-If only Sport In Leeds...

-LAUGHTER

We might have equalled it.

Iris Murdoch won in 1978 so she wasn't a million miles away.

I don't think she would have been a pointless answer,

looking at some of the people who did score.

Seb Coe won in 1979, so not in the '80s.

I don't think it would have been a pointless answer.

Let's take a look at the pointless answers

in the different categories. Booker Prize winners.

You could have had... Keri Hulme for The Bone People.

Penelope Lively for Moon Tiger.

Thomas Keneally won for Schindler's Ark.

William Golding won for Rites Of Passage. And JM Coetzee.

Those were the pointless answers in that category.

Let's take a look at the BBC Sports Personality.

Only two pointless answers here. Barry McGuigan would've been

a pointless answer. And the figure skater Robin Cousins.

Botham would've scored you 8.

Steve Davis and Nigel Mansell - 6.

3 for Fatima Whitbread, Daley Thompson and Steve Cram.

1 for Nick Faldo.

No Seb Coe there.

And the actresses who won Oscars in the '80s.

Marlee Matlin for Children Of A Lesser God.

Peggy Ashcroft - Best Supporting Actress for A Passage To India.

Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine for Terms Of Endearment.

Also could've had Geraldine Page, Linda Hunt, Mary Steenburgen,

Maureen Stapleton and Olympia Dukakis.

Very well done if you said any of those at home.

-Unlucky in the studio.

-Thanks very much, Richard.

Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to you, Vinay and Helen.

It's been great having you on the show. Thanks so much for playing.

Vinay and Helen. APPLAUSE

Well, they didn't win our jackpot today

so it rolls over onto the next show.

Which means next time we'll be playing for £2,000.

APPLAUSE

Join us then to see if someone can win it.

-Meanwhile, it's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.