Episode 51 Pointless

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much indeed. Hello, I'm Alexander Armstrong

and a very warm welcome to Pointless,

the game where you are always striving to find the lowest score.

Let's meet today's players.

And couple number one.

Hi there, I'm Dougie.

This is my best friend, James, and we are from Bournemouth.

Couple number two.

Hi, I'm Russell. This is my friend Stuart.

I'm from Greenock, Stuart is from Paisley.

Couple number three.

Hi, I'm Joel, this is my ex-flatmate Johndy and we are from Birmingham.

And finally, couple number four.

Hi, I'm Lucy and this is my mum, Jackie.

I'm from London and Mum is from Cheshire.

And these are today's contestants.

Well, thanks very much, all of you. Welcome to the show.

We will find out more about each of you throughout the show,

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

So bright, people sit near him to test their Kindles,

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

Hiya. Hi, everybody.

-Afternoon. Good afternoon to you.

-Good afternoon.

Now, the big news is, of course, on the last show,

we had a terrible case of vandalism, someone had scratched my laptop

in a Blue Peter garden-style act of appalling depravity.

That's just awful.

But it's been fixed, it's been fixed. Someone's fixed it.

They haven't got me a new laptop, which would be nice,

after six years.

We still haven't caught the culprit.

No-one has seen Bradley Walsh for a few days, I'll say that.

Who knows? Who knows what happened?

It might be one of those things that forever remains a mystery.

-No, I'm glad it's fixed.

-It's good news, isn't it?

-It is.

We have got a couple of returning pairs -

James and Dougie, who got into the head-to-head last time,

and Stuart and Russell, there, on podium two.

They went out in the countries round

and they both slightly mispronounced countries.

We allowed one and didn't allow the other, but it meant you got a pointless answer and a 100,

so you've had the full gamut of the Pointless experience.

All you need now is a trophy. Good luck today, gents.

Thanks very much. Now, Julia and Ellen won our jackpot last time,

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

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

All you have to remember is this - the pair with the highest score

at the end of each round will be eliminated.

Best of luck to all four pairs.

Our first category this afternoon...

is Chemistry. There you are, it's Chemistry.

Can you decide in your pairs who is going first, who is going second

and 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...

..as they could.

-Richard?

-Yeah, looking for the name of any chemical element

that's on the periodic table as of July 2015, please, whose first vowel is an A.

It doesn't have to begin with A, so long as the first vowel is an A.

Thank you very much indeed.

Dougie,

another day, another bowtie.

Remind us what you like getting up to, Dougie.

Well, James and I own...

Well, we co-own a musical-theatre group in Bournemouth,

so amateur dramatics, putting on shows around the locality.

Very good. So, you are not attached to a particular theatre?

-You are a touring company?

-Yeah, the venues change.

OK, very good.

Now, Dougie, chemistry.

-Yeah, not great.

-Mm-hm.

I'm going to go with aluminium.

Aluminium, first vowel an A.

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

It's right.

Oh, it's not bad!

49!

I thought you got off quite lightly there, Dougie.

Yeah, aluminium, all sorts of uses.

Aircraft fuselages, things like that.

The Americans call it "a-loo-minum"

and we get cross with them, but actually,

it was called aluminum before it was called aluminium,

so they are actually slightly...

It wasn't originally called aluminum, but...

-It just makes it even worse.

-So they have some...

-Justification.

-Yes.

-Oh, how annoying!

Thank you very much. Stuart.

Now, what do you like getting up to, up in Paisley?

I'm very into film, computer gaming

and saving a lot of money for my wedding next year.

Your wedding is next year? Many congratulations!

-Have you set a date?

-26th of September.

OK, so... Oh, autumn, almost, then! Are you going to just hope that

it's going to be nice and chilly and you'll have...

We're getting married in Rome, so hopefully it's nice.

Oh, it's going to be lovely!

That's going to be... I'm sorry, no aspersions on Paisley, but it can...

You know, you wouldn't want to bank on it being a nice day,

necessarily, at the end of September.

Very good indeed. Now, Stuart, how is your chemistry?

This is OK.

Hopefully I've got a correct answer this time.

I will go for californium.

Californium, says Stuart.

Let's see how many of our 100 people went with californium.

It's right.

49's our only score at this point.

You've passed that very comfortably indeed.

Californium taking us down

to 3.

That's a good answer, Stuart! Very well done indeed!

3 for californium.

Well played, Stuart. Very nicely played. Classic Pointless answer.

Yeah, discovered in Texas.

Seriously...?! LAUGHTER

-No.

-No.

There we are, thank you. Californium.

-Now, Johndy.

-Hi.

Welcome, good to have you here, Johndy. What do you do?

I'm a student at the University of Birmingham.

And what are you studying?

-Biology.

-Biology.

Oh, so close!

And what year are you in?

Just going into my second year now.

-So just done one year? Been round the course once.

-Yeah.

And what else do you get up to?

I like to play basketball, recreationally.

OK, you play for... There is a team at Birmingham that you play for?

-Local team.

-OK, very good.

Now, Johndy, chemistry. Chemistry.

Well, I think I'm OK at it.

I would like to think you would be.

I'll go for lawrencium.

Lawrencium. Lawrencium, says Johndy.

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

It's right.

Again, you've passed 49 very comfortably.

Lawrencium's a pointless answer! Very well done indeed!

Very well done. That adds £250 to today's jackpot,

takes the total up to £1,250.

It scores you nothing and it's just marvellous,

earns you huge kudos.

Terrific answer, Johndy. Always my go-to answer

for elements, lawrencium. Named after Ernest Lawrence,

who also invented the cyclotron particle accelerator.

I love the cyclotron! It's always my favourite ride!

I love the cyclotron particle accelerator,

-it's my favourite particle accelerator.

-Of all of them?

Yes. Well... No, yeah, I think it is my favourite,

-it is my favourite.

-Thanks very much indeed.

Now, then, Lucy, welcome to Pointless.

-Good to have you here, from London.

-From London.

-And what do you do in London?

-I produce TV commercials.

-OK, so you are with an agency, are you, or are you...?

-I'm freelance,

I'm a production manager, so...

I see, so you actually work on the productions themselves.

-I do the work.

-You do the work.

-Yeah.

Now, Lucy, what are your interests?

I like to write in my spare time.

These aren't sort of panicky, last-minute scripts you're talking about?

No, no, no, no. I'm trying to write a novel,

but it turns out it's easier said than done, so it's taking a while.

What's the hard bit? Finding the time to do it, or...?

Finishing it.

I've kind of written the fun bits, it's all the filling in the gaps.

-Yeah, OK, well, best of luck with that!

-Thank you.

Now, Lucy, what are you going to go for?

I'm going to go for...

gallium?

Gallium.

You sound not entirely sure about gallium.

Well, I did chemistry A-level, so I've got a lot to live up to.

No, you sound entirely sure, that's good! Gallium.

That's good, let's see how many of our 100 people said gallium.

It's right.

Well, there is 49, our gateway,

everyone passes that.

Gallium scores 2, look at that.

Very well done indeed.

2 for gallium.

Great answer, Lucy.

Yeah, it has a very high boiling point, gallium,

so it is used to measure temperatures

that would vaporise a thermometer.

Thank you very much. We're halfway through the round,

let's take a look at those scores. Well done, Johndy!

Johndy and Joel, sitting there on nothing,

feeling, I hope, very pleased with themselves.

Then up to 2, equally pleased

with themselves, Lucy and Jackie.

Then up to 3,

well done, Stuart and Russell.

Then up to 49, Dougie and James.

Yes... James, if you've got a really good answer,

we'll hear it at the end of the round

and I hope, by then, you'll be in a position

to save yourselves with that. We'll see.

We'll come back down the line now.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

Jackie, lovely to have you on Pointless.

Warm welcome. What do you do?

Well, I'm retired now.

I used to be an admin manager.

So I spend my life mainly playing golf and playing bridge.

Well, that's nice!

-Golf by day, bridge by night.

-Exactly, yes.

-Brilliant!

-And presumably you spend quite a bit of time missing Lucy...

-I do.

-..now she's down in London?

-I do, a lot of time missing Lucy, yes.

Do you tend to go down to London quite often or...?

I come down a lot, yes, I love to be here.

Very good. OK, listen, there you are, on 2.

If you can happen to score 46 or less, you're into the next round.

Well, I'll do my best.

I heard about this one the other day and I hope I've got it right.

Darmstadtium.

-Dam...?

-Stadt...

-Darmstadt...

-Darmstadtium.

Oh, darmstadtium, yes! LAUGHTER

Here's your red line, nice and sort of middling.

Darmstadtium. If it's right,

then I can think of one place it will probably end up, but we'll see.

Darmstadtium. Let's see if it's right. There is your red line.

It's right!

Takes you to the next round, but does it, does it, does it...?

Oh, no, it doesn't quite!

It doesn't quite!

Scores you 1! That's brilliant, very well done indeed,

Jackie, takes your total up to 3. darmstadtium.

That's a terrific answer, Jackie, and a better answer than Lucy,

even though she's got A-level chemistry.

I don't know what we read into that.

Yeah, it's a man-made element, darmstadtium.

They made it by fusing nickel and lead atoms.

-OK, Joel.

-Hey.

Joel, hi there. Here from Birmingham. What do you do?

I'm a student as well, I do philosophy.

You're doing philosophy, and how is that going?

It's... Well, it's happening in my mind!

Asks more questions than it answers, doesn't it?

-I'm not quite sure what it is.

-OK, good. Good answer, this is it.

Now, what do you do in your spare time, Joel?

I like to play a bit of music,

I play guitar, and banjo a lot less successfully.

-OK, but you play a lot of music, just to listen...

-I listen and play.

-But banjo? Fun! HIGH-PITCHED:

-Well...!

And singing, too, which is nice!

LAUGHTER You should put the two together.

The fingers don't work like they used to on the banjo.

Oh, they used to work very well?

They used to work, but now, it's long gone.

My physical peak was at 14. Since then, it's been a steady decline.

You need to practise more!

-That's probably the answer, but...

-Yeah.

That's probably the answer. Well, listen, Joel, there you are.

You are on nothing. Great score from Johndy.

Wouldn't it be brilliant if we got a double pointless here?

I have one that's safe and one that sounds right in my head, so...

You're only here twice...

-LAUGHTER

-..so I'll go for americium.

Americium. Good.

Americium. Here's your red line.

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

It's right.

You're through.

6!

6, takes your total up to 6.

Very well done indeed.

Yeah, well played, Joel.

Takes a philosophy student to say, "You're only here twice."

There we are. Thank you, Richard.

Now, then, Russell.

Welcome back.

What do you like getting up to, up there in Glasgow?

I love spending time with my family,

out on day trips and to parks, safari parks and things like that.

My wee boy is only two and he loves wee trips out.

Very good indeed. And does he sleep well? Is he a dream?

He goes to bed late, but he sleeps through, which is nice.

-He's a brilliant wee lad.

-Excellent. Rory?

-Yeah, Rory.

There we go. Now, Russell, you are on 3.

Ideally, you would score 45 or less.

I'm thinking of a couple, but I think I'll go for francium.

Francium, says Russell.

Here's your red line. Get below this red line

with francium and you are into Round Two.

How many of our 100 people said it?

It's right.

You are through, very well done indeed.

That's a great answer!

2!

Taking your total up to 5, on the second podium there.

That's another very impressive answer, Russell, very well done.

In fact, the average score for all contestants without a bowtie

is just under 2.5.

Very, very impressive.

Thank you, Richard. Now, James...

Oh, James!

-Well...!

-Oh, James, you haven't even opened your mouth yet,

but I'm afraid you are our high scorers.

Yeah, it's fine.

I'm sorry. So, James, yes, tell us, remind us what you do.

I am an events manager, so I run events all over the country.

Organising events for the company that you work for?

What, broadly speaking, does that company do?

It's a property investment franchise,

so we teach people how to invest in property, basically.

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

I'm into musical theatre as well. Obviously, we own

-the musical theatre company together.

-Yes, indeed.

-I also...

I'm a big foodie, so I cook and bake quite a lot.

Dougie, I'm just going to turn to you at this point.

Does he cook and bake well?

-Yeah, not bad at all.

-Thank you.

James, good for you. What have you brought us?

LAUGHTER

I did actually bring some the other day.

-Did you ever hear anything about this?

-No, what was it?

I left some for you in the make-up room.

Oh, there's your first mistake!

They told me they were going to give them to you.

Do you know, they didn't?

I brought ginger and chilli...

That's not like our make-up artists, is it?

Not like them to eat everything that's left at anywhere near them(!)

How weird! Mm.

Well, I did bring cookies.

OK. Well, thank you very much indeed. We will look into those.

James, you are the high scorers, I'm afraid,

so it doesn't matter what you score.

Actually, I normally say it doesn't matter what you score when people are already through.

I'm afraid, in this case, it doesn't matter what you score,

-you will be leaving.

-Yeah.

Let's have... What about a nice little pointless answer?

Unfortunately, the good answers that I had are already gone, so...

Oh, yes, good, yes, like the biscuits! Like the biscuits!

I've only got sort of slightly obvious ones,

but I suppose the lowest one I can think of is platinum.

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

It's right.

Well, it beats 49.

There you are, platinum going down...

to 7! Not bad at all!

There we are, takes your total up to 56.

There's a few pointless answers here, actually,

that we haven't seen. Let's take a look at them.

Gadolinium, which is used

in the control rods of nuclear reactors, which is cool.

Hafnium, that's used in plasma welding torches,

which is also quite cool.

Hassium, which...

Highly radioactive, only a few atoms have ever been made of hassium,

but a pointless answer nonetheless.

Lawrencium, of course, we've already heard.

Our old friend praseodymium.

Samarium also a pointless answer,

also used in nuclear reactors.

And thallium as well. Very well done if you said any of those.

Let's take a look at the top three answers,

ones that most of our 100 people said.

Arsenic with 30 there. They all start with A, these.

Argon 44 and, right at the top, I'm afraid,

aluminium with 49.

There we are. Thanks very much, Richard.

So, at the end of our first round, I'm sorry to say,

it's our low scorers from the last show

that we have to say goodbye to this time.

James and Dougie, I'm afraid aluminium did for you.

I'm sorry.

Might you have got any of those other ones, Dougie?

Probably not.

OK.

I played it safe.

You played it safe, but 56, I'm afraid,

was your reward for that and we have to say goodbye to you now.

But, James and Dougie, it's been great having you on. Thanks for playing.

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

Well, what about that?

Very well done, all of you.

Here you are in Round Two, but not just in Round Two,

that doesn't give the full story of what happened last round.

You were exceptional!

All of you, very well done. Johndy, especially,

lawrencium there - superb, our pointless answer.

Best of luck to all three pairs.

Our category for Round Two this afternoon is...

Can you all decide in your pairs who is going first, who is going second,

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

OK, and the question concerns...

"For" words, Richard?

Yeah, on each board, we are going to show you six definitions of words

from the Oxford Dictionary of English

that begin with the letters F-O-R.

Can you tell us what the words are, please?

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

Thanks very much, so let's reveal our first board of clues

and here they are. We have...

I'll read those all one last time.

There we are.

Stuart.

I think I know most of them.

But I'll go with the top one

and forage.

Forage, says Stuart.

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

66 for forage.

Yeah, also can be food for cattle and horses, can forage.

I like to forage for porridge.

-Mmm!

-Mmm!

-Yes, hard to pick up, porridge...

-Yes.

-..once you've found it.

-Once you've found it.

-Yeah, very hard.

Always take a spoon.

That's exactly what I was going to say - always take a spoon.

Thank you, Richard. Now, Joel?

Yeah, I think... I think I know most of them.

I will go for...

I think a male worker who supervises and directs is a foreman?

A foreman, says Joel.

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

Yeah, 87.

Yeah, that is... That's a big score.

Also, of course, surname of George Foreman.

Presumably, at his factory, there is a foreman.

-Well, they actually had four of them.

-Oh!

Four men being foreman at Foreman.

They had a Foreman foreman team,

it was the Foreman four-men foreman team.

Oh, the forming of the four-men Foreman foreman team.

Well, you know what? Now it's four men and a woman, so it's actually

the forming of the formerly four-men Foreman foreman team.

Thanks very much. Now, Jackie?

This board is all yours. Do you want to talk us through and fill it in?

Well, the second one...

The only one I can think of is foremost,

but that's only eight letters, so that's no good.

I just can't think renounce or give up.

The only one I'm really sure of is for all future time -

forever.

-And that's the one you're going to go for?

-Yes, please.

Forever, says Jackie. Let's see if it's right.

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

Well, it's the lowest score, so well done, Jackie.

51 for forever.

I would have thought that would be higher, forever,

but no, there it is.

So, let's fill in the rest of these. Start at the bottom, shall we?

A mathematical relationship?

-Formula.

-It's a formula.

That would have scored 45.

Renounce or give up?

-Forego.

-No, look at the letters.

Oh, forsake! Of course! Of course, of course.

-Oh, you see.

-12 points for that.

And the nine-letter one is...

-Forefront.

-Forefront, yeah.

That would have scored 6, best answer on the board.

Well done if you said that.

But lots of words sort of fit, don't they?

-So the brain tends to...

-You've got to count the letters.

There we go. Thanks very much indeed.

Well, halfway through the round, let's look at those scores.

51, Jackie, the best score of those three, so well done.

That puts you at the head of the game.

Then 66 is where we find Stuart and Russell

and then 87, Joel and Johndy.

Johndy, let's have another low score in the next pass

and hope it's enough to keep you in the game.

We'll come back down the line.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK, we are going to put six more definitions up on the board

and here they are.

We have got...

I'm going to read all of those again.

Lucy.

I...will go with a feeling that something bad will happen.

Foreboding.

Foreboding, says Lucy. Here is your red line.

If you can get below that, you're definitely into the next round.

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

It's right.

-Ooh!

-39.

Not bad, though, it's not bad.

Taking your total up to a nice round 90.

Yeah, lowest answer, lowest-scoring answer so far.

Sense of foreboding, which is what Johndy has, I suspect.

LAUGHTER

Now, Johndy.

I think I know quite a few.

But I will go for the bottom one and say

foresight.

Foresight, says Johndy.

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

There is your red line, very low.

It's right.

That's not bad. 16, our lowest score so far.

Very well done, Johndy.

103 is your total.

That's a great answer, Johndy. Well played.

It can also mean the front sight of a gun

or the ex-host of Strictly Come Dancing.

LAUGHTER Thank you very much indeed, Richard.

Now, Russell.

That board's all yours.

How much of it do you think you can talk us through?

I think I know most of them.

I think I'll go for the first one - a meeting or medium

where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.

That's forum.

Forum, says Russell. Here is your red line.

Not too far down.

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

Oh, 59 for forum.

Takes your total up to 125.

Yeah, unlucky, Russell.

They had picked off the best-scoring answers on that board,

I'm afraid, down at the bottom.

The next-best answer would have been strange and unfamiliar.

-Foreign.

-That would have scored you 49.

The large area?

-Forest.

-Forest, exactly.

That's when I forage for my porridge, in the forest.

71. And fail to remember?

Oh, it's... Oh, I had it! LAUGHTER

Very good.

86 points for forget.

There's some heavy irony in amongst 14 of our 100 there.

Isn't there just? There we go. Thanks very much.

So, at the end of our second round,

I'm sorry to say, Russell and Stuart,

our only other returning pair, we say goodbye to you now.

It's been great having you on the show.

You've been so good throughout both the shows you've been on.

I'm sorry not to see you through to the head-to-head

and beyond today, but this is where we say goodbye.

Thanks so much, Russell and Stuart.

Thank you, thank you.

But, for Jackie and Lucy, Joel and Johndy,

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

Very well done.

Jackie and Lucy, Joel and Johndy are now one step closer to the final

and a chance to play for that jackpot,

which currently stands at £1,250.

Well, this is the part where you can start playing as a team,

you can chat before you give your answers.

First pair to win two questions will go through to that final.

Well, you haven't really put a foot wrong.

We had one rogue high score from you, Joel, in that F-O-R round,

but that was just the board. You knew the other ones,

you just chose the wrong one there.

But no, I think this should be very well matched indeed.

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

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

Famous novels, Richard?

We're going to show you five visual clues now

to the names of famous novels.

Can you work out what these novels are, please?

Thanks very much. Let's reveal our visual clues and here they are.

Five images.

There we go.

OK, now, Jackie and Lucy, you are our low scorers,

so you will go first.

THEY WHISPER

-Can we go for D?

-Yes.

Bleak House.

Bleak House, say Jackie and Lucy, for D.

Now, then, Joel and Johndy, talk us through the board.

-Do you know any of those?

-I don't think so.

We could just guess from the pictures.

Well, I do know C.

Well, I only knew D.

This is on you, you are the real MVP.

-Shall we go with C?

-Yes.

All right, The Bell Jar, C.

The Bell Jar, say Joel and Johndy. The Bell Jar.

OK, so, we have Jackie and Lucy with Bleak House for D.

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

It's right.

59 for Bleak House.

It's a house, it's bleak.

Bleak House.

Now, Joel and Johndy have gone for The Bell Jar for C.

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

It IS right!

The Bell Jar.

And it wins you the point, look at that.

32.

Which means, Joel and Johndy, after one question, you are up 1-0.

Yeah, the first two are the lowest scorers.

-The first one is...

-The Old Man And The Sea.

The Old Man And The Sea, Pulitzer Prize-winner Ernest Hemingway.

17 points for that.

B, a wonderful novel.

-A Handful Of Dust.

-A Handful Of Dust by Evelyn Waugh.

5 points for that.

-And E is...?

-A Room With A View.

A Room With A View, EM Forster, and that would have scored 47.

I have to see, I mean, that is a view,

but there's no excuse for not putting

a lick of paint on the walls.

What is that a view of?

It looks like sort of tracks

or sort of like an opencast mine or something there?

That looks like a Bond villain's lair,

that's what it is, that's a view from...

I'm going to say maybe the 80th floor.

I think a Bond villain would have his room painted.

Oh, no, this is just the hotel that overlooks...

Again, I don't think a Bond villain

would have a hotel overlooking his lair.

I think he would build a lair somewhere that wasn't overlooked

by a, frankly, two-star or three-star hotel.

There we are. Thank you very much.

TripAdvisor - "Very disappointing."

LAUGHTER

OK, now, here comes your second question.

Jackie and Lucy, you have to win this one to stay in the game,

so best of luck with that.

Our second question in this round concerns...

Gardeners and gardening, Richard?

Yeah, simply five clues to facts about gardeners and gardening.

Can you give us the most obscure of these answers, please?

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

We've got...

I'll read those all one last time.

Now, Joel and Johndy, you will go first.

THEY WHISPER

We'll go with the bottom one

and go with the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew.

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

Now, Jackie and Lucy, that board is all yours, talk us through it

if you can.

Well, the top one is secateurs, I think.

Don't know the second one.

We think number three is Percy Thrower.

And the fourth one is probably Dutch elm disease.

So, what are we going for? Percy Thrower?

The Gardeners' World presenter

who became the first Blue Peter gardener, Percy Thrower.

Percy Thrower. So, we have Kew Gardens and we have Percy Thrower.

Joel and Johndy went for Kew Gardens.

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

It is right.

29.

Not bad. 29 for Kew Gardens.

Jackie and Lucy, meanwhile, have gone for Percy Thrower.

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

Percy Thrower is right.

And it wins you the point. Look at that,

18 for Percy Thrower.

Well done, Jackie and Lucy, you've broken back.

-After two questions, it is 1-1.

-Yeah, two very strong answers there.

Well played, both teams.

The top answer is the biggest answer.

You are quite right, it was secateurs.

That would have scored you 62.

You were right about Dutch elm disease as well.

That, again, would have scored you too many points. 47.

So you chose the right one of the ones that you knew.

Do you have any idea of this one?

I would say probably sunflower.

-Yeah, tall colourful plant. It is sunflower.

-There we are.

That would have scored you 8 points,

so very well done if you said that at home. Best answer on the board.

Thanks very much. So, here comes your third question.

Whoever wins this one goes through to the final

and plays for that jackpot. Best of luck to both pairs.

Our third question today is all about...

Seas of the world?

We are going to show you the names now of five seas of the world,

but in the form of anagrams, I'm afraid.

Whichever team can unscramble them and give us the most obscure answer

is going through to play for that jackpot.

OK, let's reveal our five seas in anagram form and here they are.

I'll read those one last time.

Jackie and Lucy, you will go first this time.

THEY WHISPER

We will go for the bottom one, please.

Lit cab, Baltic.

Baltic, say Jackie and Lucy.

Now, then, Joel and Johndy, talk us through the rest of them.

Um... I... Well, I think I know the first two and the bottom one.

We will go with the first one, Ionian.

Ionian. So, we have Baltic and we have Ionian.

Jackie and Lucy went for Baltic for lit cab.

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

It's right.

64.

64.

Meanwhile, Joel and Johndy have gone for Ionian for I an ion.

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

It's right.

And it wins you the point. Well done!

Down it goes, 32 for Ionian.

Which means, after three questions, Joel and Johndy,

you are through to the final, 2-1.

Yeah, well played, gents.

Did you say you knew the second one, as well?

-Yeah, Tyrrhenian.

-It is. I would have gone for that one.

-1 point.

-Good one, yes.

1 point for that, so it was a virtually impossible one.

Yes, off the coast of Italy, between Italy and some of its islands.

The next one down?

It's Ligurian, Ligurian Sea.

It is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, 7 points for that.

And bare cabin?

-Caribbean.

-Caribbean, and that would have scored 52.

Thanks very much, Richard.

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

I'm afraid, Jackie and Lucy, our low scorers.

Good news, though, we get to see you again next time.

We'll look forward to that very much indeed,

but in the meantime, thanks very much, Jackie and Lucy.

APPLAUSE

Good luck!

But for Joel and Johndy, it's now time for our Pointless final.

Congratulations, Joel and Johndy.

You've seen off all the competition

and you have won our coveted Pointless trophy.

You now have a chance to win our Pointless jackpot.

At the end of today's show, the jackpot is standing at £1,250.

Well, listen, you started the show with a pointless answer.

If you can finish it with a pointless answer,

that would be just fabulous, nice and symmetrical.

What would you like to see come up in this round?

Er, American sports, maybe? Things like NBA.

Anything you want to add to that, Johndy?

Biology, maybe.

OK, biology and American sports. Best of luck. Let's hope there is

something up here you like the look of.

Today's selection looks like this. We've got...

I like the look of the bottom one.

-Yeah?

-Any thoughts on the others?

-Do you know any people called Billy?

-No!

No, you know no-one...?

I probably do, but shall we just go for...?

Yeah, Summer and Winter Olympic hosts.

-OK.

-Very best of luck, gents.

Terrific performance so far. Let's hope it continues.

We are looking for any of the following, please.

We are looking for any...

city or town in the USA

that's hosted a Summer or Winter Olympics since 1896,

since the modern Games began.

We are looking for...

So any of the official list of cities

that didn't win a particular year.

They can have won later on, just as long as they failed at least once.

Or we are looking for...

That's a Summer or Winter Olympics.

So, USA hosts of a Summer or Winter Olympics,

failed candidates for Summer Olympics,

or people who have opened a Winter or Summer Olympics since 1948.

Thanks very much.

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

to come up with three answers and all you need to win that jackpot

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

-Yes.

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

There they are, your time starts now.

We just have to think of cities, really.

Yeah, well, failed Summer Olympics, there was...

When London won, I think Paris, Tokyo went for it.

I think... Just go for any major cities, they will probably come up.

USA, especially, there's quite a lot in the US.

Yeah? So, what do you think?

-Mmm...

-Just...?

-Miami?

-Maybe.

Er, Boston?

For the last one, I think Sharapova did it.

-Yeah? Good shout. For where?

-Sochi.

Yeah, that's a good shout.

I think failed... USA, I only know, like, Salt Lake City.

I think that's the States.

Salt Lake... It's in Utah.

Oh, cool, well, there you go.

Um...

So, what should we go for, for failed Summer...?

Which American cities?

Boston?

-Ten seconds left.

-Shall we go for Sharapova?

-Boston, Seattle, Sharapova?

-Yes.

-Yes.

OK, you're happy?

-Mm-hm.

-OK, well, as our minute runs out,

it sounds like you've got your three answers.

What are you going to give me?

If you say which category you are answering as well.

So, for failed Summer Olympic candidate cities,

we will go for Boston and Seattle.

-Boston and Seattle.

-And for people who officially opened the Olympics,

-we will go for Maria Sharapova.

-Maria Sharapova. Of those three,

which do you think is your best shot at a pointless answer?

-Sharapova?

-Maybe, yeah.

Maria Sharapova, we'll put last.

Least likely to be pointless?

Boston?

Boston goes first.

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

and here they are.

We have got Boston and we have got Seattle

and we have got Maria Sharapova.

Well, very best of luck, three good answers there on the board.

There's a very good chance you might win that jackpot

with one of those answers. What would you do with £1,250?

Joel, to you first.

I think, cos I'm not living with Johndy any more,

I might buy some kind of life-size...memorial towards him.

-So, either in wax or...

-Hang on, hang on.

Memorial?!

LAUGHTER

I'm not dead!

Yeah, well, we'll see after this!

Um, Johndy?

I'd probably buy him banjo lessons. He needs it!

OK. Very good.

Well, listen, three good answers. In the first instance,

we were looking for failed Summer Olympics candidates.

Your first answer was Boston.

If this is pointless, it will win you £1,250.

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

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

so obviously not a pointless answer,

which means we are down to your last two answers.

Your next answer, Seattle,

was also a failed candidate for Summer Olympics.

If it's right and if it's pointless, it will win you £1,250.

How many of our 100 people said Seattle?

Oh, no!

I'm sorry, I'm afraid Seattle is also an incorrect answer,

which means everything is now riding on your third and final answer.

You seemed pretty confident about this. Maria Sharapova.

We were looking for people who had officially opened an Olympic Games.

Let's find out. Maria Sharapova. Is it pointless?

If it is, it will win you £1,250.

Oh, no!

Oh, I'm sorry!

Maybe she just went?

Maybe she just turned up to watch one day.

I'm afraid, though, you didn't mind managed to find

that all-important CORRECT answer, I'm afraid,

let alone a pointless answer. I'm sorry.

That means you don't win today's jackpot of £1,250.

That will roll over on to the next show,

but you can be very proud of your performance on the show today -

very, very strong from first till last...

Well, first till second-last, let's say.

And don't forget, you get to take home a Pointless trophy each,

so very, very well done.

Joel and Johndy. Great contestants.

Very well played, gents.

Your instincts were right, to go for those American cities.

Lots of pointless answers in that category,

you just didn't stumble upon the right ones, but you did the right thing.

Maria Sharapova did not open the Sochi Olympics,

that was Vladimir Putin.

I think, if Putin wants to open something, you let him!

I think that's the rule.

But those last two categories

are the ones where all the pointless answers are.

There was only one in the USA Summer Olympic venues

and that was Squaw Valley, so very well done if you said that.

Los Angeles would have scored 44, Atlanta 36

and then smaller scores for Salt Lake City,

St Louis and Lake Placid.

Now, the failed Olympic candidate cities since 1948.

Lots of good answers.

Budapest, Buenos Aires. San Francisco, very easily

could have stumbled upon that instead of Boston.

Vienna. You also could have had...

Well, the American cities, you could have had Detroit,

you could have had Philadelphia, Baltimore.

There is also Amsterdam, Athens, Belgrade, Brisbane, Brussels,

Cape Town, Istanbul, Lausanne, Lyon, Mexico City.

Minneapolis, another American one.

Montreal, Nagoya, Osaka and Toronto.

All of those were pointless answers.

Very well done if you said any of those.

Now, the people who have opened the Olympics.

It's usually a head of state.

Lots of other pointless answers here.

Charles de Gaulle was a pointless answer,

Emperor Hirohito, George W Bush.

You could have Hu Jintao, King Juan Carlos,

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh,

who opened the Melbourne Olympics.

Richard Nixon as well, who opened the Squaw Valley Olympics.

Lots and lots of pointless answers there.

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

And, you know, as you said, the instincts were exactly right,

just Boston and Seattle, unfortunate choices.

Thanks, Richard.

Well, unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to you,

Joel and Johndy, but it's been great having you on the show.

-Thank you so much for playing. Great contestants.

-Thank you.

Well, sadly, Joel and Johndy didn't win our jackpot today,

which means it rolls over on to the next show

when we'll be playing for £2,250.

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.