Episode 42 Pointless

APPLAUSE

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

and welcome to Pointless,

the game where we aim for the obscure and we ignore the obvious.

Let's meet today's players.

-And couple number one.

-Hi, my name's Becky.

This is my brother Jon and we're from Worksop.

-Couple number two.

-Hi, my name is Manoj and I'm from Birmingham.

This is my best friend Rakesh and he's from Leicester.

Couple number three.

Hi, I'm James and this is my housemate Joe

and we're students at the University of Bristol.

And finally, couple number four.

Hi, I'm Liv, this is my dad Giles

and we're from Kenilworth in Warwickshire.

And these are today's contestants.

Thanks very much, all of you.

Big warm welcome to Pointless, great to have you here.

We'll get a chance to chat to you each throughout the show as it goes along.

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

Honk if you love trivia.

It's my Pointless friend.

-It's Richard.

-Hiya.

Hi, everybody.

Good afternoon.

-Good afternoon.

-Good afternoon to you, sir.

Good afternoon.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

Excellent. Now, sometimes people say to us,

how would we do if we were a pair on Pointless, would we do well?

You know, I never want to find out, by the way.

-I think there's lots of rounds we would do rather well on.

-Yes.

There are some things that we know about.

Round One today would be my nightmare round for me.

Other people would be fine with it, I promise you.

For me, it would be a nightmare.

OK. I don't know how we feel about that, do we?

Are we looking forward to Round One?

-A little nervous.

-Apprehensive.

-OK.

-It would be fine.

And only Giles and Liv from the last show, got knocked out in Round One,

very unfortunately knocked out in Round One, as well, Giles and Liv,

so fingers crossed we'll see more of them today.

Let's hope. Well, thanks very much indeed, Richard.

So, Janis and Ann won the jackpot last time,

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

There we are. OK, if everyone's ready, let's play Pointless.

APPLAUSE

Remember this, if you remember nothing else.

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

No conferring in the first two rounds.

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

It's birds. 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 our bird question is all about RSPB red status birds.

Yep, red status birds.

We're going to show you two boards in a minute, one on the way up, one on the way down,

both of which will have nine birds on them.

They're all on the RSPB red status list,

which means they're a conservation priority.

So give us the name of any of those birds, please.

Nine on the first board, nine on the second.

18 in all to have a go at at home.

-Slightly different to normal, isn't it?

-It is. That's a flock, isn't it?

-Nine. Nine on each board.

-And pictures.

-Two picture boards.

-And initials!

-I know, right?

-I think you'd be fine on this.

-This is... No.

-Really?

No. I don't know.

Yeah, I'd be bad, I think.

-Initials might help me out.

-OK.

OK. Remember, if we went on together,

I like to think birds is something I'd be relatively good at.

Oh, yeah, you know about birds, all right.

If you got by with one of your better-known red status,

I could then come in with a nice low score.

-Oh, that'd be nice.

-All right, thanks very much.

So, we are going to show you two images, one going up, one coming down.

Let's put our first image up right now and be done with it.

Here it is.

There you go.

There we are. Now, Jon, we come to you first.

A very warm welcome to Pointless here from Worksop.

-What do you do, Jon?

-I'm self-employed.

I work as an agent for Taiwanese companies,

-doing their sales and marketing.

-I see.

And when not sales and marketing-bound,

what do you like to get up to?

I enjoy playing badminton regularly, two or three times a week.

What was it about badminton that particularly appealed to you?

I don't know. It's just something I've played for a long time since I was quite young

and I've carried on through.

I love the way a shuttlecock is just a bit slower than a tennis ball.

That's what I like about badminton.

-You know that they're actually faster.

-Really?

Yeah, yeah, a shuttlecock flies faster than a tennis ball.

It doesn't seem that way, does it? But it does.

-It's true, yeah.

-There you are. There you are.

Now, Jon, birds. Red status birds.

Red status birds, Jon.

-There's a lot to choose from.

-Yes.

Um...

I think I'm going to go...

-I'm going to go yellowhammer.

-You're going to go yellowhammer.

OK, let's see if that's right

and let's see how many of our 100 people said yellowhammer.

It's right.

Look at that, 17.

Very well done indeed, Jon. Great start to the show.

Yeah, I would be all right, actually, on this board.

-The initials are quite helpful, aren't they?

-They are.

Yellowhammer, yeah. Alabama in the States is named the Yellowhammer State,

but after a completely different bird

-that's also called the yellowhammer.

-Oh, really?

Also, pleasingly, it rhymes with Alabama as well, which is nice.

Yellowhammer, Alabama.

Oh, if you were a limerick writer in Alabama, you've just got...

Yeah, you are laughing.

"What, you need something about the state bird?

"Yeah, I think I can do that."

Thanks very much, Richard. Rakesh, welcome to Pointless.

-Thank you.

-Great to have you here.

-What do you do, Rakesh?

-I run my own online toy shop.

Now, that's fun. An online toy shop.

What sort of toys do you specialise in?

I specialise in sci-fi merchandise,

comic merchandise and merchandise from popular movies.

Now, these sound like... You might have more of an adult...

I don't mean that! I mean a slightly more grown-up,

a slightly more mature client base.

-That is right.

-Just because that sort of sci-fi and comic things...

You know, it's not really aimed at children, is it?

I've got two kind of sets of collectors.

Some people who buy the product and never open it up,

in the hope that it will go up in value over the years.

But quite a few of the people who buy from me

basically open it up for display purposes on their shelf or at home.

There you are.

So you don't act as a brokerage house for people who want to trade?

No, I'm just purely a retailer.

Maybe there's a market in that, as well, Rakesh?

-Maybe, something to look into.

-There we are.

-Now, Rakesh, how are we feeling about the birds?

-Um...

Kind of mixed bag for me.

I'm not a bird-watcher, but I've just worked out one,

which hopefully might score me well.

I'm going to go for lesser spotted woodpecker.

Lesser spotted woodpecker, says Rakesh.

Let's see if that's right. Let's see how many of our 100 people went for lesser spotted woodpecker.

That's good! 20. There we are.

20 for lesser spotted woodpecker.

Yeah, the smallest and rarest of the UK's woodpeckers,

the lesser spotted.

They're beautiful, aren't they, the lesser spotted ones, though?

It's like a sort of hound's tooth thing there.

-Jacket.

-And a little cycling helmet.

Yes!

-That is right.

-Tiny little cycling helmet.

Lovely. OK, thank you very much indeed.

Now, then, James.

-Hello.

-James, welcome to Pointless.

Good to have you here from Bristol.

And what keeps you busy in Bristol?

Um, well, I'm in a house with five other guys,

so we always sort of find things to mess around and do.

We've got a pool table downstairs in our basement,

so we often have tournaments and decide who's going to buy...

-I'm sorry, are you an undergraduate at Bristol?

-Yeah.

Oh, I see. So this all makes perfect sense.

What do you read at university?

I'm studying geology at the moment.

My fourth year.

-OK, so very much gearing up for the big, wide world.

-Yeah.

Any idea what you're going to do when you leave?

Um, no idea, really.

Maybe go travelling for a bit

and then hopefully get a job in a sunny country.

That would be nice, wouldn't it? Put that geology degree to good use.

The thing about doing a geology degree

is you start in year four and you work backwards.

So, James, how are we feeling about our bird table?

Not good. Not good for me.

I'm probably going to go, if it is a bird,

I'm going to go for willow tit.

-Bottom left.

-Willow tit.

It sounds like a bird to me.

Let's find out. Is it a bird?

Is James right to go for it?

-It is a bird! Of course it is.

-You're joking.

There you are, 13. Not only is it a bird,

it's scored you the lowest score of the round so far.

Yeah, very well done. Not only did that score 13 points,

but you live in a student household and you just said willow tit on national television,

so congratulations.

There are 90% fewer than there were when we were born in 1970.

I know, it's terribly sad. They have a very distinctive song, the willow tit.

It goes... HE WHISTLES

Like that. You'll hear it a lot.

And it was used in that song Tit Willow, from the opera The Mikado.

There you are.

Thank you very much. LAUGHTER

So, Giles, welcome back to Pointless.

-Last time, Round One.

-Yes.

Round One, you were misled by some initials, I think.

-Yes, that's right.

-Quite understandably.

Remind us what you do, Giles.

So I'm a doctor. I'm a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon.

That's right. And does that leave you much time to do other things?

-Yes, a bit.

-And what are your interests outside...?

So, my passion's rugby.

I'm a fan of Wasps, recently moved to Coventry.

And I also coach and referee.

Wow, I mean, that's a full-time,

FULL-TIME rugby commitment there, by the sounds of things.

I imagine being a rugby referee is a bit...

You're not quite so much in the firing line as a football referee.

No, so people are polite

when they're telling you that they think you've made a complete error.

Right. I see.

OK, now, Giles, you're the last to have this board.

If you wanted to, you could go through it and fill in all our blanks.

So I think that that's a cuckoo at the top.

The others, I don't really know.

I think that's probably a thrush and I would guess a stag thrush,

but that's only because it fits.

I think top left is golden something

and I think the top right has a ruff around its neck,

but I have absolutely no confidence that there is a bird called a ruff.

And I don't want to get 100 in the first round again,

-so I'm going to go for cuckoo.

-Cuckoo, says Giles.

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

50.

50 for cuckoo.

You know what? You were absolutely right about ruff.

And it would have been a much lower score, as well.

Ruff would have scored you 18 points

and would have been a terrific answer.

-You're right about golden.

-Golden oriole.

It is a golden oriole, very well done.

You see, I would have helped you out here, you see?

You would have done. I'd have been all right on this board, I think.

16 points for that. It is a thrush.

-It's not a stag thrush.

-Song thrush.

-Song thrush.

And that would have been 37 points.

Next to that, it is...

-Starling.

-Starling. 46.

And right at the bottom, bottom right...

Probably my favourite birds,

what we used to call a peewit. It's a lapwing.

-Is that your favourite bird, the lapwing?

-Yeah.

-Would have scored you ten points.

-Why is that your favourite bird?

-They have the most glorious tone.

It's a very, very shrill, slightly electronic sounding...

You almost wouldn't believe it was a bird if you heard it.

-What does that sound like?

-I can't really do it, but it goes...

HE IMITATES A LAPWING

-It's a very...

-It's like when you...

-Yeah, when you lock your car.

-Yeah. And they're also...

They're plovers, basically. They're ground nesters, as well.

-They're plovers. They're plovers, not fighters.

-That's it, yeah.

They're beautiful birds.

Anyway, there we go.

-There we go.

-Ah, peewits...

-Peewits.

-Lovely.

-You just said peewits on national television.

-Yeah.

-If only you lived in a student household.

-What do you mean? I do.

-Oh, yeah?

-Yeah.

-You and Ben Miller.

-That's right, yeah.

Thank you very much indeed, Richard.

So, we're halfway through the round,

so let's take a look at those scores.

13, the best score of that pass, James. Very well done.

Slightly unwitting, but there we are.

17 is where we find Jon and Becky.

20 is where we find Rakesh and Manoj.

And then 50, Giles and Liv.

Now, yes, there you are out in front again.

I mean, no fault of your own,

but you did know a lovely low-scoring bird there.

Liv, it falls to you. We need a low score from you.

Best of luck with that. We'll come back down the line now.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK, we're going to put another image up on the board and here they are.

Nine more red status birds.

Oh, it's nice, this, I don't have to read them out.

Oh, imagine if I had to describe them, that would take forever.

OK, Liv.

Welcome back. Liv, remind us what you do.

-I'm a student at King's College London.

-That's right.

And when not studying hard, which I'm sure you do,

what do you like to get up to?

I do a bit of volunteering at a homework club in Battersea

for kids from refugee backgrounds.

So we do an hour of homework support

and then an hour of something fun, like cooking or games.

Very good. Good for you. Now, Liv, you are the high-scorers.

Don't forget that. Don't be lulled into any sense of security.

We need a challenging answer from you.

It's got to be one of those ones that's not entirely easy.

Erm...so I'm going to make one up.

-As long as it's loosely based around the initials that you're given there.

-Yeah.

So the bottom middle,

the last word is clearly gull.

So I'm going to go for...

-..heading gull. That well-known...

-Heading gull.

-Yeah.

-Really good at getting balls into the net.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Right, no red line for you, as you're the high-scorers.

-That's encouraging.

-Let us see if heading gull is right.

Oh, no!

I'm afraid incorrect.

I'm so sorry, Liv. I'm afraid that was an incorrect answer,

scores you 100 points, and that takes your total up to 150.

-It's all... It's OK.

-Sorry.

Yeah, sorry, Liv.

Heading Gull, that's where Yorkshire play cricket, I'm afraid.

-Thanks very much, Richard. Joe...

-Hello.

Now, then, welcome to Pointless.

Also, I'm going to guess, an undergraduate at Bristol.

-Yes.

-What are you studying?

Environmental geoscience.

-Bit of a mouthful, but...

-That's interesting. And I would...

I don't know if red status birds come into your bailiwick.

-Unfortunately not, no.

-That's a shame, that's a shame.

-And you're a housemate of James's?

-Yeah, yeah. For four years.

For four years standing.

-Was it immediate friendship?

-Kind of had to be.

I mean, we were on the same...

Well, a similar course and the same floor in halls, so...

OK. There we are.

And here you are, putting it to the ultimate test by appearing on Pointless together.

-Exactly, yeah.

-Now, Joe, I have good news.

It doesn't actually matter what you score,

you'll still get through to the next round.

But it would be quite cool, wouldn't it, to have a nice, low score?

Perhaps one as low as James's there.

It would, yeah.

I think I know one

and I'm going to guess at the one that was said before

-and I'm going to go herring gull.

-Herring gull.

Herring gull, says Joe. No red line for you, you're already through.

Let's see how many of our 100 said herring gull.

It's right.

25.

38 is your total.

-Yeah, very large, very noisy gulls, the herring gull.

-Mm.

Oh, and they love a chip.

They really do. Well, that's because they eat so much fish.

Thanks very much, Richard.

Now, then, Manoj, welcome to Pointless.

-Great to have you here.

-Thank you.

-What do you do, Manoj?

-I'm a senior surveyor

for a Yorkshire-based property management company.

I see. How long have you been doing that?

With this company, six years, but overall, 17.

Right you are. And what are your interests, Manoj?

I like a bit of DIY.

I like football more than anything else.

I listen to music, as well.

Very good indeed. How are you on your birds?

Erm... I paid attention to Bill Oddie at The Goodies...

Well, when he was in The Goodies.

But obviously not with his ornithology.

Right. OK. Well, the good news is it doesn't matter what you score,

-you'll still be through to the next round.

-Fabulous.

-What would you like to go for?

-Erm...

I was going to try the herring gull but, well, that's gone now.

But I'm going to take a punt at the white-tailed eagle.

There we are. Vigorous nodding from Rakesh.

I think rightly so.

Let's see how many of our 100 people went for the white-tailed eagle.

No red line, you're already through.

Very well done.

Look at that, ten. Very well done indeed.

Taking your total up to 30.

Nice low total there.

They actually went extinct in the UK but was reintroduced.

Got a wingspan of eight feet.

Thanks very much indeed, Richard.

Now, Becky, welcome to Pointless.

Great to have you here. What do you do, Becky?

I work as a volunteer coordinator.

-In what sector?

-It's in The Crossing in Worksop,

which is a church with a social enterprise company and a cafe.

Sort of a community building, if you like, with a church in the middle of it.

-So I've been there just a couple of years now.

-Very nice indeed.

And what are your interests, Becky?

I play and run a rounders team,

which I've been doing for about the last 20 years.

-League champions the last couple.

-Worth just mentioning that.

League champions!

It did help that we have the England senior squad bowler bowling for us,

-so that is a slight advantage.

-Well...

And I also... I play flute.

So I'm doing a bit this year with the local Shakespeare Company, playing for them,

and I like reading, like films...

Very nice. Fantastic.

That's a very nice, wide spectrum of interests there.

Now, at 17, you are through to the next round.

Doesn't matter what you score.

But, Becky, if you wanted to, you could talk us through this board.

Erm...

OK, so the first one I think is a hen harrier.

Then a house sparrow.

Squeak? Who knows?

Turtledove.

Black grouse. Yellow something...

Yellow wagtail?

Yellow wagtail.

And the last one, something tern, but I'm not sure.

I'm going to go yellow wagtail.

You're going to go for the yellow wagtail. There we are.

Let's see how many of our 100 people got the yellow wagtail.

No red line for you also because you are already through.

Look at that. 20 for the yellow wagtail, taking your total up to 37.

Not bad at all.

Very, very well played there.

Becky took us through the board nicely, as well.

Now, we've heard a few of these. Hen harrier we heard.

Eight points.

House sparrow, of course.

And the house sparrow was 27 points, actually.

Quite a low score. Now, S K.

-You know that one? All aboard...

-The skylark.

-The skylark.

-It's a skylark.

-Do you know what? I've never seen one.

-16 points.

-You've never seen a skylark?

-You just hear them.

-Oh, do you?

What do they sound like?

Oh, you hear them sort of up on a summer's day, you hear them.

It's that lovely sort of full-throated evensong of, er...

I'll take your word for it. You've never seen one.

Turtledove, you're right about turtledove, as well.

Turtledove would have scored 23.

Black grouse is also right.

Black grouse would have scored 22.

And the last one, it's the best answer on the board.

It's a very rare sea bird.

It is a tern. It's the roseate tern.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely.

It has a slightly pinkish underbelly in the summer.

-One point for that.

-There we are. Thank you very much indeed.

So, at the end of our first round,

I'm afraid the pair we have to say goodbye to, our only returning pair.

-Oh, Liv and Giles.

-Oh...

Oh! Feels like you've been with us for ages

and I'm afraid it's just been... It's been two first rounds.

So unfair. I'm so sorry.

-That's OK.

-I'm so sorry. Anyway, it's been lovely having you on.

Thank you so much for coming and playing. Liv and Giles.

Brilliant contestants.

APPLAUSE

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

And look at that. Suddenly we're down to three pairs.

And at the end of this round, we'll have to say goodbye to another of our pairs.

Well, well done, all of you. Lovely grouping, as well,

all in the 30s. Very nice neck-and-neck scores there.

But, Manoj, I'm going to reserve special praise -

the lowest score of the round. But not because you knew it,

anyone can do stuff because they know it,

you did it because you worked it out.

We applaud that on Pointless.

So very well done indeed. Best of luck to all three pairs.

Our category for Round Two today is...

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 is all about...

-Richard.

-Yeah, six clues on each pass

and the answer to all of them begins with C.

So there are going to be 12 in all to have a go at at home.

-Very best of luck.

-OK.

Let's reveal our first board of clues and here they come.

We have got...

I'm going to read all of those again.

There we go.

Becky, it's you.

I think I know a few, but they're verging on guessing.

So I'm going to go for one that I'm fairly certain of.

I'm going to go for the top one, which is Calais.

Calais, says Becky. Let's see if that's right,

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

It's right.

Look at that, 59. Not bad.

-Sorry, Jon.

-Not bad.

Yeah, lost under the reign of Queen Mary.

She said, when she died, they'd find Calais engraved on her heart.

-And they looked and it wasn't, so...

-LAUGHTER

There we are. Thank you very much indeed. Now, Rakesh.

Oooh, this board is horrible.

But I do know one and I have to go with it.

I think it might be a high scorer.

I'll go for the Egyptian queen who is said to have committed suicide.

-I'll say Cleopatra.

-Cleopatra, says Rakesh.

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

It's...

Oooh, 81 for Cleopatra.

-Well, it's a lot better than 100.

-True.

Yeah, she chose to die, supposedly,

rather than be paraded as a captive through the streets of Rome.

Thanks very much, Richard.

-James.

-Hello.

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

If you wanted, you could go through it and answer all of those clues.

Yeah, I don't think I know...

I only really know one of them.

I think the ancient city now in Tunisia could be Carthage.

Carthage, says James.

Let's see if that's right.

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

It is Carthage. Very well done.

81 is our high score. You've passed that.

59, our low score. You've passed that.

Down it goes to 25. Very well done indeed, James.

Good work on that far podium.

Yeah, it's just on the coast. It's near Tunis.

It is an archaeological site now.

It's an extraordinary place, Carthage.

Now...I bet you get all of these.

-The surname of the first Protestant Archbishop?

-Cranmer.

-Cranmer.

Thomas Cranmer.

11. You are as rich as...

-Croesus.

-Croesus.

Of course you are. And that would have scored 19.

-And the battle?

-Culloden.

Culloden. And that scores 43.

So Cranmer is the best answer on the board.

Thanks very much indeed.

We're halfway through the round. Let's look at those scores.

25, James, well done to you.

James and Joe looking pretty strong as the low scorers at this point.

Then 59's where we find Becky and Jon.

And then 81, Rakesh and Manoj.

Manoj, how good's your history? How did you like that board?

I was pretty sure of the last one.

OK. OK, so let's hope there's a nice low score on the next board

that might just keep you in the game. Best of luck with that.

We're going to come back down the line now.

Can the second players please step up to the podium?

OK, let's put six more clues up on the board and here they come.

We have got...

I shall read those all one last time.

There we are. Joe, it's over to you.

You're on 25. Ideally, you'd score 55 or less,

then you'd be absolutely sure of a place in the next round.

Yep. Not great for me, history, really.

But I think I'll go for the Cuban leader and go Castro.

Castro, says Joe.

Castro. Here comes your red line.

Should you get below that red line,

you are straight through to the head-to-head.

Let's find out how many of our 100 people said Castro.

Not bad at all. 58. That's good enough, I'd have thought.

58, of course, takes your total up to 83.

Yeah, Fidel Castro. He overthrew Batista in 1959.

Ruled for almost five decades.

Thanks very much, Richard.

Now, Manoj, you have got a target,

which is one.

If you can score one or less,

you are definitely in the head-to-head round.

I'm going to go for the third one down and Caesar.

Caesar. Caesar, says Manoj.

OK. Well, there is your red line.

Let's see how far down the column we get with Caesar.

No.

I'm afraid not Caesar.

That's an incorrect answer and it scores you 100 points.

181 is your total.

Sorry, Manoj. I'll give the correct answer at the end of this pass.

OK. Now then, Jon. This board is all yours.

If you wanted to you could go through it,

fill in all those unanswered clues,

but safe in the knowledge

that you're through to the next round, even if you score 100 points.

It's a tricky one for me.

I think there's only one possibly, which is the answer said previously,

but the man who became the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD.

Caesar.

But that's again a guess.

OK, Caesar.

Getting quite an outing as a word.

Let's see if it's right in this instance.

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

Oooh. No, not Caesar.

That scores you 100 points, takes your total up to 159.

Yeah, let's fill these in.

I bet you get all of these as well, I suspect.

Now, did you know the man who became the first Roman emperor?

-Charlemagne.

-Yes, a name we all know. And that's where it's from.

Six points for that. Little Boot was...

-Caligula.

-Caligula.

That scores 13. The largest amphitheatre in the world...

-Colosseum.

-The Colosseum.

63 for that. And do you know this?

The surname? Someone of India.

-Clive.

-Clive of India.

-Of course, of course.

-14 points.

-And the King of England?

-Cnut.

Cnut. And that would have scored you 57 points.

It's funny, yes, because history... I mean, that's correct.

History often portrays Cnut as being a vain and foolish man

who's ordering the tide back,

but the whole point of it was actually to demonstrate

that he didn't have any power at all over...

Yes, he's been much misrepresented.

-Exactly. He was a man of modesty.

-Yeah, exactly.

Also, he had to do that CNUT from London to Brighton to do it,

so it's a real...

Thanks very much indeed. So, at the end of our second round,

we have to say goodbye to Manoj and Rakesh with their high score of 181.

I'm so sorry to say goodbye to you at this stage but we get to see you again next time.

And we're already looking forward to that.

So in the meantime, thanks very much indeed, Manoj and Rakesh.

APPLAUSE

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

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, Joe and James, Becky and Jon.

You're now one step closer to the final

and a chance to play for our jackpot,

which currently stands at £1,000.

Well, look, here we are. We've arrived at the head-to-head.

That nice little ledge.

From here on in, we can confer before giving answers, which is great.

First pair to win two questions will be going through to the final and playing for the jackpot.

So we have flatmates versus brother and sister.

And we've had very good answers from both teams,

so I think this should be close. Best of luck to both pairs.

Let's play the head-to-head.

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

Fictional clergy, Richard.

We're going to show you five pictures now of fictional clergy.

We need you to tell us the film or TV programme that they featured in, please.

Thanks very much indeed.

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

There we are.

Five fictional clergymen or women.

Now, Joe and James, you are our low scorers, so you will go first.

Feel free to confer.

THEY WHISPER

Erm, I think we're going to go for C

-and go Sister Act.

-C, Sister Act.

C, Sister Act.

Now, Becky and Jon, do you want to talk us through the board?

Give it a go.

E, Jon thinks possibly The Exorcist.

Or I'm thinking maybe Thorn Birds, but I'm not sure which.

D, I don't know.

Looks like a steeplejack, but who knows?

B is lovely Dawn French in Vicar Of Dibley.

But we're going to go for A which is Rev.

Rev.

OK. So we have Sister Act and we have Rev.

Joe and James said Sister Act.

Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many of our 100 people got that for C.

It's right.

74.

74 for Sister Act.

Now, Becky and Jon, meanwhile, have gone for Rev for A.

Let's see if that's right.

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

It's right.

And it wins you the point, moreover.

Down it goes. That's a great answer.

-Rev scoring 11.

-Well done.

You've nicked it, Becky and Jon. Well done.

After one question, you are up 1-0.

Rev played by Tom Hollander there.

B, you are right, The Vicar Of Dibley.

Dawn French there as Geraldine Granger.

81 points for that.

Now, D is the best answer on the board.

That's Gene Hackman and he's in The Poseidon Adventure.

Three points.

And E was The Exorcist, you're quite right.

The Exorcist. Max von Sydow there,

and that would have scored you ten points.

Thank you very much indeed, Richard. OK, here comes your second question.

Now, Joe and James, you have to win this one to stay in the game,

but Becky and Jon get to answer it first.

So best of luck with that.

Our second question today is all about...

Species of bear, Richard.

Going to show you five names now of species or subspecies of bear, but they're in anagram form.

Can you unscramble these, please?

Thanks very much indeed.

Let's reveal our five anagrams of bear. And here they are.

I'll read those again.

Becky and Jon will go first.

BECKY CONTINUES WHISPERING

We're going to go with the top one, which we hope is sloth bear.

"Sloath" bear or sloth bear. Sloth bear, say Becky and Jon.

Now, then, Joe and James, over to you.

Well, they actually took the one we were going to go for.

So we know the bottom two. They're grizzly bear and polar bear.

I don't know, we'll probably have to go for grizzly bear, then.

OK, grizzly bear, say Joe and James.

So we have grizzly versus sloth.

Sloth bear, say Becky and Jon. Let's see if that's right.

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

It's right.

27.

27 for sloth. Now, then, Joe and James, meanwhile,

have gone for grizzly bear at the bottom.

Let's see if that's right.

Let's see how many of our 100 people got grizzly.

It's right.

Oooh, 71... That's a high score.

Which means, very well done, Becky and Jon,

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

Very well played again. There's a couple of better answers up there.

The next one down, virtually the first word virtually has the name in it.

-Spectacled.

-Spectacled bear, yeah.

They have the little rings around the eyes, or most of them do, anyway.

20 points for that. Pearl boar is polar bear, you're right.

It scores 89 points, a big scorer.

Now, this last one I only know because it's been an answer on the show before.

-I know...

-It's the bear that reviews all the films...

-Oh, Kermode bear!

-A Kermode bear.

Absolutely. And it's a pointless answer,

-so very well done if you said that.

-There we are.

Thank you very much indeed, Richard.

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

our golden couple, our low-scoring pair, Joe and James.

It's good news really, though, cos it means we get to see you again next time.

Otherwise it would all have been over in just one show.

We'll look forward to that very much indeed,

and on the strength of today's show I imagine you'll do just as well, if not better then.

-So thanks very much for playing, Joe and James.

-Thank you.

Well done.

But for Becky and Jon, it's now time for our Pointless final.

Congratulations, Becky and Jon,

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.

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

Well, what about that? You made very quick work of this.

We'll draw a veil over the Caesar answer

in our history beginning with C round, but apart from that,

we've had some lovely answers from you all the way through.

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

-Oh...

-What do you want, ideally?

Blue Peter in the 1970s.

-Nothing very specific at all.

-Yeah.

And the books of Enid Blyton would be...about my skill set.

OK, well, as always, you get to choose your category from the four that we put up on the board.

Let us hope there's something up there today that you like the look of.

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

Nora Ephron films are like Sleepless In Seattle...

But that's about the only one I can think of right now.

Or we could have a punt on things containing the letter Y, which could be anything.

-Go for that?

-Let's have a punt on that.

-Go on, yeah.

We'll go for things containing the letter Y.

-It's the mystery of the unknown.

-OK, there we are.

Things containing the letter Y, Richard.

Good punt. If you like your geography, you've picked a nice category.

We're looking for any of the following things, please.

We are looking for any capital city that contains a Y in its name, please.

It has to be a capital city of a country that's a member of the UN in its own right.

We're looking for any football clubs

in the top four divisions of English football in 2015-2016 that contain a Y.

Or we're looking for any US states or state capitals that contain a Y.

So capital cities that contain a Y, football clubs containing a Y

or US states or state capitals that contain a Y.

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 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!

-OK.

-Right, OK.

-What are you looking at first?

-US states.

Wyoming. Kentucky.

-Wisconsin.

-Oh, that's a good one.

I like that one. Wisconsin.

Football clubs...

I'll be rubbish on that, as well.

I can't even think of anything that has got...

The cities.

-Cor, I'm struggling with that.

-Right, think carefully.

I think Yambol for some reason, but I don't think that's...

I don't think Yambol's necessarily a...

-Right, think of any...

-That's a bit of a random one.

..African capitals.

Burkina Faso...

Right, think of any other US states.

-Kentucky. What did you say? Wisconsin.

-Wisconsin.

Kentucky, Wyoming.

-There could be...

-Is Wisconsin W-I or W-Y?

-Oh, I think it's W-I.

-Ten seconds left.

Capital cities, erm...

Brighton and Hove Albion, no.

Sheffield United, no...

I'm afraid that is your time up.

-That minute's never long enough, is it?

-No!

Let's have your three answers,

and if you can say which category you're answering, that'd be great.

-Shall we go for Kentucky?

-Yeah, go for Kentucky.

-Kentucky.

-Kentucky in US states.

Erm...Wyoming?

-Wyoming.

-In US states. Oh...

We'll go for Wisconsin, even though we think we've spelt it wrong.

And Wisconsin. OK.

Now, of those three, which is your best shot at a pointless answer?

They're all equally unlikely,

but we'll make one up and we'll go Wyoming.

Wyoming goes last. Least likely to be pointless?

-The one that's spelt wrong, Wisconsin.

-Wisconsin. OK.

Well, let's put those answers up on the board in that order, then, and here they are.

We have got...

Well, very, very best of luck.

One of those answers could turn out to be pointless.

One of them is beginning to look quite pointless,

but one of them could be pointless and might win you that jackpot.

1,000 quid. What would you do with that, Becky?

We're trying to do a garden project this year,

so I'd put it towards that and I think you're the same.

-Likewise, yeah. Towards gardening.

-Happy with that. OK, very good.

Well, your first answer was Wisconsin.

I find myself thinking, "Why?".

Anyway, let's find out what happens when we say Wisconsin.

If it's correct and pointless, it could win you £1,000,

but let's see if it's correct.

Yeah. OK. Draw a quick veil over that.

I will. I'll explain why it is an incorrect answer at the end of the round.

-LAUGHTER

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Richard.

OK, your next answer was Kentucky.

In this case, we were looking for US states or state capitals containing the letter Y.

If this is pointless, it will win you a thousand quid.

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

Is it pointless?

-It's right.

-Yeah!

That's the main thing. Down it goes.

Kentucky takes us down through the 50s and into the 40s.

If it goes all the way down to zero, it will win you £1,000.

Into the 20s. Into the teens.

Oooh, 13.

13, not bad.

Not a bad score. Annoyingly, though, not a pointless answer,

which means you only have one more shot at today's jackpot.

Everything is now riding on Wyoming,

which most definitely has got a Y in it.

Again, we're looking for US states or state capitals with a Y in.

If it's pointless, it wins you £1,000.

How many people said Wyoming?

It's right.

Well, Kentucky took us all the way down to 13.

Wyoming now takes us down through the 40s,

through the 30s, into the 20s...

Oooh, 25.

Ah, well.

Well, football fans would have adored that round, I'm sure.

But that was a tough one for you there

and that minute, just never long enough.

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

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

That rolls over onto the next show.

But a very strong performance right the way across the show

and 2-0 in the head-to-head. No arguing with that.

And you get a Pointless trophy each to take home,

so very, very well done, Becky and Jon.

APPLAUSE

Yeah, that was great fun. You've been terrific throughout, as well.

It's been a pleasure having you here.

Let's take you through the pointless answers

and, hopefully, nothing here that looks too familiar to you.

We'll start with the capital cities.

Conakry, which is Guinea.

Pyongyang, North Korea, would have been a pointless answer.

Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, which is Sri Lanka.

It's the legislative capital of Sri Lanka.

And Reykjavik, as well, was a pointless answer.

Other pointless answers...

Erm, I think you worked out after the minute

that some of the places with City on obviously contain a Y.

You could have had Guatemala City, Kuwait City or Panama City.

Also Niamey in Niger.

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, was a pointless answer.

Yamoussoukro, which is Cote d'Ivoire.

That was a pointless answer, as well.

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

Football clubs containing a Y.

There's only three pointless answers here -

Bradford City, Milton Keynes Dons and Newport County.

One point, if you're playing along at home,

for Notts County, Hull City,

Wycombe Wanderers, Birmingham City, Exeter City,

Shrewsbury Town and Accrington Stanley.

All of those would have scored you one.

Now, let's take a look at those capitals and states.

Carson City, Nevada, was a pointless answer.

Oklahoma City, a pointless answer.

Olympia, which is Washington.

Pennsylvania, the only state on the list.

You also could have had Cheyenne and Jefferson City.

Very well done if you got any of those at home

and tough luck in the studio.

That one minute, it just whizzes by, does it not?

Thanks very much indeed.

Well, Becky and Jon didn't win our jackpot today,

which means it rolls over onto the next show,

when we will 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.

APPLAUSE