Episode 59 Pointless

APPLAUSE

Thank you. I'm Alexander Armstrong. A warm welcome to Pointless,

the quiz show where obvious answers mean nothing and obscure answers mean everything.

Let's meet today's players.

First, we welcome back Kevin and Aimee.

Everyone gets two chances to reach the final. This is your last chance. Remind us how you did.

Unfortunately, we crashed and burned in the first round,

which I will take full responsibility for.

I'm hoping that this time I can do a little bit better

so as not to embarrass my dad!

But last time, you had just come off stage.

The night before, you had been dazzling them up in Sheffield in pantomime.

-You can be forgiven this once.

-Yes. Puss In Boots.

I played Principal Boy. My dad played the villain.

-I thought you were going to say the puss!

-No!

The villain! Kevin, you couldn't play a villain!

-You have no idea how much makeup was needed to make me look bad.

-I know! The villainry!

What are you hoping is going to come up?

Well, if I could be that specific,

probably something to do with either the American state capitals...

Richard.

..or any kind of literature.

At work, I'm known as The Librarian because I love to read in every break.

-You're known as The Librarian?

-I'm not a librarian.

-You're surrounded by librarians!

-I know!

-Wow.

Best of luck to the pair of you. Great to have you back.

Next, we welcome Jill and Frances, also on the show last time.

-Remind us how you did.

-We made it to the head-to-head.

We did pretty well, but the guys did better.

-You did amazingly well!

-We did pretty good.

You're both librarians. Kevin, bit of competition.

LAUGHTER

-What do you do in your spare time, Frances?

-I like walking.

Jill and I both like walking. We get lost quite often on our walks.

-Or not in the place we expect to be. We never own up to being lost.

-No.

The best walks come about as a result of having been lost.

-Really?!

-I think so.

Best of luck, Jill and Frances. Lovely having you back.

Next, we welcome back Nina and Matt, also on last time. Remind us how you did.

We went out on the second round because clearly I don't watch enough telly.

Nina, you're from Brazil!

-Then you lived in Barcelona for ten years.

-Yes.

And then you came here for the last four. You did incredibly well.

-I did my best.

-Incredibly well.

Matt, what do you hope will come up this afternoon?

Probably music, sport. Sport would be a good one.

I claim to be a music buff, so if I get that wrong I'll embarrass myself.

-So we're hoping for sport so I can get away with it!

-Get away with it!

Very best of luck. Great to have you back, too.

And finally, we've got Troy and Staffan.

How do you two know each other?

We met at the Gay Olympics ten years ago, Alexander, in Sydney,

and on the second time we met up I asked him to marry me,

and we moved to London and we've been together ever since.

Wow! Were you competing in the Gay Olympics?

I was an athlete at the games and Staffan was a volunteer.

I actually surprised myself, I got two medals at the games. I got a gold and a bronze medal.

-What was your gold in?

-My gold was in shot put.

So I'm very good at throwing things, darling!

APPLAUSE

To be fair, there was only three people competing.

LAUGHTER

Staffan,

what are you hoping is going to come up this afternoon?

Geography. Any travel-related question would be good.

We're both cabin crew, so it should be a good strength.

-Where are you from, Troy?

-I'm from Australia originally.

-Are you from Sydney?

-No, from Adelaide.

-How about you, Staffan?

-I'm from Sweden originally,

from a small town in the south of Sweden.

-And where do you live now?

-In Brentford, west London.

Well, it's fabulous having you both on the show. We'll look forward to finding more about all of you.

There's one person left to introduce.

If obscurity were a sport, he'd be the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

-He's my Pointless friend. He's Richard.

-Hello. Hiya.

We should have a good little show this afternoon.

We've got three returning pairs, one new pair,

or two new pairs if you include Troy's trousers.

And, Matt, if you can get through to Round Two,

there is a music question for you to embarrass yourself with.

Best of luck, Matt.

We put all our questions to 100 people before the show,

but we are after the obscure answers they didn't get.

What everyone's trying to do is find a pointless answer that none of our 100 people gave.

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

Nobody won the jackpot last time, so we add another £1,000 to that.

Today's jackpot starts off at a very impressive £9,750.

Let's play Pointless.

In the first round, each of you must give me one answer

and you cannot confer. The team with the highest score

at the end of the round will be eliminated.

Our first category this afternoon is:

Can you decide who's going to go first?

Jill, you're looking terrified! Who's going first, who's second?

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

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many fish as they could.

Fish coming under Food, I see. Not Marine Biology, for example.

-I shall let you know why if you...

-I'll shut up!

-Richard.

-All the correct answers are types of fish that can be eaten,

and the incorrect answers are not fish at all.

Excellent. Now then, Kevin and Aimee,

you all drew lots before the show and you get to go first.

We're going to give you a choice of seven possible answers in each pass.

Your first set of seven answers read like this:

I'll read those one more time.

I can tell you that at least one of those answers is pointless,

but be careful because at least one is incorrect.

If you pick an incorrect one, you will score the maximum of 100 points.

-Aimee, do you eat a lot of fish?

-No! I don't like it very much at all.

I eat prawns. There's a couple that I think will be quite obscure,

but one that I'm more certain on than the other,

so I'm going to go for coley.

-Coley.

-Yes.

-Let's see if that's correct,

and if it is, how many people said coley.

Good luck, Aimee.

-Yes!

-It's right.

Very well done, Aimee!

Coley scores you 11.

-11 for coley, Richard.

-Well played, Aimee.

Also known as the coalfish. Eaten far more these days.

Frances, we are looking for fish.

-I think you'll be rather good at this.

-No!

-Really?

-Well, I think ling might be, but I'm not 100 percent sure.

I'm going to play it safe and go with hake.

Three down from the top.

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

It's right.

20.

APPLAUSE

Not a terrible score for hake, Frances. 20. Richard.

Large predatory fish, the hake, with sharp teeth

but very soft flesh, which is more important for this round.

In France they call it Colin.

-Colin?

-Yes. They perhaps don't pronounce it that way.

-"What are we having for dinner?"

-Colin!

-Colin.

Ohh!

Now then, Matt, this is the round for you to dazzle us.

There's at least one pointless answer on that board.

I think I'm going to go for a gamble. Ling. We'll give it a go.

OK, let's see if ling is right. If it is, let's see how many people said ling.

Very best of luck, Matt.

It's right! Well done.

That's brilliant! Very well done indeed!

Ling scores you 1 point. That's a superb answer. Well done.

Well played, Matt. Normally fished around Britain and Scandinavia.

Now then, Staffan, we are looking for fish.

-OK.

-What do you think?

There's two that's very obvious, haddock and cod.

So then it's a question of skuon and zander. Which one is pointless, which one is incorrect?

I'm going to take a gamble and go for skuon.

That means you think "Xander" isn't pointless, which is great!

-I think it's a person!

-Thank you.

-A fishy person probably.

So do I, Xander. LAUGHTER

A fishy person.

OK, Staffan...!

Right, you're saying skuon. Let's see if it's right

and if it is, let's see how many people said skuon. Best of luck.

Oh, no!

Bad luck!

Unfortunately, skuon is wrong, which means you score the maximum of 100 points.

-Bad luck. Richard.

-Sorry, Staffan. Skuon is a place in Cambodia,

known by international visitors for its fried spiders.

-OK.

-So if you're ever looking for a fried spider...

-I know where to go!

You do indeed. Let's take a look at the rest of the board.

Cod, obviously a high scorer, would've got you 89 points.

Haddock would've scored you 69 points.

By process of elimination, Xander, zander is a pointless fish.

-It's a pike-perch.

-A pike-perch?

With very few bones and lovely soft flesh.

That's the one. Spineless. Yes!

-Is that what you're saying?

-Essentially, yes.

Very well done at home if you said zander.

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

Matt and Nina looking strong as we go into the second pass.

Just ahead of them, Aimee and Kevin. Great answer from Aimee.

Just ahead of them on 20 points, Frances and Jill. Looking fantastic.

Staffan and Troy, you're way out in front.

Troy, you're going to have to find a pointless answer on the next pass

and hope that somebody else makes a mistake.

We'll come back down the line. Can the second players please take their places?

We'll put seven more answers on the board.

Here they are. We're looking for types of fish.

Again, I can tell you that at least one of those answers is pointless.

At least one is incorrect. Avoid those incorrect ones if you possibly can.

Troy, you are the high scorers.

You have to find a really good low answer,

ideally a pointless answer.

I'm going to be a total gambler here.

I know fugu sounds very Japanese

and Japan is very much a fish-eating country,

so for that reason, I'm going to go for fugu.

Fugu. Let's see if it's right and if it is, let's see how many people said fugu.

Well done, Troy. It's right.

I think this is going to do exactly what we wanted. Yes!

Very well done indeed!

That's a pointless answer. It adds £250 to today's jackpot,

taking the total up to £10,000!

Most important, it scores you nothing and leaves your total at 100 points.

Very well done. Richard.

It's what the Japanese call the pufferfish or the blowfish.

It's incredibly poisonous, unless you have a very trained chef who cuts the innards out.

The sort of thing you should never eat on a plane.

Now then, Nina. Nina...

You are in a spectacularly strong position, thanks to Matt's brilliant answer.

You are on 1 point. If you score 98 points or less, you are through to the next round.

The high scorers are Troy and Staffan on 100.

I'm glad he did very well

because I don't really eat that much fish.

So I'll say plaice.

OK, you're going to say plaice. You have to score 98 or less.

Let's see if it's right and if it is, how many people said plaice.

Yep, you are through.

Perfectly reasonable score. Takes your total up to 51.

Very well done, Nina.

Very safe answer. It's a strikingly colourful flat fish.

It normally has both its eyes on the right-hand side of its head.

Now then, Jill, you're on 20.

The high scorers are still Troy and Staffan on 100.

If you can score 79 or less, you are through to the next round.

What do you think of that board? You pulled a really pained face when this came up.

I eat tuna and that's about it.

And I don't cook. And I don't watch cookery programmes.

I have been in the odd restaurant once in a while and had whitebait,

so I'll go with whitebait.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a place called The Odd Restaurant?

Where Jill has a place in the corner!

"The usual table?" Whitebait, you are saying?

Let's see if whitebait's right and if it is, how many people said it.

Very well done. You're through to the next round.

Wow!

APPLAUSE

Very well done, Jill! Fantastically low-scoring answer.

It takes your total up to 24.

-Richard.

-Well done, Jill.

Whitebait in Europe are small, young herring,

which are deep-fried and eaten whole.

I didn't know that. I didn't know they were young herring.

-Tiny little baby fish.

-Lives cut short. Tragic.

-Tasty, though.

-Oh, delicious!

Kevin, you're the last person. You can talk us through that entire slab of fish if you like.

The high scorers are Troy and Staffan on 100 points.

You're on 11. If you can score 88 or less,

you are through to the next round.

I'm not 100 percent sure that salmon will score less than that,

so I'll steer clear of that.

I thought mossley were a place in Manchester

and I thought Bray were a place in Ireland somewhere.

But I'm pretty sure I've heard of a pollack.

That's the one I'm going to go for.

Very good. Let's see if it's right and if it is, let's see how many people said pollack.

Very well done. You're through to the next round.

Very good indeed! 18 points.

Takes your total up to 29. You're through to the next round.

-Richard.

-Another one of the more sustainable cod substitutes.

One of the supermarkets renamed it because people wouldn't buy pollack.

-They called it Colin.

-Seriously?

-Yes.

Let's take a look at the answers. Salmon was a big score.

Small enough to get you through. 72 it would've scored you.

And Mossley is where it was claimed the first ever fish and chip shop in Britain was opened.

And there's a River Bray in Devon, famous for its fishing.

Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant also in Bray. Both of those were incorrect.

Thanks. At the end of Round One,

the losing pair with the highest score, Troy and Staffan.

-What are we going to? You can't be leaving us now!

-I know!

-You've only just taken off!

-Just warming up.

-Exactly. Just taxiing.

-Yes!

We just hit some strong turbulence, unfortunately.

You did.

-Troy?

-Yes?

-Can I just point out that your nearest exit is that way?

Thank you!

What sort of trousers are you going to wear next?

Speedos.

I've got reasonable legs, so why not?

Why indeed not?!

Well, Troy and Staffan, it's been brilliant having you on the show.

We will look forward to seeing you next time. Thanks for playing.

APPLAUSE

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

Only two pairs can make it to the head-to-head,

so one team is going to be leaving us.

The category for Round Two is:

Can you decide in your pairs who's going to go first and second?

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

OK, our Round Two question concerns:

In this round, we're about to show you a list of classic albums released in the 1970s.

We asked 100 people to tell us which band or artist released each of them.

-Richard.

-We're going to show you six albums on each pass.

The more obscure ones score you fewer points.

If you give us an incorrect answer, you'll score 100 points.

There's 12 in all in this round. See how you get on at home.

Thank you very much. We're looking for the band or artist who released these albums.

We have got:

I'll read those again.

OK, so there are the albums, you need to give me the artists.

Kevin, this is kind of your vintage, I'm thinking?

I wish it was, but it isn't!

I think Born To Run must be Bruce Springsteen.

-That's what I'm saying.

-Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen.

You are looking for the answer that the fewest of our 100 people knew.

Let's see if that's right and if it is, how many people knew that answer.

It's right.

I wouldn't have known that.

Not as high as it could be.

But quite high. Bruce Springsteen, 46.

-Richard.

-Released in 1975.

He's sold over 120 million albums worldwide in his career.

That is a lot.

Very well done, Kevin. Bruce Springsteen was right.

-Frances.

-I think I'm going to plump for the one I'm not sure about

and I think Autobahn must be Kraftwerk.

Kraftwerk, you're saying, for Autobahn.

Let's see... I must stop saying it like I'm German!

"Craftwork"! Autobahn.

Let's see if that's right. Let's see how many people knew that answer.

Not a bad answer at all.

24 for Kraftwerk. Richard.

Very well played, Frances. From 1974.

The title track is 22 minutes long. Autobahn.

I've would say Kraftwerk rather than Craftwork.

-"Kraftverk"!

-Yes.

-Would you say it like that, though?

I wouldn't say it like that because I'm not an idiot!

Thank you, Richard. Now then, Matt.

We're looking for the artist who recorded these albums.

Songs In The Key Of Life, I think, is Stevie Wonder.

Rumours, possibly one of my favourite albums ever, that's Fleetwood Mac.

Dark Side Of The Moon is Pink Floyd. What's Going On, I believe, is Marvin Gaye.

But I don't know which one to pick! Erm...

I think we'll go for What's Going On.

-What's Going On.

-Marvin Gaye.

-OK.

Let's see if it's right and if it is, let's see how many people said What's Going On.

Very, very well done, Matt! Very well chosen.

What's Going On scores you just 13 points.

-The lowest score in the pass. Richard.

-Very well played.

From 1971, Marvin Gaye's classic What's Going On.

You went through every answer, got them right and chose the best.

Very well played.

Dark Side Of The Moon was the highest scorer. Pink Floyd.

Would've scored you 57 points.

Rumours by Fleetwood Mac would've scored you 32.

And Songs In The Key Of Life, Stevie Wonder, would've scored 18.

-Well played.

-Thanks, Richard.

Let's look at those scores.

Matt and Nina looking great. 13. Lovely low score.

Just under double that, on 24, Frances and Jill.

Just under double that, we come to Kevin and Aimee on 46.

Sadly, you are way out in front. So, Aimee, the pressure's on you.

We'll come back down the line. Can the second players please take their places?

We're going to put six more classic 1970s albums on the board.

We have got:

I'll read all of those again.

We are looking for which band or artist released each of them.

You're trying to find the one that the fewest of our 100 people knew.

Nina, the high scorers are Aimee and Kevin.

If you can score 32 or less,

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

-Yes.

I'm going to go A Night At The Opera, Queen.

A Night At The Opera, Queen. OK, here's your red line.

If you come below that red line, you are through to the head-to-head.

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

Very well done! 32 is what you needed.

32 is what you got. It takes your total up to 45.

-Well done.

-Well played, Nina.

Very good score from a team, neither of whom were even alive in the '70s.

Very well done, Nina.

Jill and Frances, you are on 24. The high scorers are Aimee and Kevin on 46.

If you can score 21 or less, you are definitely through to the next round.

-What do you think of that board, Jill?

-I know a few of them.

I suspect I don't know the ones that are going to be a low scorer.

I'm going for London Calling, which I think was by The Clash.

London Calling, The Clash. Here's your red line coming in.

If London Calling gets you below that line, you are through to the head-to-head.

Let's see if that's right and how many people said The Clash, London Calling.

31 that scores you.

It takes your total up to 55.

-The Clash.

-Well played, Jill.

Between them, Jill and Frances got the two coolest answers.

That's quite good going, isn't it, for librarians?!

We were young in the '70s. We were rocking librarians then.

And so we come to you, Aimee. The high scorers are now Jill and Frances on 55.

You're on 46.

You have to score eight or less with this answer

to survive.

It's not going to happen!

-I know Hotel California is The Eagles.

-Yes.

I'll have a guess because I've got nothing to lose.

I'll go Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, The Beatles. I don't think it is!

Well done, you. That's very brave and, strategically, exactly what you need to do.

You just have to get the right answer.

The Beatles, you're saying. Let's see if that's right and if it is, how many people said it.

Oh. Bad luck.

APPLAUSE

Unfortunately, The Beatles is an incorrect answer.

That's caused you the maximum of 100 points,

taking your total up to an unbeatable 146 points.

-Richard.

-Unlucky, Aimee. It was a good answer, actually,

because The Beatles did Yellow Submarine

and they did Hello, Goodbye and they did Long And Winding Road.

-That's what I was thinking!

-Most of the words are there.

It's actually by Elton John. It would've scored you 55 points.

If you'd gone for Hotel California, it would've scored you 63. Biggest answer on the board.

Hunky Dory, Matt?

Well, I know my dad's got it, but... Is it Rod Stewart or The Faces or someone like that?

Someone a bit like that. It's David Bowie.

Would've scored you 23.

Physical Graffiti? Best answer on the board.

-Led Zep.

-Exactly right.

Would've scored 8 points.

-That would've seen you through.

-No!

-Well done if you said Physical Graffiti.

-You knew that, did you?

-It's her boyfriend's favourite band.

-He's going to kill me!

Thanks, Richard. The losing pair with the highest score,

it's Kevin and Aimee. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear!

Led Zeppelin, Aimee.

I'm more upset about that than I am leaving. I am absolutely gutted.

I don't think your dad agrees with you.

I think he's more gutted about leaving.

Oh, dear, oh, dear! Such a shame to be saying goodbye to you. You've been brilliant contestants.

I'm afraid this is the end of the Yellow Brick Road for you.

Thank you so much for playing. Brilliant contestants.

For the remaining two pairs, things are going to get even more exciting as we enter the head-to-head.

Very well done, Jill and Frances, Nina and Matt.

Only one pair can make it to the final and play for the jackpot,

which currently stands, in case you had forgotten, at £10,000.

CHEERING

You are going head-to-head on the best of three questions.

Each pair needs to give me just one answer. You are allowed to confer.

Come up with an answer that scores less than the other pair and you win that question.

The first to get the best of three will be playing for today's jackpot.

Let's play Pointless.

OK, here is your first question.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many capital cities beginning with T as they could.

Capital cities beginning with T.

We're looking for any capital city whose English name begins with a T.

As always, they have to be countries who are UN members, sovereign states in their own right.

We're not looking for cities that begin with the word "the".

We're also not accepting Taipei, as Taiwan is not a UN Member State.

There are 11 world capitals whose English name begins with a T.

And this is up to the start of 2011.

OK. Thanks. Jill and Frances, because you played best throughout the show, you get to go first.

Capital cities beginning with T?

-I can't think of anything else.

-Go for it.

Er, well, we're going to go with the capital of Uzbekistan,

which is Tashkent.

Tashkent. Very, very well said.

Nina and Matt?

-I can't...

-I can't think of any at all.

I've gone blank.

We can't get anything. Tasmania, even though we know it's not right.

We have Tashkent, we have Tasmania. Tashkent, Jill and Frances,

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

2 for Tashkent!

That's an excellent answer. Nina and Matt, you've thrown in Tasmania.

Let's see. Tasmania.

Yep. Well, we knew that.

So after the first question,

Jill and Frances are up 1-0.

-Richard.

-Tashkent is a very good answer.

A couple would've beaten it. You'll recognise some of these.

Thimphu, which is the capital of Bhutan.

Tarawa, which is the capital of Kiribati.

Both pointless answers. Well done if you got those.

Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Both 2.

Tirana, Albania, 4. Tbilisi, Georgia, 7.

Tripoli, Libya, would've scored you 7 points.

Tunis, Tunisia, 8. Tallinn, Estonia, 9.

Tehran, Iran, 15.

Tokyo, top of the list on 35.

Better luck with this question. You have to win this question to stay in the game.

OK, very best of luck. Here is your second question.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many

national daily newspapers as they could.

National daily newspapers. Richard.

We're looking for any national daily paper

that has the word "daily" in its title.

These are on the Audit Bureau of Circulations website so we won't accept the Daily Sport.

There are six national daily newspapers

on the Audit Bureau of Circulations website that have "daily" in the title.

And this is up to the start of 2011.

Thanks. Nina and Matt, you go first this time.

(The Daily Mail. I think we're done.)

Yes.

There's a few obvious ones that we could easily pick, so we might as well gamble.

-We've come so far.

-Right.

-Go for it.

I was thinking, I'm pretty sure it's an American newspaper,

but they might have something here,

so we're going to say the Daily Star.

Daily Star, you're saying. OK. Very good.

Jill and Frances, the Daily Star has gone.

Very much as it often has in my corner shop.

I'm not sure I want to say either of these out loud,

but which one should we go for?

-The Mail.

-The Daily Mail.

OK! Daily Mail. We have Daily Star and we have Daily Mail.

Nina and Matt, Daily Star. Let's see if that's right and how many people said it.

You have to win this question to stay in the game. Best of luck with Daily Star.

It's right.

-44.

-APPLAUSE

44 for the Daily Star. Very, very well done, Matt and Nina.

Jill and Frances have gone with the Daily Mail.

Let's see if it's right and if it is, how many people said it. The Daily Mail.

APPLAUSE

You did what you had to do, Nina and Matt.

After two questions, it's 1-1.

-Richard.

-Let's look at the answers.

The best answer was Daily Record, the Scottish newspaper.

Would've scored 11.

Daily Telegraph, 42. Daily Star, 44.

Daily Express, 50. Daily Mirror, 60.

-Daily Mail, right at the top on 83.

-Thanks very much, Richard.

Here is your third question.

Whoever wins this goes through to the final and will play for that £10,000 jackpot.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many

Bjorn Borg Wimbledon opponents as they could.

-Richard.

-We're looking for any of the four men

who Bjorn Borg has beaten in a Wimbledon Men's Singles Final.

OK.

Jill and Frances, you go first this time.

THEY WHISPER

We'll go for John McEnroe.

OK. You are saying John McEnroe.

Nina and Matt, we are looking for Bjorn Borg's opponents in Wimbledon finals.

I think that Pat Rafter was around that time.

He could be worth a shot.

-I don't know anyone.

-I would've liked to have gone with John McEnroe,

but we'll go with Pat Rafter. What's the worst that can happen?

The worst that can happen is, it'll be wrong!

That is pretty bad!

Jill and Frances, John McEnroe.

Let's see if that's right and if it is, how many people said John McEnroe.

It's right.

35 for John McEnroe.

Nina and Matt, you have to beat 35.

How confident are you feeling about Pat Rafter?

Not confident at all.

Pat Rafter. Is it right? How many people said it?

-THEY GROAN

-Bad luck!

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

which means, after three questions,

Jill and Frances are through to the final 2-1.

-Richard.

-A long time before Pat Rafter's time.

He didn't get to his first final till 2000.

So let's take a look at the four opponents, though.

Roscoe Tanner, who he beat in 1979.

The big-serving American. Would've scored you 3 points.

Won his first title against Ilie Nastase. 6.

Won it twice against Jimmy Connors. 25.

And the classic final against John McEnroe, went to five sets,

scores 35 and sees you through to the final. Well done.

Thanks, Richard. The losing pair at the end of the head-to-head is Nina and Matt.

-Did you recognise any of the names?

-Yes, I recognise the Connors person.

But other than that, no.

You've been brilliant contestants. It's been fabulous having you on. Sorry we have to say goodbye to you.

-Thank you for playing.

-BOTH: Thank you.

APPLAUSE

It's time for our Pointless final and the chance to win our jackpot of £10,000.

Congratulations, Jill and Frances. You've fought off 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 stands at an impressive £10,000.

CHEERING

The rules are very simple. All you have to do is find a pointless answer,

an answer none of our 100 people thought of.

We've had one pointless answer. You only have to find one more to get that money.

First, you've got to choose a category from these three options.

Here they are:

-What are you at home with?

-I prefer composers.

-We'll go with that, then.

-We'll go composers.

You're going to go composers. Very best of luck.

Let's find out what that question is.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many Verdi operas as they could.

-Richard.

-We're looking for the usual title of any opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi.

When he later revised some of his operas, we'll accept both names as separate answers.

Best of luck.

You have up to one minute to come up with three answers.

All you need to win that £10,000 is for just one of them to be pointless.

Your 60 seconds start now.

-Well...

-Tosca is the only one I can throw in!

-It wasn't Verdi.

-He did a lot of Shakespeare.

-Othello?

-He did Falstaff.

Othello. Macbeth, as well.

Macbeth is maybe the most obscure one that I can think of.

He did Aida. Nabucco.

I don't know. I'm looking at you and if you haven't heard of them, I'm hoping that's a good sign!

-I've heard of Othello.

-Have you?

-And I've heard of Macbeth.

-What's Nabucco?

-It's about...

-Oh, the slaves.

-You know the slave aria.

-We'll go with that, then.

-You think Nabucco?

-Yes.

-OK. And then we need to go for Macbeth.

-Yes.

-And then one other.

-Othello?

-Or Falstaff?

-Falstaff, yes.

-OK.

-Those are your three?

-I think so.

-Do you want any longer?

-BOTH: I don't think it'll help!

-OK, we'll stop the clock.

Your time is now up. I now need your three answers.

-I think we'll go for Falstaff.

-Falstaff.

-Macbeth.

-Macbeth.

-And Nabucco.

-Nabucco.

OK. Of those three,

-which do you think is your best chance?

-Macbeth possibly.

We'll put Macbeth last. And least likely?

Erm, Falstaff.

So Falstaff first, then Nabucco...

-And then Macbeth.

-Macbeth. We'll put them up in that order.

Here they are. Falstaff. Nabucco. And Macbeth.

There they are. OK, we were looking for Verdi operas.

This was your least confident answer.

You only need to find one pointless answer to win that £10,000 jackpot.

Falstaff. Let's see if it's right and if it is, how many people said it.

It's right, obviously.

Now it has to go all the way down to zero.

This is your first of three shots.

It's into the teens, into single figures! Down it goes!

Ohh!

APPLAUSE

-Amazing.

-Well, unfortunately, that is not a pointless answer.

Fortunately, it tells us something about our 100 people!

One person in 100 knew Falstaff.

It's looking very good further down the line for Macbeth, isn't it?

We shall have to keep our fingers tightly crossed. You only have two more chances.

What would you do with £10,000?

-What would you do with it?

-Have a holiday.

-Jill, what would you do?

-I'm taking my niece and nephew on a camping holiday to the Alps

and I promised them if I won, we could have a chalet rather than tents.

LAUGHTER

You are going to be the most popular Aunt Jill they have!

Well, we are looking for Verdi operas.

Your second answer, Nabucco.

-A little bit more confident in this one?

-Maybe. I think so!

-I'm going along with what my friend says.

-Well, the last one scored 1,

so if you're more confident in Nabucco, maybe that will score less than 1.

It has to be pointless for you to win that jackpot of £10,000. Only one way to find out if it is.

Is Nabucco right and if it is, how many people said it? Good luck.

-Of course it's right.

-Go on!

Falstaff went down to 1. You thought this was a better shot.

Maybe this will go all the way. Single figures!

-3!

-APPLAUSE

It's your last shot. There's just Macbeth between you and £10,000.

-What do you think?

-Are you allowed to say Macbeth in here?

No, this is TV, it's fine, not theatre.

-The stage went...!

-LAUGHTER

This is your third and final answer. For £10,000,

Macbeth.

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

Macbeth.

It's right.

Falstaff came down to 1. Nabucco came down to 3.

Everything is now riding on Macbeth. Into the teens. Single figures.

-Down it goes! Oh, no!

-AUDIENCE GROAN

That was in reverse order.

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

You don't win today's jackpot, which rolls over.

You have been fantastic contestants and you do get to take home our Pointless trophy.

LOUD APPLAUSE

-Richard, what were the pointless answers?

-That was tough luck.

Let's look at the pointless answers. Hopefully, you won't recognise too many of them.

Joan Of Arc was pointless.

I Due Foscari, based on a work by Lord Byron.

I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata,

which is "The Lombards on the First Crusade". All pointless.

I Masnadieri,

which was premiered in London in 1847 in front of Queen Victoria.

Il Trovatore, "The Troubadour",

and La Battaglia Di Legnano, which is "The Battle of Legnano".

La Forza Del Destino premiered in St Petersburg.

And Les Vepres Siciliennes.

All of those were pointless. Any ring a bell?

I've seen La Forza Del Destino, actually!

-Didn't ring any bells for me!

-Never mind.

-Oh, dear. Bad luck.

Unfortunately, we do have to say goodbye to you.

It's been brilliant having you on the show. Thank you for playing.

CHEERING

So nobody's won our jackpot today, which means it rolls over onto the next show

where we will be playing for £11,000!

CHEERING

-Join us to see if someone wins. It's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd