Episode 52 Pointless

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much indeed. Hello.

I'm Alexander Armstrong, welcome to Pointless,

where we put obscure knowledge to the test. Let's meet our players.

Now first, we welcome back Rob and Katie. You were on the show last time.

We give everyone two chances to reach the final,

this is your last chance. Now, remind us what happened?

We did OK, Katie got a pointless answer first,

then I took a risk for the second and it didn't pay off, we got booted off.

I'm back for a second crack of the whip.

We're coming back with a vengeance!

-Now, we discovered last time that you're scare actors?

-We are.

Scare actors, explain what that means.

We work at a horror-related London attraction, and we basically are horror actors,

performing as zombies, as the un-dead...

-Historical figures.

-How amazing. What are you hoping is going to come up this afternoon, Katie?

A bit of everything, I think.

I think I just need to be lucky with what questions I get. Pot luck.

A little bit of history, a little bit of...

maybe something theatre-related would be nice.

-Rob, what would be great for you?

-Football is my strongest category,

I've got an encyclopaedic knowledge of football.

-We didn't put that to the test last time.

-I know!

But I'm good with history, because the job we perform,

we learn about the gory history of the country, of London.

So any history that isn't gory, not going to be so strong?

-A nice bit of blood!

-Luckily, most history is gory! Phew!

Lovely to have you back, best of luck.

And next, we welcome Rob and Simon.

Now, how do you two know each other? I think I might have an idea!

-Yeah, we shared a womb for a bit! AUDIENCE:

-Aw!

You wombed?!

We wombed, yeah.

-We're twin brothers.

-We were womb-mates!

-Oh!

-Exactly!

There you go! That'll do!

No, we're best friends, we like all the same stuff.

-It's sickening, really.

-Absolutely sickening! What do you do, Simon?

I'm a student in London, currently studying for a degree in French.

-French. What year are you in?

-Second year.

-So next year you go off to France?

-I'm out of the country, going to miss my home comforts.

What are you going to do, Rob?

-I'll be beside myself!

-Well, you are beside yourself, in fact!

Yeah!

Rob, you're a student as well, are you?

I study English at Trinity College, Cambridge,

which I believe you were a former student of?

Yeah, that's exactly my faculty, my college. In fact, your college too.

-Yes.

-I'm kind of like a younger version of you!

-You...

-Much younger.

Yeah, all right! Steady now!

-Easy!

-AUDIENCE LAUGH

-We were womb-mates there, weren't we?!

-Yes!

So, Rob, what's going to be a great category for you?

Movies, literature, music, football, occasionally.

-Yeah, I think one of our strongest points is probably reality TV.

-Good.

And anything to do with celebrity gossip.

We're not looking forward to any questions about politics,

-or soap operas.

-Soap operas or politics.

-Yeah.

-Two very similar things!

-OK!

Well, best of luck to you. It's great to have you here.

Next, we have Hannah and Rae. How do you know each other?

Hannah is my absolutely wonderful daughter,

she's been my daughter for 21 years.

-Ah, wonderful.

-Rae is my embarrassing mother! THEY LAUGH

Ah, splendid. Where have you come from, Hannah?

-I've come from Lancaster.

-You're both from Lancaster, I'm assuming?

-You're still living at home?

-No, my mum's from Nottingham.

-I'm at uni in Lancaster.

-Oh, I see. Right you are. What year are you in?

-I'm in my final year.

-Final year, wow. And you come here!

-Shouldn't you be working now?

-Probably, yeah!

-Yes.

Rae, What are your hobbies?

I love photography, but my main passion is animals.

-I have a small zoo at home!

-How many things have you got?

Well, I've got eight cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon.

But if I could, I'd have more!

-Just the one bearded dragon?

-Yeah, for now! At the moment.

-That's a sort of lizard, is it?

-Yes.

-Oh, right. Good. Phew!

Well, best of luck to you. Great to have you here.

And finally, we've got Tony and Sylvia.

-How do you two know each other?

-Well...

-Go on!

-We're married.

-For 40 years.

-40 years! Many congratulations, that is good.

-APPLAUSE

-That is very good.

Very well done.

Now, what do you do, Tony?

Well, I retired two years ago and since then,

I've actually been involved in local politics.

And I happen to know, I just happen to know,

you are the Right Worshipful Mayor of Lutterworth.

I was elected Mayor of Lutterworth two weeks ago, yes.

Oh, that's wonderful!

So, Tony, is it you I need to talk to about my bins?

Yes. Weekly or fortnightly?

-Well, I would rather have it weekly.

-I think that's the prevalent mood at the moment,

so it could well be happening.

-Yeah, well...

-I'm glad I voted for you.

THEY LAUGH

Very good. And Sylvia, what do you do?

You're the consort to the mayor now.

-Yes, but I'm also retired. I also retired two years ago.

-Very good.

So I spend my time at the moment...

I'm into ornithology,

I'm a member of the British Trust for Ornithology,

so I count my garden birds every week

-and send off my results every quarter.

-Very good.

The best of luck to you. Lovely to have you here. We'll find out more about you throughout the show.

There's only one person left for me to introduce.

Superman can bend iron with his bare hands, this man can tell you its molar mass.

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

-Hiya.

APPLAUSE

-Hello there.

-Hello there, Richard. How are you?

-Really well. How are you?

-Very well indeed.

-A very open field today,

we only have one returning pair, Rob and Katie. They went out in the first round

so we didn't see much of them.

-They were pretty good, they were unlucky, I think.

-Yes, very unlucky.

I think they would be favourites, but a very open field.

Of the many specialities people have had

and questions you've asked for, not a single one of them

is going to be on today's show, you'll be delighted to hear.

That's how we like it! Now, we've put all our questions to 100 people before the show,

but this is Pointless, so we're after the answers they didn't get.

To stay in the game, our players need to score as few points as they possibly can.

What everyone is trying to do is find a pointless answer,

one 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.

So today's jackpot starts off at £9,000.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Right, 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.

Anyone who gives an incorrect answer will score the maximum of 100 points, so avoid those.

Our first category this afternoon is Nationalities.

Decide in your pairs who is going to go first and second.

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

OK, let's find out what the first question is.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many nationalities

ending in '...ian' as they could.

-Richard.

-We're looking for any country whose inhabitants are known in English by a word

ending '...ian' according to the Oxford English dictionary, please.

Thank you very much, Richard. Now, Rob and Katie, you all drew lots before the show

and this afternoon you get to go first.

I think I have an answer and it's going be Norwegian because...

Sounded like you were going to say something else! Because?

Because when I saw that I thought, "Nationalities ending in '...inian'"

and then I thought Norwegian is slightly different!

-So I'm going to go for that.

-Slightly different's good.

-You know what I mean.

-I know what you mean.

-I think I do.

You want to score as few points as possible with Norwegian. Let's see if that's right,

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

It's right.

Still going down...

Look at that, 17. Well done. Very good.

-That's all right!

-Yeah.

-17 for Norwegian. Richard.

-Very well played, Katie.

Norwegian is what we call people from Norway.

You'll find a lot of my facts in this round are taking on a similar bent.

I can't wait for all of them(!)

-Now then, Rob.

-Hello.

-Rob.

-I think I'm going to take a bit of a risk here.

-Mm-hmm. Good.

That's the name of the game. I think this is right.

Uh... I'm going to look to another continent and say Ivorian,

as in those of the Cote d'Ivoire.

Ivorian. The Cote d'Ivoire.

Lots of people who aren't answering now, nodding as if to say,

"Yes, I probably would've said that myself had I the neck."

-I do have the neck.

-You have the neck. Ivorian, he says.

Let's see if it's right, and if so, how many people said Ivorian.

You're hoping to score as few points as possible. Ivorian.

Splendid, Rob.

It's a good answer, I think. Down it goes and down it goes.

And there it finishes! Very well done, indeed.

APPLAUSE

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

takes the total up to £9,250 and it scores you nothing.

Beautifully played. Richard.

Brilliant answer. Great start to the show.

Absolutely, people from the Ivory Coast or the Cote d'Ivoire.

Very good. Now then, Rae.

We are looking for a nice, obscure nationality ending '...ian'.

Not my favourite subject, to be honest.

It's not really obscure, but I'm going to go safe and say Iranian.

-Iranian.

-Mm.

-OK, well, let's see what that scores you.

It's right.

Oh, 18. Very well done, Rae.

APPLAUSE

Given you a respectable score there.

-Iranian, Richard.

-Yeah, good answer. That's people who are from 'I-rain'.

-From Iran.

-Thank you very much.

Sylvia. Remember, we are looking for nationalities that end in '...ian'.

One country came immediately to mind, followed by two more.

But I think I'd better go with my first choice.

-Is it nice and obscure?

-I hope so.

-Splendid.

-Croatian.

Good. You're hoping to score as few points as possible with Croatian.

Let's see if it's right, and if so, how many people said Croatian.

17.

APPLAUSE

-Great answer, Sylvia. 17 for Croatian, Richard.

-Remarkably consistent scores.

Croatian, people from Croatia, who can also be called Croat.

-That's some extra information.

-There we go. See, that IS good.

We're halfway through the round, so let's see the scores.

Well, now, Rob and Simon looking very strong indeed.

Nothing, nothing on the scoreboard.

Then we jump up to 17, where Katie and Rob and Sylvia and Tony are sitting, looking pretty good.

Then 18, also a lovely low score, Rae and Hannah.

For no reason, Hannah, you find yourselves top of the field,

so you need to find a nice low score for the next pass.

Let's come back down the line. Second players take your places at the podium.

OK, we are looking for nationalities ending in "...ian".

-Tony.

-Right, OK, I think we'll go to a different continent altogether,

and let's try...Peruvian.

Peruvian. I like where we've gone!

-LAUGHTER

-Now, let's see.

Peruvian - is it right? How many people said it? There is a red line,

but you can't see it, it's right at the bottom of the column.

It's right.

Down it goes...

Nine! Very well done, Tony.

APPLAUSE

That takes your total up to 26.

Yes, good answer, Tony. Peruvian. - Quiz for you.

-Yeah.

-Do you know what country Peruvians come from?

-Peruvia.

-Oh! It's...

-It's Peru.

-Thank you very much, Richard. Now,

Hannah, the high-scorers are now Tony and Sylvia on 26.

You're on 18. If you can score seven or less,

you are through to the next round.

Looks like you've got a brilliant answer on the tip of your tongue.

Not really, no. Erm, I can think of quite a few,

just nothing too obscure. I think I'm going to go with...

-Malaysian.

-Malaysian. Sounds perfect to me.

If you can get below that red line,

through you go to the next round.

Very best of luck. Malaysian, how many people said that?

It's right!

Oh, you've done it! That's a brilliant score!

APPLAUSE

Great score, Hannah, takes your total up to 22. Richard.

Yes, well played. It's surprisingly low for Malaysian.

The inhabitants of Malaysia, we call Malaysian.

-Or...Malay?

-APPLAUSE

Or Malay. LAUGHTER

OK. Now, then,

-Simon, how well did Rob do there?

-He's fantastic.

That's why he's my best friend, gets me out of situations like this.

-Simon, stop it!

-Erm, I'm feeling all right.

-Erm, Tony took my answer.

-Sorry about that.

-I hold you responsible!

Erm...! And I think Malaysian is a great answer.

I'm going to go for...Slovenian.

-Slovenian!

-Yeah, and hope that they're not called Slovene,

like the Croatians are called Croats?

Let's go for Slovenian.

Let's. Tony and Sylvia, the high-scorers, on 26.

25 or less, and you are definitely through to the next round, Simon.

Let's see if Slovenian can get you below that red line. Slovenian.

It's right.

You've only gone and done it!

Three! Brilliant!

APPLAUSE

-Takes your total up to three. Richard?

-Very well played.

They can also be called Slovenes.

But a brilliant combined score of three.

-Now, then, Rob... Rob, we know what happened last time.

-Yes!

Leaving after the first round - that can NOT happen this time!

Well, my knowledge of football...

has given me quite an extensive knowledge of international people.

And I'm going to punt for an eastern European nation.

-I'm going to say Macedonian.

-Macedonian!

And there are the nods - that's what we're after!

The high-scorers are Tony and Sylvia, on 26. You're on 17.

You have to score eight or less.

That's what eight points looks like on our tower.

You have to go below that red line,

-like sort of limbo.

-LAUGHTER

Macedonian -is it right? How many said it? Best of luck.

It is right.

Yes, you've done it!

Very well done!

Two points for Macedonian!

-APPLAUSE

-That takes the total up to 19.

-Very well done indeed.

-Yeah, well played, Rob.

I suspected your football knowledge would get you through.

All the football reports are full of references to stocky Byelorussians

-and nippy Latvians.

-That was another one of my choices.

-Very good answer.

Let's take a look at the pointless answers, there's quite a few.

Ecuadorian, from Ecuador. Fijian - that's Fiji.

Gambian... Gambia.

Ivorian, we've already heard, that's Ivory Coast,

-Now, this is what I would like to be, a Kittitian.

-Bless you.

-Yeah!

-From St Kitts!

-From St Kitts and Nevis, yeah.

And, er, Liberian,

from, er, from... No, I don't know that one.

-From the library?

-Actually, that should read librarian.

No, it's Liberia. Let's take a look at the worst answers,

which most of our 100 people said.

Australian top of the board, with 44.

So, at the end of Round One, the losing pair,

with the highest score, it's Tony and Sylvia!

Dear, oh, dear! 26! Most rounds you'd be delighted with 26.

That's right, yep.

It's been a very low-scoring round. Nothing wrong with your answers.

-Have you been to Peru or Croatia?

-No.

-Go to Croatia.

-I hope to do it as part of my mayor's tour.

-Exactly!

-And Peru, while you're at it.

-Yes.

It's a shame to be saying goodbye, but we'll see you next time.

Tony and Sylvia, thanks so much.

APPLAUSE

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

There's only room for two pairs in the head-to-head,

so one team will be leaving us at the end of this round.

Our category for Round Two is...

-That's what you wanted, Katie, trivia!

-Good!

Can you all decide who's going to go first and second?

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

So, our Round Two question concerns...

We'll show you six clues on each pass.

We asked 100 people to give us the answers to those clues, which were palindromes,

that's a word that can be read the same way forwards as backwards.

Incorrect answers will score you 100 points.

12 palindromes to get. Very best of luck at home.

OK. Palindromic answers, and here we have the clues...

Let me do those again...

LAUGHTER

John...nnn! Singer, Shola...nnn!

Supermodel Nnn...Macpherson, Miley Cyrus character

Nnn...Montana

and two crotchets - there we are, you've got 'em.

-Katie...

-Yes.

-All you need to know is, the answers to all those

read the same backwards as they do forwards.

Try to find the one that fewest people got,

-and you'll be through to the head-to-head.

-Right.

Well, I'm going to avoid Nnn...Montana,

-because that's quite popular right now.

-As a rule, I would.

LAUGHTER

I'm not going to try and answer the bottom one,

because we've proved that our knowledge of music isn't that great.

I'll go for the one answer that I'm not that sure of,

in keeping with our tactics of taking a stab in the dark,

and guess that the Gary Cooper Western might be called High Noon.

Very good indeed, Rob is nodding. Let's see if it's right,

and if it is, how many people knew that answer.

Yes, it's right!

Ooh, 64.

-APPLAUSE

-64, that's quite high.

-Almost as high as the noon.

-Yeah.

Big score, but a correct answer. Bill Clinton's favourite film,

-and John Wayne's least favourite film.

-Really?

-Yeah. How about that?

How about that? Simon...

-Hello.

-Simon, hello. Palindromic...?

-Erm, I know all of those.

-Do you?

-I do.

-Good. It's just a matter of which will garner the lowest points?

-Yeah.

I'm feeling good. You've got the supermodel - Nnn! - Macpherson.

-Erm...

-See, that's a better noise than mine.

-Certainly more urgent.

-Erm, I'm going to go with,

I think my musical friends will be happy with me here,

cos I can't read music to save my life,

but I'm going to go for... two crotchets, and minim.

Oh! "A minim," says Simon.

Two crotchets. Let's see if it's right,

and if so, how many people knew it.

It's right.

Down it goes.

Very well done, 23!

-APPLAUSE

-Splendid answer, Simon.

A minim, of course.

-Yes, two crotchets, a half a semibreve - a minim.

-Now, Hannah,

you are the last person to have this board,

so you can fill in all the gaps.

I've no idea who the singer is, but I think I know all the others.

It's Elle Macpherson and Hannah Montana,

but I'm going with the TV judge, I think it's John Deed?

-John Deed. OK, that's what you're saying.

-I hope.

Hope so, too. Let's see if it's right.

And if it is, let's see how many people said John Deed.

It's right!

-51.

-APPLAUSE

51 for John Deed.

Richard?

Yeah, good answer, Hannah,

and you're our only palindromic contestant today.

Let's take a look at the rest of these.

Miley Cyrus's character, Hannah Montana,

would have scored a fairly mighty 81, though.

Australian supermodel Mmmm! Macpherson.

Why didn't she go for that? It's much better than Elle as a name.

Mmmm! That would get you noticed.

-Because "Mmm" is not a palindrome. Unless you spell it M-M-M-M.

-Which I was!

-OK.

So, Elle Macpherson, obviously, would have scored you 90.

And the singer Shola, do you remember that? Shola Ama.

But it would have scored you 36 points, so still a fairly big score.

-A fairly high scoring board.

-She wasn't MC's sister, was she?

-LAUGHTER AND GROANS

-Sorry, that's just awful.

Terrible. OK, we're halfway through the round,

so let's look at the scores. 23 is the lowest there,

and Simon and Rob are on it.

Then we go up to 51, Hannah and Rae.

Then up to 64, where Katie and Rob are currently sitting. So, Rob C.

When it comes to you, you know what you have to do.

-I know what I have to do.

-A really lovely low-scoring palindromic answer, please.

Otherwise we have to say goodbye to you, and that wouldn't do.

OK, can the second players take their places at the podium?

OK, we're going to put six more clues on the board.

And here they are. 1974 Eurovision winners,

object detection system,

Bing Crosby's Road partner, Mmmm Hope.

Canoe used by Inuits. Surname of widow of John Lennon.

Modern county town of Meath.

I will read all of those one more time. 1974 Eurovision winners.

Object detection system.

Bing Crosby's Road partner, Mmmm Hope.

Canoe used by Inuits.

Surname of widow of John Lennon.

Modern county town of Meath.

Now, remember, you're looking for a palindromic answer,

and you're trying to find the one the fewest of our 100 people knew.

What are you thinking, Rae?

I think I am going to go with the object detection system,

and that's radar.

Radar, you're saying. Well, the high scorers are Rob and Katie on 64.

That means you want to be scoring 12 or less

to stay in the game. There's your red line. Can you get below it?

Let's see if it's right, and if so, how many people said radar.

It's right.

30.

30 for radar takes your total to 81. Richard?

A pretty good score, Rae. The term radar, coined by the US Navy in 1940.

-It stands for radio detection and ranging.

-Thank you.

Now, then, Rob. The high scorers now are Rae and Hannah on 81.

You're on 23.

Which means if you score 57 or less, you're through to the head-to-head.

OK. I know all of them apart from the bottom one.

That will be the lowest one, unfortunately.

I am going to have to go for the canoe used by Inuits, I think.

And that would be a kayak.

A kayak. OK, kayak, says Rob.

Here's your red line, quite nice and high.

Let's see if kayak can get you below that red line. The very best of luck.

Yep, you've done it!

32 for kayak.

-Richard?

-Well played, Rob, good answer.

-They were originally made of seal skin over whalebone.

-They're not any more(?)

-Sorry. Sorry.

-They're now fibreglass stretched over whalebone.

LAUGHTER

Very good. Thank you very much, Richard.

Now, Rob, I happened to catch you there doing that.

I have a feeling we're about to leave.

I don't know the bottom one, and the other three that are remaining

are fairly obvious, so they'll all be high scorers.

I am just trying to work out which one will be least obvious.

Bing Crosby's Road partner, Bob Hope.

Bob Hope. OK, Bob Hope.

Possibly the only hope you have at this stage! There is your red line.

Let's see if Bob can get you below it. It would be brilliant.

Bob Hope. Is it right, and how many people said it?

Oh, bad luck, Rob!

APPLAUSE

Bad luck. That scored you 60, takes your total up to 124. Richard?

Unlucky, Rob. If we called both of our Robs Bobs,

we'd have palindromic players on all three teams.

-Why didn't we?

-Why did we not do that?

Let's fill in the rest of the board. You're absolutely right.

It's the bottom one that's the key to staying in this round.

The 1974 Eurovision winners, ABBA. They would have scored you 86.

-The surname of the widow of John Lennon?

-Yoko Ono.

Ono, absolutely right. Would have scored you 75.

So, the modern county town of Meath, it is a pointless answer.

Nobody got it. Some will have got it at home. It's Navan.

Thank you very much, Richard.

So, the losing pair at the end of Round Two...it's Rob and Katie.

At least we saw Round Two.

You saw Round Two, but this is... what can I say? This is terrible.

I thought we were going to have much more fun with you.

Instead we have to say goodbye too soon.

But it's been brilliant having you here. Thank you. Great contestants.

APPLAUSE

But for the remaining two pairs,

things get even more exciting now as we enter the head-to-head.

Very well done, Rob and Simon, Hannah and Rae.

You've made it through to the head-to-head.

Now, only one pair can make it through to today's final

and play for the jackpot, which currently stands at £9,250.

Now, for each question, each pair needs to give me just one answer,

but you are now allowed to confer.

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

The first pair to win two questions will play for today's jackpot.

Let's play Pointless.

OK, here is your first question.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name...

as many Bob Marley UK top 40 singles as they could.

Looking for any single released by Bob Marley or which had him as a named artist

which reached the UK top 40 prior to May 2011, please.

Thank you very much. Now, then, Rob and Simon, you've played best throughout the show,

so you get to go first.

-OK, we've decided. We're going to take a bit of a risk.

-Good.

Because we think we know the obvious-y ones.

We're going to go for...

That would be a great name for a collection, wouldn't it?

"Bob Marley: The Obvious-y Ones."

I'm going to go for Iron Lion Zion. I think that's the title.

Iron Lion Zion, you're saying.

OK, Hannah and Rae,

-Bob Marley singles, UK top 40 singles.

-We just laughed.

I'm glad they said obvious ONES, because we only know one.

-And that was it?

-I'm not a Bob Marley fan. Sorry.

The only one we know is No Woman No Cry.

No Woman No Cry. OK, that'll do.

We have Iron Lion Zion and we have No Woman No Cry.

Rob and Simon chose Iron Lion Zion. Is that right, and if so, how many people said it?

It is right.

Oh, it's low. Look at that, 4!

Very well done.

Anna and Rae, you've gone for No Woman No Cry.

Let's see if that's right, and if it is, let's see if it can beat 4.

-Bad luck.

-Less than I thought.

55, it's better than wrong!

Two perfectly respectable answers, but Iron Lion Zion is the lower scorer,

which means, after one question, Rob and Simon are up 1-0.

Yes, Iron Lion Zion a number five hit in 1992.

There are pointless answers here

that I suspect some people would have got one or other of.

Punky Reggae Party was a top 10 hit in the '70s.

One Love - People Get Ready and Keep On Moving, all of those pointless answers.

And some of the bigger hits here.

Jammin', 22. That's the old joke.

"How does Bob Marley like his doughnuts? Wi' jam in."

Great man, great man.

Buffalo Soldier would have scored you 25.

There are eight top 10 hits on that list,

but No Woman, No Cry is not one of them. It only reached number 22,

but scored 55, probably his most well-known song.

Thank you very much indeed, Richard.

So here is your second question, Hannah and Rae.

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

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many

of the Royle Family actors as they could.

Any of the 11 actors or actresses who have been credited as appearing

in five or more episodes of the Royle Family up to and including the 2010 Christmas special.

OK. Now, this time, Hannah and Rae, you go first.

-Do you want me to go for that?

-I trust you.

-I think...

Again, it's not really one I've watched, but Sue Johnston.

Sue Johnston, you're saying. Very good.

Now, then, Rob and Simon, have you got an answer?

Yeah, again, this is really not up our street at all.

But I think, in the back of my mind, I remember an actor

who went on to do Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps.

That kind of seminal drama.

I think his name is Ralf Little,

and I hope he was in the Royle Family, but I remember his face somewhere.

OK, you're saying Ralf Little.

So we have Sue Johnston and we have Ralf Little.

Hannah and Rae have to win this.

Sue Johnston, is that right, and how many people said it?

It's right.

Where's it going to stop? Down it goes...

Ooh, 25!

APPLAUSE

25 for Sue Johnston.

-Ralf Little, say Rob and Simon.

-Not confident.

-Let's have a look.

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

let's see if it can go down lower than Sue Johnston on 25.

Ralf Little, is it right?

Yes, it is right.

It's right. Can it beat Sue Johnston?

Yes! Look at that.

9 for Ralf Little.

APPLAUSE

Very, very well done indeed.

That means after only two questions, Rob and Simon are through to the final 2-0.

-What about that?

-Yes, two good answers there.

Sue Johnston plays Barbara, of course, and Ralf Little plays Anthony, the son.

He dropped out of medical school when he won that part.

Let's look at the answers. There's three pointless answers.

Peter Martin and Doreen Keogh played Joe and Mary, the neighbours.

Peter Martin was Len in Emmerdale, and Doreen Keogh was the first ever barmaid in Coronation Street.

Andrew Whyment plays Darren, Anthony's friend.

He's Kirk in Coronation Street.

Geoffrey Hughes would have scored one point. He plays family friend Twiggy.

Jessica Stevenson played Cheryl, now Jessica Hynes, of course.

Craig Cash plays Dave. Liz Smith plays Nana.

Thank you very much, Richard. So, the losing pair at the end of the head-to-head is Hannah and Rae.

You've done very well, fantastically well.

You played a blinder all the way through.

The great news for us is we see you again next time.

Thanks so much for playing, Hannah and Rae.

APPLAUSE

But for Rob and Simon, it's now time for our Pointless final,

and the chance to win our jackpot of £9,250.

Well, congratulations, Rob and Simon.

You fought off the competition

and you've won our coveted Pointless trophy. So, very well done.

You now have a chance to win our Pointless jackpot.

At the end of today's show, the jackpot stands at a whopping £9,250.

OK, the rules are very simple.

To win that money, you must find a pointless answer. That's an answer

none of our 100 people could think of.

We've only had one pointless answer on the show today. What was it, Rob?

-Ivorian.

-Oh, it was Ivorian! Exactly.

Well, you have to find one more pointless answer now.

And if you do, you will leave here with that £9,250.

First, though, you've got to choose a category.

You can choose from these three options.

-All three of those are quite good.

-We can do all three of those, I think.

I don't think bestselling authors, because it'll be...

Dickens sold a lot, but nowhere near as many as Jodi Picoult.

Or Martina Cole.

Famous foodies, we could do. We watch a lot of food programmes.

It could be something like... I don't know what it could be.

Who knows? Great British Menu chefs, that's what it'd be.

I think we would be stupid not to go for film directors.

Knowing our kind of hobbies and interests.

-So we'll go for film directors.

-OK, good. Let's see the question.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many films directed by Ron Howard as they could.

-Richard?

-Yes, we're looking for any feature film given a general cinema release

prior to April 2011 for which Ron Howard received a directing credit.

No TV films, short films or documentaries, just feature films, please.

Very best of luck.

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

All you need to win that £9,250 is the just one of those answers

to be pointless.

Your 60 seconds start now.

-OK, right. I think...

-He did the World Trade Center one?

No, that's Oliver Stone. I've got a few. I think recent is better.

-He directed The Da Vinci Code and Angels And Demons, I think.

-OK.

I think there's a film with Russell Crowe, Cinderella Man,

which is about a boxer.

-Yes! What was his famous film?

-A Beautiful Mind.

I'll let you talk - encyclopaedic knowledge.

A Beautiful Mind won Oscars. I don't think we should go for that.

I think Angels And Demons is a good one cos it was such a stinker.

-People don't realise who directed it.

-And no-one would attach Ron Howard...

-I don't know what he's actually famous for.

-He's the Fonz.

-He's the Fonz?

-Yes, that's...I don't know.

-Is he?

-Yes, isn't he?

-No.

Yeah, Ron Howard. I dunno! Anyway!

That's not the question, um...

Cinderella Man, I think, is good.

Angels and Demons is good.

Russell Crowe is his man, so anything like that. Did he do State Of Play, that one?

I don't think so. I don't know.

-Five seconds left.

-That was from the TV show, State Of Play. Go for it?

OK. There's your minute.

We were looking for Ron-Howard-directed films.

I now need your three answers.

-Um...we're going to go for Angels And Demons.

-Angels And Demons.

-Cinderella Man.

-Cinderella Man.

-And State Of Play.

-Yeah, I don't think that's right.

-And State Of Play. OK.

-Very, very good indeed.

-Yes, let's hope so.

-He wasn't the Fonz, he was Richard Cunningham.

-Oh, right.

Oh, not the Fonz. Well, I was born in '91. That's to make you feel all bad.

OK. Right! We have your three answers.

Of those three, which is your most confident shot at a pointless answer?

-Cinderella Man.

-We shall put that last.

-What shall we put first?

-State Of Play cos we don't think it's right.

-State Of Play.

OK, let's put them on the board in that order. Here they are.

We were looking for Ron Howard movies.

This is your first shot at that £9,250 jackpot.

Let's see if State Of Play is right and,

if it is, how many people said it. State Of Play.

-Nope! Nope. You were expecting that, though.

-We were.

-It would have been weird if that was right.

-Yes, very lucky.

-Yes.

There we are. Not pointless. You have two more chances to win today's jackpot.

We now move into the more serious part of this round,

where you've put forward two Ron Howard films, you think.

-Hopefully.

-OK. Well, hopefully, yes.

Let's hope nobody said Angels And Demons.

Just before we put it to the test, what would you do with £9,250?

-What?

-Buy loads of DVDS.

-Yeah, what wouldn't we do?

-Probably buy lots of DVDs.

-That's too many DVDs.

-£9,000 of DVDs.

-No, no, no.

-Solid gold DVDs.

In all honesty, we'd take a trip together. Yeah, we'll go on holiday.

We've always wanted to go to the US to see, like, the proper US.

We've been to Orlando but that's, like, fake America.

OK. You want to see, like, real America.

We want to see the real places.

-Yes, a place where all of our dreams don't come true.

-Yep.

LAUGHTER

OK. OK.

-So that's what it'll go towards, hopefully.

-Your dreams not coming true in America. Good!

Angels And Demons. Is it right? How many people said it?

It is right! OK. That was the first thing it had to be.

The second thing it has to be is pointless

and if it goes to zero - every chance it might -

you'll be leaving here with £9,250.

Down to single figures...

-five.

-AUDIENCE GROANS AND APPLAUDS

Oh, that's good, though.

Think how pleased you'd be with five in normal game play. Brilliant!

-That's very close but it doesn't do anything for us.

-No.

It doesn't make you any richer, certainly,

but it tells us what our 100 people know about Ron Howard.

They knew Angels And Demons was directed by him.

Do they know Cinderella Man?

I'm beginning to doubt whether that's even right, now, actually!

Um...yeah, I'm really disappointed Angels And Demons wasn't pointless

cos I'm not 100% that Cinderella Man is Ron Howard.

OK. Cinderella Man.

Is it directed by Ron Howard and,

if it is, did any of our 100 people know that?

That's what we have to find out. If they didn't know that, you leave with £9,250.

Cinderella Man. Is it right? How many people said it?

It's right! It IS right. That was the first thing it had to be.

The next thing it has to be is pointless. Down it goes.

Angels And Demons wasn't pointless.

This one has to be. Down into single figures.

Down it goes!

-Yes!

-AUDIENCE CHEERS

Very, very well done! Oh, congratulations!

Just brilliant. Superb!

Very good!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well, congratulations.

You managed to find that all-important pointless answer,

which means you go home with a jackpot of £9,250.

-Say it again! Say it again!

-Champagne for everyone!

-Champagne!

-Wow!

-Richard?

-Yes, well-played, Rob and Simon. Played well throughout.

Yes, from 2005, Cinderella Man stars Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger.

The true story of the boxer James Braddock.

Nominated for three Oscars. I recommend you see it now!

I might be too busy on my yacht!

LAUGHTER

We need to have a little chat about the price of yachts.

Only a little one.

State Of Play was Kevin Macdonald, he directed that.

Done all sorts of films, Ron Howard. Splash, Cocoon, Apollo 13...

Cinderella Man was a pointless answer, EDTV,

Frost/Nixon was a pointless answer.

Gung Ho from 1986,

The Dilemma from 2011 with Vince Vaughn and Winona Ryder,

that was pointless.

The Missing with Cate Blanchett - Tommy Lee Jones also in that -

and The Paper, a behind-the-scenes ensemble piece

about a newspaper with Michael Keaton, Glenn Close and others.

Well, thank you once again to our winning players, Rob and Simon,

who go away with today's jackpot of £9,250. Amazing.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Join us next time, when we'll be putting more obscure knowledge to the test on Pointless.

-It's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

-And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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