WWTBAM Prep, Part 23 (21-May-2019 to 28-May-2019)
Notes taken while watching the UK edition of WWTBAM, May 2019. New editions (2018 onwards, broadcast on ITV) are titled “NEW WHO:”, older editions are titled “WHO:” or “OLD WHO:” and were broadcast on Challenge; Celebrity editions, also broadcast on Challenge, are titled “SLEB WHO:”. Specific dates for these notes: 21-May-2019 to 28-May-2019 . [8,133 words in this piece.]
OLD WHO: Mon 20-May-2019 10pm on Challenge, 8-3-06 250k, 18-3-06 64k and still going
[21/05/2019 08:26] Charles Dickson returns for his 2k question
2k: language normally used to classify animals and plants: (Latin)
4k: 1935 film Top Hat starred (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)
8k: Name adopted by the singer Madonna in 2004: ESTHER [Ask the Audience: 69% get it right]
REVISE: Madonna, adopted the name ESTHER in 2004, is that something to do with Kabbala? Research the name Esther, and the character in the Bible
[This contestant met his wife sailing, she was crewing for someone else]
16k: Jackie, the magazine for girls was named after this author: JACQUELINE WILSON, not Jack Higgins, JK Rowling or Jackie Collins [50/50 left him with Wilson and Higgins / I might have gone for Collins]
REVISE: Why was Jackie magazine named after Jacqueline Wilson?
32k: Celta Vigo is a football club from (Spain) [Phone-A-Friend thought it was Italy, but he’s gone for Spain]
Cheque reads 8-3-06
64k: (Jill Gascoigne) married the actor Alfred Molina
125k: In which country is the world’s highest road bridge, built in 2004: Switzerland / France / Spain / Italy [I thought it was FRANCE, and it is] [Designed by NORMAN FOSTER]
REVISE: World’s highest road bridge, in 2004 it was in France, designed by Norman Foster
250k: Who came to the throne of Norway in 1991: HARALD / Nils / Knut / Lars
500k: Last Gilbert and Sullivan written together: Utopia Limited / Iolanthe / THE GRAND DUKE / Patience [He thinks it is but doesn’t risk it]
Charles Dickson leaves with 250k
REVISE: The Grand Duke was the last Gilbert and Sullivan written together [This was a 500k question / Other options: Utopia Limited / Iolanthe / Patience]
10 new contestants: Paul Copley, Andy Purdy, Gary Morewood, John McCann, Graham Clark, Jed Thurlow, Lance Oyston, Dave Morrison, Fergus Jamison, Mike Reeves [No women, then]
FFF: Films featuring transport in order of release
BDAC gives us: Brief Encounter / Chitty Chitty Bang Bang / Apollo 13 / The Aviator
3/10 get it right, but there’s a TIE: Gary Morewood and Mike Reeves both in 4.16s
It’s a TIEBREAK FFF: Words in order to make a proverb
CBAD gives us: Great Minds Think Alike
Mike Reeves gets it in 3.06s, the other guy didn’t get it right
A college technician from ELGIN in Morayshire / Met his partner Maria (she’s at home) auditioning singers for his band / He was once on Cheggers Plays Pop / would like to tour the US in a mobile home, checking out sports events and gigs on the way
1k: (Scotch mist) is a light drizzle or something insubstantial
[A band called Crannog, Scottish folk rock, he was guitarist and then “graduated” to being a van driver]
2k: Gillian McKeith gives advice about (diet)
4k: Major French city that is shortest distance from Britain: Lyon / Toulouse / Bordeaux / (Paris) [Ask the Audience: 62% get it right]
8k: Who married ALASDHAIR WILLIS in Scotland in 2003: Liv Tyler / Jade Jagger / Kimberley Stewart / Stella McCartney [50/50 leaves him with Liv and STELLA / Phone-A-Friend thinks it’s Stella, and it is: STELLA McCARTNEY]
REVISE: Sleb weddings: Stella McCartney married ALASDHAIR WILLIS in Scotland in 2003
16k: Katie Melua’s chart-topping debut album: (Call off the search)
32k: St Elmo is the patron saint of: Waiters / Journalists / (Sailors) / Actors [It takes a while, but he gets there: “Am I being greedy? I think it’s sailors …”]
Cheque reads 18-3-06
64k: AZERI is a major language in: Albania / Algeria / Antigua / (Azerbaijan) [It’s got to be Azerbaijan, surely / And it is, and he goes for it]
[21/05/2019 08:53] And that’s the end of the show, Mike Reeves will return on 64k on or after 18-3-06
OLD WHO: Sun 19-May-2019 5am, no-one gets 32k or higher, so no cheques visible
[21/05/2019 08:57] It’s a strange time for an episode, 5am on a Sunday morning, on its own
10 new contestants: Paul Trewick, Naz Ahmed, John Davies, Peter Spicer, Glyn Marsden, John McKay, Jim Anthony, Ryan Mannifeld, Kajann Prathapan, Paul Harman
FFF: Start in America, work east, food and countries they are associated with
BCDA gives us: Waldorf salad / Haggis / Turkish delight / Birds Nest Soup
3/10 get it right, Peter Spicer is fastest in 3.86s
From OSBALDWICK near York / A buyer for a hospital for the last 17 years, would like to take his dad (who’s in the audience) to watch the golf in Augusta / Never travelled abroad till he was 32 / Would like to do other sporting events like the Olympics
He needs help on a low money question (200 quid), to confirm that (Heave-Ho) is a sailor’s cry, Ask the Audience, 84% get it right
1k: Moray Firth is an inlet on the coast of (Scotland)
2k: Band that played at Les Battersby’s wedding reception in “Coronation Street”: G4 / (Status Quo) / Bucks Fizz / Westlife [It rang a bell, I wasn’t entirely sure / would I have been sure back in 2006 or whenever?]
REVISE: Status Quo played at Les Battersby’s wedding reception in “Coronation Street”
4k: (Clement Attlee) was prime minister when the NHS was founded
8k: Boxty, a potato dish, originated in (Ireland)
16k: In “Pride and Prejudice” Mr and Mrs Bennet live at LONGBOURN in this county: Cornwall / HERTFORDSHIRE / Wiltshire / Warwickshire [Hmm, tough one, I don’t know / Phone-A-Friend: she’s sure of it]
REVISE: In “Pride and Prejudice” Mr and Mrs Bennet live at LONGBOURN in HERTFORDSHIRE
32k: Tower of Babel is written about in this book of the Bible: (Genesis) / Numbers / Job / John’s Gospel [50/50 leaves Numbers too / He doesn’t risk it]
Peter Spicer leaves with 16k
FFF: Events in the life of Solomon Grundy
DBCA gives us: Born / Christened / Married / Took ill
4/9 get it right, Paul Trewick is fastest in 3.35s
From Newport Gwent / works for ONS, for the last 6 months / A varied career, PR in the Royal Mail, dressing up / 4 children from a previous relationship, his current partner Rachel is in the audience tonight / would like to go to Florida to act like a big kid
1k: Lyme (Regis) is a south coast resort
2k: Winner of 2005 series of “I’m a celebrity get me out of here”: Bobby Ball / Jenny Frost / Jimmy Osmond / (Carol Thatcher) [Ask the Audience: 93% get it right]
4k: A 1965 hit with We Shall Overcome: (Joan Baez) not Marianne Faithfull, Doris Day or Tammy Wynette [Phone-A-Friend 100% it’s Joan Baez]
8k: (Tennessee Williams) wrote The Glass Menagerie
16k: Football manager who is the subject of the 2003 book “Living the Game”: Bobby Robson / Terry Venables / Arsene Wenger / Gerard Houllier [50/50 leaves Wenger and Robson / It’s BOBBY ROBSON]
REVISE: 2003 book “Living the Game” is about football manager Bobby Robson
[A different show in the original broadcasts, it looks like he’s wearing the same clothes, but his girlfriend isn’t]
32k: Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I was born in: FRANCE / England / Italy / Spain [I didn’t know that, he doesn’t risk it]
REVISE: Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I was born in: FRANCE
10 new contestants: Steve Taylor, Phil Duffy, Stefan Jozefczyk, Chris Wray, Kate O’Connor, Andy Green, Brenda Berry, Gerry O’Sullivan, Lisa Ollerton, Andy Mellor
FFF: Start in USA and move east, models in order of country of birth
CBDA gives us: Cindy Crawford / Naomi Campbell / Claudia Schiffer / Elle Macpherson
3/10 get it right, Gerry O’Sullivan is fastest in 4.78s
A customer services advisor for a rail company from Bristol / Used to work in the pub trade but didn’t like the hours / HIS MALE PARTNER Andrew is in the audience [That’s the first gay partner I’ve seen in these re-runs of “Who wants to be a millionaire?”] / they’ve been together 10 years / They would like to spend money on the renovations of their new home, with enough money would like to buy another pub but stay on the right side of the bar
1k: (Apostrophe) is the punctuation mark in the word “they’re”
[He words in the ticket office at Bristol Temple Meads Station, has been doing that for 5 years / He ran a pub for nearly 5 years, but it was relentless, you were on duty even on your day off / He’s from Cork and has been in Bristol for 13 years]
2k: (Marie Rose) sauce often served with seafood, not Peggy Sue, Jane Anne or Louisa May
4k: Turkish city considered to be in both Europe and Asia: (Istanbul) Ankara / Van / Izmir [50/50 leaves Izmir: he wanted to get rid of Ankara]
[There’s talk about Oscar and Max, 2 guard dogs in the pubs, who loved their crisps]
8k: Who played SATAN in the 1997 film “The Devil’s Advocate”: Jack Nicholson / Robert de Niro / Al Pacino / Kevin Spacey [Ask the Audience: 93% go for Al Pacino, but he had said he thinks it’s him / It is Al]
REVISE: Al Pacino played Satan in the 1997 film “The Devil’s Advocate”
[21/05/2019 09:25] And that’s the end of the show, Gerry O’Sullivan to return for his 16k question
OLD WHO: Tue 21-May-2019 10pm on Challenge, it’s a repeat from 18-3-06, 25-3-06, earlier in May 2019
Mike Reeves returns on 64k
125k: Belgian city that hosted the 1920 Olympics (Antwerp)
Mike Reeves leaves with 64k
FFF: Start in America, rivers in order from WEST to east
I went wrong with DBCA: Mississippi / Darling / Ganges / Loire [MUPPET: I did it heading west]
It should be DACB: Mississippi / Loire / Ganges / Darling
3/9 get it right, Graham Clark is fastest in 4.12s
Ah, and now I know that this is a repeat.
[21/05/2019 22:52] That’ll do
OLD WHO: 3 repeats on Sun/ Mon 26/27-May-2019, details here, 1900 words from the other PC copied and REVIEWED here
WHO: Sat 16-Feb-2019 10pm on Challenge, from 8-1-01, repeated Sun 26-May-2019, 10pm
Original notes: [20/02/2019 07:35] I have flicked through this more than once, start to finish, but not made notes yet
Val Bradley, on 16k
16k: Liszt set of rhapsodies named after his home country: (HUNGARIAN RHAPSODIES) [Phone-A-Friend doesn’t know, says nothing]
She doesn’t risk it, Val Bradley leaves with 16k
FFF: Criminal courts in order of precedence in England and Wales
DABC gives us: Magistrates’ Court / Crown Court / Court of Appeal / House of Lords
6/9 get it right, Wesley McGookin in 8.22s is fastest
A civil servant from Northern Ireland, wife is there, 4 kids at home, wants to get to Korea & Japan for the 2002 Football World Cup
1k: JFK FDR & LBJ all held this office (US President)
2k; Denise Lewis won gold at 2000 Olympics in (Heptathlon) [Ask the Audience, 87% get it right]
4k: Hey diddle diddle rhyme the (dog) laughed to see such fun
8k: Chuck Yeager, 1947, became first man to do this in an aeroplane: Fly round the world / (Break the sound barrier) / Use an ejector seat / Land on an aircraft carrier [Phone-A-Friend is confident, he even names the plane: The BELL X-1]
REVISE: The Bell X-1 was the plane that Chuck Yeager flew to break the sound barrier, first man to do so
16k: NOT a definition of the word COB: Male swan / Short-legged horse / Loaf of bread / Tall hat [Hmm, I think it’s tall hat but not sure / and, no surprise, that’s what he’s left with on 50/50 / he doesn’t risk it / It IS Tall hat]
Wesley McGookin leaves with 8k
FFF: Events in the order they take place during the year
I went wrong with DABC: Trooping the colour / Chelsea Flower Show / Cruft’s Dog Show / Last Night of the Proms
As I typed it I knew that Chelsea is before Trooping
Correct answers: Crufts (MARCH), Chelsea (May), Trooping (June), Proms (September)
2/8 got it right, Beverley Angell is fastest in 10.89
She’s a housewife from Wimbledon, husband and 3 boys /
1k: (Aberdeen Angus) is a type of cattle
2k: 1998, footballer Jamie Redknapp married pop singer (Louise)
4k: Sears Tower, one of world’s tallest inhabited buildings is in: Toronto / Chicago / Kuala Lumpur / Bangkok [I wasn’t sure, thought it was Chicago / her Phone-A-Friend is 99% sure of that too / Tarrant says, “Not Toronto?” just to annoy me / It IS CHICAGO]
Revise: Tall buildings (flick through that book sometime, but I bought it in 1999, so it’s way out of date now) / Sears Tower is in CHICAGO
8k: Bourbon County, where the spirit was first manufactured is in: Alabama / Mississippi / Georgia / (Kentucky) [Ask the Audience: 60% get it right]
REVISE: US State abbreviations /
16k: where would you see a daisywheel: Bicycle / Lawnmower / Typewriter / dartboard [It’s typewriter, isn’t it? 50/50 shows lawnmower and typewriter / she doesn’t risk it / It is typewriter]
Beverley Angell leaves with 8k
10 brand new contestants: Richard Godefroy, Greg Carter, Lucy Armour, Peter Lineton, Ralph Lucas, Paul Anderton, Lynn Burden, Richard Paul, Katy Tallon, Mark Pitcher
FFF: Starting from the southernmost, cities in order they are situated along the M6
CDAB gives us: Birmingham / Stoke-on-Trent / Preston / Carlisle
7/10 get it right, Richard Godefroy is fastest in 7.48s
He’s from Horley in Surrey, a sergeant in CID / his mate Wyn in the audience, wife and daughter are at home / more nervous here than giving evidence at the Old Bailey / his 8 year old daughter would like to adopt her friend, or a horse instead / would invite Bill Clinton to a dream dinner party, and his wife would invite Westlife
1k: (Regatta) race involving boats or yachts
2k: (Joseph) first name of Stalin
4k: Wheels on a hansom cab 1 2 3 4 (Ask the Audience: 72% say 2)
8k: October 1999 (Muhammad Ali) witnessed his daughter win her first professional boxing bout
16k: Appaloosa is a (horse)
Revise: horse types, Cob, Appaloosa
32k: Pilgrim Fathers are believed to have landed on this spot in American in 1620 (Plymouth Rock) [He’s from Plymouth and very confident about the answer]
The cheque shows 8-1-01
64k: The tarantella dance originates in: Spain Greece France (Italy) [50/50 leaves him with Greece and Italy / Phone-A-Friend is confident it’s Italy / he’s never met her, she’s his boss’s wife]
125k: (George Cukor) directed the film “My Fair Lady”
He takes the money, Richard Godefroy leaves with 64k
FFF: Board games, starting with the MOST, in order of how many squares are used in a standard game
DABC gives us: Scrabble / Snakes and Ladders / Chess / Noughts and Crosses
Only ONE got it right, Greg Carter in 14.89s
He’s from RAKE in Hampshire, he’s a broadcast engineer for the BBC / [Judith Keppel was also the only one to get her Fastest Fingers First right, and Tarrant has TWICE done the Twilight Zone theme on this show]
1k: First names of French & Saunders: (Dawn and Jennifer)
[20/02/2019 08:11] And that’s the end of the show, 36 minutes to get through it, while eating breakfast
OLD WHO: Sat 16-Feb-2019 on Challenge, from 11-1-01, repeated Sun 26-May-2019, 11pm
Original notes [19/02/2019 01:11] Okay, I’m going for my FOURTH show of the night, someone called Greg in a pink shirt already in the chair / Greg Carter
2k: Russet is a kind of (apple)
4k: Member of the royal family who appeared in live 40th anniversary edition of “Coronation Street”: (Prince Charles) [Ask the Audience, 91% get it right]
8k: Stepsister of Lorna Luft: Liza Minnelli [50/50 gives him Liza and Cher / Phone-A-Friend thinks it’s Liza]
He takes the money, Greg goes home with 4k
10 new contestants: Caroline Gould, Paddy Whitby, Valerie Shipley, Paul Leigh, Tom Davies, Michael Cashmore, Jonathan Hughes, Ian Finn, Jackie Goff, Carol Romero
FFF: Historical figures in the order they were born
BDCA gives us: Julius Caesar / Oliver Cromwell / Napoleon Bonaparte / Winston Churchill
6/10 get it right, Paul Leigh in 5.09s is fastest
Freelance medical adviser and aspiring musical lyricist from Maidenhead, fiancée Margaret is in the audience / 4 kids at home / the thought of being in the chair, he alternated from ridiculous confidence to deep deep depression / would like Catherine Zeta-Jones to sing the lyrics to his musicals /
1k: Subutteo is table-top (football)
2k: (eucalyptus) is staple food of koalas
4k: (Tchaikovsky) wrote the music for “Sleeping Beauty”
8k: Novel written by Daphne du Maurier (Rebecca)
16k: TV comedy first seen in 1969: (Monty Python) [Ask the Audience goes wrong, majority on Steptoe & Son / 50/50 gives him “Fawlty Towers” ]
32k: County that Felixstowe is in (Suffolk) Essex Norfolk
Cheque shows 11-1-0, can’t read the final digit [We see from a later contestant that it’s 11-1-01]
64k: Main constituent gas on Mars: (CO2) Methane Nitrogen Helium
He goes wrong with Methane, Paul Leigh leaves with 32k
FFF: Supermarket Products in alphabetical order
CBDA gives us: Macaroni Margarine Marmalade Mayonnaise
9/9 got it right, Jonathan Hughes is fastest in 6.37s
He’s an accountant with BISHOPS STORTFORD
1k: “I’m Free” catchphrase in (Are you being served)
2k: Pituitary gland is in the (Brain)
4k: Cologne stands on which river: RHINE Danube Oder Main [Phone-A-Friend thinks it’s the Rhine, not that sure]
8k: Phil Collins’ song “You’ll be in my heart” features in what Disney film (Tarzan) [Ask the Audience: 62% get it right]
16k: Not an element: (Brass)
32k: Miss World 1999 & 2000 both represented (INDIA) Austria Sweden Venezuela
Cheque shows 11-01-01
64k: Canada’s National Day is (July 1st) [50/50 left him with July 1st & October 1st, other answers were January 1st and April 1st]
REVISE: National Days, when exactly is ANZAC Day? Canada National Day is 1 July
125k: (John Steinbeck) wrote “East of Eden”
250k: “Which of these people would be particularly interested in a ‘miller’s thumb’?” Butterfly collector / Gardener / Ornithologist / Angler [He doesn’t risk it
It’s ANGLER – Chris Tarrant knew it, it’s a small fish
REVISE: MILLER’S THUMB is a fish, it would interest Anglers
Jonathan Hughes leaves with 125k
FFF: Countries in the order they hosted the last 4 Olympic games, from the earliest
ADBC gives us: South Korea / Spain / USA / Australia
Only 1/8 got it right, Tom Davies in 10.66s
A systems supervisor from Brentwood Essex / His mate Steve is in the audience, his partner is at home, he’s very nervous, it’s nearly the end of the show
And that’s the end, after the 200 quid question
OLD WHO: From Challenge Mon 4-Feb-2019 [Also on Sat 16-Feb-2019], 13-01- and 15-01-2001, repeated again Mon 27-May-2019 at midnight
Original notes: [05/02/2019 08:48] … Tom Davies returns
1k: (Gallery) part of a theatre that shares its name with a collection of pictures
2k: Bairn is a Scottish & Northern England word for (baby)
4k: Sandy in 1978 film Grease played by (Olivia Newton-John)
8k: EGM (Extraordinary) General Meeting
16k: Hovercraft invented in 20s 30s 40s (1950s) [He uses Phone-A-Friend: fairly sure it’s 50s] [Sir Christopher Cockerell]
32k: Mountain Standard Time refers to (Rockies) Alps Urals Andes
TOM DAVIES 13-1-2001, he’s from Brentwood in Essex
64k: Narcoleptic = (falling asleep) [He uses Ask the Audience, 84% give the right answer]
125k: What type of creature is a KATYDID: Fish Bird Insect Frog [He used 50/50, which left bird and insect] He thinks it’s bird, Tarrant keeps asking “Why?”
But he’s wrong, it’s an INSECT, a kind of grasshopper / he leaves with 32k
REVISE: Katydid is an insect, a type of grasshopper
Another set of 10 contestants including someone called Michael Ellis from Sussex: Michael Ellis, Sharon Moss, Peter Armstrong, Andrew Thomas, Paul Copland, Hassan Aly, Martin Kennedy, Andrew Fulton, Marian Fitzpatrick, Stephen Chandler
FFF: Words in the order they appear in Little Miss Muffet
BDAC gives us: Tuffet Curds Whey Spider
About half got it right, STEPHEN CHANDLER in 6.48s was fastest / He had been on his Stag Night the night before and was feeling a bit delicate: out on the town in York, tied up, legs painted green, “I love Man U” in marker pen on his back, and he’s a Liverpool fan
1k: Blank cheque leaves the (amount) free [He used Ask the Audience for that one]
2k: Land girls worked on (Farms) in WW2 [he used Phone-A-Friend and asked his dad]
4k: In tenpin bowling when all the pins are knocked down with the first bowl, it’s called: Wipeout / Knockdown / Break / (Strike)
8k: Elvis Presley’s daughter is (Lisa-Marie Presley)
16k: Empire located in Germany and Northern Italy: (Holy Roman Empire) Ottoman Empire [he used 50/50 on this, the other options were Byzantine and British]
He thinks it’s Holy Roman Empire but doesn’t risk it – he’s getting married in 7 days’ time / he leaves with 16k
FFF: Starting at the centre, put these features of a wedding cake in traditional order
BACD gives us: Fruit cake / Marzipan / Icing / Plastic bride and groom
6/9 got it right, Sharon Moss is fastest in 5.82s
She’s an artist from Diss in Norfolk, first time she and her husband have been away without the 3 young kids, and they had breakfast in South Mimms Service Station, looking round to see where the kids were, it felt like they were missing
1k: Stye affects the (eye)
2k: Which animal has hooves: Bear Aardvark Porcupine (Deer)
4k: City most associated with traditional pottery industry: Southampton Swansea (Stoke-on-Trent) Sheffield
8k: Lady Penelope’s chauffeur (Parker)
16k: Musical term meaning opposite of “diminuendo”: Glissando (Crescendo) Allegretto Rallentado
32k: Port Said is at one end of which canal? (Suez) Kiel Panama Corinth [She uses Phone-A-Friend on this one]
They went to a break and haven’t shown Chris showing her the cheque for 32k
64k: Who instigated the first complete translation of the Bible into English: Geoffrey Chaucer / (John Wycliffe) / William Caxton / John of Gaunt
[She’s using Ask the Audience, they’re split, a bit more on Caxton 45%, she thinks it’s Wycliffe 33% / she goes 50/50 and is left with Wycliffe and Gaunt, which I wasn’t expecting – I assumed that they’d leave Caxton and Wycliffe]
The cheque says: 15/01/2001
125k: Who famously said: “All I need to make comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl?” Mack Sennett / Charlie Chaplin / Harold Lloyd / Buster Keaton
Originally I had no idea on this one, I was waiting for Benny Hill to come up / she takes the money / It’s CHARLIE CHAPLIN [27/05/2019 09:54 But watching it back this morning, flicking through, and checking these notes, Chaplin seemed like the OBVIOIUS answer: new knowledge, you see]
[05/02/2019 09:16] And that’s the end of the show, it took me 28 minutes for that one
OLD WHO: Sat 25-May-2019, 10pm, 28-10-06 [repeated Mon 10-Jun-2019, 10pm]
[28/05/2019 07:22] Gerry O’Sullivan is back for his 16k question
16k: Comedienne who wrote the books Camberwell Beauty and Having a lovely time: Victoria Wood / Meera Syal / Ruby Wax / JENNY ÉCLAIR [Phone-A-Friend: his partner’s mum, she doesn’t know / he doesn’t risk it]
Gerry O’Sullivan leaves with 8k
REVISE: Comediennes, presenters and books: JENNY ÉCLAIR wrote Camberwell Beauty and Having a lovely time / check books by: Victoria Wood / Meera Syal / Ruby Wax / And Fern Britton too
FFF: First names of Marx Brothers in alphabetical order
CABD gives us: Chico / Groucho / Harpo / Zeppo
4/9 get it right, Chris Wray is fastest in 2.36s
Company director from North Yorkshire, makes personalized items like pens and mugs / 1-man business, his good friend Carolyn from North Wales is in the audience
1k: A dog with a curly coat: (Poodle)
[Middlesbrough fan, now based in Oxfordshire, travels round the country, would use money to go travelling in Canada, and doing volunteer work in South America]
2k: Would be trained at a staff college: Actors / Doctors / (Military officers) / Priests
4k: Recap is short for (Recapitulate)
[He huffs and puffs after giving the answer, as if he’s just done a long run]
8k: The club that New Zealand rugby player Jonah Lomu joined in 2005: CARDIFF BLUES / Ospreys / Llanelli Scarlets / Munster [He uses Phone-A-Friend, who knows it / I had no idea]
REVISE: Jonah Lomu joined CARDIFF BLUES in 2005 [Born 12-May-1975, Died 18-Nov-2015, aged 40 of a heart attack related to his kidney disease – he had a kidney transplant in 2004, kidney donated by Wellington radio presenter Grant Kereama]
16k: (Anthony Buckeridge) created schoolboy hero Jennings [Buckeridge born 1912, died 2004]
32k: Actor who starred in “Flying down to Rio”: (Fred Astaire) / Mickey Rooney / Jack Buchanan / Nelson Eddy
REVISE: Fred Astaire films and Danny Kaye films, check the lists on IMDB / Also, order of “Road to Bali” and other films
Cheque shows 28-10-06
64k: Who lives at the former home of photographer Cecil Beaton in Wiltshire: Elton John / David Bowie / Madonna / Cliff Richard [Ask the Audience: 45% Madonna, 26% Cliff, 16% Elton John, 13% Bowie / I thought it was Madonna, by elimination]
REVISE: Madonna lives at the former home of photographer Cecil Beaton in Wiltshire (or she did in 2006)
125k: In English folklore the profession of Wayland: Blacksmith / Robber / Monk / Physician [50/50 leaves Blacksmith and Physician / It’s BLACKSMITH]
REVISE: WAYLAND the Blacksmith in Anglo-Saxon mythology [August 2021: this information has come up in one or two substantial quizzes]
250k: Saint Augustine, the oldest city in the USA, is in which state: South Carolina / Virginia / New Hampshire / (Florida) [I read this recently, maybe on one of those cards from “The Tipping Point” game / he doesn’t risk it]
Chris Wray leaves with 125k
REVISE: Saint Augustine, the oldest city in the USA, is in FLORIDA
10 new contestants: Naveen Mann, Judith Belford, Jamie Dyer, Lorna Peires, John Kelly, Martin Smithson, Nigel Harris, David Smith, Roz Tartaglia, Bernie Musson
FFF: Start with FEWEST, female authors in order of number of published books they have written
CADB gives us: Emily Bronte / JK Rowling / PD James / Barbara Cartland
1 / 3 (at the time) / 18 / over 700
2/10 get it right, David Smith (who we see later, is an “IT CONSULTANT FROM CHISWICK”) and Nigel Harris, in 4.67s
A town planner from Rutland in Leicestershire / East Midlands local authority / Wife is at home with the 2 kids / they used to enjoy exploring South Africa / would like to take the 2 kids there
[500 quid: he needs Ask the Audience to confirm that the dairy product (Butter) is most likely to be known as a pat, 88% get it right]
1k: (Which) is the magazine originally issued by the Consumers Association in 1957
[Rutland was part of Leicestershire and is now a unitary authority again, but the postcode is a Leicestershire code]
2k: Brian O’Driscoll represents (Ireland) at rugby union
4k: (Alec Guinness) played George Smiley in the TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
8k: This LOCH forms part of the Caledonian Canal: Loch Lomond / Loch Leven / Loch Alsh / Loch Ness [No idea, really tough 8k question for me / 50/50 leaves Alsh and Ness, it’s LOCH NESS]
REVISE: Loch facts, deepest, longest, LOCH NESS is part of Caledonian Canal
16k: Popular musical inspired by Puccini opera La Boheme: Follies / Gigi / (Rent) / Cats [That’s come up very recently too, I think in the quiz book from “The Chase” that I bought yesterday for my Kindle / He uses Phone-A-Friend: doesn’t know, he doesn’t risk it]
Nigel Harris leaves with 8k
FFF: Start in Britain and work south, famous beaches in order
DABC gives us: Blackpool / Waikiki / Copacabana / Bondi
2/9 get it right, David Smith is fastest in 4.52s
From Chiswick / An IT consultant for 10 years, after training in Chemistry / Dave a neighbour is in the audience / Wife Sue is in Germany on holiday with her mum / Kids Katie and Sam / Has spent 7 years working on their home – 4 flats being converted back into a family home
[28/05/2019 07:59] And that’s the end of that one, David Smith to return on 200 quid
OLD WHO: Sat 25-May-2019, 11pm, 4-11-06, 64k, 1k, repeated Tue 11-Jun-2019 [David Smith from Chiswick]
[28/05/2019 08:00] Straight on with the next one, David Smith from Chiswick returns on 100 quid
1k: A (tie) would be tied with a Windsor knot
2k: At a formal dinner (Port) is traditionally passed to the left
4k: (Eric Idle) wrote and performed the theme song to “One foot in the grave”
[Music fan, has collected every edition of NME since the mid-70s, is selling them off on eBay now / A John Peel fan, mentions Captain Beefheart and the Fall as bands he likes]
8k: (Christopher Marlowe) wrote Dr Faustus
16k: John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln was an (actor), not doctor, politician or judge [He uses Phone-A-Friend on this one]
32k: In 2002 sea area Finisterre was renamed (Fitzroy)
Cheque shows 4-11-06
64k: The Queen of the Night appears in this opera: The Pearl Fishers / The Girl of the Golden West / The Magic Flute / The Thieving Magpie [I’m pretty sure it’s The Magic Flute, but would I be so confident in the chair? Ask the Audience: 62% go for it, and it IS THE MAGIC FLUTE]
REVISE: Opera: The Queen of the Night appears in The Magic Flute
125k: Aviator Amy Johnson was born in this English city: Rochdale / (Hull) / Lincoln / Nottingham [I did some research on Amy Johnson before so I knew it / 50/50 leaves him Lincoln as well / He doesn’t know it and doesn’t risk it, but would have gone for Lincoln if there had been no money on it]
David Smith leaves with 64k
REVISE: Famous people from Hull, apart from Amy Johnson
FFF: Famous Australians in the order they were born
DBCA gives us: Ned Kelly / Donald Bradman / Germaine Greer / Cate Blanchett
6/8 get it right, Bernie Musson is fastest in in 4.56s
From Bournemouth in Dorset, runs his own business teaching English to foreign students / Born and brought up in New Zealand, came to England in 1984, backpacking, met Tina, who’s in the audience, they’ve been together ever since
1k: (Hawaii) shirt featuring brightly coloured designs, named after a US State
[He was a high school teacher in New Zealand, took a year out, taught in Bournemouth, stayed]
2k: Musical terms meaning gradually getting faster: Pizzicato / (Accelerando) / Lento / Crescendo [Ask the Audience: 72% get it right / He’s not confident about music but says his wife and boys are the musicians – there’s been no mention of the boys till now]
4k: Four Candles sketch created by (Two Ronnies) [50/50 leaves Little and Large too]
8k: Historical figure imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1603: Charles I / Dick Turpin / (Walter Raleigh) / Horatio Nelson [He’s saying all sorts of wrong things – that it can’t be Raleigh, he thinks it’s Charles I, he knows that Charles II was executed – not right / Phone-A-Friend: not much help, says “50.50 I’d go for, uh, what are the options again?” before running out of time – didn’t even guess an answer / He goes for Charles I and loses 3k]
Bernie Musson leaves with 1k
10 new contestants: James Sorrie, Christine Seddon-Kaye, Peter Brook, Tony Breen, Keith Richardson, Philip Smith , Peter Wild, Christine White, Lulu Georgiades, David Watson
FFF: Queen’s children in order of succession to the throne
CADB gives us: Charles / Andrew / Edward / Anne
Philip Smith is fastest in 3.26s
From Glasgow, used to be a buyer in the retail industry / After the birth of their 4th child he has become a house-husband and his wife, in the audience, is the main breadwinner, an accountant / They were childhood sweethearts and are still together
1k: (October) month when you are most likely to see conkers
[There’s always chat after the 1k question, chat about the kids, 18, 16, 14 and then 10 months, they were thinking of trying to adopt]
2k: Folkestone is on the coast of (Kent)
4k: Sporting team that changed its name to Harlequins Rugby League: Bradford Bulls / Widnes Wildcats / (London Broncos) / Salford Reds [They’ve changed back again now / Ask the Audience: 71% get it right]
REVISE: Rugby League teams, nicknames, changes, and where they play: London Broncos became Harlequins Rugby League, but now they’ve changed back / make a list of Leeds Rhinos, Bradford Bulls / Widnes Wildcats and so on
8k: Played Captain Hook’s sidekick SMEE in the 2003 film Peter Pan: Keith Barron / Peter Bowles / Rodney Bewes / (Richard Briers) [Phone-A-Friend: doesn’t know / 50/50 leaves Rodney Bewes too, and he gets it right]
REVISE: 2003 film version of Peter Pan, and the book generally / Richard Briers plays Captain Hook’s sidekick SMEE
[28/05/2019 08:33] And that’s the end of the show
1592 words and 71 minutes on those 2 episodes
OLD WHO: Sat/ Sun 25/26-May-2019, midnight on Challenge, 8k, 8k, 4k
[28/05/2019 08:34] I’ll watch the start / I have seen 2 hours’ worth from Saturday night so far
Philip Smith from Glasgow is back for his 16k question
16k: Which of these is a fear of beards? Taurophobia / Apiphobia / (Pognophobia) / Dipsophobia [He doesn’t know and doesn’t risk it]
Philip Smith leaves with 8k
FFF: traditional wedding anniversaries in the order they are celebrated
BDCA gives us: Wood / Lace / Pearl / Diamond
5 / 13 / 30 / 60
6/9 get it right, Lulu Georgiadis is fastest in 4.58s
From Cyprus, grew up in North London, went back there in 1998 for 7 years, children grew up there, now in Northamptonshire working as a seamstress for a fancy lady’s clothing company / her daughter is in the audience
1k: In a restaurant (corkage) is the charge for serving wine bought by the customer
[She’s from BOZEAT pronounced Bo-jit / would like to move to Milton Keynes]
2k: (Flotation) is offering a company’s shares on the stock market for the first time [Ask the Audience: 95% get it right]
We’re into a new show from the original broadcasts, they were wearing poppies before but not now
4k: British actor who starred as Paris in the 2004 film Troy: Jude Law / Dougray Scott / (ORLANDO BLOOM) / Paul Bettany
REVISE: Cast of Troy: Orlando Bloom plays Paris, check the Trailer at least – I did that for 300 the other day [August 2021: I saw the film about 6 months ago, but still had to think about this one]
8k: TV presenter who was Controller of BBC2 in the 1960s: David Dimbleby / David Frost / (David Attenborough) / David Bellamy [50/50 leaves Frost too / Phone-A-Friend: thinks Attenborough, not certain / EVENTUALLY she goes for Attenborough]
16k: The novella STANCLIFFE’S HOTEL, not published until 2003, was written by this 19th century novelist: Charles Dickens / CHARLOTTE BRONTE / Wilkie Collins / Jane Austen [No idea, never heard of this / she doesn’t risk it]
Lulu Georgiadis leaves with 8k
REVISE: The novella STANCLIFFE’S HOTEL, not published until 2003, was written by CHARLOTTE BRONTE
[28/05/2019 08:50] That’s the end of my recording, 2.5 hours of TV, up to 0.30am on Sunday morning / there’s another 2.5 hours left, but I’ll take a break there / There’ll be 10 new contestants when I return to the next recording
[28/05/2019 09:16] Back again, see how far we get with this one
10 new contestants: Kevin Wright, Jill Gray, Hugh McGivern, Becky Worth, Clarrie Thorpe, Mike Abramov, John Theaker, Sean Nash, Julia Watson, Mark Dyer
FFF: Start in Britain, move east put instruments in order of country with with they are traditionally associated
DABC gives us: Bagpipes / Bouzouki / Sitar / Didgeridoo
6/10 get it right, Jill Gray is fastest in 4.36s
A law graduate from Glasgow, studying at the bar in London, due to qualify in September, shares a house with 5 other people / her best friend from school is in the audience, she’s a doctor
1k: In cookery (folding in) is a kind of gentle mixing
[Chat about the law, she likes criminal law / wants to practise in Northern Ireland, where she did her degree / wants to be in Belfast]
2k: On TV (Matt Lucas) plays Vicky Pollard
4k: US state that has no Pacific Coast: Alaska / Washington / Oregon / (Nevada) [50/50 leaves Alaska too / Phone-A-Friend is pretty sure it’s Nevada]
8k: Poets Rupert Brooke and Lord Byron both died in: France / (Greece) / Italy / Spain [Ask the Audience: split, and wrong, 31% France, 35% Italy, 16% Greece, 18% Spain, yup, the right answer has the lowest percentage – clearly a tough question for the general public / she doesn’t risk it]
Jill Gray leaves with 4k
REVISE: Poets and deaths, RUPERT BROOKE died in Greece – I knew that Byron did, but didn’t know about Brooke [He died 23 April 1915, of septicaemia, from an infected mosquito bite / He was on his way to Gallipoli, died on a French hospital ship / Buried on island of SKYROS in the Aegean]
FFF: Rivers in order, longest to shortest
CADB gives us: Nile Amazon Danube Tees
In km, approximately: 6,600 / 6,400 / 2,000 / 110
3/9 get it right, Kevin Wright is fastest in 2.72s
A professional musician from Tyne & Wear / piano and sax, now drummer with Dexter and the Revolutions, a cabaret act, 6 year old daughter would like a pony / His sister Sue is in the audience, her husband is a Phone-A-Friend, he would like to be there / no mention of a wife
[28/05/2019 09:32] And that’s the end of that one, after just the 100 pound question
OLD WHO: Sun 26-May-2019, 1am on Challenge, no date on the cheque
[28/05/2019 09:34] And straight on with the next one, Kevin Wright back on 100 quid
1k: (Domestic science) old-fashioned name for school subject that included cookery and sewing
2k: Labour leader who did not become prime minister (Michael Foot)
4k: Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere is a spin-off from: (Phoenix Nights) / My Family / Father Ted / The Smoking Room
REVISE: TV sitcoms, (Phoenix Nights) / My Family / Father Ted / The Smoking Room, check names and writers, the latter especially / Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere is a spin-off from Phoenix Nights
8k: ST VITUS CATHEDRAL is in this capital city: Warsaw / Vilnius / Ljubljana / Prague [I think it’s Prague / Ask the Audience: 66% say Prague, which is the right answer / PRAGUE]
REVISE: Prague and ST VITUS CATHEDRAL, and there was a question about a clock in Prague on “Fifteen to One” recently
16k: The WATERBURY Family features in this classic FILM for children: Bugsy Malone / “The Railway Children” / Chitty Chitty Bang Bang / Mary Poppins [Not a familiar name, definitely not Bugsy or Mary, but it’s “THE RAILWAY CHILDREN” / 50/50 leaves Bugsy too]
REVISE: children’s books and films, names of characters in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang / The WATERBURY Family are in “The Railway Children” [August 2021: I have read the book and seen the film again this year, and this is STILL unfamiliar information for me: I’m not very good with fictional names]
32k: Shared the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie: (Henri Becquerel) / Ernest Rutherford / Albert Einstein / Max Planck [By elimination, and I sort of knew it too / He takes ages, uses Phone-A-Friend, I’ve had time to run a few searches on my phone looking up Nobel laureates / Phone-A-Friend: thinks it’s Becquerel, he doesn’t risk it]
Kevin Wright leaves with 16k
REVISE: Dates of Nobel prizes for Rutherford (1908, Chemistry), Einstein (1921, Physics), Planck (1918, Physics)
10 new contestants: Tim Burgess, Richard Zebedee, Matthew Dove, Sue Griffin, Julian McCormick, Ruth Arad, Nigel Fisher, Peter Ediss, Liz Clapham, Gary Brannigan
FFF: Wimbledon champions in order of number of singles titles they have won
BDAC: Pat Cash / Boris Becker / Bjorn Borg / Martina Navratilova
4/10 get it right, Peter Ediss is fastest in 3.27s
From Newhaven in East Sussex / Newly qualified primary school teacher, the kids call him Miss / chat about X Factor, he thinks he’d do okay / Luke, fellow teacher, is in the audience
1k: (Arrow), not a Candle, Plug or Book, has a shaft and a barb [Ask the Audience: 89% get it right]
2k: (Eeyore) in Winnie-the-Pooh stories is notable for his pessimistic attitude
4k: Halliwell’s is a famous reference book on (film)
8k: He who sups with the devil should have (a long spoon)
16k: TYRE is an ancient port on this body of water: (Mediterranean Sea) / Persian Gulf / Red Sea / Indian Ocean [By elimination here, but I should check it out / Phone-A-Friend: 100% certain]
REVISE: Tyre, the ancient port: it’s in LEBANON, on the Med, was a PHOENICIAN city, legendary birthplace of EUROPA and DIDO, 4th largest city in Lebanon, “after Beirut, Tripoli, Aley and Sidon” [5th largest?] / Big for tourism, there’s a Roman Hippodrome which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1979 / SYRACUSE is on Sicily (Ionian Coast) / Ancient city of EPHESUS is in Turkey’s central Aegean region, near modern-day Selcuk
32k: 2014 Football World Cup will be held on this continent: Africa / Europe / Asia / (South America) [I think this was 2006, so it wouldn’t have been obvious / 50/50 leaves him with Europe
The cheque has NO DATE, it’s completely blank, clearly blank, not just hidden by Tarrant’s thumb
64k: US President buried in a city that shares his name: John F Kennedy / LYNDON B JOHNSON / Dwight D Eisenhower / Richard M Nixon [Good question, and I saw this answer flicking through the show just before 2am on Sunday morning / He goes for Kennedy / JOHNSON CITY in Texas is named after LBJ]
Peter Ediss leaves with 32k, and again the date on the cheque is completely blank
[28/05/2019 10:09] That’s another one done, with a bit more time on my phone this time, looking things up (like TYRE and NOBEL prize-winners] 673 words, 35 minutes
OLD WHO: Sun 26-May-2019, 2am on Challenge, no dates on the cheques, John Cullen 32k, Terry Lowell 1k
[28/05/2019 10:16] The fifth hour of the show for today
10 new contestants: David Evans, Elaine Scott, Naveen Mann, Andrew Blissett, Dave Goldsmith, Chris Jeans, Terry Lowell, David Tarry, Yvonne Penney, John Cullen
FFF: a phrase used in elocution lessons
BADC gives us: How Now Brown Cow
9/10 get it right, John Cullen is fastest in 2.07s
From Belfast, has spent 12 years presenting the breakfast show on Downtown Radio station there, and before that was 8 years at the Inland Revenue / Wife of 7 years at home with 2 kids / He also has a 21 year old son from a previous relationship / someone from the pub is in the audience with him / Award-winning radio shows, also plays in a Glam rock band, Glam Slam, and DJs as Johnny Hero
1k: (Trident) is a 3-pronged spear
2k: Appointed head coach of England football team in May 2006: Sam Allardyce / (Steve McLaren) / Scolari / Martin O’Neill
[He’s a Man U and Celtic fan, “Married a mad keen Celtic fan” and has season tickets there for him and the family]
4k: (John Hurt) played MP Alan Clark in the TV drama series “The Alan Clark Diaries”, not Peter O’Toole, Alan Rickman or Ian McKellen [Ask the Audience: 57% get it right, 24T% go for McKellen]
8k: GIBBONS are apes native to: Australia / (Africa) / ASIA / Europe [Look at me, WRONG on an 8k question, I went for Africa / 50/50 leaves Asia and Europe, and it’s ASIA]
REVISE: Apes, GIBBONS are native to ASIA
[Chat about space tourism, Dennis Tito became the first space tourist, 14m apparently, and there’s banter of sorts that Tarrant could afford it]
16k: Letter of the Greek alphabet normally used to denote the BRIGHTEST star in a constellation: (Alpha) / Pi / Epsilon / Omega
32k: Shakespeare’s play “Taming of the Shrew” was the inspiration for (“Kiss me Kate”) [At last, something I’m 100% confident about]
Again, the cheque has no date on it
64k: Celebrated annually on 2 February in the USA: Presidents’ Day / Grandmother’s Day / Labor Day / (Groundhog Day)
Again, no date on the cheque
125k: On the throne when Robert Walpole became Britain’s first prime minister: Anne / George I / William III / George II [It’s one of the Georges, I think I’d go for George II / Just checked on my phone: it’s George I, 1721 / Phone-A-Friend: eventually, on 30s, says George II / he goes for it and drops to 32k]
John Cullen leaves with 32k
REVISE: prime ministers and monarch, George I was king when Robert Walpole BECAME prime minister, and George II when he was no longer PM / Walpole became PM in 1721, something I didn’t know
FFF: Start with lightest, winds in order on the Beaufort Scale
BCDA gives us: Light air / Moderate Breeze / Fresh Gale / Hurricane
7/9 get it right, Terry Lowell is fastest in 2.68s
From Barnsley S Yorks / made redundant 2 years earlier from an office job, went on a course, set himself up as a hypnotherapist / wife of 28 years is on holiday / 2 grown up children, one in the audience / used to write comedy sketches for Russ Abbot and Hale and Pace, would like to go back to some writing [Was the only contestant to get the first fastest finger first wrong, and now he’s fastest out of 7]
1k: In Roman times, initials emblazoned on standards of marching soldiers: RSVP (SPQR) GSOH BYOB [By elimination, but I didn’t know what it stands for]
REVISE: SPQR on Roman soldiers’ standards stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus (“Senate and People of Rome”), Mary Beard’s book of the same name published 2015
2k: Sea known as the SPANISH MAIN: (Caribbean) / Red / Coral / South China [Again, by elimination, but not a FACT I’ve heard before]
4k: Boxer who announced his retirement in 2004: Chris Eubank / (Lennox Lewis) / Joe Calzaghe / Audley Harrison [Ask the Audience: 78% get it right / Tarrant says that it’s Christopher LIVINGSTONE Eubank]
REVISE: Middle names Christopher LIVINGSTONE Eubank
8k: British composer Eric Coates is associated with which famous march: Colonel Bogey / (Dam Busters) / Radetzky / Washington Post [Phone-A-Friend: 100% sure]
[Chat about hypnotherapy, he’s helped a 9 year old girl get over her stammer, his proudest moment]
16k: Elizabeth THROCKMORTON was the wife of which famous Elizabethan: William Shakespeare / Philip Sidney / Francis Drake / Walter Raleigh [TOUGH 16k question / 50/50 leaves the last two, he goes for Drake but it’s RALEIGH and he loses 7k]
Terry Lowell leaves with 1k
[28/05/2019 10:49] And that’s the end of the show, 781 words and 33 minutes / I have spent the last 5 minutes reading about Raleigh and Elizabeth Throckmorton
REVISE: Elizabeth THROCKMORTON was the wife of Walter Raleigh / They married in secret, 1592, both imprisoned in the Tower by Elizabeth I, because they hadn’t asked for royal permission / Robert Deveruex Earl of Essex was in on the secret / a son died in infancy, other boys, Raleigh executed in 1618, she managed to restore the family name “In blood” 1628 (a Bill of Restitution), allowing the one surviving son to inherit / she lived to around 1647
OLD WHO: Mon 27-May-2019 was a repeat of 11-May-2019 11pm on Challenge, 6-5-06
[Notes elsewhere, can be found with a search for 11-May-2019 11pm]
The Compartments 