The Channel 4 panel show returned this evening with comedians Kevin Bridges and Alex Brooker back as team captains.
The 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown set experienced a blackout thanks to one of its celebrity contestants.
Presenter Jimmy Carr returned for the latest Channel 4 episode of the fan-favourite mash-up show, along with Susie Dent and Rachel Riley overseeing proceedings.
This time around, comedians Kevin Bridges and Alex Brooker were appointed the team captains, working with their team mates Judi Love and Joe Wilkinson respectively.
As always, the guests are invited to bring in a mascot to sit by their desks throughout the show with some bizarre choices made over the years.
When Carr questioned what Wilkinson had brought along with him, he pointed to the urn sitting on his desk, stating it was his former electrician’s ashes.
Comedian Joe Wilkinson pretended to throw his late electrician’s ashes into a fuse box on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. (Image: CHANNEL 4)
Carr asked him to repeat what he brought, and so Wilkinson stated again what they were before blankly staring at the host. Wilkinson went on to explain that his electrician’s dream was to have his ashes scattered into the show’s fuse box.
So the comedian grabbed the urn, went to the corner of the studio and bowed down to the fuse box twice in memory of his deceased electrician and chucked the ashes onto the system.
Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go well as sparks began to fly and the studio was plunged into darkness.
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown’s set went into darkness after Joe Wilkinson threw “ashes” into a fuse box. (Image: CHANNEL 4)
More sparks then came from the iconic clock itself with Love exclaiming: “My weave!”
Thankfully, this didn’t last long as the power quickly started working again with the audience laughing and applauding.
Along with the rest of the stars, a special guest was also brought to join Susie in Dictionary Corner.
She sat alongside actor and comedian Peter Serafinowicz who reprised his unforgettable alter ego Brian Butterfield especially for the panel series.
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is available to watch on Channel 4 and All4.
Helen George swaps the world of showbiz for literal shark-infested waters in ITV’s new reality show, while Channel 4’s The Couple Next Door returns with a steamy new story
Helen George is left terrified as she faces sharks in ITV’s new show
Call the Midwife star Helen George is just one of the celebs who’ll be coming face-to-face with one of the sea’s deadliest beasts in ITV’s new reality show Shark! Celebrty Infested Waters tonight.
Proving just how far celebrities will go to stay on the telly, this new reality format sends seven famous faces into shark-filled waters near the Bahamas. 50 years after Jaws became a phenomenon at the cinema, the likes of actor Lenny Henry, comedian Ross Noble and McFly’s Dougie Poynter have signed up for a stomach-churning sequence of dives, where they will encounter various species of shark, getting more perilous each time.
Helen George, Ross Noble, Lenny Henry, Rachel Riley, Ade Adepitan, Lucy Punch and Dougie Poynter take on Shark
Although Countdown’s Rachel Riley is excited for the challenge, most of the celebs look like they want to fire their agents, with Call the Midwife star Helen George declaring she’s terrified of the sea, and Motherland actor Lucy Punch hilariously dismissing the apex predators as ‘savage tubes of teeth.’
There’s a sobering start to the experience, as they meet their guides, including Paul, a former Aussie serviceman who lost his hand and leg to a ten-foot bull shark in a training exercise, but now campaigns for shark conservation.
Acutely aware of the dangers they face, they prepare for their first dive, but with Helen and Lenny both struggling with traumatic childhood memories of swimming pools, just getting underwater is a challenge. Soon, they’re stepping into a cage suspended in the ocean, surrounded by bull sharks, whose every move makes them shake. And it’s only going to get scarier from here. The experts hope the celebs will go home with a new respect – and even affection – for the villains of the sea, but that feels rather optimistic at this point…
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters begins tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
The Best of the Rest
Michael Mosley: Secrets Of The Superagers, Channel 4, 8pm
If throwing yourself out of a plane is the secret to a better memory, some of us would prefer to just be forgetful… In this eye-opening series, the late Dr Michael Mosley meets inspiring people, who are bucking the trends of ageing. 70-year old Dane is a keen skydiver, whose mind is impressively sharp.
Indeed, the science shows that his time at high altitude has helped promote blood flow to his brain, giving him higher cognitive function. You don’t have to be a daredevil to age well though, as Michael explores the theory that learning new things can ward off dementia. Small children’s brains expand as they pick up new skills, so a group of volunteers test the theory that mastering new hobbies simultaneously can stop your brain shrinking.
After a year of learning Spanish and taking art classes, the stunning results of this experiment will have you googling evening classes in your area.
The Couple Next Door, Channel 4, 9pm
The Couple Next Door returns with series two tonight on Channel 4(Image: Channel 4 / Nicky Hamilton)
This steamy relationship drama returns to the same posh cul de sac, but with a new couple at the heart of the story. Surgeon Charlotte (The Split’s Anabel Scholey) and anaesthetist Jacob (Nashville’s Sam Palladio) work at the same hospital, and their marriage is a happy one. That is until enigmatic new nurse Mia turns up for her first shift.
Immediately overstepping the mark with her colleagues, she makes quite the impression. Later, Charlotte is stunned when Mia moves into the house next door, and she can’t stop thinking about her. How can she afford a huge family home on her own, on a nurse’s salary, and why is she so keen to make friends with resident creep, Alan (Hugh Dennis)?
Meanwhile, Charlotte’s ex, Leo, is back on the scene, as family circumstances force him to return to the hospital. Jacob is unsettled by his return, and turns down a tantalising prospect of promotion to avoid him.
EastEnders, BBC1, 7.30pm
Lauren is surprised to see Oscar again. After shock revelations, she learns where he has been all this time, and begrudgingly agrees to let him stay with her. It’s a decision she may soon regret…
Lexi asks Nigel about his wedding day. Jay is saddened that Nigel is no longer in touch with Julie, and starts looking for her online. Phil warns Jay not to interfere, but he won’t listen.
Linda tells Kat that it’s time for her to sell The Vic?
Emmerdale, ITV, 7.30pm
Kim is blissfully unaware that Dr Crowley is planning to take her to the cleaners. But Joe knows exactly what he’s up to, and arranges to confront him.
Charity desperately wants to help Sarah and tries to persuade Vic to offer to be her surrogate. Vic seems uncomfortable, despite Charity’s pleas. Charity and Cain are on the same page as they keep all options open.
It’s a big day for Lewis as he launches his new menu at the café.
Coronation Street, ITV, 8pm
Mick is growing restless in his cell, worrying about his kids. As he forms a plan, Brody looks for Joanie and Shanice, but Joanie is at Weatherfield High for a taster day. Mick breaks out of prison and heads straight to the school, not knowing that Sally has picked Joanie up early. He follows them back to the Street, with Kit in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Kevin plays for time, telling Tyrone he’ll come clean to Abi about his health after their weekend away.
The celebrities were said to be taking a big risk as they swam with ever-increasing sized sharks in the Bahamas in a new ITV series to mark the 50th anniversary of Jaws
The seven celebrities took their lives in their hands to dive with top predators for new TV series(Image: ITV)
The seven celebrities who agreed to swim with sharks in an ITV series which marks the 50th anniversary of Jaws, were taught to dive by an instructor with missing limbs.
All have now returned from filming Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters with their lives intact, but were constantly reminded of the dangers involved by their Australian instructor – who was missing an arm and a leg, courtesy of a tiger shark.
The celebs swam will many fearsome sharks including Hammerheads (Image: Getty Images/Image Source)
For the five-part series, due to start next month, the celebs were challenged to confront their greatest fear and flown to the island on Bimini in the Bahamas, home to around 10 different species of shark. Once there, they took the plunge together alongside hammerhead, bull and tiger sharks.
While there is no voting or elimination process in the show, the dives got progressively harder, with each involving a bigger and tougher breed of shark, and the celebrities were allowed to sit out if they felt overwhelmed.
One insider said: “The sharks they were free diving with were definitely dangerous and they were shocked when they realised what had happened to the expert, who’d had an arm and a leg bitten off.”
The island of Bimini is a sanctuary for sharks and often has 10 different types in its waters(Image: Getty Images)
Despite the series being shown as tribute to half a century since the Oscar-winning Jaws was released in 1975, the “ocean-phobic” stars did not attempt to recreate the movie scenes. “There were no Great Whites involved in the making of this show,” the source said. “But it was not for the faint-hearted, that’s for sure. Some were more scared than others.”
Viewers will have to wait to see if any of the stars sustained injuries during the making of the programme, which was filmed last year.
Yesterday presenter Rachel said that taking part was a “dream come true” adding: “It was the best trip, the best experience, the best everything, of my life.” Describing it as “wet and wild” she added: “Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters is a totally new type of entertainment show, with so much integrity and a love of sharks and conservation at its heart. And with the best bunch of people you could hope to work with.”
Hammerhead sharks are fearsome looking when viewed from beneath(Image: Getty Images)
The mum-of-two said she’d first been asked to take part a year ago. “They said we’re thinking of sending some celebrities out to the Bahamas for a few weeks to swim with some of the biggest, scariest wild sharks in the world.”
Helen agreed that it had been brilliant, saying: “One of the most insane experiences of my life, learning about this incredible creatures, with equally incredible humans.”
Ross described it as a “great adventure” and quipped: “No, it’s not a wind up, it’s a real thing.” And pop star Dougie marvelled that it was the closest he’d ever get to a “real Jurassic Park experience”.
ITV entertainment boss Katie Rawcliffe said audiences should enjoy the combination of blue chip natural history programming with ITV’s skill at entertainment, and called the famous faces taking part “some of the bravest celebrities out there”.
Karen Plumb, of Plimsoll Productions, said the aim was to give viewers a new perspective on sharks. “We’re constantly looking for innovative approaches to wildlife storytelling and are certain that our fish-out-of-water spin – delivering 50 years after Jaws – will transform the world’s perception of these critical predators before it’s too late.”
