
Watch as Celebrity Catchphrase star flounders over tricky puzzle & misses out on big money – but could you have got it?
Comedian Richard Ayoade appeared on the ITV gameshow hosted by Stephen Mulhern in a bid to raise money for charity.
2
After making it through to the final round, Richard had his skills put to one final test, going against the clock to answer questions on the catchphrase pyramid.
Poor Richard was left red-faced after picking tile number 10 instead of the all-important number 11 in the Double Money round.
The usually cool-as-a-cucumber comic panicked under pressure, stumbling over the clue for a nail-biting 25 seconds before admitting defeat.
But could you have got the catchphrase right?
The clue showed three whales bobbing in the ocean - two wearing big crowns, and a smaller one with a smaller crown.
Richard had many unsuccessful guesses from Royal Whales to Whale Crowns.
Do you get it?
Host Stephen told Richard he was so close to getting it right - if only he had a little bit more time - before revealing the correct answer was The Prince of Wales.
He walked away with a total of £9,300 for his chosen charity, the Refugee Support Network, which benefited from his appearance on the show.
Richard first came into the public eye in the early noughties as part of a group of up-and-coming comedians that would frequently work together.
Their cult TV hits included The Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and Nathan Barley.
Other comedians from this group include Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt and Matt Berry.
He won a BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2014 for his role in The IT Crowd.
He played the computer-smart-but-not-so-streetwise nerd in the smash hit Channel 4 comedy.
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV's hardest questions
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the "worst" question in the show's history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: 'From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?' The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
The 1% Club - Viewers of Lee Mack's popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: "Edna's birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen's birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir's birthday must be the 'X' of January." It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir's birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
The Chase - The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: "Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?" The options were - sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots - with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.
Since then, he has turned his hand to writing and directing films.
He also made regular appearances on various panel shows, including Have I Got News For You.
And Richard became the host of The Crystal Maze after Stephen Merchant, who hosted the Stand Up To Cancer reboot, but pulled out to focus on cracking Hollywood.
Celebrity Catchphrase is available on ITVX.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
26 minutes ago
- BBC News
Belladrum's youngest fan returns to music festival
A baby born after his mum went into labour at the Belladrum music festival has returned to the event one year Redmond's contractions began soon after arriving on the first day of the festival near Beauly last made it to hospital in Inverness but returned just 18 hours later with new baby were back again this year along with the rest of the family to soak up the atmosphere once again. Kate told the BBC last year how she had not expected baby Callan to arrive as she had been 38 weeks pregnant at the time and her other children - Seamus and Peggy - had come after their due when her contractions started she and husband Darren had to take them to their grandparents and drive to the Raigmore the baby was born Kate and Callan returned for parts of the festival but went home at night rather than camping with the rest of the was able to use the family-friendly festival's quieter areas, including a tent set aside for baby feeding. Kate said they were hoping it would be a little "less dramatic" this time around."We are hoping so," she said. "So far we are off to a good start."Last year was all a bit of a blur - it is not until after you kind of think - what did we do?"Darren added that they were looking forward to enjoying the "very family-orientated event" and meeting up with friends and relaxing."That's probably the bit we enjoy the most in terms of like camping with pals and just letting the kids have a bit of a rare time," he said."And no more babies," he added. Festival producer Dougie Brown said the festival was going from "strength to strength"."We are something for all ages, all generations," he said."You have got four or five generations of the same family coming from babes in arms to their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents."He said they were delighted to see baby Callan coming back."We always say Bella's the perfect festival for your child's first festival but we didn't quite expect a baby to be a day old and at the festival site," he said."But we look forward to catching up with them and many more babies' first festivals in the future."


Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Children's author Allan Ahlberg dies aged 87
Allan Ahlberg, the author of the children's classic Funnybones, has died aged 87. Ahlberg was known for creating beloved children's books with his first wife Janet, with their scores of titles including The Jolly Postman, which sold more than six million copies. Publisher Penguin Random House confirmed the death of the author, who enjoyed a 50-year writing career. Colleagues said Ahlberg was still revising the cover art for his books a week before his death. Francesca Dow, director of children's books at the publishing house, hailed him as 'extraordinary' and said his work would be 'loved by children and families for years to come'. Ahlberg had worked as a postman, a plumber's mate and a grave digger before a writing career began unexpectedly after he met Janet Hall, who would become his first wife. She was an illustrator who had become frustrated with the quality of the books she was being sent to work on, and requested that Ahlberg attempt to write something better. That resulted in the 1975 book Here are the Brick Street Boys, which would be the first of many collaborations. These included Funnybones, about a family of skeletons, which was adapted into a children's TV series aired on the BBC. Janet Ahlberg died in 1994, and Mr Ahlberg published several tributes to her, including Janet's Last Book, which included many of the illustrator's previously unseen pictures. In 2014, Ahlberg made headlines for refusing lifetime a achievement award because it was sponsored by Amazon. The author took issue with the company's record on tax, and turned down commendation at the Booktrust Best Book Awards because Booktrust had been supported financially by the tech giant. He said at the time: 'When companies like Amazon cheat – paying 0.1 per cent on billions, pretending it is earning money not in the UK, but in Luxembourg, that's a bad thing. 'We should surely, at the very least, say that it is bad and on no account give it any support or, by association, respectability. The idea that my 'lifetime achievement' should have the Amazon tag attached to it is unacceptable.' Ahlberg later worked with other illustrators, including his daughter, Jessica, who helped create a pop-up version of the Goldilocks tale. He is survived by Jessica, his wife Vanessa, and stepdaughters Saskia and Johanna. Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, the chief executive of the children's publisher Walker Books Group, said of her time working with Mr Ahlberg: 'Allan once told us that when his daughter asked him for a story, she would request 'one straight out of your mouth'. 'Over the years, many at Walker were truly privileged to hear stories straight from Allan's mouth. He was enormously playful in spirit and language and had the ability to make you smile in one sentence. Allan inspired generations of children's writers, inspired all of us who worked with him, and inspired artists to make some of their very best work.' The publishing house put out his last picture book, Under the Table, in 2023.


Daily Mirror
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Emmerdale spoilers: Killer John changes tactic before 'downfall' amid another exit
Emmerdale spoilers for next week reveal killer John Sugden does a U-turn where his brother Robert Sugden is concerned, amid a predicted downfall for the villain on the ITV soap John Sugden could be about to change his agenda on Emmerdale amid him targeting his brother Robert Sugden. As it stands, Robert is the only one really onto killer John and his dark secrets. But given John is now married to Robert's ex-husband Aaron Dingle, poor Robert's being accused of jealousy. He's actually pretty rattled, after realising months ago that there was something not quite right with his secret sibling. Not only did a threat and some "obsessive" and "creepy" behaviour leave him convinced John was hiding something sinister, but in recent weeks he's come to the conclusion that he could be a killer too - amid fans spotting a clue that a downfall is on the cards. It comes as Robert learned for a fact that Owen did not kill Nate Robinson, and given John was at his house before his "suicide" it's all starting to piece together. He's convinced John has to have killed Nate, or at least that it's likely, knowing Owen has been set up. So to find out John has been somewhat of a hero for months, saving Chas after she was drugged with her own medication as well as rescuing Jacob Gallagher after an allergic reaction, Robert is sure he's onto something. Viewers know John has orchestrated many of these events and more to be the village saviour. No one's noticed how odd it is that John is always there at the right time, or the wrong time. No one, except for Robert of course. All this has done though is make Robert a target. But spoilers for next week seem to allude to John taking a different approach, just days on from him getting dirt on the character and trying to expose him. So as it stands, John is spying on Robert via a listening device he's planted in the house. We've seen him listen into his chat with Liam Cavanagh, where he made it clear he would find out what John is hiding and exposing him. John panicked to hear Robert was well and truly onto him, while he soon got another shock when he heard Robert chatting with new villain Ray. It's then that he heard about their secret drug deal, and the fact Robert had stolen Lewis Barton's weed from the farm and sold it to Ray. This is why Ray had two masked intruders head to the farm this week, causing drama with Kyle and Moira. In an upcoming episode we see John seemingly spilling the beans to Ross, Lewis' brother, about his deceit. John is keen to destroy his brother, taking different approaches to do this. But just days later, it seems John is either having a change of heart or a change of action. In scenes next week we see him persuading Aaron to go easy on Robert, and to not give him a hard time. So why would John want people to be nice to Robert? Surely it can't just be to make himself look good, we've gone beyond that with their feud and at any moment, a relentless Robert could find what he needs to expose John. Perhaps it's to wind Robert up more with his fake kindness and with villagers, against Robert, inevitably telling him how it's "amazing" John who has encouraged them to be nice to him. So yes it could be to tear Robert down and make him look worse, or maybe he really has had a change of heart and feels bad for him. Get the latest drama from the Dales by joining our Emmerdale WhatsApp group As drama continues to unfold in the Yorkshire Dales, the Mirror has launched its very own Emmerdale WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest breaking news, secrets, and spoilers delivered straight to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Unlikely, so what if it's part of his big plan for his brother? We know he wants him out of the way, no doubt more so now that he's actually onto him, and onto his crimes. Whatever the motive, it's clear John is changing tactic. Elsewhere, away from the John plot, there's hints of an exit plot next week, ahead of a confirmed departure. Steph Miligan will be leaving the ITV soap soon for some time away, with actress Georgia Jay on maternity leave. Next week Steph and Ross give their romance another go, but it seems his fling with Manpreet Sharma could be exposed despite his claims there's been no one else. So is this what leads to Steph abruptly leaving the village?