8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown - Series 23/24

The new series doesn't appear to have a thread so thought I'd start one.

The series that started in January - then yanked for Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples, which flopped - is resuming this coming Friday (teams Sarah Millican & Jonathan Ross, Tom Allen & Roisin Conaty, and Dictionary Corner guest Sam Campbell). There's even more apparent bizarre scheduling as the episode the following Friday (18th) is a new Best Bits special, with the episodes on the two Fridays after that seemingly new. At this point, C4 deciding to randomly lump a compilation into the middle of a new series doesn't surprise me.

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Multiple recording sessions for the next series (unless there's been some recordings I've missed, and these dates are for the series after next) have also been confirmed. I've been tracking when they've taken place on SRO Audiences' website, and so far I'm aware of the following dates, with two recording sessions on each:

- A date in mid-July I can't remember (also came across a Twitter post indicating one on Mon 3rd July, but unsure as to whether that's it or a different one)
- A date earlier this week I can't remember
- Tuesday 8th August
- Sunday 3rd September
- Wednesday 13th September

That means at least ten episodes in the bank by mid-September.

Someone's also put in some incorrect guest details for this Friday's coming episode on Wikipedia (teams Richard Ayoade & Laura Smith, Jon Richardson & Katherine Ryan, with DC guest Mat Ewins), which is either vandalism or those were the guests for one of the episodes filmed recently (which I'd be glad with, as Mat Ewins was great when he was last on).

I wondered about a new series. I'm not really interested in repeats but like to know new episodes are on.

Quote: octothorpe @ 6th August 2023, 3:53 PM

Multiple recording sessions for the next series (unless there's been some recordings I've missed, and these dates are for the series after next)

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Channel 4 have been mixing and matching and bundling up different episodes almost at random. There's long been no real correlation between when recordings take place and what series they are broadcast as.

Quote: Aaron @ 10th August 2023, 9:10 AM

Channel 4 have been mixing and matching and bundling up different episodes almost at random. There's long been no real correlation between when recordings take place and what series they are broadcast as.

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Yeah, I'm aware of it starting at least a few series back when they held on to episodes recorded in 2019 through the initial stages of the pandemic to the point they were able to record some and then patched episodes of two different production runs together (the late 2020 series and the early 2021 series both featured such 2019 episodes), but have they employed such tactics even earlier than that?

BTW, we now know that there will be TWO compilation specials this series. I mean, at this point I'm just accepting it; C4 do need to fill in before Gogglebox returns with something; it could be worse.

Quote: octothorpe @ 11th August 2023, 1:20 AM

Yeah, I'm aware of it starting at least a few series back when they held on to episodes recorded in 2019 through the initial stages of the pandemic to the point they were able to record some and then patched episodes of two different production runs together (the late 2020 series and the early 2021 series both featured such 2019 episodes), but have they employed such tactics even earlier than that?

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Without double-checking and cross-referencing in depth, yes, I think it started quite a while before the pandemic.

A couple of observations from tonight's episode:

1) It appeared to be the first to be aired from the latest filming block. Why? a) The section of the audience that sits in front of the cameras was present, for the first time in episodes filmed after the pandemic began; last week it wasn't there. b) Joe mentioned "last year's heatwave" (presumably in reference to the record-breaking one in mid-2022). Glenn also briefly used material that was in his Fringe show this year, though I believe he brought the same show back last year as he'd done in 2022. (So, C4 have seemingly been mixing episodes from different production blocks again!)
2) In the first numbers round, both Joe and Jamali received points for their answers, despite the fact that Joe's was closest (Joe was one out and Jamali three IIRC). As they both received seven, I'm guessing this is because their declared answers were both within five numbers of the actual answer, a range in which contestants always receive seven points (as per the Apterous wiki). This has never been done before, and is very curious scoring. It didn't end up impacting on the final scores (though I think it would've meant no *crucial* conundrum), as Joe('s team) won the game on the conundrum anyway.

EDIT: Also, BCG is listing just four episodes for this series, but a couple weeks back initially had the guests for the third episode as Katherine Ryan and Joe Wilkinson, Jon Richardson and Guz Khan, with Alasdair Beckett-King in Dictionary Corner. That was changed not long after, and at present it seems we either have a phantom episode with that lineup (akin to the one in my first post on this thread that was added to Wikipedia with no source) or one that was pencilled in to air in this short run but then the powers-that-be changed their mind and scheduled it for a potential run later in the year instead.

Last night's was obviously filmed in 2023, but had reverted to being without the front rows of audience. The reasoning for that seemed to have been to enable Joe Wilkinson's mid-show arrival and his performance as part of that, although it could have actually just been to take advantage of there being no audience on the set in the first place. Odd, but with fewer than three-quarters of a million (maybe barely half a million with Traitors on) watching I'm not sure a lack of attention to continuity is going to weigh heavily on schedulers' minds(!)

Audience front row was back on Friday. Here's hoping the ratings were better given last week's episode got just half a million viewers against Traitors (although it was the only thing on C4 all night above half a million, so it doesn't look as bad given that!)

FYI, that phantom episode that appeared on Wikipedia last year (the one with Mat Ewins in DC) is real, and was shown on BBC UKTV in Australia and NZ last week (and was actually originally scheduled here last January, and even briefly had a listing on BCG). Looking through the r/panelshow subreddit, it seems there's been at least three episodes that appear to have been shown down under but not yet here; as well as that one:

- The episode originally meant to be shown third this series but replaced before broadcast (Katherine Ryan and Joe Wilkinson, Guz Khan, Alasdair Beckett-King)
- And an episode that I don't think has ever cropped up as being preliminarily scheduled for UK broadcast (Jonathan Ross and Maisie Adam, Richard Ayoade and Kemah Bob, Sarah Keyworth)

I don't know what's going on.

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And I've found confirmation on Twitter that there was a recording evening on 12 June 2023. That's an additional two episodes to add to the number of shows recorded last summer, bringing the total (that we know of) to 12.

Also found a few comments going through some recent Reddit posts regarding the series that stated Dr. Anne Marie Imafidon filmed *multiple* episodes during Riley's maternity leave in summer 2022(?) (not just the one with her that was broadcast at the start of last year), that could've comprised an entire series, but they were scrapped for some reason. Aside from an episode that the Apterous wiki states was filmed but has never been shown (originally due to be shown in Series 20), this is the first I've heard of episodes being canned. There were some suggestions in reply that a Dictionary Corner guest could have been objectionable, but every episode's would have to be to warrant this happening.

Someone on there also asserts there was an episode with Sarah Millican and Gary Delaney (her husband). I have found no confirmation of that.

That's really interesting Octothorpe, thanks. And very odd! Channel 4 has been engaged in some really strange scheduling practices with the show, that's for certain.

Quote: Aaron @ 4th February 2024, 6:09 PM

That's really interesting Octothorpe, thanks. And very odd! Channel 4 has been engaged in some really strange scheduling practices with the show, that's for certain.

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I would not be surprised if, based on the abysmal ratings for this past series, they decide to publicly announce the show is being axed, but they've got so many episodes filmed that it they're still airing episodes into 2026(!) It's utter madness, especially if it's true they scrapped almost an entire series with Imafidon replacing Riley (some on the Reddit posts I've been scouring believe this is why the scheduling of Series 24 was so odd (one episode in January, and one episode in summer before turning to 'best bits'; someone on Reddit said they emailed C4 who said they were Christmas and 'summer' specials respectively. That's one way to spin it!)).

Here's the Reddit post of the guy who created a Google Sheets document ordering the episodes by C4 numbering and overseas numbering: https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/15qn8k5/8_out_of_10_cats_does_countdown_international/

EDIT: Apparently there was briefly a page on the C4 website detailing the episodes that haven't been shown that Imafidon was part of. This gets curiouser and curiouser: https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/15olbti/comment/jvvnupy/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

EDIT 2 & 4: And I've come across a post that announces something I didn't know happened - two nights of *run-throughs* last May (https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/13jul0i/8_out_of_10_cats_does_countdown_runthroughs_in/) and in May 2022 (https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/uera9q/8_out_of_10_cats_does_countdown_runthroughs_in/; AFAIK featured Lloyd Griffith, Sarah Keyworth and Phil Wang). First I've heard of them doing that for this show.

EDIT 3: I've also found a post by someone who went to the recording of the one Imafidon episode that's been shown regarding excised content: https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/10b9s56/the_bits_cut_out_of_last_weeks_cats_does/

Something I've just noticed after watching the Ayoade/Smyth/Richardson/Ryan/Ewins episode - which is available on YT if anyone wants to watch it before C4 gets round to show it - is that it must have been before or after the filming of the episode that the promotional image that features right at the top of this thread was shot: everyone is wearing the exact same clothing in both the image and the episode.

Another down-under-first episode is now available on YT. Someone on the r/panelshow subreddit who listened to Richard Osman's appearance on the Rest is Entertainment podcast (I haven't) has explained that it seems to be C4 is being stingy with Cats because the production company doesn't need paying if they don't broadcast the episodes. I don't exactly know why that means they're not airing the many episodes that are currently being shown in Australia and New Zealand, however, and opting for the ones filmed in 2023 over 2022! https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/1akptk1/finally_an_explanation_why_ch4_keeps_so_many/

Someone on the Apterous wiki has also been quietly comprising a list of Catsdown episodes according to production order, which appears to suggest there's actually a reasonable number of shows that just haven't gone out (including another couple of Best Bits specials). [had posted direct link here but was turning something into emoji so you can find a Reddit post someone replied to me with the link in here: https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/1ah4ayr/comment/kpmh8sq/?context=3]

Tonight brought the latest run to an end. Fridays for the foreseeable on C4 being Gogglebox -> Celeb Gogglebox -> Catsdown -> Gogglebox? Knowing our luck we'll get a frustratingly curtailed series again like last summer with a few weeks of Celeb Gogglebox repeats once again taking up slots Catsdown easily could.

Someone on the r/panelshow subreddit claims that an episode filmed in April/May 2023 featured Guz Khan with Lumboo as his mascot, but with different guests to the finished episode that has since aired in Australia/NZ (Richard Ayoade, Amy Gledhill and Sam Campbell in Dictionary Corner). I am not aware of recordings having taken place so early last year, and that line-up certainly strikes me as not one that would be used for those run-through shows (Gledhill and Campbell maybe, but not Ayoade), if indeed they were held last year.

This show continues to induce me with a healthy dose of bafflement. Given that the episode with Guz and Lumboo is, AFAIK, from 2022, I'm presuming they came back for a second appearance? Which I find a trifle odd (repeating a mascot), but hey ho if so!

https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/1aode5k/comment/kqeomt6/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

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Oh, and one of the missing Imafidon episodes aired in Australia/NZ last night. We knew there would be at least two (including the one already shown by C4), but everything I've gleaned suggests she filmed more.

Based on the information from that episode guide sorted by production order on Apterous, I believe that the next episodes to air in Aus/NZ that have not yet been shown here will be two Best Bits specials from the 2022 filming bloc, and I estimate they will be shown on the 20th and 27th March respectively. After that, I think this sorry saga will likely come to an end as I doubt C4 won't have fully caught up by the time the next run of episodes (production series 16, filmed last year) is shown down under.

What a fascinating story. I do hope C4 give us the goods soon!

The saga continues. Someone on Reddit (r/panelshow) has asserted this, regarding the rumoured 'scrapped series' of episodes featuring Imafidon:

I don't think these will be [shown in the UK].

The episodes with Anne-marie Imafideon were a full season; it was listed at the beginning of 2023 in the TV guide, with episode descriptions;

Then they pulled them all in the UK, except for four episodes.

They were talking to Rachel Riley at the time about a new contract and to Jon about whether he wanted to keep going post Sean, and I have the sneaking suspicion some of the terms they agreed to prevented them showing someone effectively "replacing" her for the entire season.

Or, they just thought they really sucked. But if it wasn't a UK legal issue, they'd probably have pulled them in Australia as well. So I'm thinking contract related issues.

https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/1ax7ih1/8_out_of_10_cats_does_countdown_unknown_s26/

I honestly don't know what to think or say at this stage, it's just comprehensively baffling. We'll probably know more as 'season 15' (what the 2022 production run is called internationally) trundles on airing down under, but I'm pretty sure everything so far points to there being no more episodes with Imafidon. These rumours may just turn out to be rumours.