'Bleeped' word wins Countdown points

A contestant on the popular Countdown afternoon television show, Mark Murphy, turned the air blue with his vocabulary after he spelt and named a six letter swear word. The IT consultant formed the word ''w-----'' from available letters RAEPKWAEN when he appeared on the pre-recorded Channel 4 programme. Judges eventually awarded six points for the word because it is in the dictionary.



The contestant, from Edinburgh, left new host Nick Hewer, 67, momentarily lost for words as he came up with his word among his nine consonants and vowels. After 30 seconds of pondering, Mr Murphy stifled laughter as he told the host amid cackles from the studio audience and which also left viewers surprised. It was bleeped out. "Right, and, um, Nick?" asked Hewer as he turned to Mr Murphy's opponent Nick Evans.

Mr Evans suggested the eight letter word "weakener" but he was found to be short of a necessary third ''e''. Hewer, who managed to keep a straight face throughout, asked expert Susie Dent, in dictionary corner: ''Where does Mark stand on this?'' and was told: '''He stands fine on this, absolutely, it's in the dictionary. We must allow it.''


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Hewer, who became the fifth presenter of what is Channel 4's longest-running show when he took over at the start of the year, replied: "Jolly good". Co-host, Rachel Riley, did not spell it out on the board. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as "British vulgar slang. A contemptible person".