Rachael's game today.

Reverend Noel welcomes us to the first Christmas special. The wingers are all dressed in generic townspeople costumes.

Hopefully a good start to the week.

Hopefully Rachael has the guts that last week's players had and starts this special week out with a good game.

Rachael has Box 7.

Rachael Theophile, from Leicester, a law student at De Montfort uni. She has a photo of her mother; her father Charlie is in the audience. She also has a Christmas present for the Banker: a drawing she is done of what she thinks he looks like!

Here we go...

QUICK intro. today. It looks like Rachael is going to 5 box.

Round 1

Boxes, 5, 11, 16 and 22 are being kept to the end.

Box 14 with Pedram - £50,000

Box 17 with Lily - £5,000

Box 19 with Kim - £3,000

Box 18 with newbie Anita - £250,000

Box 20 with Sacha - £15,000

Banker time...

What an opening round, says Noel. The Banker wishes everyone a Happy Christmas! He thanks Rachael for the early gift and wonders how Rachael knew he wanted that! He reveals that the 5-box twist involves a tower of presents, and thinks Rachael may be good at that!

Banker's offer:

A CHOCOLATE LOG!

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well she's certainly going to 5 box now.

Noel says there's nothing wrong with chocolate logs! The Banker claims he's made it himself, and it looks like a dead otter! Some nutloaf is added to the offer!

Rachael says:

NO DEAL

Noel calls a break...

Noel pops up with a plug for a new competition; this time the prize is a holiday to Barbados and £5,000 spending money!

Let me guess; the holiday is sponsored by icelolly.com.

We're back...

Round 2

Dean is wearing mistletoe to attract the ladies!

Box 6 with Dean - £50

Box 4 with Pete - 1p

Pete finally has the penny!

Box 9 with Angel - £100

Banker time...

The Banker says it's a Christmas miracle that Pete finally had the penny!

Banker's offer:

£4,000

OK offer, but clearly the Banker is pitching the offers low until 5 box today so that this won't be ANOTHER twist week that 2 players Deal before 5 box.

This present stacking game sounds like that cylinder stacking challenge from the Cube.

Rachael has some fees to pay off, and £4,000 would do that. She and her father use boat analogies to describe their financial situation.

The Banker calls with details of the 5-box twist: if the player is in LIVE play at 5-box, they must collect the various piles of parcels scattered across the studio, and must build a tower of a certain height, which must stand for five seconds. They can opt to try and do it in 2 minutes (Second Class) or 1 minute 30 (First Class). If they succeed at Second Class, they get a holiday, with no downside for failing; if they succeed at First Class, they get a holiday and one box at a time, but failing means the Banker gets to look in the box.

Rachael says:

NO DEAL

Noel calls a break...

Just like the last twist week, the harder twist option is only slightly harder than the easier one. Therefore, I'd advise anyone with a stable 5 box (one that could be viewed as a 3 box game) to go for the easy twist so that we don't get a repeat of Zoe's non-game and anyone with an unstable 5 box to go for the hard twist which Jafar and Iola greatly benefited from the last twist week.

We're back...

Round 3

Rachael goes to Lisa, who thinks she has a red. She then steers away, but John says she shouldn't change her mind, so back she goes!

Box 12 with Lisa - £75,000

This is a tricky festive game, says Noel. The Banker thanks John for ruining Rachael's Christmas.

Box 8 with Nick - 50p

Box 10 with Graham - £100,000

Banker time...

That was tough luck, says Noel. Inevitable Banker laughter! (Need I repeat what I said on Thursday! )

Banker's offer:

STUFFING BALLS!

Rachael's father says she has nothing to lose. The Banker says there are ten of them, and says he'd deal!

Rachael says:

NO DEAL