Episode 8 Celebrity Mastermind

First in the spotlight tonight is the Olympic trampoline silver medallist Bryony Page.

Herr specialist subject - the Disney films.

Next, the Radio 6 music presenter, Nemone.

She'll be answering questions on Roald Dahl's books.

The writer Emma Kennedy takes as her subject

the American comedian Lucille Ball.

And the Autistic Gardener, Alan Gardner,

on the artist Wassily Kandinsky.

Hello and welcome to Celebrity Mastermind with me, John Humphrys,

and four contenders who have been remarkably successful in their

chosen fields, but this particular challenge will be new to them.

Sitting in that scary black chair and subjecting themselves

to the questions and the spotlight and the ticking clock.

They get a minute and a half on their specialist subject,

two minutes on general knowledge,

after which one of them will become a Celebrity Mastermind.

So let's have our first contender, please.

And your name is...

Your chosen charity...

And your chosen subject...

Disney films in 90 seconds. Here we go.

The soundtrack of which 1998 Disney film includes the songs

I'll Make A Man Of You and A Girl Worth Fighting For?

-Mulan.

-What's the name of the city of mystery and enchantment that is

the setting for the 1992 Disney film Aladdin?

-Agrabah.

-Which English cartoonist and illustrator was credited as

production designer for the '97 film Hercules?

-Glen Keane?

-Gerald Scarfe.

Which member of Pocahontas' tribe wants to marry her?

He's killed by the British settler Thomas, and John Smith is blamed.

-Kocoum.

-In The Rescuers Down Under, what's the name of the airline

operated by Wilbur that takes the Rescue Aid Society agents

Bernard and Bianca to Australia?

Albatross Airlines.

Who won a special award at the '93 Golden Globe ceremony

for providing the voice of the Genie in Aladdin?

Robin Williams.

In the Hunchback Of Notre Dame, what is the name of the woman voiced

by Demi Moore who is saved by Quasimodo from being burned

at the stake after Frollo has accused her of witchcraft?

Esmeralda.

When Kerchak, the leader of the gorilla family, has been trapped and Tarzan stops

Clayton from shooting him, Kerchak says, "You came back."

What does Tarzan reply?

-Pass.

-What is the name of the territory in the African Savanna

over which the Lion King rules?

-Pride Rock.

-Which ancient Greek city does Hercules' mentor,

a satyr called Philoctetes, voiced by Danny DeVito, call the Big Olive?

-Rome?

-Thebes.

What name does Mulan use to disguise the fact that she's a girl

when she enlists in the Imperial Chinese Army in her father's place?

Ping?

BEEP What is the name of the beauty who falls in love with the beast

and thereby frees him from his enchantment

so that he turns back into being a human prince?

-Belle.

-Belle is correct.

You have one pass.

When Kerchak says, "You came back,"

Tarzan replied, "I came home."

Bryony, you've got nine points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is?

Your chosen charity...

And your chosen subject...

Roald Dahl in 90 seconds.

In James And The Giant Peach, James Trotter leads a happy life until the age of four

when his mother and father are eaten by an escaped zoo animal

while they're out shopping in London. What animal?

A rhino.

In Matilda, who does the fearsome Miss Trunchbull, the headteacher of Crunchem Hall,

accuse of stealing her chocolate cake?

Bruce Bogtrotter.

What word only has to be mentioned to an Oompa-Loompa

to make it start to dribble at the mouth?

-Chocolate.

-Cacao.

In Danny, The Champion Of The World,

since Danny's mother died, he's lived with his father in an old caravan

behind what business that his father owns?

-A garage.

-What is the name of the fizzy drink that the BFG tells the Queen

will get everyone whizzpopping happily together?

Frobscottle.

What creatures are supposedly found in the bathtubs of the hotels

where the witches hold their secret meetings?

-Snakes?

-Toads.

In Fantastic Mr Fox, Badger and the smallest fox peer into

a vast, damp, gloomy cellar and see hundreds of jars.

What is written on each of them?

-Cider.

-In The Enormous Crocodile, what does the not so big one say

that you have to cover children with before

you can eat them because they taste so bitter?

-Honey.

-Sugar.

In George's Marvellous Medicine, George finds a bottle of perfume

on his mother's dressing table that smells of old cheese.

What is the perfume's name?

-Pass.

-What is the name of the man who calls round to read the gas meter

and finds nothing left of Mr and Mrs Twit except old clothes,

shoes and a walking stick?

Fred.

In The Magic Finger, when Mr Gregg wakes up and stretches out to

reach for his watch, he discovers he now has the wings of what?

A duck.

BEEP Mr Wonka's Great Glass Elevator is not the only thing orbiting the earth

after its unfortunate launch.

What had America sent into space two days before?

-The Space Hotel.

-Yes, exactly that.

They should have known that. Now, you had that one pass.

George found a bottle of perfume on his mother's dressing table

that was labelled Flowers of Turnips.

(Oh, Flowers of Turnips.)

Obvious when you think about it, isn't it? I know.

You've scored eight points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is...

Your chosen charity...

And your chosen subject...

Lucille Ball in 90 seconds. Here we go.

What was the title of the CBS radio show

in which Lucille Ball played opposite Richard Denning in a prototype

of I Love Lucy, the comedy for which she is best known?

My Favourite Husband.

What was the name of Ball's first husband,

who played a key role in her professional life for 46 years?

-Desi Arnaz.

-Which writer was brought in with Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll

to write a pilot for I Love Lucy in 1951?

Jess Oppenheimer.

What name was shared by Ball and Arnaz's ranch in Chatsworth, California,

and their hugely successful television production company?

Desilu.

Which New York dress designer hired Ball as a model,

partly because of her resemblance to the Hollywood star Constance Bennett?

Hattie Carnegie.

With which slapstick comedy team did Ball appear

in the 1934 film Three Little Pigskins?

Three Stooges.

In which musical did Ball make her Broadway debut

in December 1960 at the age of 49?

Wildcat.

Mission: Impossible and another long-running television series

were launched by Desilu productions in 1966.

The executive, Ed Holly, later said that without Ball

neither show would have gotten on the air. What was the other show?

Star Trek.

In which 1968 film did Ball and Henry Fonda play two widowed

parents who fall in love?

Yours, Mine And Ours.

To which Austrian-born businessman did Ball sell Desilu productions in 1967?

Oh.

Pass.

Which celebrated actor wrote in his diary after filming a guest spot in Here's Lucy,

"Ball could thank her lucky stars I'm not drinking.

"There's a chance I might have killed her"?

Richard Burton.

BEEP What was the name of Ball's maternal grandfather,

a socialist, whose left-wing leanings later landed her in trouble

with the House Un-American Activities Committee?

-Fred Ball.

-Fred Hunt.

-Oh, Fred Hunt!

-Yes, Fred Hunt.

You had one pass.

-The Austrian businessman to whom Ball sold Desilu productions was Charles Bluhdorn.

-Oh.

-Yep. However, Emma, you have 10 points.

-Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

And our final contender, please.

And your name is...

Your chosen charity...

And your chosen subject...

Kandinsky in 90 seconds. Here we go.

Which Bavarian city did Kandinsky choose to go to for his

artistic apprenticeship when he decided to devote his life to art?

Pass.

What transparent medium did Kandinsky use for

the 1909 piece called With A Yellow Horse and many of his other paintings

during his first period living in Germany?

-Glass.

-Which Austrian composer became a close friend of Kandinsky

after they met in 1911 because of their shared interest in the concept

of a fusion between music and painting?

-Mozart.

-Schoenberg.

In 1896, Kandinsky saw a painting entitled Haystacks and was impressed

by its abstract effect. Who painted it?

Monet.

Which region north of Moscow did Kandinsky visit in 1889

where the brightly-coloured farmhouses left a lasting impression on him?

Volga.

Which school of art and architecture in Weimar did Kandinsky join

when he left Russia for the final time in 1922?

-Francseus?

-The Bauhaus.

What is the title of his 1940 painting that appears to depict

a group of abstract animal-like figures

floating on a pale background bordered by clouds?

Pass.

Kandinsky took German citizenship in 1928 and then citizenship of

which other country in 1939?

France.

What is the English translation of the title

of Kandinsky's painting Das Bunte Leben?

-Pass.

-Which young German painter was Kandinsky's pupil

in Munich in 1902 and later his travelling companion and common-law wife?

Pass.

BEEP Kandinsky's highly complex abstract painting of November 1913

that is in the collection of Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery

has the title Composition Number what?

-Eight.

-Seven.

-Ah!

-Just one out.

You had four passes.

That young German painter was Gabriele Munter,

Motley Life is the English translation of Das Bunte Leben,

the title of his 1940 painting was Sky Blue,

and the first city he went for his artist apprenticeship was Munich.

-You have scored, Alan, three points.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Well, that's the specialist round done.

Let's have a look at all the scores.

In fourth place, with three points, Alan,

third place, eight points, Nemone,

second place, nine points, Bryony,

first place, 10 points, Emma.

And it is the general knowledge round now, of course.

And if there's a tie at the end of it then the number of passes

is taken into account and the person with the fewer passes is the winner.

So let's get on with it, and ask Alan to join us again, please.

Now, you're going to have to explain to me, Alan,

how does an autistic gardener

view a garden differently?

Because you're kind of mathematical, aren't you?

Yeah, in my sort of case seeing the world differently

is using different things, different objects.

One of the gardens that I've done for a series

is Fibonacci's sequence -

to form patterns and shapes based on 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.

And you also create spirals like in snail shells.

So you're actually using a mathematical sequence that occurs in nature

and actually building something up structurally upon that.

And would anybody who doesn't have your mathematical knowledge

and ability, would they be able to spot that that's what you've done?

It's not vital that when you do something that is conceptual

that the person has to understand what that concept is.

It's like looking at art, isn't it?

It might be conceptual, but it's got to be very pleasing.

It's got to be something that looks beautiful

or the whole concept is out of the window.

Fascinating.

Wow, thank you for that.

Now, we're into general knowledge.

Yeah.

And you get two minutes instead of 90 seconds.

Here we go. Two minutes.

What part of an elephant is the proboscis?

-Trunk.

-In the theatre, what stage prop is known as Kensington Gore?

-Pass.

-The resorts of Benidorm and Alicante

are on which of the Spanish Costas?

-Costa Del Sol?

-Costa Blanca.

In Buddhism, to which goal does the eightfold path ultimately lead?

-Pass.

-What was the sequel to the sitcom Porridge which followed

Norman Stanley Fletcher's attempts to return to normal life outside prison?

Pass.

Which heavy metal band topped the UK singles charts in 1991 for the only time

with Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter?

Definitely pass.

The Manchester Board, also called the Log-end Board,

is a variation used in which popular indoor sport?

-Skittles?

-Darts. Yeah, I know.

Which spirit is added to egg yolks,

sugar and vanilla extract to make the liqueur advocaat?

Pass.

The gourami, the angel and the tetra are all species of what creature,

often kept as pets?

-Frogs?

-Fish.

Coryza is the medical term for the nasal symptoms

of which common winter illness?

Cold.

Which singer-songwriter went on holiday as a boy to

the remote village of Durness near the north-west tip of Scotland?

It is said to have inspired the song In My Life.

Pass.

Who became Britain's first £1 million footballer when he signed

for Nottingham Forest in February 1979?

Definite pass.

What form of energy is stored in a Leyden jar?

Electricity.

Under which river was Britain's longest road tunnel opened in 1934?

-Thames.

-The Mersey.

The 1990 sequel to which 1984 Joe Dante comedy-horror film

is subtitled The New Batch?

Pass.

According to folklore, the subterranean fairies known as knockers

live in what workplaces, particularly in south-west England?

-BEEP

-Pass.

-Well, I can tell you cos we're out of time. It's mines.

Tin mines, as it happens, but mines, knockers.

There you go. Your other passes.

The original film was Gremlins,

the sequel's subtitle was The New Batch.

Trevor Francis was that million pound footballer,

John Lennon wrote In My Life,

brandy is what you've got to add to make advocaat.

Iron Maiden was that band, Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter,

Going Straight followed Porridge.

The eightfold path in Buddhism leads to nirvana,

and in the theatre Kensington Gore is blood.

Anyway, Alan, you've now got six points.

-You've doubled your score.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And now Nemone, please.

And you're obviously a fan of Roald Dahl,

-who is a genius.

-Yes.

-Obviously.

-What a fabulous author.

-It goes without saying.

-Yeah.

But you're, if I may say so,

grown up. I mean, you're not a child.

Does it matter?

-I have my moments, John, I think, still.

-Don't we all?

No, I don't think it does.

I mean, I have two small children as well, so I'll fess up,

we listen to the audio books a lot together.

So what is it you like about him? Is it the absurdity?

Because, actually, some people say he's quite profound

in all sorts of ways, he understands human nature.

It's the language, it's putting the children at the heart of his books,

it's his slight...

I am going to say detest of adults, I think, actually,

-and the way that...

-Yeah, he's on the kids' side, isn't he?

He's onto something, I think, actually.

Yeah, they're beautiful.

Right, well, there we are. That's him done with.

You've got eight points so far, Nemone,

and you've got two minutes of general knowledge coming up now.

In the nursery rhyme, who cut off the tails of the three blind mice

with a carving knife?

The farmer's wife.

In online discussions, a piece of writing that is excessively wordy or boring

is often dismissed by the four letters TLDR, which stand for too long...?

TLDR.

No, pass.

Which oil, widely used in Thai cooking, is extracted from a grass

and gets it common name from its citrus-like flavour?

Lemon grass.

Van Rijn is the surname of a Dutch painter and printmaker

usually known only by his first name. Who?

No, pass.

In which country is the men's football team nicknamed the Socceroos?

Australia.

Which Hollywood couple who split up in 2016 met on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith

and play a troubled married couple in the 2015 film By The Sea?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

According to the first act of the play Peter Pan,

which supernatural spirits began when the first baby laughed for the first time?

-Witches?

-Fairies.

Which of the Muppets is famous for her volatile diva personality

and saying, "Kissy-kissy"?

Miss Piggy.

What term derived from a Scandinavian word for a branch is often used

to describe articles made by weaving together small twigs or branches?

-Pass.

-Which American rapper has topped

the UK singles charts eight times, most recently with The Monster,

featuring Rihanna, in November 2013?

-Drake.

-Eminem.

Townsend's big-eared, long-eared myotis and fruit

are all species of what mainly nocturnal mammal?

-Badger?

-Bats.

What name of Gaelic origin is given to a mountain valley, especially one in Scotland,

that is usually narrow and forms the course of a stream?

Pass.

The holder of which literary post is rewarded

with an annual stipend of £5,750 and a butt of sack?

The Poet Laureate.

What is the first name of Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector Rebus?

John.

BEEP Which 1973 Pink Floyd album has a picture on its cover of a prism

that breaks a beam of white light into the colours of the rainbow?

SHE SIGHS

-You do know this one.

-I know!

It's just gone out of my head.

Shall I put you out of your misery?

All I can think of is The Wall.

-It's Dark Side Of The Moon.

-Dark Side Of The Moon.

-Dark Side Of The Moon.

The other passes -

glen is what they call a mountain valley in Scotland.

-Wicker...

-Wicker.

-..is when you weave all the twigs together and things.

-I know that now.

-Yeah.

-Van Rijn - Rembrandt.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Him.

TLDR - Too long, didn't read.

-Didn't read.

-Very dismissive.

-There we are. You now have a total, Nemone, of 15 points.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And now Bryony again, please.

And, Bryony,

you are the first medallist in trampolining

we've ever produced, at the Olympics in Rio.

Yes, it was an amazing experience. I loved every second of it.

Look, I know this is a ridiculous question in one way,

what do you have to do to be good at trampolining,

apart from bouncing?

-Yeah, I guess a bit of bravery has to be in there.

-Yes.

It's a bit crazy, jumping so high in the air and spinning around.

How high do you go?

-Probably the height of a double-decker bus.

-Really?

So the men can jump up to ten metres and the women just below that.

So I think we could reach the top of, you know,

a sport's hall ceiling.

Yeah. Anyway, well done on it. Fantastic.

Nine points is what you've got at the moment.

Let's see how you do with your general knowledge. Here we go.

In which county are the resorts of Falmouth, Newquay and St Ives?

Pass.

For what role in the field of classical music

are Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir Adrian Boult particularly renowned?

Pass.

Which character created by Ricky Gervais stars in The Office

and in his own film, released in 2016, with the subtitle Life On The Road?

-Pass.

-Which aquatic sport shares its name with the process of moving

from one internet site to another?

Surfing.

Which American singer-songwriter had her first UK top 20 album

with Fearless in 2009?

Erm...

Pass.

A bottle known as a Nebuchadnezzar holds the equivalent

of how many ordinary bottles of champagne?

-Six?

-20.

Lazy daisy, French knot and feather

are stitches employed in which needlecraft?

-Cross stitching?

-Embroidery.

Which Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical features the songs

March Of The Siamese Children and I Whistle A Happy Tune,

as well as the ballet The Small House Of Uncle Thomas?

-Pass.

-In which country did the First and Second Boer Wars take place?

Pass.

What miracles did Jesus perform at the wedding at Cana,

according to the Gospel of St John?

Em...

Pass.

Spiny and hairy are the two subfamilies of which small

insect-eating mammal?

-Anteater?

-It's a hedgehog.

Jake Roche, the lead singer with the chart-topping pop group Rixton,

is the son of Coleen Nolan and which EastEnders actor?

-Can you repeat the question?

-Yep.

-Jake Roche, the lead singer with the chart-topping pop group Rixton...

-No, pass.

You don't know. Right.

What is the title of the 2002 film directed by Stephen Spielberg

in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays the serial fraudster Frank Abagnale Jr?

Catch Me If You Can.

In the Sikh religion, what is a gurdwara?

Erm...

-BEEP

-Pass.

-Well, I can tell you, we're out of time.

It's a temple, a place of worship.

There you go. The others.

Jake Roche is the son of Coleen Nolan and Shane Ritchie.

Jesus turned water into wine, apparently, at Cana, at the wedding.

South Africa is where they fought the First and Second Boer Wars.

The King And I was that musical.

-Taylor Swift had her first UK top 20 with Fearless in 2009.

-It was.

David Brent, you remember him now, don't you?

Thomas Beecham and Adrian Boult were conductors,

and Falmouth, Newquay and St Ives are in Cornwall.

-With those passes, Bryony, you have 11 points now.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And, Emma, finally, please.

And you start out with 10 points,

-Emma, let's talk a wee bit about your sitcom, The Kennedys...

-Yes.

-..which you wrote, and that was about your life.

-It was.

-In...

A council estate in Stevenage, yes.

-But it's now been bought by the Americans.

-It has, yes.

-20th Century Fox have bought it, yeah.

-Wow.

I mean, I say "wow" because you wouldn't have thought

the Americans would be turned on by council house life in Stevenage.

I know. It's weird.

I think it's because Brenda,

who's based on my mother,

she was all about aspiration

and about making your life better than it was.

And I suppose that has sort of resonated with Americans,

that it doesn't matter where you come from,

you can still sort of, you know...

-Aspirational.

-You can be aspirational.

-Yeah.

What's interesting is they can't believe

that I wrote it on my own,

because out there the system is they have masses and masses...

-Of course, they have great teams.

-..of writers.

-Yeah.

And there were literally jaws on the floor when I said...

Well, they said, "Who is your big writing team?"

I said, "Well, no-one, I did it." It's like, "What?"

Something like Friends, they have more writers than viewers, don't they?

-LAUGHTER

-Yes.

-And they've got millions of them.

-Yeah.

Right, you've got 10 points.

Let's see if you can become the Mastermind...

Well, Celebrity Mastermind champion. Here we go.

The actor and model Jamie Dornan plays Christian Grey

in the 2015 film version of which bestselling novel?

Oh.

-Shades Of Grey?

-Go on. A bit more.

-50 Shades Of Grey.

-Yeah, OK. I'll give you that.

What instrument is described as magic in the title of the Mozart opera

first performed in Vienna in 1791?

-Flute.

-Which singer, whose real name is Leslie Charles,

had his first chart success in 1976 with Love Really Hurts Without You,

which reached number two?

Pass.

Which BBC science-fiction series celebrated its 50th anniversary in November 2013?

It first appeared on British television screens the day after

President Kennedy was assassinated.

Doctor Who?

Primipara is a term used to describe a woman who

has done what for the first or only time?

-Had sex?

-Given birth.

Which evergreen plant, normally purple,

is considered lucky when it's white?

-Clover?

-Heather.

What general term is used for a play or a poem that deals with sorrowful

events encountered by or caused by a heroic individual?

-Tragedy.

-According to Plato, which legendary island was eventually swallowed up

by the sea after an earthquake?

Its people had conquered many of the Mediterranean lands before they were defeated

by the Athenians?

-Atlantis.

-The songs Wouldn't It Be Lovely and I Could've Danced All Night

are sung by new heroine of which Lerner and Loewe musical, first staged in 1956?

My Fair Lady.

Words that have come into English from Tibetan

include llama, Sherpa, yak and what term for the abominable snowman?

-Yeti.

-Which English fashion designer born in 1940 is known for her

extravagant fantasies and luxury dress creations

and founded London's Fashion and Textile Museum in 2003?

Oh.

Is it her with the red hair?

Em...

Oh, I've got one of her dresses! Pass.

What is the name of the body created in America in 1947

to gather information and conduct secret operations

to protect the country's national security?

-FBI.

-The CIA.

BEEP Copacabana, Botafogo and Ipanema

are all famous beaches in which South American city?

Bra... Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro. You got it right just in time.

-Let me put you out of your misery, it was Zandra Rhodes.

-Oh.

-Which you knew.

-Yes.

And Billy Ocean was that singer whose real name is Leslie Charles.

-But you've scored, Emma, 18 points.

-Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

So we have a winner. Let's have a look at the scores.

In fourth place, six points, Alan,

third place, 11 points, Bryony,

second place, 15 points, Nemone,

first place, 18 points, Emma.

APPLAUSE

Come up.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

And this is your second trophy because you are also...?

MasterChef.

I'm mostly just going after everything that's got master in it.

LAUGHTER Right. Be careful with that one.

-You never know where it might take you.

-I will.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Terrific performance.

Now, you don't have to be a celebrity to take part in

the regular Mastermind programme.

If you'd like to appear in the next series on BBC Two,

do visit us online at...

And you can follow us on Twitter at...

And do join us again next time for more masterminds.

Thanks for watching. Goodbye.