Episode 77 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz Challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

-They are the Eggheads. Polite or ferocious today?

-Both.

-Both?

-It depends how you treat us.

-Right. Well, we'll see.

Challenging our resident quiz champions

today are The Goats from Sunderland.

Now, this team of friends all work in sales

for a mobile phone network.

The team name relates to their quizzing know-how,

an abbreviation of Greatest Of All Time.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Roy, and I'm a sales coach.

Hi, I'm Helen, and I'm also a sales coach.

Hi, I'm Sarah, and I'm a team leader.

Hi, I'm Kat, and I'm a sales coach.

Hi, I'm Lynsey, and I'm a campaign manager.

So, Roy and team, welcome. Great to see you. Are you happy to be here?

-We certainly are.

-Good.

And as soon as you said Greatest Of All Time,

I could see them bristling.

Just a heads up on that.

So, the idea, I know,

that term is used quite frequently in sport, Valentino Rossi,

Phil Taylor, Muhammad Ali, so, if I'm honest, it's just a bit of fun.

Just say it's seriously true. You can do it.

I don't want to frighten anyone off.

So tell us about the way you all work together in the phone company.

Yeah, so we all work in sales

within the same mobile phone network.

So, it's retention-based, customers who are potentially looking

to leave the business, find out why, and potentially retain that.

So if I ring up and I say like I'm going to cancel,

do you just give me everything free from then on?

There's a little bit more to it than that. But, yeah, in theory.

So, listen, good luck, winning today. I hope you've got

your quizzing hats on. Excellent.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Goats, the Eggheads have won the last six games.

They're just on a streak now, it's official.

And that means there is £7,000 to win.

Would you like to try?

We certainly would.

Great. So, the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of History.

-Who wants History?

-Me.

-Sarah.

OK, team leader, I know, at the phone company.

Against which Egghead, Sarah?

-Dave.

-(I was going to say Dave.)

-Tremendous Knowledge. OK.

-I'm sensing you've got a plan, here.

-Uh-huh.

It's sounding good so far.

Sarah from The Goats versus Tremendous Knowledge Dave

from the Eggheads.

And just to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our famous Question Room?

You were hoping for History, Sarah.

And I know you like to read about it. Favourite book?

-The White Queen by Philippa Gregory.

-And tell us what that's about.

It's about the War of the Roses.

And it's about when Richard of York actually

lost at the Battle of Bosworth.

And did you like history at school

or did you kind of discover it afterwards?

-A bit of both.

-Really? How wonderful.

Because not enough people take an interest,

and I always regret not having done it properly at school.

-I was really interested at school.

-That's brilliant.

And what period now are you most interested in?

Still in the late Anglo-Saxons, the Norman times

and also the Second World War.

OK, brilliant. Well, that would come in handy in this round,

-Dave, for sure.

-Definitely.

-Well, good luck, Sarah.

-Thank you.

-All the best to you, and would you like to go first or second?

-First.

Here we go. Sarah, your question.

What was the Roman name for the city of Bath?

Aquae Sulis.

Aquae Sulis is quite right. Well done. Straight there.

OK.

Dave, the famous line, "Let not poor Nelly starve"

was said about which historical female?

I believe that's Nell Gwyn.

Yes, you're right. And tell us about her.

She was Charles II's mistress

and she was good for me because she

helped me along my way to winning a

couple of pounds on another quiz show.

-Would that be the Millionaire show?

-Yes, yes.

-What was your win there?

-I finished two stages below Judith.

-So you got a quarter of a million?

-Yes, I did.

-Well, Judith, how funny,

because you won a million on an answer

-which is up there as well.

-Yes.

It's always coming up.

-Your patron saint.

-My patron saint.

-Eleanor of Aquitaine.

-Yeah.

OK, sorry, Sarah, we were reliving

Judith's Millionaire moment.

Here's your question. In British history,

which royal house immediately followed Queen Anne?

Plantagenet.

No, you've gone astray there, I'm afraid.

Let's just get a bit of background from the Eggheads on this.

-Queen Anne?

-She was the last Stewart.

-The last Stewart.

-No children.

-1714, so that was when they imported George I.

He was the first of the Hanoverians.

Right, it was George I who followed her

and he was the first Hanoverian, Sarah, so that's the correct answer.

Dave...

Stephen of Blois

crowned himself King of England in 1135, upon the death of whom?

Blois is B-L-O-I-S.

That was 1066 with Richard... William I so 1135.

Richard I was 1199 to 1215.

Yeah, I've got to go Henry I, please.

Is correct. Henry I.

So, Sarah, you need to get this one

right to stay in.

Which of these historical figures died first? Sarah, was it...

Clyde Barrow.

Give me your reasoning on that.

Al Capone was in the 1900s, Wyatt Earp was in the 1800s

and Clyde Barrow was in the early 1800s, I believe.

Well, I'm not sure who Clyde Barrow was. Do you know?

-He was something to do with being a gunfighter.

-Right. Anyone know here?

-Bonnie and Clyde?

-I think he was half of Bonnie and Clyde.

-Oh, he's half of Bonnie and Clyde?

-Yeah.

-I wish you'd got this right.

Wyatt Earp, it was.

Let's just ask Kevin for some dates, Sarah.

Well, Wyatt Earp, although he was obviously a Wild West figure,

was actually very long-lived.

And, so, although he was born back in 1848, he didn't die until 1929.

Right, and Clyde Barrow...

Five years later, he was killed, he and Bonnie were killed.

And Al Capone died in 1947.

Wyatt Earp died in 1929, and the others died after.

OK. Sorry, Sarah.

-It's all right.

-No way back. Dave is in the final.

Please return to us, and we'll play on.

As it stands, The Goats have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far, but we are early days,

and we play on now with Arts & Books.

Who would like this?

I can rule myself out straight away

-because I don't read...

-Yeah.

-..much.

You're probably the biggest reader out of the lot of us,

-but I don't know if you want to...

-I can take it.

I don't mind going for it. Just who against? Who should I go against?

-Kat? OK.

-Kat is going to...

-Kat. Don't worry, Kat.

I've got you back. Against who?

-We obviously can't have Dave.

-Chris?

-Chris or Kevin?

-Chris?

Chris, please.

-We'll go with Chris.

-OK.

So Kat from The Goats is going to take on...

And I'm sensing a bit of, a bit of worry here, is there?

-It's not our strongest subject.

-It's not your subject. OK. Don't worry.

Chris has his... You've got your weak spots, haven't you, Chris?

-Oh, yeah.

-So, you know, if we hit one of Chris's weak spots,

he can go down like a pack of cards.

Please go to the Question Room now.

Tell us what you do, Kat, in the office.

So, I'm responsible for increasing a particular area within the business.

OK. And outside work, what do you like to do?

I tend to find an activity that'll get my heart going.

-I mean, I flew a plane, did a bungee jump...

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-Appeared on Eggheads.

-Appeared on Eggheads, yeah.

OK, and how does this compare to a bungee jump?

-It's about on par.

-Yeah.

Have you ever done a bungee jump, Chris?

I don't think there's a bungee rope strong enough to stop me

in a downward trajectory, so I wouldn't risk it.

HE LAUGHS OK, Arts & Books, Kat.

We know it's not the one you would have chosen, so don't worry.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

Here we go. Good luck.

Finnegans Wake is a novel by which author?

I don't believe it was Mark Twain.

I'm more pulling towards Thomas Hardy.

I think I'll go for Thomas Hardy.

OK. Definitely a novelist.

This is not his book, actually. It's James Joyce.

So, sorry, you got that wrong.

Chris, over to you.

In which year was the artist Grayson Perry born?

Ah, Grayson Perry.

Now, he's not that old, and he's not that young either,

so it must be 1960.

It is 1960, well done.

OK, Kat, here we go.

In the John Everett Millais painting Ophelia,

how is Ophelia portrayed?

Is she...

Um, if I'm honest, I've never heard of the painting.

So it will be a complete guess.

I'll go with lying on a chaise longue.

Let's go to the Eggheads on this. Eggheads, any ideas?

-She's...

-Lying in water.

..lying in water.

OK, because Ophelia is, remind us.

She's one of the two female

leads in Hamlet.

But she actually drowns herself.

-And so the picture shows her floating in the water.

-Right.

-Surrounded by flowers.

-With lots of flowers, yeah,

she'd been picking flowers.

Basically, Kat, lying in water is the answer.

So, Chris, if you get this one right,

you're in the final round.

Reverend Parris, Abigail Williams, and the slave girl Tituba

are characters in which Arthur Miller play?

Is this...

Well, if there's a slave girl in it, it's got to be pre-1863.

All My Sons is sort of corrupt Second World War contracting stuff,

Death Of A Salesman is a human drama,

so the play in question has got to be The Crucible.

-Yeah, took place before those two, you're quite right, Chris.

-1692.

-Salem witch trials.

-Is that when it was, 1692, was it?

Brilliant play as well. The Crucible's right. Kat, sorry.

Chris beat you there. Not to worry. Come back and we'll play on.

Well, right at the moment the Eggheads are flowing freely.

So they've got to be stopped.

We'd sort of had in mind subjects that we'd assigned ourselves

to, so, they haven't really... It hasn't went to plan as yet.

That does happen a lot, but, honestly,

we had a win from a very difficult position for the Challengers

where there was only one player left and, honestly,

they seemed to be out of it and they won.

In fact, they won 7,000, I think.

So, do not fear, it is never over until the very last moment.

So, The Goats have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far,

but things can change, and the next subject for you is Sport.

-Who would like this?

-I've put myself

-forward for this.

-Right. OK.

Against which Egghead, Roy?

Prior to the last couple of days, doing a bit of research,

I would have actually picked Lisa.

However, Lisa does know her stuff, more than I realised,

so I think I'm going to go for Judith. But that could cost me.

Sorry, Judith, I tried. Apparently, I know stuff.

Well, Judith wins one more, she's on 600 wins,

head-to-heads on Eggheads.

-So let's see if this is the one.

-Not just in Sport!

That's not just in Sport, no. SHE LAUGHS

Naughty man, whoever said that.

So, Roy from The Goats versus Judith from the Eggheads.

And just to ensure there's no conferring,

please go to the Question Room.

-So, is Sport your thing, Roy?

-It is.

I follow quite a few sports but, of course,

it would just be my luck that the

one that I don't follow comes up today.

So, it's just one of them. We'll see what happens.

Well, that happens to you quite a bit, Judith.

The few sports that you don't follow come up.

-Yeah, they always seem to come up.

-Yeah, it's just bad luck.

-So, Roy, would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

And here is your first question, good luck.

The former Liverpool footballer Bruce Grobbelaar

usually played in which position?

Well, lucky for me, actually, I remember this far back.

So, Bruce Grobbelaar was a goalkeeper for Liverpool.

He was indeed a goalkeeper.

All right, your question, Judith.

Heading towards our 600th win.

Michael Chang was a famous name in which sport in the 1990s?

-Michael Chang?

-Michael Chang.

I think he was a tennis player.

-He was tennis, well done.

-Yeah.

Roy, which of these basketball players announced he would be

retiring at the end of the 2015/16 season?

I don't really follow basketball

although all three names are familiar.

Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O'Neal have been around for quite some time

so that would make sense,

although I think Dennis Rodman's already retired.

Possibly the same with Shaquille O'Neill.

Although this is probably going to cost me,

I'm going to go with Kobe Bryant.

Good play, it is Kobe Bryant. Roy, very good.

Not an easy question. Judith,

which major did the golfer Greg Norman win twice?

I don't know. Um...

I think he might have won the US PGA.

-Dave knows. Dave?

-Won The Open in '86 and '93, I believe.

-The Open.

-'86 and '93.

-Hm.

So, a chance, Roy, to book your place in the final

if you get this one right.

The American athlete Jim Hines won an Olympic gold medal

in which of these events in 1968?

I do enjoy watching the athletics.

If I'm honest, I tend to look out for the shorter sprints,

the 100, 200, relay, that kind of thing.

I think the name would stand out more if it had been 100.

I'm going to go 400 metres, as a guess, a genuine guess.

-Yeah, it's 100.

-Huh!

So, ignore everything I've just said.

Yeah, no, it's that far ago, maybe we have sort of forgotten him.

Anyone tell us anything about Jim Hines,

why we should remember him?

We were just discussing whether he

was the first one to go under ten seconds.

It could have been his predecessor who was Olympic champion,

Bob Hayes, but I've got a funny feeling Jim Hines was

the first to go under ten seconds.

Yes, he was.

So, Roy, he was the first to be under ten seconds.

Well, I won't forget that one.

Now, Judith,

a chance to get back into it.

David Pocock, one of the stars of the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup,

represents which country?

I think he, I'm not sure,

I think it's Australia.

You've got it right. Well done. Two points each after three questions.

We go to Sudden Death.

Roy, it gets a bit harder, I don't give you alternatives. OK?

How many different table tennis competitions

were staged at the 2012 Summer Olympics?

So, I wonder if that means variations of the event

or categories... Um.

To guess, I'm going to say six.

It's four, it's men's singles,

women's singles, men's team, women's team.

So, Judith, if you get this answer right,

you will have won 600 head-to-heads.

And you will have won it on Sport.

Which Australian swimmer, born in 1982, is known as The Thorpedo?

Well, his surname is Thorpe.

And, I mean, I simply can't remember his Christian name. Um...

-Ian, Ian? Ian Thorpe.

-Ian Thorpe is your answer.

-Yes.

You've just won 600 head-to-heads, Judith. And you've done it on Sport!

-Oh!

-That was a hurdle.

There we go, battling on through.

Sorry, Roy. Forgive us, we have our little celebration,

because to do it on Sport as well, Judith, really well done.

It's rather ironic that it's on Sport, isn't it?

Well, more than ironic, it's positively fabulous.

What a tribute to you, to be on the show for this long, doing so well,

on all subjects. Thank you, both. Roy and Judith,

please come back and rejoin your teams.

So now The Goats have lost three brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost any.

We've just had an absolutely brilliant moment for Judith.

The next subject is Film & TV.

Last subject before the final, who would like this?

-Do you want to take it or shall I?

-I'll take it.

-You.

-Me?

-Uh-huh.

-I'll take it.

-OK.

All right. Well, you'll be in the final, Lynsey.

Helen, we'll see if you will. Who would you like to take on?

-Kevin or Lisa?

-Kevin?

-Yeah, yeah.

-I'll go for Kevin.

OK, so Helen from The Goats versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

You're resigned to this or happy?

Yeah, it goes how it goes, doesn't it?

It goes how it goes, exactly.

So please, for the last time, go to the Question Room.

-Helen, I gather you like holidaying in Ibiza?

-I do, yeah.

-I've been seven times.

-Oh, really? What is it you like about it?

During the day it's quite relaxed and just everybody's dead happy.

I do like going clubbing so I'm quite a fan

of club music and stuff,

-so I do enjoy going clubbing as well.

-So you have some long nights?

Definitely longer nights than days, definitely.

And have you been to Ibiza, Kevin?

I haven't, I haven't been to any of the Balearics, as it happens.

Yeah. Would you like to take part in the club scene there?

-Not really my sort of thing, I have to say.

-I'm probably the same.

-I like an early night. It's terrible, isn't it?

-Yeah.

I mean, the islands themselves are supposed to be very lovely.

Obviously, there are plenty of historic things to go

-and see as well, so that would be more my kind of thing.

-All right.

And how are you on Film & TV, Helen?

Hit and miss, to be honest with you.

We probably would have used Kat,

had there been that option still there,

-but I'll give it a go.

-All right. Well, give it a go.

And good luck getting into the final.

Would you like to go first or second, Helen?

I'll go first, please.

Helen, your first question. Which of these people was a contestant on

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here in 2015?

I didn't watch it.

I'm probably one of the only people that didn't watch it,

but I didn't watch it.

I think I can rule out Duncan Bannatyne,

I don't think he was on it.

Um...

I'm going to go for...I'm going to go down the middle

and go Deborah Meaden.

Now, she was on Strictly. Was she on I'm A Celebrity?

-Eggheads?

-No.

-No!

It was Duncan Bannatyne.

So, Kevin, back to you.

Liza Minnelli won a Best Actress Oscar for her

role in which film?

She played Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

Cabaret is correct.

All right, your second question.

What was the name of the character

played by Beyonce Knowles in Austin Powers In Goldmember?

Is it...

Again, it's not something I've seen.

Just knowing what the films are like, I'm going to go,

again, down the middle with Holly Goodhead.

No, it's Foxxy Cleopatra.

So, Kevin, your chance to take the round if you get this right.

What name was shared by the Blue Peter presenters

with the surnames Purves and Duncan?

That is Peter - Peter Purves, Peter Duncan.

Peter is right. You are in the final, Kevin. Sorry, Helen.

Come back to us, and we'll see what happens in that final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round which, as always,

is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

So, Roy, Helen, Sarah and Kat from The Goats,

I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave the studio.

All right, so we are left with Lynsey here from The Goats.

You were sitting very quietly on the end but I gather, now,

-you're the boss.

-Yes.

And they were joking, just as they filed out,

that you were going to discipline them now.

Yes, I definitely will now. They've left me in this position.

All right, you're the Goat. You think you're the Gerbils.

Well, as I didn't have a head-to-head to play,

I had all the show to come up with the perfect animal.

So, Gerbils, yes. Greatest Ever Really, Barring Intermittent Lapses.

-And what we are hoping for now is an intermittent lapse.

-Yes, definitely.

And, honestly, believe me,

they can have a power cut, suddenly it's game on.

So you are playing to win The Goats £7,000.

Chris, Judith, Kevin, Dave and Lisa, you're playing for something

which money cannot buy, the Eggheads' reputation

and to continue the streak and maybe even turn it into a roll.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

-You can confer, but, I'm sorry, that doesn't help you.

-No.

Lynsey, the question is, can you with your one brain defeat

the Eggheads' five, rescue it for the team and become the office hero?

-I'll certainly try.

-Brilliant.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

OK, so General Knowledge and, Lynsey, your first question.

According to the English proverb,

which month is often said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb?

Is this...

I will try March because of it being more towards spring

and lambing season, but that's the only sort of thing that

I can think that might put it as March.

You're right. March, it is. Great start.

Eggheads, the town of Cherbourg is on which body of water?

-Channel?

-Definitely the Channel?

-Channel.

-Channel.

-It's a Channel port, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Yes, everybody? Lovely.

That's the English Channel.

It is the English Channel. Well done.

Second question for you, now, Lynsey.

Which of these is an essential ingredient of zabaglione? Is it...

And zabaglione is Z-A-B-A-G-L-I-O-N-E. Zabaglione.

Don't know. Um...

I'm going to try egg yolks.

-Yeah, Eggheads, appropriately.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah, yeah, you got it right.

-Thank you.

-Do you know what it is or have you seen it before?

I do recognise the name, but I don't think I've had it before.

I've got some kind of meringuey thing. Is that right?

-It's sort of whipped up.

-It's more like a syllabub, isn't it?

-A sort of luxury version of custard.

-Marsala or something.

-Marsala wine is put in.

-Yeah, OK.

Well done, two out of two.

Eggheads, Ian Ziering played Steve Sanders

in which TV teen drama series?

It's Beverly Hills 90210. He might pronounce his name "Ion" now.

-Does he?

-I think he does.

-I didn't catch the name.

-Instead of what?

-Ian. He might do.

-Well, he's the star of the Sharknado

series as well, at which point I'd start pronouncing my name,

-"No, no, I'm not that guy you're thinking of."

-He might do.

-But it's definitely Beverly Hills 90210.

-It is, yeah.

-90210, da-da-da-da, da,da... All that, yeah. Yeah.

-Yeah.

Where were we, yes?

Ian Ziering, Steve Sanders, that was Beverly Hills 90210.

Beverly Hills 90210 is correct.

Ha, I thought we might

-throw them off with that one.

-Yeah.

Thought that could be the one, but they watch their TVs.

Here is your question.

See if you can get this one right, and then who knows?

Donny and Marie Osmond were born in which US state?

Again, I'm not sure.

Um...

I really don't know.

I'm going to go down the middle and do Illinois.

OK.

Illinois is your answer. Any clues that can help us here?

They're Mormons, so it would be Utah.

Utah is the sort of central area. Salt Lake City and all that,

where the Mormon church is based, is that right, Eggs?

That's a sort of way of getting to Utah.

So Utah is the right answer there. But you got two out of three.

Let's see. The Eggheads

get this wrong, we go to Sudden Death.

If they get it right, the contest is over.

£7,000, we are playing for.

In Greek mythology, who was the mother of the twins,

Apollo and Artemis?

Is it...

Thetis was the mother of Achilles. And it's not Andromeda.

It is about the, well, in that sense,

the only thing that Leto is known for, I think.

Andromeda is the original babe chained to a rock, isn't she?

-Yes, yes.

-Yeah.

-So it's Leto.

-Leto?

-Leto.

-Okey doke.

After consultation with my learned colleagues, that's Leto.

And all the Gerbils are agreed?

Yeah. Little furry tails up on this one.

What was Gerbil standing for again?

Greatest Ever Really, Barring Intermittent Lapses.

Have you had a lapse here?

The answer, Eggheads, is Leto. No lapse.

We say, congratulations, you have won.

Well, you played well there, Lynsey.

Just that wretched Osmond question.

I know, I wasn't sure whether it was Utah or Illinois.

-I was sort of...

-Yeah.

-But it's one of those things.

-One of those things.

And thank you so much for bringing your team up here.

Commiserations to The Goats.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

This winning streak continues.

Gets more impressive by the day, doesn't it?

It does mean you won't to be going home with the £7,000,

so we roll the money over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations, who will beat you?

Join us next time to see

if a new team of Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£8,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.