Episode 53 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.

-And answering all the questions at the moment, Eggs.

-Yeah.

-Mm-hm.

-Amazing run.

-I guess it's got to come to an end at some point.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today are the

Wraysbury Dragons.

Now, this team are triple world champions in the sport of

dragon boat racing,

after recently winning three gold medals in the over 50s

category at the 10th World Club Crew Championships in Australia.

Let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Clive and I'm a carpenter.

Hi, my name is Liz and I'm a doctor's surgery manager.

Hi, I'm Phil and I run my own training company.

Hi, my name's Fiona and I'm a small business owner.

Hi, I'm Neale and I'm also a small business owner.

-So, Clive and team, welcome. ALL:

-Hi, Jeremy.

Clive, tell us about dragon boats, what they are.

To the layman, they're a big long canoe. 40ft long.

Ten people paddling down each side, on one side.

Big drum on the front, someone's sitting on a seat,

-banging the drum, somebody's standing on the back, steering.

-And one of those heads at the front?

-Yeah, a big dragon's head on the front.

-I was thinking Viking, but it sounds more like Chinese.

-It is Chinese, yeah.

-OK. And where do you keep them when you're not racing them?

We belong to a club on Runnymede,

called Wraysbury Skiff & Punt and Dragon Boat Club and the

-boats are all kept underneath the clubhouse and we just pull them out onto the river.

-Brilliant!

So, when they come out and you race them or you just sail in them,

it's quite a sight, quite a noise as well, I should think.

Yeah, when we're racing, yeah, because you might have up to six boats racing each other.

Most of what we do of course is training several times a week.

You know, fitness training, circuits and then we go out in the boat twice a week, training as well.

And who bangs the drum? Is there a drummer on the crew?

-The smallest person!

-Yeah, a small person, yeah.

You could suddenly produce the drum now cos that would terrify them!

It really would. Good luck.

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.

Now, Wraysbury Dragons, I can tell you the Eggheads are really

storming it, they're steaming down the river.

They've won the last nine games.

So, there's £10,000 for you to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes!

-Yes!

-OK, let's set sail.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Film & TV.

-You can have Beth or Chris, Pat, Barry, or Lisa.

-Film & TV.

-Film & TV.

-Fiona, I think.

-That's me then. Or do you want to do that?

-Do you want to go first?

-Yeah, I'll go.

-OK.

-Who do you want to take on?

-Who are we going to challenge?

-We'll challenge Barry.

-Lovely, so, Fiona, small business owner.

-Shirts!

-Challenging Barry.

-It's going to be the battle of the tops.

You're right. We're going to have to tone them down. To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our legendary question room?

Film & TV, Fiona. Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

So, good luck.

Which actress' character died in series five of the TV drama

Cold Feet?

OK.

Um...

I think Fay Ripley and Hermione Norris are in the new one.

And Helen Baxendale isn't.

Although I haven't seen the new one, I think it's Helen Baxendale.

Helen Baxendale is the right answer. Well done.

OK, Barry. Your question.

Antonioni's 1966 film Blow-Up features the story of which

of these?

Well, I enjoyed this film very much.

I didn't quite understand what it was all about,

but I did enjoy it and I'm pretty certain it featured a photographer.

Photographer is right. Well done.

Fiona, your question.

Joan Crawford had a famous feud with which actress,

with whom she starred in the 1962 film Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

Oh, I've seen the film. It's absolutely brilliant.

I believe it's Bette Davis.

Bette Davis is right, well done. I think it's great too.

OK. So, you're ahead. Let's see if Barry comes back.

Here's your question, Barry.

Which British actor co-wrote the 2016 science fiction

blockbuster Star Trek Beyond?

Oh, goodness me!

This one passed me by.

But the only one of those three that I would associate with any

writing is Simon Pegg, so on that basis, I'll go for Simon Pegg.

Yes, you're right. Simon Pegg, it is.

Back to you, two-each.

Fiona, which role in TV's Poldark was taken on by Ralph Bates

in 1975 and by Jack Farthing in 2015?

I really don't know.

I haven't watched any of it.

Shame on me.

Um...

I'm going to go with Francis Poldark.

Yeah, I could see the attraction of that.

He must have been in it anyway.

But it's not the right answer. It's George Warleggan.

I wouldn't have chosen him.

OK, so that gives Barry a bit of an opening here. Let's see.

Barry, the actor Simon Baker, known for playing the lead role in

the TV series The Mentalist, was born in which country?

I've never watched The Mentalist, unfortunately,

so I'm all at sea at this one.

I'm going to have a punt at Australia.

If you've got this right, you're in the final round. Let's see.

-Eggheads, is he right?

-Perfectly.

-You are right, Barry. Well done.

-Sorry about that.

It was a punt, but it's got you through. Sorry, Fiona.

Almost a one in three, but maybe he had an inkling somewhere.

Barry will be in the final. Fiona's been knocked out.

Return to us, please, and we'll play the next round.

So, the Wraysbury Dragons have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are still sitting there, all five, and playing well at the moment, generally.

So, hurl yourselves at them. The next subject is History.

Who would like this? History.

-Shall I go for it?

-That's Clive's, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-That's me.

OK, Clive, a carpenter, against which Egghead, can't be Barry?

-Pat.

-Yeah, we think.

-Depends on the questions.

And the answers.

-Are you going for Pat?

-We'll go for Pat.

They're hard to avoid.

If you leave them out of the individual rounds,

they show up in the final, so good luck here, Clive,

from the Wraysbury Dragons,

playing History against Pat from the Eggheads.

Please go to our question room.

I was just looking at some statistics for Pat on

History, Clive, and you've

played 43, Pat, History rounds.

Oh. That's quite a lot.

-Do you know how many you've lost?

-Three? Two?

-One!

-One.

-Oh.

-Go on, Clive!

Well, I remember when Kevin was sailing along, Clive,

with absolutely unbeaten record and then he got taken down twice

in exactly this kind of circumstance, so fear not.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

OK. Here is your first History question, Clive.

In 1805, in which ocean did the Battle of Trafalgar take place?

Um...

Yeah, I've read about this and I don't think we did much in

the Pacific or the Arctic in those days.

I think it was the Atlantic.

Atlantic is right.

Pat, in which century did the monarch purchase the property

that is now known as Buckingham Palace?

Let's think about this.

I always link William IV with Buckingham Palace.

Was he the first monarch to live there on a permanent basis?

It's not the 20th, that's far too recent.

The 16th, that's the 1500s - I think that's far too early.

I think the 18th looks correct.

18th is right. Well done.

Good reasoning.

He's good, isn't he? He's very good. OK, Clive.

Which of these rulers was the father of Charlemagne,

the first Holy Roman Emperor?

Well...

This I really do not know anything about.

So I'm going to have to take a punt.

I'm going to go Alfonso.

I don't know if there is somebody called Alfonso the Slobberer.

It's not the right answer.

It is the best option though, for sheer entertainment value.

Pat, you'll know this. Was there an Alfonso the Slobberer?

I don't know.

It sounds like a Spanish king, but it's not very complimentary.

OK, the right answer is Pepin the Short.

Pat, your question.

Where did the Battle of Pinkie take place in 1547?

It's definitely not Ireland.

It took place on the island of Great Britain.

I think it's sometimes called Pinkie Cleugh.

And it's in either the north of England or across the border

in Scotland.

I should know this really.

I'll assume it was the English who travelled north to get busy

and that the exchange took place in Scotland.

Scotland is correct, Pat.

And brilliant reasoning, if I may say so.

OK, Clive.

Get this one right and you draw level.

In which part of modern Europe did the Wendish Crusade take

place in 1147?

OK.

Wendish.

Again, something I've not heard of before.

I'm going to say Southern France, with no real knowledge,

to be honest.

Understood. It's not easy. Any challengers?

-Take a stab at it?

-No, I'd have gone for Germany myself, but...

-Germany?

I'd say Russia, so we've got them all covered.

-Got them all covered.

-We've had Germany, Russia, France so far.

Pat, what about you?

I think the Wendish are a tribe in Northern Germany.

I think it was a dialect of German.

Northern Germany is the right answer, Clive. I'm sorry.

You become the 43rd out of 44 History wins for Pat.

Well done, you're through to the final.

You do look unstoppable on History, I must say.

Clive, no shame in being beaten by him in this round.

Come back to us and we'll see what happens in the next one.

As it stands, the Wraysbury Dragons have lost two brains from the

final round. The Eggheads have not lost any.

It's time to get the boats out. OK?

And the drums. The next subject is Geography.

Who would like this?

I'll do it. Shall I take one?

-I'll do Geography then.

-Phil's going to do that.

-Geography.

-Get the boat out.

Good stuff.

OK. Company director Phil from the Wraysbury Dragons and

you can take on Lisa or Chris or Beth.

-Down to you, Phil.

-Don't start now. I'm going to take on...

-Lisa?

-Lisa then. Lisa, can I take you on?

-Certainly.

And fair to say, we've had our moments on Geography, haven't we?

I think you've since bought a map and looked at it.

Phil from the Wraysbury Dragons versus Lisa,

who is giving me a smouldering stare, from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question room.

Lisa, since I made my remark about Geography, I looked up your

figures and they're very good.

The last 14 rounds, you've won 13.

Yeah, that's killed that then. Thank you, Jeremy.

The last 15 rounds, I will have won 13!

Well, you lost one of the last one, that's true.

But there was a moment when you struggled,

but that's back in the mists of time, I think.

I did for a long time have a very, very good run, yeah.

But as you mentioned, that's come to an abrupt end,

so slate is now clean.

Phil, on Geography, do you want to go first or second?

I'm going to shake it up a bit if I can, be different,

and I'll go second, please.

All right. So, Lisa, you start.

White, red, and which other colour feature on the flag of Slovakia?

One of the myriad that are white, red and blue.

Indeed. White, red and blue is the answer. OK, Phil.

The city of Kingston upon Hull takes its name from which

geographical feature?

This means nothing to me, I know it's on a river, but...obviously

Hull. Um...

I'm going to go for river.

I'm glad you did. We're not trying to catch you out here,

-it's the obvious answers, it's river.

-Oh, good.

-Thank you.

-The Hull is the river.

Lisa, your second question.

The word "great" in Great Britain was historically used to

distinguish the island comprising England, Scotland,

and Wales, from an area that is now part of which modern country?

Is it as simple as saying there's a link between Britain and Brittany?

Britain and Breton, Britannia.

Oh, I wonder.

Yeah, I think...

I can't really make much of an argument for Spain or Denmark,

from what I know.

Which, as we know on geography, is not a whole big load.

I'll try France.

France is right.

Now, again, I know this is basic for you Eggheads, but help me out here.

The idea being that Britain used to be what we live in now and

-bits of France? Is that correct?

-Utterly, yeah.

Right, Phil, see if you can just keep up with Lisa here.

What is the approximate population of the island of Barbados?

Barbados. Barbados.

Again, I've got no idea. It cannot be anywhere near 28 million.

Um...

2.8 million, that's sort of the size of a decent sort of city.

I've got no idea. I'm going to go for 280,000.

Yes, you've got it right. Well done. 280,000. Playing well.

Two-each.

Lisa, in which continent is the point on the Earth's surface

that is furthest from the centre of the planet?

Now, that is really going some, isn't it, as an idea?

I mean, I assume when they say the centre of the planet,

they mean if you were to lift out a wedge like a piece of pie and

measure from the core to the top, as opposed to doing on a map?

OK. So...

It's not as simple as saying, you know, highest mountain,

or anything like that, is it?

Unless it's an under sea one.

Um...

Which would be silly cos there's bits of land that would be

higher than that.

This is very hard.

Um...

OK, let's plump for South America.

-South America is the right answer.

-Blimey.

Barry, I can see this is almost your perfect question.

Can you explain why, how this can be true?

The Earth is technically called an oblate spheroid and all that means

is it bulges in the middle,

so it's fatter in the middle than it is at the poles.

So in South America, where the Andes come up,

Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, actually stretches out

further from the centre than any other point on the planet.

And the way you measure it is to measure the gravitational

constant, so gravity will be less at the top there than it would

be at any other point on Earth.

You're absolutely right, even the name of the mountain.

All I can say, Lisa, to sum up is that in answering this question,

Barry has got more excited than I've ever seen him.

I'll get the skinny in a minute.

You'll get the full explanation when you come back.

You might want to take a different route. Three to Lisa.

You need this, Phil.

What is the name of Mauritania's official unit of currency?

Mauritania.

I know...

I know typically we would, Egghead style, go right down the middle.

But I just don't like the look of that word.

I can't think any link to that to currency,

whereas the other two I probably can.

I am going to go for Birr.

-Birr is your answer.

-It is indeed.

Let us see, let us see. They're all real currencies, I think.

-The leone is Sierra Leone, is it?

-Mm-hm.

-The birr is where?

-Ethiopia.

-Ethiopia.

-So it's going to be the middle one.

Ouguiya, the middle one, is the Mauritania. Sorry, Phil.

You got it wrong on the third question.

You've been knocked out by Lisa. Well done!

-So I won't even do the statistic cos it'll just annoy you too much.

-Thank you.

But you're still on track with Geography, Lisa. Playing well. Come back to us, please,

and we'll play the last round before the final.

Right, the Wraysbury Dragons have lost three brains from the

final round. You've got another round to play.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

And the next subject for you is Food & Drink.

Who would like this?

Do you want me to do it? I think it's got to be me.

-OK, Liz. Our doctor's surgery manager.

-Who shall we play?

You can have either Chris or Beth.

-Is he a Food & Drink man? Get rid of him?

-I think Chris.

-Yeah.

Can I have Chris, please?

Right, Liz, from the Wraysbury Dragons,

going in against Chris on Food & Drink.

-Ready, Chris?

-As I'll ever be.

Let's get into the breach, go to the question room,

for the last time, please.

OK, so, Food & Drink, Liz, and would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck against Chris. Here we go.

See if you can get into the final, Liz.

Which of these is often used to deglaze a pan?

Well, cheese is going to make it even worse.

And probably eggs would too.

So I'm going to go down the middle with wine, please.

Wine is correct.

Is that how you do it, Chris?

Can't think I've ever deglazed a pan in my life.

I know what the process involves though.

Like Kevin, just buy a new one when it's dirty.

Yeah. Cheap enough.

Here's your question.

In Indian cookery, which term refers to a type of meatball?

Meatball is a kofta.

Kofta's right.

Liz, back to you.

The dish from Alsace called baeckeoffe traditionally

contains which of these ingredients?

Never heard of this at all.

I was hoping you were going to say...

Eggs was going to come up because eoffe sounded

a bit like the French for eggs.

Um...

I'm going to go down the middle, I'm afraid, with peas.

See if Chris knows this, baeckeoffe?

I don't think it would be based on peas.

It wouldn't be very substantial.

I think it's more likely to be potatoes.

Potatoes is the right answer. Liz, sorry.

OK, Chris, Pommerol is a classic wine from which part of France?

Not much wine comes from Normandy.

Pommerol.

That's pretty far south if I remember right, so it's Provence.

No, it's Bordeaux.

Aha.

-That's good, Liz, isn't it?

-Yep.

We don't want to rejoice too much, but to be frank, it's good.

So, get this right, put our Chris, known as the Locomotive,

under some pressure.

Which of these cocktails is a mixture of cognac and white

creme de menthe?

The only one of those I've actually heard of is a Sidecar.

And I think that's got brandy in it.

I'm going to go with Stinger.

Let's see if the challengers...

Let me ask your teammates here cos cocktails are a big quizzy thing.

What do you think?

-I'd have gone for Stinger.

-Yeah? You like it? They like it.

Stinger's right. Well done.

-Ooh!

-So, will two out of three be enough?

Let's see. Chris' third question now.

Which chef was the first to have restaurants in three

different cities, all with three Michelin stars at the same time?

Not likely to be Gordon Ramsay, is it?

Never heard of Rene Redzepi, so I'll take a punt on Alain Ducasse.

-It is Alain Ducasse, Chris.

-Doh!

You got it right! So, equal after three.

There we are, Liz.

They're good quizzers and good guessers sometimes as well.

We go to sudden death. Gets a bit harder now.

-I don't give you alternative answers. OK?

-OK.

-Are you ready?

-Mm-hm.

-The term "caprese" denotes Italian dishes from which island?

C-A-P-R-E-S-E.

Sounds like it ought to be Capri.

Capri is the right answer.

Well done. You have the advantage. Sudden death. Chris, back to you.

The name of which type of fortified wine comes from that of the

Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera?

-That is sherry, Jeremy.

-Sherry is correct.

Playing well on sudden death.

OK. Liz, over to you.

Emmer, E-M-M-E-R, also known as Farro, F-A-R-R-O,

is an ancient variety of which modern food crop?

I'm going to try potato.

No, it's wheat.

Sudden death. Chris, for the round.

The Reinheitsgebot is a long-standing piece of German

legislation that protects the method of manufacturing which beverage?

So it's Reinheitsgebot, all one word. I can spell that if you want.

No, no. I know the Reinheitsgebot.

It lays down the law on how to make beer.

Yes, there are several.

The Bavarian law introduced in 1516 is the most famous.

Had its 500th anniversary in 2016.

The Reinheitsgebot protects the method of manufacturing beer.

You got there, Chris, on sudden death. Touch and go.

Liz, well done for playing that hard but I'm afraid you've been

knocked out as well.

Come back to us. We will play the final round.

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 are not

allowed to take part, so that's Clive, Liz, Phil,

and Fiona from the Wraysbury Dragons.

Would you please now leave the studio?

So, Neale, here we are. Not maybe as you planned it, but you can still win,

no question about that. We've got a great jackpot for you as well.

£10,000 for the Wraysbury Dragons if you triumph.

Lisa, Barry, Pat, Chris, and Beth, you are playing for something

that money can't put a price on, which is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time they are all General Knowledge. You're allowed to confer.

So, Neale, the question is, can your one brain defeat these five?

-I'll give it a go.

-Brilliant.

Great attitude. Would you like to go first or second?

First, please.

And here we are with your first question, Neale. All the best.

Which actor starred as Matt King in the 2011 film The Descendents?

I was dreading film or TV coming up because I don't watch hardly

any of it.

The Descendents. I'm trying to think what that would be descendents of.

Give me some sort of clue.

With no conviction at all, I'm going to say Mark Wahlberg.

It's not Mark Wahlberg. Funnily enough, I saw this.

You know how sometimes you go to the cinema on your own,

you really pay close attention?

And it starts with a lady in a racing boat, doesn't it?

And she crashes and it's all to do with the people left behind

and it's George Clooney.

OK. Your question, Eggheads.

Sidney Luft was the third husband of which American singer and actress?

-Judy Garland.

-It's Judy Garland.

Lorna Luft is Judy Garland's daughter. That's right.

Daughter, yeah.

We're pretty convinced that is Judy Garland.

Beth, you're absolutely right. Judy Garland, it is. So, they're ahead.

-Neale, get this one right and draw level.

-I'll try.

Who immediately preceded Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer?

-Who immediately preceded?

-Who immediately preceded Gordon Brown?

It wasn't Lawson.

He was earlier than that.

Clarke?

I think it was Norman Lamont.

Well, Norman Lamont was definitely Chancellor, under John Major.

My memory is he was given the heave ho after Black Wednesday.

And it was then Kenneth Clarke.

So it was Clarke until '97, when Labour took over.

Kenneth Clarke is the answer.

Eggheads, it's in your hands now, if you get this right.

You've taken the contest.

What is the state capital of Alabama?

-Montgomery.

-Montgomery.

-Montgomery.

A collective Montgomery.

I heard that!

From my right.

What is the expression for a collection of Montgomerys?

I don't know.

You do love your state capitals. I know it's something you enjoy.

Are they right?

If you've got it right, the contest is over.

Montgomery is the answer. We say congratulations, Eggheads.

You have won.

Sorry, Neale. Commiserations. Didn't fall for you.

I was studying state capitals last night, as it happens.

Well, also, the Clooney question's really hard to guess,

-I think, if you haven't seen the film.

-I'm rubbish with films.

Yeah, you just don't go to the cinema much.

Well, commiserations to you and the Dragons.

It's been great hearing about the boats and meeting you all.

-And I hope you've enjoyed it.

-Yeah, it's been great. Been great.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them. This winning streak continues.

Always impressive when we've got five of you sitting there.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £10,000.

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.

£11,000 is the jackpot now. Very exciting.

Till we play again, goodbye.