Episode 31 Mastermind

First in the spotlight for tonight's Mastermind Grand Final is...

Lynn Edwards, a student from Bangor.

Her subject, the films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Frances Slack, a university lecturer from Manchester.

She'll be answering questions on the city of Leningrad.

Isabelle Heward, a voluntary worker from Lincolnshire,

takes as her subject the great film director Billy Wilder.

Mohan Mudigonda is a GP practice manager from Wolverhampton.

He'll be answering questions on the sitcom Seinfeld.

Steven Marc Rhodes, a barrister from London,

on the pioneering architect Inigo Jones.

And our last Grand Finalist, John Cockerill, from Middlesbrough,

on the short films of Laurel and Hardy.

Those are our six contenders. This is the Mastermind Grand Final.

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

Our six contenders have fought their way

through the heats and the semifinals to get where they are tonight.

They can almost feel that trophy in their hands,

the trophy that says "Mastermind".

All that stands in their way -

two minutes of questions on their specialist subject,

and two and half minutes on general knowledge.

And, of course, the other five contenders.

Only one of the six will walk away with the title -

the right to say, "I am the Mastermind champion."

So let's get on with it and ask our first finalist to join us, please.

How does one describe drama?

Drama is life...

with the dull bits cut out.

I've been interested in the films of Hitchcock for the last 20 or 30 years.

And then I gradually got hooked on them all,

and realised what a wonderful technician he was,

a wonderful storyteller,

and how he grasps you from the very beginning to the end.

Hitchcock made over 50 films in six decades.

I would say that he's the most iconic film-maker of his generation.

Today I'm here in the British Film Institute in Hertfordshire,

where I can delve into the archives of Hitchcock

and learn more about the "Master of Suspense".

When Hitchcock was off in Italy and in Germany

making his first film The Pleasure Garden...

-Right.

-..he wrote this letter back to his friend Adrian.

And he talks here about the two stars that he's working with,

he says, "Quite a handful as a matter of fact."

But the thing I really like about this letter

is he says here to Adrian, "Have you seen any good films?"

So even though he's away in Germany, busy working,

he wants to know

if there have been any good films coming out.

And then he signs off, "Yours sincerely, Hitch."

I feel amazed to have got through to the final of Mastermind -

I felt amazed to get through to the semifinal of Mastermind.

I am completely amazed altogether.

I feel a bit like an amateur,

in a professional world.

Hitchcock returned to Britain in 1972

to make his third film set in the UK.

Frenzy is a story of a serial killer who murders women with his tie.

Parts of the film were shot right here in Covent Garden,

and inside this building is the site of one of those murders.

It made me feel quite goose-pimply coming up the stairs to here...

..because this is the door that Rusk turns to Anna Massey and says...

But you're my type of woman.

And you know that's the end of her.

I'm standing right where Hitchcock pulled off one of his most

iconic shots. The stairs are in a set.

Comes to here, where it's edited by

a cut of a Covent Garden porter

walking past, like that, and then

he cuts to the outside facade.

In order to revise, I'm working my way through all the films,

I'm making notes as I go through,

I'm reading textbooks,

and filmographies of Hitchcock.

And the more films I see,

the more complicated it all gets

and what an enormous subject I've chosen.

If I won, I'd be very pleased!

And somewhat surprised.

The Films of Alfred Hitchcock in two minutes, starting now.

Hitchcock directed three films

based on works by Daphne Du Maurier.

Rebecca and The Birds are two -

what's the title of the first, filmed in 1939?

-Jamaica Inn.

-What is the name of the English governess,

in reality a Government agent,

who is the title character of The Lady Vanishes?

She's played by Dame May Whitty.

-Miss Froy.

-In Psycho, Marion Crane gives a false name

at the Bates Motel where she intends to stay overnight,

when she's on the run with the 40,000 she has stolen.

What name does she give?

Lila Crane.

Marie Samuels. Which actress, who played Pamela in The 39 Steps,

went on to play Elsa Carrington

in Hitchcock's 1936 film Secret Agent?

-Madeleine Carroll.

-In Vertigo, Scottie sees Judy Barton

in the street in San Francisco,

and is struck by her likeness to the dead Madeleine Elster.

What hotel does he follow her to?

Victoria.

The Empire Hotel. In Rear Window,

what nickname does James Stewart's character Jeff

give to the neighbour

he observes eating with an imaginary guest

at a dinner table set for two?

-Miss Lonelyhearts.

-Which Russian-American composer

wrote and conducted the score

for Hitchcock's '54 film Dial M For Murder?

Bernard Herrmann.

Tiomkin.

Which Sean O'Casey play did Hitchcock film in 1929,

with Sara Allgood and Edward Chapman in the title roles?

-Juno And The Paycock.

-What was the American title

of Hitchcock's 1937 film Young And Innocent?

-The Girl Was Young.

-Which song, from Hitchcock's 1956 remake

of The Man Who Knew Too Much,

sung in the film by Doris Day,

won the Oscar for Best Original Song?

Que Sera, Sera.

Whatever Will Be, Will Be, yes.

In The Birds, Hitchcock makes his trademark cameo appearance

when he emerges from what shop?

Pet shop.

Which writer received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay

for Hitchcock's '46 film Notorious?

Jo Swerling.

Ben Hecht. In Marnie, who plays the businessman Mark Rutland,

who's determined to give Marnie Edgar another chance

after he catches her stealing money from his firm?

Sean Connery.

In The 39 Steps, Mr Memory is shot and killed on stage

at the London Palladium during a performance of what show?

Fu Manchu.

Crazy Month. BEEP

And your time is up, you have no passes -

Lynn, you have scored 9 points.

And our next contender, please.

Between the years of 1924 and 1991,

St Petersburg, Russia's second largest city,

was known as Leningrad.

And these iconic 67 years

are my topic for the Mastermind final.

Leningrad is as well known for its culture

as it is for its strength in difficult times.

Built for the 200th anniversary of the city, in 1912,

the Hotel Astoria has always played an important role in Leningrad.

I first came here as a 16-year-old girl on a school trip in 1971.

This is not how I remember it.

But it's amazing to be here again.

It's so much brighter.

All these people who've stayed here.

Elizabeth Taylor, Tina Turner...

-and Rasputin.

-SHE CHUCKLES

When we arrived as 16-year-olds and were amazed by this building,

I'm kind of getting that emotional...

erm, remembrance again of feeling like that.

And to be right here in the centre of the city is amazing.

In 1941, the German army

reached the outskirts of Leningrad

and cut off Leningrad from the rest of country by land.

They blockaded the city for 900 days.

There were not enough provisions in the city, enough food,

and almost a third of the population died of starvation.

There's one place I've always wanted to visit -

The Piskariovskoye Memorial Cemetery.

In this cemetery

are the graves of 420,000 civilians,

and 50,000 military personnel.

It symbolises the strength of the people of Leningrad,

and their desire not to be beaten by an enemy

who wanted to move them from their city.

And so Olga Bergholz wrote a poem to commemorate them,

and it's carved on the wall that I'm looking at now.

"Here are city dwellers Men, women and children

"And next to them Red Army soldiers

"They defended you, Leningrad but know this

"Those who regard these stones

"No-one is forgotten

"Nothing is forgotten."

So I'm feeling quite nervous about the final,

that I will do justice to this subject,

but I'm also very excited about it,

and really this is something I've wanted to do

for a long time, and I've finally put myself into it this year.

So I'm just going to have fun.

Leningrad, in two minutes, starting now.

By what official name was the city known

immediately prior to the adoption of the name Leningrad in 1924?

Petrograd.

What was the name of the Leningrad party leader

whose murder in 1934 was used by Stalin

as the pretext to execute or imprison

thousands of Leningrad citizens?

Sergey Kirov.

At which museum were 50 curators arrested,

including an arms and armour specialist,

during the 1930s Purge?

The Hermitage.

Who was the conductor and musical director of

the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra from 1938 to 1988?

Mravinsky.

In 1925, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was renamed

after the poet and scientist who created

the first coloured glass mosaics in Russia? Who was he?

Lomonosov.

In what month in 1941 did the 900-day siege by the German Armed Forces begin,

when the last land route to the city was cut off?

-September.

-What was the name of the village

on the western shore of Lake Ladoga,

from which vital food supplies were transported by railway

into the city during the siege?

Osinovets.

Whom did Stalin put in charge of organising

the defence of Leningrad in September 1941,

in place of Marshal Voroshilov?

Marshal Titov.

No, Zhukov. On which island was the Kirov sports stadium opened in 1950?

It was home to the football team Zenit.

Kamennoostrovsky...

No, Krestovsky.

What is the number of Shostakovich's symphony the Leningrad,

that was performed in the city

during the siege on the 9th of August 1942?

Seven.

Which dancer performed at the Kirov Theatre in 1989

for the first time since his defection to the West in 1961?

Nureyev.

Which street was officially called Avenue of the 25th of October

between 1918 and 1944?

Nevsky Prospect.

What was the name of the Leningrad regional party leader

who was Mikhail Gorbachev's main rival

for the post of Soviet General Secretary in 1985?

Griboyedov.

Romanov. What title was awarded to Leningrad on the 1st of May 1945...

BEEP

..in recognition of its role in the Second World War?

It also received the Order of Lenin, and the Gold Star medal.

Hero City.

No passes, Frances -

you have 11 points.

And our next finalist, please.

I've come to Los Angeles to find out more about Billy Wilder.

Those elements of tight plots,

smart characters and clever dialogue,

they all made Billy Wilder such a master of the cinema

over a career spanning more than 50 years.

-TRAILER:

-Not since the Marx Brothers, so much comedy!

Not since The Seven Year Itch, so much Marilyn!

Whether it's Marilyn Monroe standing in that iconic white dress

over the subway grating in The Seven Year Itch or Tony Curtis

and Jack Lemmon as cross-dressing musicians in Some Like It Hot

or nice-guy actor Fred MacMurray turned killer in Double Indemnity -

those are all things that make Billy Wilder's films very memorable

and most entertaining and, in 1961,

Billy achieved the triple accolade of three Oscars

at the Academy Awards ceremony - Best Screenwriter, Best Picture

and Best Director for The Apartment.

That was really the pinnacle of his career

and a very wonderful achievement for him.

Many directors have their favourite spot

and this was Billy's favourite restaurant.

-I believe I'm sitting at Billy Wilder's table.

-Yes, you are.

I'm the maitre d' and I was lucky enough to seat Mr Wilder

at this table many, many times.

How is it that this comes to be his table?

Well, because, in this restaurant,

there's a hierarchy of tables,

as you can see here.

Every one has a rank,

-this one being number one.

-Oh, right.

The most important person gets to sit here.

Billy Wilder, for us, was the most important,

regardless of studio heads, producers.

No-one outranked Billy Wilder.

-Yeah, and I dare say you enjoy his films as well.

-I've seen every one.

-I know all of the films.

-Really?

-Absolutely, yeah.

I expect you could be on Mastermind to do this instead of me.

-Oh, no, no, no. Good luck!

-Thank you!

-Break a leg!

I was very surprised to get through to the final

after such a close match in the semifinal.

Joint first place, 21 points apiece,

Steve Lacey, Isabelle Heward and Rob Hemming.

It became apparent that the three of us would have to take part

in a tie-break and I believe that's the first time there's been

a triple tie-break on Mastermind.

I felt I got another bite of the cherry

and I was really pleased to get through, quite astonished,

but absolutely thrilled.

I'd got to three semifinals previously

and I was beginning to wonder whether I'd ever

get to a Grand Final and, this year, I have done.

Mastermind really is the pinnacle of quiz shows and it would be

wonderful to win, but if I don't win, I can always apply again

in a few years and have another go

and enjoy researching another subject.

Two minutes on Billy Wilder, starting now.

In Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond hires Joe Gillis

to rewrite the script

for what she intends to be her comeback film,

playing which title character?

-Salome.

-Which city's wholesale food market

is described in Irma La Douce

as "brawling, vulgar and smelly, but alive"?

-Paris.

-Wilder fled Berlin in 1933 and went to Paris,

where he made his directorial debut

on a film that centres on car theft. What's its title?

-Mauvaise Graine / Bad Seed.

-In The Apartment,

what does Baxter use to drain the spaghetti

he's preparing for Miss Kubelik?

A tennis racket.

In 1934, Wilder crossed the Californian border to apply

for an emigration visa in which Central American town?

-Mexicali.

-At the Academy Awards ceremony in 1988,

Wilder received an award given to

"creative producers whose bodies of work

"reflect a consistently high quality of

"motion picture production". What's it called?

-Irving Thalberg.

-In the closing scene of Some Like It Hot,

which actor, on being told by Jack Lemmon's character

that he can't marry him because he's a man,

replies, "Well, nobody's perfect"?

-Joe E Brown.

-In which '55 film does Wilder pay tribute

to the director Fred Zinnemann by including a parody

of the love scene on the beach in From Here To Eternity?

The Seven Year Itch.

Wilder's career as a Hollywood scriptwriter took off

when he began a partnership with Charles Brackett.

Their first film was a 1938 comedy

directed by Ernst Lubitsch. What is it called?

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife.

In Double Indemnity, what is the name of the claims manager

that Neff dictates his confession to,

telling him, "When it came to picking the killer,

"you picked the wrong guy"?

Barton Keyes.

In the Charles Lindberg biopic The Spirit Of St Louis,

what creature does Wilder introduce into the cockpit

early in the flight that Lindberg talks to?

-A fly.

-In The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes,

whom did Wilder cast as the main gravedigger?

Stanley Holloway.

In the romantic comedy Sabrina,

what fashion accessory of Linus Larrabee

does the title character adjust

to stop him looking like a tourist undertaker?

Tie?

No, hat, homburg hat.

In The Lost Weekend, the alcoholic writer Don

steals a purse and gets thrown out of which bar?

Joe's.

BEEP No, Harry and Joe' Bar.

No passes.

-Isabelle, you have scored 12 points.

-Thank you.

And our next finalist, please.

FUNKY SLAP BASS MUSIC

The topic that I've chosen for the Grand Final of Mastermind

is the sitcom Seinfeld.

And it was set right here in New York.

I can't believe I'm here to find out more about my Mastermind topic.

So, Seinfeld was described as a show about nothing

because it is literally about the nothings of daily life.

In 2002, TV Guide Magazine named it the greatest programme of all time

and the reason that I've chosen this as my topic

is because I'm pretty much inclined to agree with them.

The series follows the lives of four friends -

Jerry, his best friend, George,

his ex-girlfriend, Elaine, and Jerry's neighbour, Cosmo Kramer.

I'm at the Westway Diner on 614 9th Avenue

and this is where Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David sat together

for the first time and decided to write Seinfeld.

This is, in fact, the exact booth where they sat

and I'm sitting in it right now.

I don't think it gets any more exciting than that.

In the show, Jerry's address is 129 West 81st Street

and here we are at 129 West 81st Street,

except this is not, in fact, the exterior shot used in the show.

That was actually in Los Angeles.

The reason why this is his address in the show

is that Jerry actually lived here

while he was working as a stand-up comedian in real life.

First place, 22 points - Mohan Mudigonda.

'For me, getting through to the final of Mastermind'

is, without question,

one of the most amazing things that I have achieved in my life.

Oh, my God!

Good God!

'Coming off the stage and seeing my wife there,

'I think that was genuinely one of the most touching moments'

I've experienced very recently.

I knew you would do it.

I'm so proud of you.

Let's just go!

OK, so we're on Broadway and 112th Street and this is Tom's Restaurant.

It was used in every single season of Seinfeld.

It was where the guys all hung out,

but it was known in the programme as Monk's and the reason for this

was that when Jerry was writing Seinfeld, he saw a poster of

the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk and that immediately stuck with him

and, from then on, the restaurant was known as Monk's

and, for that reason, in the show,

we only ever really see "restaurant".

Tom's Restaurant,

the name Tom's is usually obscured so that's how they managed to do it.

It is very, very surreal and it is very, very exciting being here

and for a Seinfeld fan such as myself,

it's as important as the Empire State Building

and the Statue of Liberty so, yeah, very excited,

very excited to be here.

I'm not going to lie,

I am absolutely gunning for that trophy and I do want to win it.

I have put absolutely everything into preparing for it.

I have done my best. We'll just have to see what happens.

The sitcom Seinfeld in two minutes, starting now.

In season one, Jerry's apartment is burgled

after Kramer leaves the door open.

Jerry's been away for the weekend performing in which city?

Minneapolis?

In the season six episode The Doodle, Jerry's apartment

has to be fumigated because it's infested with fleas.

When Elaine finds Chunky wrappers under his couch,

Jerry realises that who is the culprit?

-Newman?

-What is the name of the annoying dog

that Jerry has to look after

when its owner is taken ill during a plane journey?

Farfel.

In The Checks, Elaine's boyfriend Brett

is transfixed every time he hears which Eagles song?

-Desperado.

-What is the name of the health club

that revokes Jerry and Newman's membership

after they almost drown Ramon, the pool guy?

Physique.

When George introduces his new girlfriend Susan Ross from NBC

to Kramer, what unfortunate thing happens to her?

She gets vomited on.

In 1997, who received an Emmy nomination

for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

for his portrayal of George's father Frank?

Jerry Stiller.

What present does George buy Elaine

because it's reduced from 600 to 85

when she gets him a job with a publishing company?

-A cashmere sweater.

-Yes, slightly damaged.

At the beginning of season four,

Kramer is in Hollywood, trying to generate interest

in the film script that he's written.

What's its title?

Pass.

Which Oscar-winning actress plays Laura,

who tries to lip read

what George's ex-girlfriend is saying at a party?

Marlee Matlin.

Which famous retired sportsman

does Kramer say he saw in Dinky Donuts?

He claims that he could not be distracted from his doughnut,

no matter how much noise Kramer made.

-Joe DiMaggio.

-When Elaine doesn't understand

why a cartoon is funny,

she goes to see the editor of the magazine

that published it. Which magazine?

-The New Yorker.

-In season six, Jerry has to take

a lie detector test to try and prove

that he's never seen which television soap opera?

Melrose Place.

When George meets Vanessa,

a lawyer that Jerry had spoken to briefly at a party,

he claims to be an architect who designs what?

She responds, "I thought engineers do that."

-Bridges?

-Railroads.

What is the name of the carpet cleaning company

that is actually a religious cult?

BEEP George hires them

to clean his carpet and is insulted

when they make no attempt to try and recruit him.

Sunshine Cleaners.

Sunshine Cleaners is correct. You had one pass.

At the beginning of season four,

Kramer was trying to generate interest in the film The Keys.

You have continued to increase the total

because you are now at 13 points.

And our next finalist, please.

I'm at the Queen's House in Greenwich, South London,

designed by Inigo Jones.

It was originally designed

for the wife of James I and VI, Anne of Denmark,

and work commenced in 1616, but in 1619,

Anne died and it was forgotten about and then, in the 1630s,

work recommenced and it was finished in 1635, nearly 20 years later,

and, when it was finished,

it was the most dazzling modern building that London had ever seen.

Inigo Jones was born in London in Smithfield.

He became the King's Surveyor

and from becoming the King's Surveyor,

he then started putting up buildings around London,

either for the King himself or for prominent members of court.

He became extremely well-connected and eventually a wealthy man.

One of the most remarkable features of the Queen's House

and something that at the time was completely revolutionary

was the Tulip Staircase.

It's the first self-supporting staircase in the whole of England

and you can imagine that it had to be absolutely right

because it was going to be used by the Queen,

walking up and down it every single day.

300 years later, it's still in perfect working order.

One thing that's been a real privilege

about doing Mastermind is that, at each stage,

you get a different specialist subject to deal with

and I've had three people - Nicholas Hawksmoor in the heats

and the semifinals, I had the composer Herbert Howells,

and when you read about these people and the lives they lived

and the work that they created and the struggles they had,

you really want to do them justice.

I'm not a quiz novice.

I did appear on University Challenge back in the 1980s.

Steven Rhodes from Reading in Berkshire, reading theology.

I was captain of the King's College, London team.

1696.

No, 1701-1714 it was and here's a starter again.

It was a good experience and I look very callow.

I have a guilty secret about Mastermind,

which is that actually I find the chair surrounded by the dark

to be pretty helpful because it really means you can concentrate

on the questions that are being asked and, although it looks grim

and doom-laden to the viewer,

for me, it's actually quite helpful and it's a really comfortable chair.

Well, if I'm lucky enough to win the glass bowl,

I would really like to try out a theory,

which is that I think it would be perfect for making a trifle.

So, this may seem like sacrilege, but if I were lucky enough

to win it, I'd certainly want to try it out for that.

Two minutes on Inigo Jones, starting now.

Inigo Jones built Catholic chapels

for Henrietta Maria, the queen consort,

in St James's Palace and which other palace on the Strand?

Somerset House.

Jones first collaborated with Ben Jonson

for a masque that was performed on Twelfth Night, 1605.

What is its title?

The Masque of Beauty?

The Masque of Blackness.

In which town did Jones' early buildings

as Surveyor of the King's Works

include a brewhouse and a lodging house

for the future king Charles I?

-Newmarket.

-During his trip to Venice in 1614,

Jones met an architect who, along with Palladio and Serlio,

had a major influence on his future work. What was his name?

-Scamozzi.

-For which Sussex constituency

did Jones briefly serve

as one of its two MPs from 1621?

Shoreham-by-Sea.

Jones designed St Paul's Church in 1631

to have a Tuscan portico

that faced an Italian-style piazza

in central London. Which piazza?

Covent Garden.

Jones was the architect in charge

of the refurbishment of St Paul's Cathedral in the 1630s.

Which Bishop of London

and later Archbishop of Canterbury oversaw this work?

Laud.

What was the name of Jones' devoted personal assistant,

who started working for him at the age of 17 in 1628?

John Webb.

The multicoloured stonework on Jones' original facade

for the Banqueting House came from Portland in Dorset,

Oxfordshire and which other county?

-Northampton.

-Yes, Northamptonshire.

James I asked Jones to examine Stonehenge.

He incorrectly concluded that who had built it?

-The Romans.

-Which poet and playwright

collaborated with Jones on Salmacida Spoila,

the last masque performed at the King's court

before the Civil War?

-Chapman?

-Davenant.

What was the name of the home of the Marquis of Winchester

where Jones was captured

by parliamentary forces in October 1645?

-Basing House.

-For which cathedral

did King Charles commission Jones

to design a choir screen in about 1638?

-Winchester.

-In which masque did Ben Jonson ridicule Jones

as a character called Colonel Iniquo Vitruvius

after they disagreed over

who should get the credit for their work?

Cloridia.

Love's Welcome At Bolsover.

In which road in London

BEEP was Jones given

a house to live in

when he became Surveyor of the King's Works?

Scotland Yard.

No passes. Steven, you have 12 points.

And our final finalist, please.

Well, I suppose my first memories of Laurel and Hardy

go back over 50 years now.

I used to watch it on Saturday mornings with my dad.

My dad was a big fan.

He used to start laughing before they'd actually done anything

and he'd then laugh for the next 20 minutes, really,

so I just sort of started watching it with him

and I suppose I was converted.

They were the first real, I would say, superstars of talking comedies.

I would say that they were as important to comedy

as The Beatles are to music. They made over 100 films.

There's some dispute whether they made 106 or 107.

They were making upwards of a dozen films a year, you know,

one a month, so it's these two-reel, 20-minute short films

that are going to be my subject for the final of Mastermind.

I've come today to Ulverston in Cumbria.

I'm going to be lucky enough to go to a place I've always wanted

to go to, which is the place where Stan Laurel was born.

Well, this is the room that Stan Laurel was born in in June 1890.

Yeah, just remarkable, really. I'm a bit speechless.

What a very privileged position to be in here.

Whilst I'm here in Ulverston, I'm going to have the opportunity

of visiting the world-famous museum dedicated to the duo.

Wow!

This is incredible.

Like an Aladdin's cave of memorabilia. Hi, my name's John.

-Hello, John. Mark. Welcome to the museum.

-Yeah, it's fantastic.

This might just inspire you in your quest to become champion -

an original fez from Sons Of The Desert.

It's an actual original from the show?

-It's an original, yeah.

-Don't laugh.

-What does it look like?

-I think it looks spectacular.

-And as a little present from me to you, this is a badge...

-Oh, right!

A very exclusive badge and this makes you

a lifetime member of Laurel and Hardy Museum.

Oh, that's fantastic!

I will wear that. Look carefully, I'll have that in my lapel.

I'll look out for it.

# Fresssssh fish... #

I suppose how I'm revising

is by spending a lot of time

watching these old Laurel and Hardy films.

This is one of my favourites, Toad In A Hole,

which I think is really funny

and I think is a really great example

of the sort of chemistry between the two of them.

The bit when Stan's playing noughts and crosses with himself

and, I've got to say, I just love that self-satisfied smug grin

when he actually beats himself,

I just think it's really funny, you know.

I'm like a jack of all trades.

I'm not really much of an expert at anything,

except hopefully Laurel and Hardy,

but I do know a little bit about everything

and if John Humphrys asks me the right questions

then hopefully I'll get the right answers.

Two minutes on the short films of Laurel and Hardy, starting now.

In which film that won an Oscar in 1932

do Stan and Ollie try to deliver a piano

up an enormous flight of steps to a hilltop home?

The Music Box.

What month does Stan say follows Septober and Octember

in The Laurel And Hardy Murder Case?

-Nowonder.

-In One Good Turn,

Stan tells Ollie that his father

was in the lumber business in a small way.

What were the small items Stan's father sold?

-Toothpicks.

-What does Ollie specialise in selling,

according to the sign on his office door

in Chickens Come Home?

-High-grade fertiliser.

-At the start of "Scram!",

a judge convicts Stan and Ollie of vagrancy

and gives them how long to get out of town?

-One hour.

-In County Hospital, when Stan visits Ollie on his sick bed,

he takes him some nuts and what other edible gift?

-Boiled eggs.

-Who directed many Laurel and Hardy shorts

in the late '20s and early '30s,

including Another Fine Mess, The Chimp and Hog Wild?

James Parrott.

What does Stan put in his mouth

in order to hide it from a jail officer in The Hoose-Gow?

It causes him much distress when it gets stuck.

Apple.

In Me And My Pal, Ollie tells Stan he's about to become

an oil magnate and then asks Stan what he thinks a magnate is.

What is Stan's reply?

Something that eats cheese.

At the end of which 1931 film does Ollie flush Stan

down the plughole with the bathwater

because Stan wants to spend the 1,000 reward money

on chocolate ice cream?

Come Clean.

In Laughing Gravy, Stan receives a letter that tells him

he will inherit his uncle's fortune.

What condition is attached to the inheritance?

He's got to get rid of Ollie.

He's got to end his association with Ollie.

The circus owner in The Chimp distributes his assets

among his staff in lieu of salary after he goes broke.

Ollie gets Ethel the chimpanzee.

What does Stan get?

The flea circus.

Which actress plays Mrs Hall in Them Thar Hills

and Mrs Pierre Gustave in The Fixer Uppers?

Mae Busch.

Ollie pretends to be Colonel Buckshot in Another Fine Mess,

but his plan backfires

when the real colonel returns home unexpectedly

cos he's forgotten to pack what?

Bow and arrow.

In Men O' War, Stan says he couldn't help

having the entire glass of soda

that he and Ollie had intended to halve.

What excuse does he give for drinking the lot?

-BEEP

-His half was on the bottom.

LAUGHTER

It is so ridiculous, you just can't begin with that one, can you?

John, you've got to 15 points.

That's the end of the first round - some very high scoring there,

but then you'd expect it from the finalists, would you not?

Let's look at all the scores.

In sixth place, Lynn Edwards.

In fifth place, Frances Slack.

Joint third place,

Isabelle Heward

and Steven Marc Rhodes.

Second place, Mohan Mudigonda.

First place, John Cockerill.

And so we are now into the home straight -

the General Knowledge round.

Two and a half minutes this time of questions that will decide

who is to be the nation's Mastermind

and if there is a tie at the end of the round

then the number of passes is taken into account

and the contender with the fewer passes is the winner.

And if they're tied on passes as well, there has to be a tie-break.

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

And you start out, Lynn, with 9 points.

Let's see how you do with your General Knowledge.

As I say, two and a half minutes this time. Here we go.

The orphan Nell Trent, who lives with her elderly grandfather,

is the tragic heroine of which Charles Dickens novel?

The Old Curiosity Shop.

Which Lancashire resort's illuminations

have been switched on by Peter Kay in 2014,

Chris Evans in 2005 and Red Rum in 1977?

Blackpool.

Which American rock star

brought out the album Chapter And Verse

in September 2016 to accompany his autobiography Born To Run?

Bruce Springsteen?

What was fermented in a brine solution

to make the spicy sauce known as garum,

a favourite condiment of the ancient Romans?

Fish.

Milos Raonic defeated Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2016

to become the first man

to reach a Grand Slam singles final

representing which country?

-Czechoslovakia.

-Canada.

Which British writer's Balkan Trilogy,

published between 1960 and 1965,

was followed by the Levant Trilogy

published between '77 and 1980?

-Alexander...

-Olivia Manning.

The name of which Christian holy day

comes from the Latin translation of the words,

"I give you a new command,"

spoken by Jesus in John's Gospel?

-Michaelmas.

-Maundy Thursday.

From 1927 to 2003, what name was given to the express train

that ran on the West Coast Main Line

between London Euston and Glasgow?

-Flying Scotsman.

-The Royal Scot.

Which wild goats, noted for their sure-footedness

and characterised by large backswept horns,

have species called alpine, Spanish and Siberian?

Ibex.

Of which people were Shaka the military leader

from 1816 to 1828 and the founder

of their kingdom in southern Africa?

-Zulu.

-The ports of Yalta and Odessa lie on which sea?

-The Black Sea.

-What unit of measurement

was originally defined as the mass of one cubic centimetre

of pure water at four degrees Celsius?

-Inch.

-Gram.

The escaped slave Harriet Tubman will become

the first African-American to appear on American paper money

when she replaces Andrew Jackson

on the front of which note?

-5.

-The 20.

In 2016, which soap opera character's last words

to an apparition of her friend and sometimes enemy Pat Evans

were a simple, "Thank you"?

-Ethel.

-Peggy Mitchell.

Which South American country has a northern coastline

on the Caribbean Sea and a western coastline

on the Pacific Ocean?

-Guyana.

-Colombia.

Who plays Sam Chisolm,

a bounty hunter in the old west,

who leads a group of gunmen to help a poor village

against a greedy mining tycoon

in the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven?

-Ryan Philippe.

-Denzel Washington.

In which country did the artists Otto Dix

and George Grosz lead the New Objectivity movement

in the 1920s that reflected BEEP

their cynicism after the First World War?

Germany.

No passes, Lynn, you've now reached a total of 17 points.

And now Frances again, please.

And you, Frances, start out with 11 points.

Let's see how you do with your General Knowledge. Here we go.

What name is given to a small lift for carrying food and dishes

between the floors of a building?

-Butler's lift.

-Dumb waiter.

In the nursery rhyme, Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday child is full of...?

-Grace.

-What film stars Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo,

the manager for the naive Texan hustler Joe Buck,

played by Jon Voight,

who travels to New York to seek his fortune?

-Virgin Cowboy.

-Midnight Cowboy.

Which English king narrowly escaped capture

when the army he led was defeated

at the Battle of Bannockburn?

-Robert the Bruce.

-Edward II.

Which natural landmark in Edinburgh was described

by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude,

"a mountain in virtue of its bold design"?

Arthur's Seat.

The works of an 18th century writer

include The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,

originally published in nine volumes. Which writer?

-Michael Andrews.

-Laurence Sterne.

What metallic element is mixed with gold-bearing ore

to extract the gold in the process called amalgamation?

-Zinc.

-Mercury.

What piece of sporting equipment

stands in the centre of the room

in Vincent Van Gogh's oil painting The Night Cafe?

-Erm... A football.

-A billiard table.

Which rock singer who contested 39 parliamentary elections

stood as a candidate for the first time

at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1963

after the resignation of John Profumo?

-Harold Wilson.

-David Sutch, Screaming Lord Sutch.

What two-word term is commonly used

to describe the industrial area of north-eastern America

that contains older industries that have gone into decline?

Rust Belt.

What classical Latin name is traditionally given

to the pilgrims from the east

who followed a guiding star to Bethlehem

to pay homage to the infant Jesus?

-The Magi.

-Which band topped the UK and Billboard charts

in 1957 with That'll Be The Day?

-Gerry And The Pacemakers.

-The Crickets.

In 1966,the ban was lifted on a William S Burroughs novel

that was based on his experiences as a drug addict,

effectively ending official censorship of literature in America.

Which novel?

-Bedbugs.

-The Naked Lunch.

Which tea-like beverage is brewed from the dried leaves

of a shrub related to holly

and is sometimes called Paraguayan or Brazilian tea?

-Mate.

-Who was the first person to be eliminated

from the Conservative Party leadership contest

in July 2016 when he received only 16 votes?

He went on to become a member of Theresa May's first cabinet.

-David Davis.

-Liam Fox.

Which Phoenician princess, the wife of King Ahab,

introduced the worship of Baal into Israel?

Her name has come to signify the archetype of a wicked woman.

-Jezebel.

-What expression that means

BEEP to accumulate rapidly,

especially in the context of making money,

is thought to be of naval origin

and refers to hauling on or climbing a rope?

-Stockpiling.

-Hand over fist.

Yeah, you can see that, can't you? There we are, Frances, 17 points.

And now Isabelle again, please.

And you start out with 12 points. The score to beat is still 17.

Here we go, two and a half minutes of General Knowledge.

The name of which medical instrument comes from the Greek

meaning to look at the chest?

-Stethoscope.

-In which country

was the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's

Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in 2012,

the position it has held almost continuously

since '55 when it was formed?

-Japan.

-Which composer, a child prodigy,

was taken by his father on concert tours

around Europe's noble houses,

often with his older sister Maria Anna, known as Nannerl,

who was also a gifted musician?

-Mozart.

-What was the name of the Greenpeace ship

that was sunk in Auckland harbour in July '85?

-Rainbow Warrior.

-What common meat product is known in English

by a name that comes from the Latin salsus, meaning salted?

Sausage.

One of the central themes of Marlon James' novel

A Brief History Of Seven Killings

is the attempted murder of a real-life reggae singer in 1976,

days before he was due to perform

at a concert to promote peace

among Jamaica's warring political factions.

Which reggae singer?

Bob Marley.

What ecclesiastical high office did Matthew Parker,

Edmund Grindal and John Whitgift hold

during the reign of Elizabeth I?

Archbishop of Canterbury.

Margaret Thatcher was born

in which Lincolnshire town in October 1925?

Grantham.

Which king is played by Tom Hiddleston

in the first series of the BBC adaptations

of Shakespeare's history plays, The Hollow Crown?

Henry V.

The first Chinese woman to become a Nobel Laureate

was Tu Youyou, who won the 2015 prize

for medicine and physiology

for her discovery of drugs

to treat which mosquito-borne disease?

-Malaria.

-What is the name of the traditional Austrian

and Bavarian men's leather breeches,

usually worn with braces?

Lederhosen.

The flag of which Middle Eastern country

displays the shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith,

and a sword against a green background?

-Libya.

-Saudi Arabia.

Who directed the 2016 film documentary

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years?

-Ron Howard.

-What term, from the Latin word meaning a marsh,

is used for a stretch of water where the tide meets a river current,

particularly an arm of the sea,

at the lower end of a river?

-Delta.

-Estuary.

In which French ball game is the small wooden ball or jack

called a cochonnet, meaning "little pig"?

Boules.

The 1964 painting The Son Of Man

that depicts a man in an overcoat and a bowler hat

with his face obscured by an apple

is by which Belgian surrealist artist?

-Magritte.

-What name is given to the annual music festival

that dates back to about 1715 and is held in rotation

at Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester cathedrals?

Three Choirs Festival.

Which notorious former sea captain was deposed

as the governor of New South Wales in January 1808

after the so-called Rum Rebellion?

Bligh.

Which cows' milk cheese is named after the Swiss valley

BEEP where it was first made

and is similar in appearance to Gruyere,

but has much larger holes?

Emmental.

You have now rocketed away, Isabelle.

-You have a total of 29 points.

-Thank you!

And Steven again, please.

And you start out with 12 points as well, Steven.

29 is the score to beat. Here we go.

Let's see if you can do it with your General Knowledge.

Two and a half minutes, starting now.

What was the surname of the brothers Orville and Wilbur

who, in 1903, made the first sustained

and controlled aeroplane flight?

Wright.

In the 1984 mockumentary film,

which rock group consists of David St Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel,

Derek Smalls and a series of drummers

who die in odd circumstances,

including on-stage spontaneous human combustion?

-Spinal Tap.

-The linden is an alternative name

for which tree of the genus Tilia?

Lime.

What term for a self-service type of restaurant

comes from the American-Spanish

for a place where coffee is sold?

-Canteen.

-Cafeteria.

Anderlecht is an outer suburb of which European capital city?

-Amsterdam.

-Brussels.

In Greek mythology, King Lycaon of Arcadia

tried to trick Zeus into eating human flesh.

He failed and was turned into what creature?

-Serpent?

-A wolf.

Which French artist's last great painting

A Bar At The Folies Bergere

was first exhibited in Paris in 1882

and is now on display at the Courtauld Gallery in London?

-Monet.

-Manet.

Which Northumberland race meeting

was immortalised in a song

by the 19th century composer Geordie Ridley?

-Blaydon.

-The word "punic", as used in the three Punic Wars,

comes from the Latin for people who, by tradition,

founded Carthage in 814 BC.

Which people?

-Trojans?

-The Phoenicians.

Whose reinvention after his life as an MP

has included writing a cookery column in The Spectator,

becoming chairman of Norwich City FC

and appearing on Strictly Come Dancing?

Ed Balls.

Consumption was an old term

that was used to refer to which lung disease?

Tuberculosis.

Which 1979 album by The Clash has a photograph on its cover

of Paul Simenon smashing his guitar onstage?

London Calling.

What name is given to a type of plain sponge cake,

usually flavoured with lemon

because of the wine with which it was originally eaten?

-Cassata.

-Madeira.

The telltale or tin is the name of a narrow piece of metal

that extends along the bottom of the front wall

of which sport's playing area?

-Cricket.

-Squash court.

Which New York park was built to an 1858 design

by the landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted

and Calvert Vaux?

Central Park.

Which English writer's 2015 novel Slade House

grew out of the short story The Right Sort

that he had posted on Twitter?

-Dickens.

-David Mitchell.

What branch of the humanities did Edward Gibbon

describe as "little more than the register of the crimes,

"follies and misfortunes of mankind"?

-History.

-Murmuration is the usual collective noun

for which common birds that form huge flocks

at favourite roosting places?

-Starlings.

-Which leading member

of the American Pop Art movement did David Bowie

portray in Julian Schnabel's BEEP

1996 film Basquiat?

Andy Warhol.

Well, it's a good score, Steven, but not enough, I'm afraid - 23 points.

And now Mohan again, please.

And 13 points is what you start out with. 29 still the score to beat.

Here we go. Two and a half minutes of General Knowledge.

What is the name of the church

that stands at the summit of the Butte de Montmartre,

one of the highest points in Paris?

-Notre Dame?

-Sacre Coeur.

What meat is the main ingredient

of the traditional Norwegian stew finnbiff?

-Herring?

-Reindeer.

Which television cartoon character

lives with his pet snail Gary

and is friends with Sandy Cheeks,

an aggressive Texas-accented squirrel

and Patrick, an intellectually-challenged starfish?

SpongeBob SquarePants.

Who was the flag captain of HMS Victory

at the Battle of Trafalgar?

He was at Nelson's side when he was mortally wounded.

Pass.

Which gas, with the chemical formula CH4,

is known as marsh gas when it's formed by rotting vegetation

in marshes and as firedamp in coal mines?

-Methane.

-The winners of the 2015 NBA finals,

the Golden State Warriors basketball team,

play their home games in which California city?

-Sacramento?

-Oakland.

The Canada Memorial and the RAF Bomber Command Memorial

are both in which of London's royal parks?

-Regent's?

-Green Park.

What do the initials VR stand for

in the field of computer technology?

Virtual reality.

Which Cotswolds-based amateur detective,

created by the author MC Beaton,

is played in a 2016 television series by Ashley Jensen?

-Miss Marple.

-Agatha Raisin.

Which two public schools have played each other

in a cricket match at Lords over 175 times since 1805?

-Oxford and Cambridge.

-Eton and Harrow.

The name of which beautiful youth of Greek mythology

is often applied to any very handsome young man?

-Adonis?

-Under what name did the British singer

and actor Ben Drew top the UK album charts in 2010

with the album The Defamation Of Strickland Banks?

Plan B.

The goosander and the wigeon belong

to which group of water fowl of the family Anatidae?

Ducks?

Which Italian-born fashion designer

gave the name Shocking Pink

to the colour she popularised in the 1940s?

-Coco Chanel?

-Schiaparelli.

Who plays the title role

of the airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger

in Clint Eastwood's 2016 film Sully?

Tom Hanks.

The fathers of Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio,

who stood for the Republican Party presidential nomination

in 2016, were both born in which country?

-Mexico?

-Cuba.

Howard Phillips are the two forenames

of which American horror writer

whose works include The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward?

HP Lovecraft.

Which French international,

who signed for Manchester United in August 2016,

has two older twin brothers, Florentin and Mathias,

who have played for Guinea?

Paul Pogba.

What was the name of the leader

of the green-skinned aliens, the Treens...

BEEP

..Dan Dare's mortal enemy in The Eagle comic?

-Klingons...

-It might have been, mightn't it?

The Mekon.

And you had one pass -

the flag captain of HMS Victory was Hardy.

"Kiss me, Hardy." Yes, I know. There you are, Mohan, you have 22 points.

And, finally, John again, please.

Now, John, you had a very high score in the first round - 15 points,

as you well know.

And you also well know you've got a very high score to beat - 29 points.

Two and a half minutes of General Knowledge, starting now.

In June 2015, who secured the required 35 nominations

to stand for the Labour Party leadership election

with only a few minutes to spare?

-Jeremy Corbyn.

-What name of French origin

is given to a large enclosed space,

typically used for storing aircraft?

-Hangar.

-Which fermented alcoholic beverage

that dates back to ancient times

is made from honey, water and yeast?

-Mead.

-Which classic novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

tells the story of a decadent Sicilian aristocracy

threatened by the approaching forces

of democracy and revolution?

-Erm... Decameron.

-The Leopard.

What name that comes from the Anglo-Norman

for "behind the back" is given to the ornamental screen,

often richly decorated, behind the altar in a church?

Reredos.

Which pop supergroup, who disbanded in 1968

and briefly reformed in 2005,

comprised Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker?

-Cream.

-Which warrior leader was born in about 1162

near Lake Baikal, supposedly holding a clot of blood in his hand?

Genghis Khan.

In which 2016 film, directed by Stephen Frears,

does Meryl Streep play an ageing New York heiress

who dreams of becoming an opera singer,

even though she has a terrible singing voice?

Florence Foster Jenkins.

By what name is the early form of bicycle

known as the high wheeler or the ordinary better known

because of its large front wheel and small back wheel?

-Penny farthing.

-Tanganyika and Zanzibar united in 1964

to form which modern-day country?

-Tanzania.

-The town of Church Stretton

and the Carding Mill Valley are popular tourist places

in which county?

-Gloucestershire.

-Shropshire.

In his 1945 essay You And The Atomic Bomb,

George Orwell is credited with the first published use

of a term for hostilities that are short of armed conflict.

What term?

Cold war.

Which part of the body is inflamed or ulcerated

in the condition known as stomatitis?

-Pancreas.

-The mouth.

Which 2008 BBC talent show took its title

from a song sung by Nancy in the musical Oliver?

The series aimed to discover an unknown

to play her in a West End revival.

-The Voice.

-I'd Do Anything.

In which household and industrial warning devices

is the man-made radioactive isotope

americium-241 widely used?

-Smoke alarms.

-The famous painting of a man and wife

that has a Latin inscription above a mirror

that translates as "Jan van Eyck was here, 1434"

is usually known by what name?

Erm...

The Night Watch.

The Arnolfini Portrait. BEEP

And your time is up.

And, John, you have scored 26 points.

And so, after that closely fought contest,

let's have a look at all the scores.

Joint fifth place,

Lynn Edwards and Frances Slack.

Fourth place, Mohan Mudigonda.

Third place, Steven Marc Rhodes.

Second place, John Cockerill.

But nobody could catch her.

First place,

the 2017 Mastermind Champion,

Isabelle Heward.

Isabelle.

-Take that.

-Thank you very much.

You have really earned that

because how many times have you got to the semifinal?

-Before this year, three times previously.

-Wow!

-So, this was your fourth attempt at it.

-Absolutely.

-My first appearance on Mastermind was in 1983.

-Oh!

Good lord, I was barely born.

I'm very disappointed I can't have a go another time!

-Well, congratulations. A very, very worthy winner.

-Thank you very much.

So, Isabelle is our winner, but the search will start again

later this year to find a new Mastermind and if you think you have

what it takes to be the new champion then do visit us online...

And you can follow us...

And do us join us again for more Masterminds.

Thanks for watching. Goodbye.