Episode 3 Celebrity Eggheads

These people are among 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 a special celebrity edition of Eggheads,

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

They've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

Tackling our quiz titans today are the Cumulonim Boys,

some of the BBC's most pre-eminent weather forecasters.

What have they predicted for today? Clouded judgments or a gale-force win? Let's meet them.

I'm Peter Gibbs and I've done this for longer than I care to remember.

I'm Phil Avery. I used to work for the Royal Navy.

I've been forecasting for 20 years. Most days it doesn't show.

I'm John Hammond. I've been a forecaster since 1990

and one day, sometime soon, I'll get it right.

Hi. I'm Simon King, an ex-RAF forecaster, and the youngest boy on the block.

I'm Chris Fawkes, a forecaster at the BBC Weather Centre,

and still learning from these guys.

Welcome to you, weather presenters. I love your team name - Cumulonim Boys.

-Who thought that one up?

-That was John.

-Far too much time on his hands.

-Just explain to the uninitiated.

-Cumulonimbus is a form of...

-It's a thunder cloud, Dermot.

A very, very big cumulus cloud. Cumulus produces showers, cumulonimbus produces thunderstorms.

So you don't just make it up?! You know a bit about it.

A little. I did go to college once.

I'm thinking of the Eggheads categories. Thanks, by the way, for coming in to take them on today.

There are categories you should have covered. Obviously, science. Geography, I guess?

You know different parts of the world from all that forecasting.

What about the other skills you bring? Peter, if you weren't playing one of those two categories,

-what would it be for you?

-Science and geography, unfortunately!

-But we've got quite a good spread. Phil, for example, politics degree.

-That's good.

-What about you, John?

-I'm an armchair sportsman. I've played a bit of cricket, football, rugby.

-So hopefully that will come up.

-Shall we play and see what does come up?

Let's see what actually happens.

Every day there's £1,000 of cash for our challengers' charity.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, it will roll over.

So Cumulonim Boys, the Eggheads have won the last two games

so £3,000 says you can't beat them.

Our first head-to-head today IS Geography.

Who'd like to play this one?

Any one of the five can take it on.

-You've done lots of world broadcasts, Chris.

-Yeah. And I did do a geography degree.

-So it's you, Chris?

-Yeah.

-Which Egghead would you like to choose? You could choose that other Chris.

-Any of them at all.

-Good question. What do we reckon?

CJ? Very youthful. Probably hasn't been around as much.

What do you think? Just a hunch - CJ.

Well, you know what? He has been around the world a lot,

but not around the UK very much. That's his blind spot in this category.

Let's see what comes up. Chris and CJ playing Geography.

Please take up your positions in the question room so you can't confer.

OK, off we go. Chris, did you always want to be a weather forecaster?

Yeah, it was what I wanted to do as a little kid, about 5 years old.

Weather man, bank manager or dustbin man. I'd have been happy with any of those jobs.

I can see the other two. Why weather man? Were you fascinated watching it on TV?

Yeah, but actually getting outside and seeing how clouds work.

It's such an amazing subject.

When you've learnt about weather, you can read the sky and know what's going to happen.

I don't need to watch weather forecasts.

Let's see if you're a geography expert. You get to choose.

Do you want to start or put the Egghead in first?

Er...I'm going to go first.

All right.

Your first question is this. The seaside town of Bridlington is located on which body of water?

Well, they occasionally complain about our forecasts in summer

because quite often you get a lot of low cloud forming on the North Sea

and that drifts in and it can affect Bridlington. It's on the North Sea.

What do you do when they complain? Say, "We don't make the cloud!"?

Right. It's never our fault.

North Sea is the right answer. Well done.

CJ,

the University of Warwick is on the outskirts of which English city?

I'm assuming Leicester is in Leicestershire

and the University of Warwick is in Warwickshire,

so it would help if I knew where Stoke-on-Trent was. Staffordshire?

-Coventry.

-Coventry?

It's the right answer, yes.

It's just the time he takes!

The further away, the better he is.

Chris, which mountain is the highest in the Cairngorms and second highest in the British Isles?

I haven't got a clue about this, to be honest with you.

I'm going to go for a punt... and I'm going to go with answer C.

-Ben Macdhui.

-Ben Macdhui is the right answer. Good punt.

You have two.

So, CJ, see if we can keep it local... Oh, we have done. Good.

What is the port on the English mainland from which a ferry departs to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight?

Haven't got a clue. I have been to the Isle of Wight, but not Yarmouth.

Leamington. Is there another Leamington apart from Leamington Spa? I think there is.

I'm going to go for...

Leamington. I'm hoping there's another one.

-It's Lymington, CJ!

-OK.

Lymington. Well, he fulfilled those predictions.

Chris, a golden opportunity here. If you get this, you're through.

The port of Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory in Australia,

is located on a body of water with what appropriate name?

-I've been to Darwin as well, so I should definitely know this.

-Right.

-We're expecting great things.

-Yeah, I'll try not to disappoint.

I'm going to go with Beagle Gulf.

-Beagle Gulf?

-Yeah.

-The port of Darwin.

I said an appropriate name and it's the right answer.

Eggheads, appropriate why?

-The Beagle.

-The Beagle being...?

-The ship.

That Darwin sailed on.

It means, Chris, you've won through to the final, ejected CJ.

Both please come back and join your teams.

Well, the outlook is pretty rosy for the Cumulonim Boys after that.

One of the Eggheads has gone. Our next subject then is Sport.

Who wants to play this? Sport.

-Do I hear the question room calling, John?

-I've changed my mind!

-No pressure.

-You've got a sporting top on.

Who do you want to play? It can't be CJ. Any of the others.

-Can I go for Daphne, please?

-Let's have John and Daphne, please.

OK, it's Sport. What particular sports do you enjoy, John?

-Do you play? Watch?

-I play a bit of golf with some of the lads in the office.

I have played a lot of cricket in the past.

Football and rugby, I guess, would be my main interests, but a fairly eclectic mix, hopefully.

And you get to choose. Do you want to go first or let Daphne start?

-I'll go first, please.

-Best of luck, John.

This is your first question. What was the nickname of tennis star Boris Becker in the 1980s?

Er, it began with B. I know that. Gosh.

That... That takes me back a bit.

I'm getting mixed up between Eurovision songs and all sorts.

I'm pretty sure it was Boom Boom Becker.

Boom Boom Becker?

It's the right answer. Good start.

So, Daphne,

which England footballer scored six goals in the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico?

Um...

1986.

Gary Lineker?

-Yes. Gary Lineker.

-Football!

-Golden Boot - he was top scorer.

Yes, football and you got it.

Pat on the back there. John, the Scotsman Jim Watt

became world champion in 1979 in which sport?

Jim Watt, I think,

was a boxer. I don't know any Jim Watt billiard players

or Jim Watt dart players, so boxing.

Right answer. Well done. Jim Watt.

OK, Daphne.

Which African golfer won the Open championship in 1994

and the USPGA title in both '92 and '94?

Well, it's too late for Gary Player,

too early for Ernie Els, so it's Nick Price. Zimbabwe?

You know your golf. Well done. Nick Price.

Both going really strongly here.

What was the familial relationship between athletics stars Jackie Joyner-Kersee

and the late Florence Griffith-Joyner?

Oh, boy. Well, one of them's "the late" and one of them isn't,

so I'm guessing it wouldn't be cousins. It's a stab in the dark.

It may be wrong, but aunt and niece.

Aunt and niece. Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith-Joyner.

They were...sisters-in-law.

Sisters-in-law.

But it may not be over yet.

Daphne has to get one more correct than you.

This is her third question. Between 1901 and 1939,

rugby union player Adrian Stoop played 182 times for which team?

Right, I know I'm old, but I'm not that old!

I have completely no idea.

Eeeny meeny miney mo...

Harlequins.

John knows it. Head down there.

-A real clue in the name. Can anyone explain, Eggheads?

-Their ground is the Stoop.

Named after Adrian Stoop. It's the right answer, Daphne.

You guessed your way to the final.

A pretty good guess it was to knock John out.

He ran into the sisters-in-law.

John won't play in the final round. Both please come back and join your teams.

All right. As it stands now, the challengers and the Eggheads have lost one brain each.

All square as we go into our third head-to-head and this is Science.

Both of your favourite subjects

have come up. Science. Peter, Phil or Simon to play.

I'd say Pete.

Looks like I'm outvoted!

I think we'll nominate Pete.

-Sounds like I'm the fall guy!

-Hold him back - he can't wait(!)

-We don't want to look bad at Science.

-It's incredibly broad.

-Peter, who would you like to play?

-We're going to say Judith, Dermot.

All right. Let's have Judith and Peter into the question room.

-Peter, do you want to go first or second?

-Let's go first.

All right, good luck, Peter.

You're kicking off with this. For what does the letter G stand in mobile communications - GSM?

Geographical, I suppose, would make sense.

But we're talking about communication, so maybe global makes more sense. I'll say global.

Global? You're right to do so. It's the right answer.

Judith,

what name is given to the type of toad, the male of which carries strings of eggs laid by the female

wrapped round his hind legs until they hatch?

I suppose it could be the papa toad,

-but I think it's the midwife toad.

-Midwife toad?

It is. Well done, Judith. And back to Peter.

In the Periodic Table, which element comes between Carbon and Oxygen and above Phosphorus?

I know it's not Hydrogen

because that's right at the far end of the Periodic Table.

As it's a gas and we deal with the atmosphere, let's go for Nitrogen.

Nitrogen... Well done, Peter. It's right.

OK, Judith,

in astronomy, what name is given to the point on the celestial sphere directly overhead?

Well, the thing that sprung to mind immediately was the zenith.

I think it's the zenith.

-Are you going for that?

-Yeah.

-Zenith...

-OK, it is zenith. It's the right answer.

-Phew!

Two-all. You've reached the point

that John did, Peter, and you don't want to slip up here.

Leprosy is caused by what type of infectious agent?

I know that it does it by deadening the feelings in the nerves,

so I don't think it's a fungus.

I think it's something within the body and fungus is on the outside,

so it's bacterium or virus.

It's a stab in the dark. I'm going to say virus.

Close, but it's a bacterium.

Not a fungus as you identified,

but of the other two,

a bacterium, not a virus, so another chance for the Egghead, this one being Judith.

Judith, in maths, logical operators such as "and", "or" or "not"

are alternatively known as what?

I don't think it's Euclidean.

Boolean strikes me.

I don't know why.

Anyway, I'm going to go for Boolean.

OK. Have you been reading again?

-Probably. And forgetting.

-It's the right answer. You haven't forgotten.

Boolean Operators. A carbon copy of John's round there,

just slipping up, the Cumulonim Boy Peter there on the third question,

and the Egghead snaffling the round.

You won't be in the final round, Peter. Would you both come back and join your teams?

After a good start, Cumulonim Boys, the Eggheads are clawing their way ahead.

You've lost two brains from the final. The Eggheads have lost one.

And our last subject, the last chance to knock an Egghead out, is Music.

And two remaining players.

Phil or Simon, Music?

-A lot of big band in there, do you think?

-I've got no idea.

-You swing, don't you, Simon?

-Post-1990, yeah.

Simon's more down with the kids than this old git, so I think we'll have Simon.

-There's a generational thing going on here. I'll lose out on this one.

-This category straddles all eras.

-You're going to play it, Simon?

-Yes, I will.

And from the Eggheads, it can be Kevin or Chris?

-Shall we go with Kevin?

-Do you want a stab at Kevin?

-Yeah.

-Because you never know.

-Yes.

-You never know.

He's been beaten before on it. Let's have Simon and the four-times World Quiz Champion Kevin...

-LAUGHTER

-..into the question room, please.

-Simon, do you want to go first or second?

-I think I'll stick with the norm and go first.

Best of luck, Simon.

What is the usual musical term for "loud"?

I'm tempted to go to... Is it "largamente"?

Because it's got the "large" part of it.

I think if I've got to hazard a guess, I'll go for "largamente".

It's not, no. It is "forte".

Strength.

For "loud". OK...

Mr Tambourine Man for The Byrds and King Of The Road by Roger Miller were No.1 singles in which decade?

-Both in about the middle of the 1960s.

-They were.

-I bet you can be more specific.

-They were both 1965, I think.

-I'm not certain about that.

-It's the right decade.

Right, OK, Simon...

In 1956, The Goons reached No.4 in the UK singles charts

with a song entitled I'm Walking Backwards For what?

Walking Backwards... Well, I guess, you're doing something crazy.

Let's go for Charity, Walking Back For Charity.

OK. I'm Walking Backwards For...

Christmas.

Yeah, we've got our Goon lover there in Chris.

# I'm walking backwards for Christmas

# Across the Irish Sea... #

-Was that Spike Milligan singing it?

-Yeah.

-Very good.

There we have a pretty accurate representation of it.

It means Kevin can win the round if he gets this.

Because King George II is said to have done so at a performance in 1743,

audiences traditionally stand during which piece of music by Handel?

Zadok The Priest, that was considerably earlier, I think,

and it was done for... It's used in coronations, of course.

But 1743 is only a year

after the Hallelujah Chorus was first performed as part of the Messiah,

so I'll go for the Hallelujah Chorus.

It's the right answer, Kevin. You've worked it out, Hallelujah Chorus.

Audiences traditionally stand during the Hallelujah Chorus

which means it's hallelujah and goodbye, Simon. You won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

It's time for the final round which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads can't take part,

so Peter, John and Simon from the Cumulonim Boys and CJ from the Eggheads, leave the studio, please.

Phil and Chris, you're playing to win the Cumulonim Boys £3,000 for your chosen charity.

Judith, Kevin, Daphne and Chris, you're playing for something money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions in turn on General Knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

So, Cumulonim Boys, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Will you go first or second?

-We'll go first to put the pressure on!

First question...

Good luck to you.

Which former Radio 1 DJ turned hypnotist has had best-selling books

called I Can Make You Rich and I Can Make You Thin?

A man here knows a good deal more than I do about youth culture.

I think I recognise one of those books you mentioned.

-I think it's Paul McKenna.

-Paul McKenna.

It is Paul McKenna. A good start and they have put the pressure on.

Eggheads, your first question.

What name implying high value is given to fixed-interest British government securities

that are backed by a firm promise of repayment?

They're gilt-edged, Dermot.

Gilt-edged answer, correct, yes.

One each. Back to Phil and Chris.

Which Carry On regular took his name from that of the actor

who, in 1895, originated the role of Lord Goring in Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband

and later became an Edwardian actor manager?

As soon as the question came up,

my mind was drawn to Hawtrey which has got that period feel about it.

I'm... Only on that basis.

Shall we go with, for no other reason than it's got a vague ring to it,

Charles Hawtrey? Charles Hawtrey.

-That's your answer?

-Hmm.

-It's correct.

Charles Hawtrey. Well done, Cumulonim Boys.

What is the term, particularly popular in Australia,

for the propensity in modern life to build people up

and then, when they get too big for their boots, cut them down to size?

-AUSTRALIAN ACCENT:

-Well, Bruce,

some Pom slings his weight around, so you get the Tall Poppy Syndrome.

It is the right answer, yes. Tall Poppy Syndrome.

-Well...

-Another international market disappears!

They're tall poppies in the world of quizzing. Are you about to cut them down to size?

If you get this, you've got every chance. Best of luck with it.

In the RAF, which rank is immediately junior to Air Commodore?

In the RAF, which rank is immediately junior to Air Commodore?

I'll base some of this answer on the fact that, certainly in the navy,

a captain outranks a commander.

And I've just got a feeling, watching World War Two films,

that squadron leaders were the guys who were always there at the airfield

and the guy in the black car who says, "Well done, chaps,"

he tended to be the Group Captain with an awful lot more stripes.

-I've got a feeling it's Group Captain.

-Yeah.

When I was forecasting at RAF Odiham, they had three squadrons,

so I think that's quite low down.

-So you reckon Group Captain above Squadron Leader?

-Yeah.

-We reckon it's Group Captain.

-It's the right answer. Well worked out.

Are you going to beat the Eggheads? We'll find out very soon.

Which two cards declared together constitute a standard bezique in the card game of that name?

Does anybody play it?

I think it's... No, but...

-Does that ring a bell with you?

-Yes.

What, number one?

Yes, I know the Queen of Spades is always...

That one immediately...

-I don't play the game.

-No, I don't.

-But when I saw it...

-I may have seen something somewhere.

-Yes. And me.

-Is that what we're going for?

-Yeah.

Happy with that? Yeah, because I don't know.

-Queen of Spades, Jack of Diamonds.

-None of us play the game,

but the consensus is it's the Queen of Spades and Jack of Diamonds.

It's the right answer, yes, Queen of Spades, Jack of Diamonds.

You've got it. It's all-square.

It's sudden death. We're removing those choices that you've worked with so well up to this point.

It'll make it harder to sort out a winner and I've just got to hear answers from you.

No options to look at, should you need to guess.

In September 1994, which world leader caused embarrassment when he failed to get off his aeroplane

at Shannon Airport for a meeting with the Taoiseach Albert Reynolds?

In September 1994, which world leader caused embarrassment when he failed to get off his aeroplane

at Shannon Airport for a meeting with the Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds?

It was Boris Yeltsin.

It was Boris Yeltsin. Well done, Phil and Chris again.

-I think the excuse was he was tired.

-It was a long flight from Cork(!)

They do sell Irish coffee at Shannon. Boris Yeltsin, they got.

So, Eggheads, what word derived from the Latin for "to earn"

describes the holder of an office such as a university professor

who is retired, but who is allowed to retain their title as an honour?

He's a professor emeritus.

That's right. We can't separate these teams.

Fantastic stuff, Cumulonim Boys.

Phil and Chris, the eccentrically attired Professor Wallofski was the creation

of which comedian and actor born in 1908?

The eccentrically attired Professor Wallofski

was the creation of which comedian and actor born in 1908?

-Right...

-Any ideas? I have no idea about that at all.

OK, using Eggheads-type logic,

we need somebody who...

Let's say, give him 30 years to grow up and get an act together.

It takes us into the sort of... as early as wartime.

Got nothing at all, I'm afraid. Sorry.

-It's before my time and films aren't my strong point.

-Yeah, I'm really struggling.

-Will Hay.

-Will Hay?

It certainly fits the era, but it's not the right answer. It's not Will Hay.

And a big clue in the character - Professor Wall-ofski.

-Max Wall?

-It's Max Wall.

-No!

Max Wall, yeah.

Wallofski, wearing a bald cap, would perform extraordinary struts about the stage.

Do you know what comedian says he was an influence on one of his acts?

-If you'd said "funny walk", I'd have been with you.

-John Cleese says

that a lot of the Ministry of Silly Walks came from watching Max Wall.

The Eggheads have to get this and let's hope they don't because it's been great quizzing up to now.

What is the title made up of two letters and two numbers

of David Peace's 2004 novel about the miners' strike which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize?

That's GB84, Dermot.

GB84 is the correct answer, Eggheads. You've won.

It took a very tricky question to sort these teams out deep into sudden death in the final round.

Congratulations, Chris and Phil. Top quality quizzing against these quiz champions.

Thank you for taking them on. It just wasn't to be and I really emphasise the "just".

The Eggheads still reign supreme over quizland.

You haven't won the £3,000 which rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a team of wildlife presenters can defeat the Eggheads.

£4,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2010

Email [email protected]