Episode 3 Celebrity 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.

Question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to a special celebrity edition of 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 hoping to topple our awesome quiz Titans today...

This team are no strangers to the rigours of early starts,

having worked on some of the country's most popular breakfast TV and radio programmes.

Sadly, the demands of one particular Egghead's morning regime

curtails us from starting our recordings too early.

Teeth whitening, massages,

hair in rollers for four hours,

just the tip of the iceberg - isn't it, Barry?

LAUGHTER

The truth is out! Let's meet the team.

Hello, I'm Diana Moran.

I'm one of the original presenters of BBC Breakfast Time,

better known as the Green Goddess.

Hi, my name is Kaye Adams. I was a Loose Woman, but hallelujah, I have seen the light

and now I do a morning radio show on BBC Radio Scotland.

Hi. I'm Lizzie Webb. I did the morning exercises on TV-am.

I was known as Mad Lizzie. I'm not sure why!

Hello, I'm Jayne Irving. I used to present on TV-am.

I used to get a lie-in because I did after nine. Lucky me!

Hello. I'm Sally Jones.

I was the BBC's first woman sports presenter on Breakfast Time.

Welcome to you, Early Birds. We all know you for the physical work-outs.

This is a mental one. How good are you at quizzes?

I don't think I'm terribly good. I'm rather dependent upon my team here.

-And we do have a secret weapon.

-Ooh.

-Yes.

-The lady sitting beside me has done it before!

I know. She's back again to terrorise the Eggheads!

I'm only here as a lucky mascot

because, remarkably, we managed to beat the Eggheads!

So I'm a bit nervous about being here

because I dine out on that story

and I'm afraid that maybe it will go today.

Lighting can strike twice.

Let's hope it does, and singe all you lot!

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Early Birds, the Eggheads have won the last two games

which means £3,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

Let's start the task. Arts & Books is the opening head-to-head round.

A chance to try and knock an Egghead out.

Who wants to play on this?

I've read a book!

-Good start.

-Has anyone written one?

ALL TALK AT ONCE

-I do like art. But you're very good at...

-Together we might be...

-Could we do it together?

-A double act? No?

-It's a good idea.

Jayne, I think it's you.

-Neck on the block first.

-Good girl.

Jayne. And you get to choose any Egghead you like.

-Lucky you!

-Oh, gosh. What do we think?

-Chris?

-Go for it - Chris.

-Yep.

The opening round, Arts & Books.

Jayne and Chris contesting this one.

So into the question room both, please.

So, Jayne, TV-am. Did you start at the beginning?

-When did you join?

-I did, actually, as a reporter, when it first went on air.

But you didn't get to do early starts if you were out in the field,

so I got saved that! Then I did news reading and ended up doing the last half hour.

-Got the easy bit at the end.

-Sadly missed, actually, TV-am.

You set the standard and what's followed has been a bit hit and miss.

We created the woolly jumpers and the bright colours!

-And Roland Rat!

-And Roland Rat. Should have had him on.

OK. Let's play the round. Arts & Books.

Before I get it in the neck from Diana here!

I haven't mentioned Breakfast Time. We'll get on to that!

-Jayne, would you like to go first or second?

-I think first. Get it over with!

Best of luck, Jayne. The first question on Arts & Books.

Which artist's work, The Golden Calf,

consisting of a bull in a gold-plated framed tank of formaldehyde

sold for over £10 million in 2008?

I don't think it's Tracey Emin because it doesn't involve underwear

and unmade beds - that's her thing!

So I think we can discount her!

I think I'm probably tending more towards Damien Hirst.

Just because he's known for using formaldehyde.

So I'll go for him, but I'm not terribly sure.

Of course, yes. Damien Hirst.

Right answer.

Chris, your first question.

The Casual Vacancy published in 2012

is the first adult novel by which author?

I don't think it's Julia Donaldson.

I don't think it's Jacqueline Wilson.

J.K. Rowling, after years of churning out Harry Potter

bought out an adult novel. I think it was called The Casual Vacancy.

So J.K. Rowling.

Published in 2012. It's the right answer, yes. Well done.

Right. A second question apiece.

Jayne, what term is used to refer to the method of creating a decorative mosaic of inlaid wood?

They all sound like things I'd have on a nice spaghetti!

-I have to confess!

-Food & Drink round!

Yes, I wasn't schooled in Latin, which I suspect might help me.

So we are in the land of the guessing here.

So on the basis that I like the sound of the word,

-I'll go for impasto. Or impasto.

-Impasto.

The technique is known as intarsia.

Unlucky. OK.

Well, still plenty of time for Chris to slip up.

Chris, your second question.

In which Shakespeare play does the mention of Birnam Wood

affect the title character?

"Till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane."

-It's the Scottish play, Macbeth.

-Ah, yes.

I see with your acting background experience,

you don't really want to say it out loud.

I will make you to confirm it is the right answer.

Macbeth.

OK. It means you need to get this, then, Jayne.

Spartacus Chetwynd, Luke Fowler, Paul Noble and Elizabeth Price

were all shortlisted for what in 2012?

Well, I don't think it's the Booker Prize.

I may live to regret that!

Likewise, I don't imagine,

if I'm sticking with it's not a writing prize,

I don't think it's the Stirling Prize.

That's a writing prize.

So I'm going to go for the Turner Prize.

Turner Prize.

A lot of nodding going on from your team-mates.

It's the right answer. Yes, well done.

Jayne quizzing really well.

Unfortunate with that middle one you had to guess at.

It gives Chris an opening here.

What is the first name of the fictional detective Beck

created by Swedish writers Sjowall and Wahloo

in the 1960s?

Ah.

Swedish.

Yes, we'll give you that. I'll confirm that.

-Swedish writers.

-Even so, something is saying Martin Beck to me.

So I'll go with Martin.

And it is Martin Beck.

Chris got it which means he'll be in the final round.

Jayne, no place for you. Please come and join your teams.

A narrow victory for the Eggheads means the Early Birds have lost one brain from the final.

Let's move on to our next subject, Food & Drink.

Who'd like a go at this?

-You did well.

-I'm no expert on Food & Drink,

but if we go on luck, that's the subject I had last time.

Let's go on luck.

Ooh. Otherwise I would have done it.

No, you're good at Food & Drink.

-If you did it...

-No, you do it. Let's not go on luck.

Let's go on expertise. Let's go on expertise.

-You do it, Diana.

-Help! Help!

-Expertise, not luck. Who shall we...

-It can't be Chris,

but any of those other four.

Was it Barry that I challenged last time on this?

-It was, wasn't it, Barry?

-I think so.

-It was Barry.

-Go for Barry.

It's Bazza.

I don't think it was. I think it was Kevin, but he's not here.

So Diana and Barry playing Food & Drink.

Both to the question room, please.

So, Diana, time for me to make amends about Breakfast Time.

You were on the air first, before TV-am.

Exactly. I was the other side!

And we were the first. We won the race by about two weeks or so.

And very popular it was, too.

And we've got Lizzie here. Did you regard her as a rival on TV-am?

-Did you keep an eye on her?

-We were both trying to encourage the public

to have a more healthy lifestyle.

OK. Let's see what you know about Food & Drink.

Diana, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Best of luck, Diana. Here's your first question.

What type of cake is simnel cake,

traditionally eaten at Easter.

It's certainly not coffee cake.

Could it be chocolate because of Easter? I don't think it is.

I'm a little confused with this one.

I've got to make a decision.

I'm going to plump for the fruit cake.

Well, a certain side of the studio are very happy about that, Diana.

-It's the right answer.

-Thank goodness for that!

A tricky one, though.

-It was the chocolate that threw me.

-Of course.

Chocolate and Easter. But well worked out. Barry.

Oh, my dearie me!

What type of soup is sometimes known as "Jewish penicillin"

because of its apparent curative powers?

What type of soup is sometimes known as "Jewish penicillin"

because of its apparent curative powers?

If I get this wrong, I'll never be able to go home again!

I've had this every Friday night for more times than I care to mention!

-It's chicken soup.

-OK.

Yes, it is just the way they fall. Correct. Chicken soup.

Not too taxing for Barry. Diana,

in the United States, what name is commonly used to describe

the dairy product consisting of equal parts of whole milk and cream?

Now, I don't know the answer to this, so this is going to be guesswork.

Oh, I'm cross with myself because it isn't something that I know.

I am going to have to guess on this one.

Half and Half.

OK, in the American accent.

I bet when you're in America you don't have Half and Half. It is!

-The right answer. Well done again.

-Phew! That was a good guess.

You are working those grey cells in there.

-Really getting the mental work-out.

-It is a work-out.

-Yeah.

Doing really well. So you have two.

Barry,

next question.

If you ordered polpi in an Italian restaurant, what would you be served?

I've had veal many times in an Italian restaurant,

so I can discount that immediately.

Polpi. It sounds like an octopus, doesn't it?

I have a mental image of the word in my head, and I can see tentacles!

So I'm going to go for octopus.

You're an Egghead. Coming up with that explanation for choosing it.

It is the right answer. Octopus. So all square at two-all.

A crucial couple of questions coming up. Diana,

to put the pressure back on Barry.

Which popular Indian dessert

consists of patties of curdled milk in a creamy sauce?

This really is a guess.

I'm going to go for bal mithai.

So you've had more than full-fat milk and now dessert!

I mean, you don't sully your body with that kind of stuff, do you?

-No, I wouldn't!

-No.

It's not the right answer this time. It is ras malai.

A really tough question there for Diana.

Let's hope Barry struggles with this and we'll go into sudden death if he does.

Barry, what French term describes the failure of some bunches of grapes in a vineyard

to develop evenly?

I've never come across this term before.

So let's have a think.

It sounds like a rather poor crop of French presidential candidates!

But debourbage seems to suggest that something isn't quite right,

-so I shall go for debourbage.

-OK.

Something not quite right with your answer, Barry!

It's good news for Diana. It is millerandage.

Woo!

Grapes developing unevenly in a vineyard.

That's great news for you, Diana.

It's sudden death. If it's all square, we take away the options.

I just need to hear the answer from you. Here you go.

Zamorano cheese comes from which European country?

Zamorano. Z-A-M-O-R-A-N-O.

I think you're pulling the most horrible questions out for me!

Of course I write them all down!

Sounds like an Eastern European country.

I'm going to go for Romanian.

A Romanian cheese.

No, it's not. Eggheads?

-Spanish.

-Spanish. Judith is right.

Spain. Zamorano.

OK. Not identified by Diana.

So Barry has a chance here,

as he did on his third question, to take the round.

Barry, Warwick, Meerlust and Vergelegen

are wines produced in which country?

Would you spell those second two, for me?

M-E-E-R-L-U-S-T

and V-E-R-G-E-L-E-G-E-N.

Vergelegen sounds Dutch, so I'll have a shot at South Africa.

Harsh! It's the right answer.

It pains me to say it. I'm physically sick.

-Well, not literally!

-I'm so sorry!

That's South Africa, just on that Dutch root there he picked up on. That's why he's an Egghead.

Bad luck, Diana. You won't be in the final round.

Both please come back and join your teams.

Well, two Early Birds gone now.

Gone for an early rest!

And the Eggheads are all still there.

Next subject. This one is Politics.

I have an idea who might be playing this.

-Kaye!

-Politics.

Ooh, I've kept my head down so well so far!

Well hidden. No-one could see you!

I can feel the wagons circling!

-Has it got to be me?

-Politics is yours.

-OK.

-You stay here, Kaye,

-and you pick your Egghead.

-I've got to choose.

I'll identify them for you. Judith, Pat or Daphne.

Well, at least Daphne will beat me with a smile, and that's nice.

Daphne, will you go to the question room, please, along with Kaye.

Off you go.

Well, Kaye, politics is your bag, as they say, isn't it?

You've got a professorship or something, haven't you?

-How ridiculous!

-Masters?

-I did study Economics and Politics at university,

but sadly that is a very, very long time ago.

So I'm not going to try and quote that, at all.

Is it true you interviewed Margaret Thatcher?

Yes, that was mid-'80s.

I did. It was one of my first big interviews as a young journalist.

So it was very nerve-racking. Not as nerve-racking as Daphne, but coming very close!

OK. From the Iron Lady to the steel lady of quizzing.

Taking on Daphne. Kaye, would you like to go first or second?

No, I'm going to curry favour here, go against the tide, and say over to Daphne.

Let's see if that cuts any ice at all with Daphne or not.

First question, then, Daphne.

Which world leader has two daughters named Mariya and Yekaterina?

Well, Yekaterina sounds Russian to me,

so I'm hoping it's Putin.

It is the right answer. Vladimir Putin. OK.

First one Daphne got successfully.

Kaye, here's your first one.

What is the surname of Sir Nicholas and his wife, Anne,

who for many years until 2010 sat as MPs in neighbouring constituencies in Cheshire?

OK. I have never heard of Sir Nicholas Keen.

So he's out.

Bottomley, I immediately think of Virginia Bottomley,

so I... Sir Nicholas Winterton.

Anne Winterton.

-That's what I'm going to go for.

-OK.

The Wintertons is the right answer.

Well done.

A lot tougher sitting there on your own in the question room.

And it's all square going into the second set of questions.

Daphne, what shape is the central lobby of the Houses of Parliament?

Well, I've never been there.

But I don't know why, bit I'm going to go for octagonal.

It is octagonal. Right answer.

This is your second question, Kaye.

In the September 2012 cabinet reshuffle,

who replaced Andrew Lansley as Health Secretary?

-I'm not going to muck about. Jeremy Hunt.

-Good on you.

Yes, right answer. No need to muck about.

So, all square. Daphne,

the process of national reorganisation

was a name associated with a military government of which country?

Oh.

Well, I don't know.

The only one I associate with a military government is Argentina.

Going for Argentina. It's the right answer, yes.

-Ooh.

-Clearly not the only one on that list with a military government.

It means you need this, Kaye.

What type of creature did George Washington hire as entertainment

for his Christmas guests

at Mount Vernon in 1787,

a tradition which continues today.

I haven't a clue. I have not a clue.

Christmas, you think camels.

The Three Wise Men.

I can't imagine they're that easy to get hold of

if people are continuing that tradition today.

Um, what was available in 1787?

-I'm going for a donkey.

-OK. A donkey.

It is a camel!

It is a camel, which I know you were thinking about, Kaye.

Which means, Daphne, you're in the final round. Bad luck, Kaye.

Please come back and join your teams.

OK. As it stands, the Early Birds have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads haven't lost any, but you have one last chance. It's Lizzie or Sally.

It's Film & Television. Who wants to play?

I'll probably be useless at it!

-You'll be good.

-You'll be great.

I'll do it.

OK, Lizzie. Good.

You've got Pat or Judith available there.

-What about Judith?

-Judith. Judith.

Judith, Dermot.

OK, it's going to be Lizzie and Judith into the question room.

So, Lizzie, the thing about breakfast shows is

you want to come across as though it's all organised and smooth,

but it's always seat of the pants, in the end.

Always something going on off camera that the viewer can't see.

Might distract your eye, but you've got to be organised and know what you're saying.

Was it like that for you?

Yes, a few things went wrong.

I remember on one occasion having a guest

and I would take the guests into the dressing room and go through the exercises first.

We used the music. Everything was choreographed to the music.

We got onto the studio floor, we started,

and it was the totally wrong music that we'd rehearsed to.

And you're live! So it tried not to mutter to my guest

and we just had to keep going. It was half time to everything we'd done.

OK. Let's play the round, shall we, Lizzie.

Would you like to go first or second?

I think first, please.

Best of luck. We've been talking about '80s TV. Try this for size.

In the TV series, Dallas,

what was the name of the mother of JR and Bobby?

I think Lucy was much younger.

I'm veering towards Miss Ellie.

I'm going to go for Miss Ellie.

Miss Ellie. Yes, it's the right answer. Well done, Lizzie.

OK. Your first question, Judith.

Which of these James Bond films

was made in the 1960s?

Well, Octopussy was a Roger Moore one.

So that's a bit later.

Oh, I can never remember.

I think it was Moonraker.

OK. Moonraker.

Also Roger Moore.

-Also Roger Moore? So it was Thunderball.

-Thunderball.

Yep, with Sean Connery.

So, Judith didn't know that. Great news for you, Lizzie.

See if you can get this and open up a two-nil lead.

Who played the female lead in the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman?

This is going to be a guess.

And I should imagine the team are shouting out the name of the person.

This is a pure guess. I'm just going to say Kristen Stewart.

-It's the right answer!

-Hey!

You have a two-nil lead.

So if Judith doesn't get this,

you go straight through without another question. Judith,

to keep your hopes alive,

what object is being pursued in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

I think it's... It's either the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail.

-I think it's the Holy Grail.

-The Holy Grail.

The Ark is the first one. It is the Holy Grail. That is correct.

She's still hanging in there.

But for a place in the final round, Lizzie,

who plays the part of Peter Mannion in the TV comedy The Thick of It?

I'm just going to go for Roger Allam.

And Roger Allam is he. It's the right answer.

So Roger Allam puts you in the final round.

Congratulations, Lizzie. Come back and join your teams.

So, this is what we've been playing towards, the final round,

which as always is general knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-head won't take part in this round.

So, Diana, Kaye and Jayne from the Early Birds and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you leave the studio, please.

Lizzie and Sally, you're playing to win the Early Birds £3,000.

Daphne, Chris, Barry and Pat, you're playing for something which money cannot buy.

It is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

The questions are all general knowledge, so anything can come up.

And you are allowed to confer, which makes your victory, Lizzie, so important.

So, Early Birds, the question is, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Lizzie and Sally, would you like to go first or second?

-First.

-I think we'd like to go first.

Let's get on with it. See if you can take out these Eggheads.

The first question is this.

Which British cyclist became famous for sporting a mod sign on the front of his helmet?

I don't think it's Bradley Wiggins because of his sideburns.

He's known for that.

So it's one of the other two.

What do you reckon?

Do you think the sideburns might be a bit of a moddish thing?

Or was that not really... I can't think of the mod...

I don't know why he's done it, actually. But mods don't...

-Didn't have...

-Didn't have sideburns? No.

That's right. So...

As I did quite well on the guessing game, I'm going for Mark Cavendish.

-Let's...

-Unless you think it is one of the other two?

I don't know. I don't know who it is.

-So shall we have a perfectly good guess?

-Go for it.

We'll guess and go for Mark Cavendish.

Mark Cavendish. The Manx Missile.

It is Bradley Wiggins!

Too obvious, we thought!

Yeah.

OK, Eggheads, let's see how you do.

Which term is used to refer to a pupil of Harrow School?

ALL: Harrovian.

He's an Harrovian.

Harrovian. Right answer, Eggheads.

So you have a lead. Early Birds, next question.

In which Swiss city is Paradeplatz,

the symbolic centre of the country's banking industry?

I think you always hear of the names of Zurich and the bankers.

I always associate Zurich with bankers.

Geneva's just a big cosmopolitan sort of place.

I absolutely agree with you. Zurich.

-Shall we try Zurich?

-Yes.

-We'll try Zurich.

-Zurich for bankers, you're right. Yes.

Well done.

You need to hope the Eggheads fail with this.

What term is used to refer to the technique of determining the order of nucleotides in DNA?

-Sequencing.

-Definitely.

-Yes.

It's not concatenation. It's not ordination.

They're not becoming priests!

Yep.

That's sequencing.

Sequencing. Are you glad you swerved that one?

It is sequencing, Eggheads. OK.

Right. It didn't happen there.

You need to get this to stay in the game.

Which building appeared alongside a portrait of Edward Elgar

on the reverse of the Bank of England £20 note

introduced in 1999?

Well, he, um...

I haven't a clue.

I mean, he was from Worcester, from Malvern area.

And yet so much of his stuff was... He's so linked with

-Land of Hope and Glory.

-The Royal Albert Hall.

Last night of the Proms.

I would have thought that he's so associated with the Albert Hall...

-Over to you.

-Worcester Cathedral wouldn't be...

-Sally's answer.

We think Royal Albert Hall.

The answer is Worcester Cathedral.

Oh, no!

I might have known!

-A lot of people wouldn't have known that.

-We guessed wrong twice.

You had the essential piece of information.

I'm afraid we lost to a better team!

Just let me confirm it. It means, Eggheads, you have won.

It's been great fun, reminiscing about old times.

And seeing you quizzing against the Eggheads.

And getting very unlucky with those sitting in the question room.

It could have been very different in that final round.

Lizzie's victory will live long with us, as well.

Thank you for taking on the Eggheads.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they still reign supreme over Quiz Land.

You haven't won the £3,000.

That means the money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a team of medical and scientific experts

have the brains to defeat our Eggheads. That should be interesting!

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

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