Episode 125 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together they make up the Eggheads, arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is - can they be beaten?

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

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain. Their quiz pedigree is well known.

They are the Eggheads.

And challenging our resident quiz goliaths today are The JBs.

This team are all students at the Josephine Butler College,

part of Durham University.

Hi, I'm Matt, I'm 21, an economics student.

Hi, I'm Yasha, also an economics student.

Hi. I'm Jo, I'm 20 and a classics student.

Hi. I'm Charlie, I'm 21 and I'm an economics student.

I'm Leo, I'm 22, a history student.

JBs, welcome, Matt and team. Durham University is quite good I've heard.

Quite good people go there. Some good people have been there.

Hatfield is one of the Durham colleges and I was there, definitely before you were born.

Tell me what you want to do when you...grow up!

What do you want to do when you leave Durham University, Matt?

I was hoping to work in the City, but at the moment that's not looking like a good future for me,

-so I hope the market picks up.

-Investment banking?

-Something like that would be nice.

-Well, they've all gone...

-I'm sure I can make a great career in modelling or something like that.

Modelling! And what subjects? Economics? Classics? Anything else represented.

-History.

-All right. Good spread.

-Durham University. And isn't the cathedral beautiful?!

-It is.

-I miss it so much.

Every day there's £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers, or else the prize money rolls over.

So, JBs, the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means £4,000 says you can't beat them.

The first head to head battle is on Food and Drink.

Students, you've got to be good!

-I think...

-Charlie.

-I think so, yeah.

Go on, Charlie.

Before you go, you have to pick a non-foodie Egghead.

-Who do you want to play against?

-Shall we go against Kevin?

-Bold shout.

-Take him down early.

If he's here at the end, we'll lose. Let's get him gone now.

-We'll take on Kevin, then.

-They sound confident.

Charlie from the JBs against Kevin from the Eggheads, please go to the Question Room.

-Charlie, what's your ambition?

-I'd quite like to get into sports journalism.

Broadcasting or writing?

I'd be tempted by both. I quite like Angus Fraser or the guys on Test Match Special.

-Something like that would be ideal.

-Good luck with that and this. Three questions,

-multiple choice, Food and Drink. First or second set?

-I think I'll go first.

Here we go, Charlie.

What term refers to the natural preservatives in wine coming from the pips, the skins and the stalks?

I should know this, having been part of a wine society at school.

Endorphins are more related to the human body.

Endorphin release during exercise.

Dioxins I'm not overly familiar with, but I've often heard of tannins with wine, so tannins.

Tannins is right, well done.

Well done, Durham.

Kevin, what part of the horseradish plant is principally used in cookery?

I can't stand horseradish. I should say that.

So...

-The stem.

-The stem?

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-Sorry.

It's just that you are the cleverest man in the world and only on this subject do you become unclever.

-It is the root.

-I just couldn't make up my mind between the two.

OK, Durham. It's started well. Here's your question.

Don't slip up. Anchovies are most closely related to which fish?

Em...

Well, anchovies are very small.

Very powerful flavour.

It doesn't seem like cod or salmon, so I'll go with herring.

Herring's the right answer. Well done.

Kevin...

What distinctive cactus-like fruit has a fuchsia-pink outer shell and watery white flesh

dotted with small seeds?

I don't know.

White flesh with little seeds in it?

-I'll try star fruit.

-OK, if you get this wrong,

you've crashed out. No way back.

Don't seem to be at the races today.

The answer is dragon fruit. You're wrong, Kevin. You're wrong.

Charlie, strategically very sound. Took Kevin on his weakest subject.

He won't be in the final. You will. Well done to our JBs. Do come back and rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost no brains, the Eggheads one. It's early days.

The next subject is Arts and Books.

You must all want this!

-Absolutely not!

-Jo?

-It's got to be you.

-You're very well read.

-She reads a lot of books.

-We're going for Jo.

-And who looks lost in literature?

-I think CJ. Take out CJ.

-CJ's looking smart.

-OK, then, I'll take CJ.

-This could be good.

Jo from the JBs versus CJ from the Eggheads. Smirking for some reason.

Please take your positions in the Question Room.

We'll ask you three questions on Arts and Books in turn.

-Jo, the first or the second set?

-I think I'll go first, please.

Good luck to you.

In JM Barrie's work Peter Pan,

what unusual item did the crocodile swallow?

I'm pretty confident about this one, so I'm going to go with clock.

Please.

Clock is the right answer.

CJ, over to you.

Which British artist is well known for his biblical illustrations and works inspired by his own visions?

Stubbs was far too sober for that sort of thing

and Turner's landscapes were all very misty and surreal,

but the one who was most prone, shall we say, to visions, and that sort of genre is Blake.

William Blake is the right answer. Well done. Well done.

Over to you, Jo.

What name is given to pieces of art put together using disparate elements scavenged by the artist?

Um...I'm not entirely sure about this. I don't think it's ensemble.

I'm just going to go for a guess here.

I'm going to go for assemblage.

Good guess, you're right. Assemblage it is.

Keeping the pressure up on our CJ.

CJ, Crash is a 1973 novel by which writer?

Ah. Em...

Oh, dear. Let's say it was...

a follow-up to A Clockwork Orange. Anthony Burgess.

JG Ballard is the answer, CJ. Bad luck.

You've fallen behind.

Jo, get this right and you'll be in the final. CJ will not.

Which writer became a Costa Book Award winner at the age of 91 in January 2009?

Em, I'm not sure about this. I'm pretty sure I can rule out Andrea Levy.

I don't think she's that old.

Em...

I'm going to go with the name that springs out to me. Hilary Spurling?

-But I'm not sure.

-Hilary Spurling is incorrect.

-It was Diana Athill.

-OK.

So, CJ, you have a chance now.

If you get this wrong, you're out.

Which 19th-century US author and diplomat wrote under the comic pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker?

I'm not aware of Mark Twain ever having been a diplomat. I don't know much about Longfellow.

There's something nagging me that Irving was...

He did have a government job.

I would say he's probably the most comic of those three, so I'll try Washington Irving.

Washington Irving is correct. You've drawn level.

That means it's sudden death.

It's not multiple choice now, Jo.

-OK.

-I'm looking for the answer from you.

"The worst dreams that ever I have are when I hear the surf booming about its coasts

"or start up right in bed with the sharp voice of Captain Flint still ringing in my ears.

'"Pieces of eight!"' are the last words from which book?

I assume it's something to do with sailing or ships.

I really don't have a clue so I'm just going to guess. Moby Dick?

-I don't know.

-Moby Dick it is not.

-"Pieces of eight!" Eggheads?

-Treasure Island.

-That's right.

OK, CJ, you can take this round

and show your literary prowess.

The acclaimed American naive artist Anna Mary Robertson Moses was better known by what nickname?

She was Grandma Moses.

Grandma Moses is the correct answer, CJ. You have just nipped in.

Jo, you won't be in the final

with your fellow students. CJ, you will. Do come back to us here in the studio.

The Eggheads and the Challengers have lost one brain each from our final round.

-The next subject is Sport. Charlie, you've gone!

-I know.

-I think Matt.

-It'll have to be Matt.

-I'll take it.

-Matt.

-Daphne's good at sport.

Shall we go for Barry?

-Barry, please.

-All right. It's Matt versus Barry.

Would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

OK, three questions on sport, in turn, and Matt, you can choose the first or second set.

I think I'll go first.

Here's your question.

What is the type of serve in tennis

that imparts spin on the ball so it changes direction on bouncing?

Em...

I'm pretty certain. Kick serve jumps out at me.

I think that's the kick it gets from the spin.

So I'll go with kick serve.

Kick serve is right. That was a tough question.

Did you know that, Judith?

-It's the only one that's a real term.

-Barry, how are you doing?

-Fine, but I haven't had a question!

-You've got colour co-ordinated shirts. You'll be fine.

The Sheriff of Potingham, the Jester from Leicester and the Preston Potter

are all nicknames of players in which sport?

I think that's far too witty for bowls. I think that's snooker.

Snooker's right.

Matt, here's your second question.

Which former England international footballer was nicknamed Butch?

I'm not 100% certain on this one.

Em...I think I'm going to have to go with Ray Wilkins.

-Is he right?

-Yes.

-Yeah, you're right. It's Ray Wilkins.

Barry,

Germaine Mason, the Jamaican-born athlete who now represents Britain,

won a silver medal in which event at the 2008 Olympic Games?

I remember watching this. He did gloriously well in the high jump.

High jump is the right answer. Well done.

Matt, over to you to put the pressure on Barry.

The Boxing Day horse race known as the King George VI Chase is run over what distance?

Em...I'm really not sure, so I'll have to go with three miles.

Three miles is the right answer. Well done.

-What made you choose that?

-I thought a chase might be longer,

-but I wasn't really sure.

-Good enough for us.

Barry, get this wrong

and it'll be your pink shirt that goes backstage in the final round, not Matt's.

Apart from cricket, which sport has a marked area called the crease?

A marked area? I don't think it's basketball.

I don't think it's fencing. There's no markings on a fencing piste that I'm aware of.

So I'll say ice hockey.

And you're right. Ice hockey it is.

Scores are level.

It goes to sudden death, Matt, OK? Not multiple choice.

Which golf course in the Midlands hosted the Ryder Cup in 1985, 1989,

1993 and 2002?

I can only really think of one notable golf course, but I don't know where it is.

I'll go with that. The Belfry.

-Eggheads, you're laughing.

-Yes.

-Cos he's right.

The Belfry is right.

OK, Barry.

The father of which former tennis champion represented Iran

at boxing

in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics?

-That was Andre Agassi's father.

-Yes, it was Andre Agassi's father. How extraordinary.

The kind of thing quizzers know.

You know? Matt, you have to keep fighting here.

Which sporting venue was nicknamed The House That Ruth Built

shortly after it opened in 1923?

Er, I'm assuming this is Babe Ruth.

And he's more than notable for being a New York Yankees player.

-So I'd say Yankee Stadium.

-Absolutely brilliant. You're right. Fantastic.

Barry, your question.

Get this wrong and you're out. In April 1997, the Scottish racing driver Tom Walkinshaw

became the chairman and majority shareholder of which rugby union club?

I really don't know on this one so I shall pick one out of the air and say Saracens.

No, the answer is Gloucester Rugby Club. Barry, you got it wrong.

Well done, Matt,

and well done the JBs.

You took on an Egghead and you emerged triumphant.

Good news for the challengers. Matt will be in the final, Barry won't. Please come back to us.

So the challengers have lost one brain from the final round, the Eggheads two. You're doing well.

The last subject is Film and TV.

You probably don't have time for it.

-Who would you like to play against? And who wants to play?

-I don't watch anything.

I think we're going to go with Leo against Judith.

-I don't watch anything either!

-You do. Leo versus Judith. Please do take your positions.

Three questions, then, on Film and Television in turn.

Leo, first or second?

I think I'll take first, Jeremy.

Here we go.

Daphne Moon and Roz Doyle were characters in which long-running US TV sitcom?

Well, I know it's not Friends because I do watch a bit of Friends.

Frasier I've taken a passing interest in. I know roughly the plot.

I've not come across many female characters in Frasier,

to be honest, so I think on that basis,

-I have to go for The Wonder Years.

-Let me check with the Eggheads.

-Frasier!

-Frasier.

-Frasier's the right answer.

-That's a real blow.

-Yes.

-Roz is played by Peri Gilpin and Daphne is played by Jane Leeves.

-OK, anything else?

-No, that's all, thank you.

-That's enough anyway.

Judith,

what is the name of Wallace's love interest in the 1995 Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave?

I have no idea!

I think she might be Windolene or Wendolene.

-Wendolene.

-No?

-It's the right answer.

-It's not?

Was it balls of wool she was doing?

-Yes, she has hair out there.

-Introduced us to Shaun the Sheep.

So Wendolene gives Judith a little bit of an edge, Leo.

Here's your question. In the 2001 film A Knight's Tale, starring Heath Ledger,

which literary figure was played by Paul Bettany?

Luckily, this plays a bit into my strengths as it is really history.

And I have seen the film.

I'm going to say Geoffrey Chaucer and I think that's right.

You added "as I've seen the film". Yeah, that must help(!)

Chaucer is the right answer.

It just struck me you look amazingly like Prince Harry.

-Has anyone said that before?

-It's been said in the past.

-What do you think, Judith?

-I bowed when I saw him. I mean I curtseyed.

-Does it cause any problems for you, Leo?

-No, it's been a pleasure!

Your question, Judith. Who plays the role of Stacey in the TV sitcom Gavin and Stacey?

I hoped you were going to say EastEnders. I know Stacey in that.

I've never watched it.

-April Pearson?

-Head in hands on this side of the studio, I'm afraid. Barry?

-Joanna Page.

-It was.

So one point each.

Got you off the hook there, Leo. You need to get this one right now.

The 1961 Western One-Eyed Jacks was the first and last film directed by which actor?

None of the answers are really jumping out. Em...

I'm going to go for Marlon Brando.

Marlon Brando it was. Judith, your question now.

If you get this wrong, you know what happens.

Walter Neff is the main protagonist in which film noir classic?

I haven't seen any of those films.

-What about The Postman Always Rings Twice?

-The Postman Always Rings Twice is...the wrong answer.

It's Double Indemnity, Judith.

-So I'm sorry, but...

-Prince Harry wins!

-Leo, well done!

Well done to the JBs.

Congratulations, Leo. You are in the final round. Judith, you are not.

Things are turning towards the JBs. We'll see what the last round brings. Do both come back to us.

This is what we've been playing towards. It's the final round, which is General Knowledge.

Those of you who lost won't be allowed to take part.

It is Jo from the JBs, but also Barry, Judith and Kevin from the Eggheads.

This team are playing rather well. Please would you all leave the studio?

OK, Matt, Yasha, Charlie and Leo, you are playing to win the JBs £4,000.

CJ and Daphne, you're playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

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

JBs, are your four brains better than the Eggheads' two?

-And would you like to go first or second?

-We'll stick with what we did and go first, please.

First question for the JBs.

According to the saying, if you are penny-wise, you may also be what?

Well, farthing-daft sounds... well, it sounds a bit daft.

-Shilling-silly is a tongue-twister.

-Pounds and pennies.

-I agree with that.

-That feels like a proverb.

-So pound-foolish?

-It's not a very good first question.

-I think pound-foolish.

-OK, Jeremy, we'll go with pound-foolish, please.

Penny-wise, pound-foolish. Correct.

Thanks.

Eggheads, your question.

In which English county is the start of the Pennine Way National Trail?

The start? I don't think it's as far north as North Yorkshire.

Or as far over as Nottinghamshire. I thought of Derbyshire first,

-but I'm happy to be overruled.

-No. Derbyshire.

-You sure he's right, Daphne?

-I was thinking the same thing.

Derbyshire is correct. Hesitation on the first questions.

My goodness. This is tense. Over to you, JBs.

The lebkuchen is a traditional biscuit from which country?

-Our resident expert.

-Our European friend.

I'm fairly sure that's Germany.

Germany is right. Eggheads...

The kip is the standard monetary unit of which country?

It is the... It's Laos.

-Laos. Or Lay-os.

-Yeah.

-Or Lao.

-Laos is your answer?

-Yes.

-It's the right answer. Your third question, JBs.

Hold focus here. Don't drift off.

The Hollywood-set play Hurly Burly is a work by which author?

I've heard of Kushner and Larson. I haven't heard of Rabe.

That's no reason to discount him.

No, of course not.

-It's up to you.

-It's guesswork.

-No pressure(!)

-Go with it.

We don't know this, unfortunately, but we'll guess Kushner, please.

Kushner. Tony Kushner.

Just because it's got a Kush in it or what?

Sounds like a good name with that.

It was David Rabe.

Now here's the situation. You've let them in.

This could be disastrous. You have to hope that they slip up.

Sometimes on the third question they do. Particularly these two because they start bickering.

So let's see what happens now. Get this right and you've won.

Romulus and Remus, legendary founders of Rome,

were supposedly guarded by a she-wolf and which other creature?

I knew it was a bird!

-Something is drawing me to woodpecker, but I don't know...

-That's what...

Out of those three, woodpecker jumped out at me.

That was my thought, so here we go.

It's a woodpecker.

You've been drawn towards woodpecker by the faint sound of pecking?

-Or something distant?

-No, just something...

-It occurred to us both and that's good enough.

Have the students got one up on you?

It's a she-wolf and what do you think?

We looked at Barry's face. He seems to think woodpecker!

-Is it right, Barry?

-Absolutely right.

It's right. Congratulations, Eggheads. You've won.

And I was secretly rooting for you as a fellow Durham graduate.

Commiserations. And you played hard and well,

but the Eggheads did what comes naturally. They still reign supreme.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with £4,000. The money rolls over.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers do it.

£5,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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