Episode 51 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?

Hello and welcome to Eggheads,

the show where a team of challengers

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

You might recognise them,

as they're Goliaths in the world of TV quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz champions today

are the...

Four of the team work together

for HM Revenue and Customs.

To complete the quintet,

team captain Chris has recruited his regular quiz partner, Stella.

-Let's meet them.

-Hello. I'm Chris.

I'm 59 and I'm a senior officer in her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Hello. I'm Alan.

I'm 48. I'm a civil servant.

Hello. I'm Stella. I'm 43 and I'm a community nursery nurse.

Hello. I'm Doug. I'm 60 and I'm a civil servant.

Hello. I'm Mike. I'm 45 and I'm a civil servant.

Welcome to you, Dorset Coasters.

I'm assuming the team name

is because you live there?

We all live and work on the south coast. The Dorset coast.

A wonderful part of the world to live.

We hope to coast through this.

Ah, yes, the other part of it.

Tell me about the quizzing.

Stella, you're not a work colleague,

but you've quizzed with members of the team.

I've quizzed with Chris and Alan before.

How do you do in these quizzes as a team, Chris?

We do very well, actually.

The hotel we go to on a Tuesday night,

we regularly get into the prize-winning at the end of the quiz.

-Is that top three or top five?

-Usual the top three.

When we were Customs and Excise,

we also took part in a number of quizzes in the South and South-West

in the department.

We received a trophy one year, which we retained the second year.

Unfortunately, when we merged with the Revenue,

they stopped the quizzes, so we've got the trophy for life.

A bit like someone else(!)

For life, yeah.

International Mastermind there, because they wound it up in 1983?

-'4.

-84. OK, then.

You mentioned finishing in the top three in your quizzes.

That's not good enough. Only top dog gets money and accolades here.

Let's see if you can do it. Every day there's £1,000

worth of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to win,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Dorset Coasters, the Eggheads have won the last 19 games.

Which means it's a round £20,000

which says that you can't beat the Eggheads.

OK. Let's get on with it then.

Our first head to head today is going to be in the area of Music.

-Who likes their music?

-Mike.

-Shall I take that one?

-Definitely, Mike.

-I'll take that, Dermot.

-Who would you like from the Eggheads?

Kevin? D'you want to try Kevin?

-I'd like to take on Kevin, please.

-Let's have then Mike and Kevin.

Into the question room, please, just to make sure there's no conferring.

OK then. Mike, tell me about your interest in and your love of music.

It goes back throughout my whole life.

It comes from the family I grew up in.

Generations of musicians.

Lots of instruments around the house.

I like to play all sorts of music and I play in a band.

A-ha! The band. Now this is Rockin' The Joint?

That's right. Rock and roll music from the '50s.

D'you get paid? Declared earnings, of course(!)

All declared.

OK, Mike. D'you want to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

OK. Good luck.

Here we are, first question to you, Mike.

The Italian singer Andrea Bocelli has which type of voice?

I think a soprano would tend to be a woman's voice.

It would be in that range.

Baritone is a lower voice.

I think he's a well-known Italian tenor.

That's the correct answer. Andrea Bocelli, a tenor.

Kevin, first question for you.

What produces the sound made by an Aeolian harp?

It's wind, Dermot.

Aeolus was the, or one of the, Gods of the wind in Greek mythology.

Correct.

OK. Mike, here's your next question.

What name is given in music to a note that's neither sharp nor flat?

I think nominal would be more of a term that would be used in accounts,

which is something that I do my day job.

Normal - not heard that used in reference to musical terms.

A note perfectly in tune would be a natural.

As that question was for you, it's right.

Natural. Right up your street.

Kevin, which band teamed up with singer Paul Rodgers

to record the 2008 album, The Cosmos Rocks?

Sort of standing in for Freddie Mercury.

-It's Queen.

-Queen?

-Yes.

Right answer, Kevin. Yes. Two each.

Both going well.

Mike, third question.

Edward Elgar was born just outside which city

where his father later kept a music shop?

I'm not sure of the answer to this one. But looking at the options,

I'm going to say Worcester.

OK. Worcester.

It's the right answer.

Well done, Mike.

Just outside Worcester.

That means Kevin, you've got to get this.

Which popular singer was nicknamed The Chairman Of The Board,

after founding the Reprise record label?

I believe that was Frank Sinatra.

Chairman Of The Board? Ol' Blue Eyes?

Right answer, yes. Frank Sinatra.

3-3. That means, Mike,

we go to sudden death.

Mike, the rock guitarist, David Howell Evans,

is famously known by which pseudonym.

I think that's the proper name for the guitarist in U2,

who's called The Edge.

Yes. This rock and roll background's helping you.

It's the right answer. The Edge.

David Howell Evans, as you explained,

the guitarist in U2.

Kevin, which heavy-metal band

had a number one album in 2008 with Death Magnetic?

That's Metallica.

It's the right answer.

How did you know that, Kevin? You just keep an eye on the list?

-You have to, don't you?

-Or is it a favourite of yours?

-Not exactly!

OK, Mike...

What is the title of the regimental quick march of the Royal Marines,

that is based on an 1838 song tune by Henry Russell?

Unfortunately, this one has beaten me.

I'm going to have a guess at Blaze Away, but I don't think it's right.

Blaze Away?

Is not the right answer. Do you know, other Eggheads?

-Life On The Ocean Wave.

-Life On The Ocean Wave.

A chance opens up for Kevin.

Kevin, the singer born Yvette Marie Stevens,

near Chicago in 1953, is better known by which name?

I think that's the real name of Chaka Khan.

It is the right answer.

Chaka Khan. Yvette Marie Stevens, born near Chicago

in '53, wins a very competitive round for Kevin there.

Come back and join your teams.

I feel we've got quality quizzing ahead.

That was a quality round. Mike just lost out to Kevin.

Dorset Coasters have lost a brain from the final round.

We'll quickly move on to another subject.

This one's Science. Who'd like to play this?

I do have a degree in physics.

I think that counts, then!

THEY LAUGH

-It's got to be me, then.

-OK, Doug.

-A physicist there, I hear you saying?

-Once was, I think.

-Which Egghead would you like to play?

-Daphne.

-Daphne it is.

-OK. Doug and Daphne into the question room, please.

OK. Doug, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second.

Daphne. Here's your first question.

NASA's Johnson Space Centre, which acts as mission control

for all space shuttle flights, is located near which US city?

I assume it's named after Lyndon Johnson.

So it's probably Houston.

-Houston.

-Houston.

Is the right answer, well done.

OK, then. First question then to Doug.

Harvest, wood and house are three types of which British mammal?

Well, harvest mouse, woodhouse, yes, it's got to be mouse. Yes.

-And house mouse?

-House mouse, yes.

It's the right answer. Mouse. Correct.

One to Doug. Daphne, second question.

Which scientist was chosen by Time Magazine

to be the Person Of The 20th Century?

If it was me,

I'm not quite sure, but...

..it must be Albert Einstein.

-Einstein?

-Einstein, yes.

Yes, you're right.

Doug. Here's your next question.

What word is used to describe a tooth with three points?

Well, this is going to be a bit of a guess, I think.

I've heard of a cuspid tooth.

I'll have to go for tricuspid.

That's the right answer. Tricuspid. Correct.

Back to Daphne.

Daphne, where was the 5,300 year-old naturally preserved mummy,

called Oetzi, found in 1991?

I think...

..it was in an Alpine glacier.

Alpine glacier. OK.

It's right. Well done, Daphne.

Well worked out. Alpine glacier. Which means, Doug,

you've got to get this.

Which gas makes up between 96% and 98% of the atmosphere

on the planet Venus?

It's not nitrogen because that's the Earth.

Venus is very, very hot.

It's got to be carbon dioxide or methane.

I think it's got to be carbon dioxide. That's my guess.

OK, a guess. An educated one and a correct one.

Carbon dioxide. 96%-98% on Venus.

We go to sudden-death. You'll be familiar

with it from Mike's experience. OK. Question for you, Daphne.

Which aviation pioneer became a celebrity for her flights

in a De Havilland Gypsy Moth aircraft that she called Jason?

Oh, dear! Either or.

Amy Johnson.

-Amy Johnson?

-Yes.

-What was the or?

Amelia Earhart.

The answer is Amy Johnson!

It's correct.

Sorry.

You tease!

It's fun, though!

Amy Johnson, correct answer from Daphne.

It means you've got to get this, Doug.

In which city in New Mexico was the US National Laboratory

built in 1943 as the base for The Manhattan Project?

That's got to be Los Alamos.

Los Alamos, it certainly is.

That's the right answer.

OK, Daphne, back to you, then.

Dorothy Hodgkin won the 1964 Nobel Prize for chemistry in part for her

discovery of the structure of which of the B vitamins?

Good guess...B12.

B12?

You're like a quiz B-52.

It's the right answer!

B12.

OK, well, Doug, you know what

you've to do. Here we go.

In the 17th century, which scientist used a compound microscope to make

detailed drawings of cells and tiny animals,

such as the flea, and publish them in his book, Micrographia?

I don't really know this one at all.

And the only scientist I can think of is Isaac Newton.

So I have to guess Isaac Newton.

OK, Isaac Newton.

It's not Isaac Newton.

-It's Robert Hooke.

-Robert Hooke. Thank you, Barry.

Another Dorset Coaster

won't be in the final round.

Come back and join your teams.

Well, as it stands, the Dorset Coasters

somehow seem to have let two rounds slip away.

They've lost two brains.

They've been playing well, but the Eggheads are all there.

Let's get Eggheads out.

You've got two head-to-heads before the final.

This one is Geography

and Chris, Alan or Stella are available to play it.

-Do you want me to go?

-I think it's probably best if...

-I'll do this one.

-All right.

-I can do this one.

Yeah, you'd like this one, Doug!

Have another go!

-Who would you like to...

-Er...

-Can we try Judith?

-Yeah, try Judith.

You reckon try Judith?

-Yeah.

-Try Judith, then, please.

Chris and Judith in this...

As long as it's not about France!

Of course, yeah! It's only certain bits of France.

It's only out the front door she's good at!

Not South-West France, anyway.

Chris and Judith in the question room.

OK, then, Chris, let's get on with this.

This is turning out to be some really good quizzing.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll take the first set, Dermot.

Geography it is, then. This is your question.

What is the capital of Libya?

What's the capital of Libya?

I know Tangiers is in Morocco, because I've been there.

Khartoum was where General Gordon met his fate. That was in the Sudan.

So I think the answer, therefore, should be Tripoli.

So you know it all ways, cos you knew it straight out,

I'm sure, as well. Tripoli is correct.

Judith, the Pacific island of Tahiti

is part of an overseas territory of which country?

That's an overseas territory of France.

So you got your French question(!)

It's the right answer. Let's hope that's the last of them.

Chris, South of Market, or SoMar, is a district in which US city?

Well, I must confess, I haven't heard of this.

Erm, now, Los Angeles has got Watts County.

I don't think I've heard of it in New York.

Erm, San Francisco... Hmm...

It's possible.

I think I'll have to

take a stab at this and say Los Angeles.

OK, LA, South of Market, SoMar.

SoMar is in San Francisco.

San Francisco. So, right state, wrong city.

Judith, what is the main unit of currency

in the United Arab Emirates?

What is the main unit of currency in the United Arab Emirates?

I think the baht is Thailand, so it's a dirham or a dinar.

Erm...

I think it's... I don't know.

It's a guess.

I think it's a dirham.

OK, UAE's main unit of currency is the dirham.

It's the right answer, so you have the lead.

OK, Chris, you've got to get this, then.

From shoreline to shoreline across the isthmus of Panama,

how long is the Panama Canal?

I think it's more than 40 miles.

Erm, not sure if it's as much as 110. Er...

It's a complete guess, Dermot, but I'll say 40 miles.

40 miles.

It's long enough, isn't it, to dig all that out? It's the right answer.

Yes, 40 miles is correct.

Pressure question,

well handled by Chris.

But a chance for Judith to clinch the round.

Judith, what is officially recognised as the centre of London

and the point to which road distances

to the capital are measured?

Well, it's not Tower Hill, and I always used to think it was

Hyde Park Corner until someone told me it was Charing Cross.

-Charing Cross is your answer?

-Yeah.

-OK.

That's the correct answer.

Judith, you've got it.

No reprieve, I'm afraid, Chris.

So it means that another Dorset Coaster

won't be in the final round.

Come back and join your teams.

Well, as it stands now, three brains from the Dorset Coasters

have been ejected and the Eggheads are all still there.

This is your last chance to knock an Egghead out and it's on History.

And Alan and Stella

remain to play. History.

It's all gone wrong, hasn't it?

-There's other players would like to play.

-Yeah.

-I will volunteer to play against Chris, please.

-OK.

One of Chris's favourite subjects, too,

but you've gotta play one!

It's Alan and Chris to the question room.

Alan, would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here you go, Alan, first question.

The American politician John McCain was held as a prisoner of war

for several years during which major 20th century war?

It wasn't the Second World War

and I don't think he goes back far enough for the Korean War.

I think that he was filmed as a very injured soldier in the Vietnam War.

Yeah, he was pretty old in the presidential election of 2008,

but if he'd been in the Second World War...

Yeah, the Vietnam War is correct.

Chris, what colour was the rose associated with

the House Of Lancaster during the Wars Of The Roses?

That was red!

Red rose of Lancaster, white rose of York.

Yep. Most certainly is. One to you.

OK, back to you, then, Alan.

Which British prime minister was responsible

for buying a major interest in the Suez Canal?

Right, well, although Palmerston was a very clever and astute politician

and certainly enlivened politics in the mid-19th century.

Gladstone would have been too traditional.

I think it was a sharp piece of dealing by Disraeli.

Sharp dealing by Disraeli. It's the right answer.

Well worked out, Alan. Two to you.

Chris, the Great Seal of the Realm, used by the monarch to signify

that a document carried the force of their will,

was dropped into the Thames by which king?

That was James II at the time of The Glorious Revolution,

when we had William and Mary. James II.

James II is the right answer.

The Great Seal of the Realm, despatched into the Thames.

So 2-2. Alan, which village in Derbyshire, now popularly known as

The Plague Village, chose to isolate itself when the plague was found

in the village in 1665, rather than let the infection spread?

This is not one to which I know an answer.

Er, on the grounds that Eyam sounds almost like a foreign name,

I shall take a stab instead at Castleton.

Castleton, OK.

It's not Castleton. It is Eyam.

Plague Village.

There we are. So it means a chance for Chris.

Going so well there, Alan, but this is a dangerous point to slip up.

You've just got to hope that Chris doesn't get this.

Chris, the emigration of approximately 12,000 Boers

from Cape Colony in South Africa between 1835 and the early 1840s,

in rebellion against the policies of the British government

and in search of fresh pasture lands, is known as the what?

Well, they were the Voortrekkers, and they went on the Great Trek.

It's the right answer, Chris!

A great trek to the final round for you and a trek back here, Alan,

but not to sit in on the final round.

Come back and join your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards.

Time the final round. It is General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part.

So, Chris, Alan, Doug and Mike from the Dorset Coasters,

would you leave the studio, please?

So, Stella, you're playing to win the Dorset Coasters £20,000.

Daphne, Chris, Barry, Judith and Kevin, you're playing for something

money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

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

The questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

Stella, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

Stella, first or second?

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

Stella, the first question.

Which celebrity's adopted children

include Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia?

OK, erm, I don't think it's Madonna

and as far as I'm sure, Sharon Stone

hasn't got children with those names.

I think it's Angelina Jolie.

This is from a close perusal of Heat magazine over the years?

Unfortunately, I don't actually read anything like that!

You've got the right answer.

Yes, Maddox and Zahara.

She's adopted both of them.

So, good start for you.

Eggheads, the style of hat called a boater is made from which material?

The style of hat called a boater is made from which material?

-Must be straw, mustn't it?

-Straw.

It just be straw.

Moleskin, you say(?)

Straw! Sometimes with a nice ribbon around the...

I can't hear you(!) I can tell you it's not moleskin(!)

No, straw is correct, Eggheads. Well done.

Boater. Straw boaters, yeah.

Stella, what is the name of the village

about 20 miles north of Stonehenge

that is the site of several stone circles and a large henge?

OK, erm, I'm not quite sure about this one.

Erm, but I think I'll have a go and say Avebury.

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

Avebury...

..is correct.

Avebury, yes.

And the village has grown up almost inside...

The circle, which was almost intact

when Dr Stukeley was around in the late 17th century and was

pretty well knocked to pieces

for agricultural purposes in the 18th and 19th centuries

and what's left is the remnants.

Let's see how the Eggheads do with this.

What was the occupation of the father of the writer DH Lawrence?

What was the occupation of the father of the writer DH Lawrence?

-Miner?

-Eastwood, yeah?

He was a miner in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.

I see. Very full answer.

"Miner" will do. Correct, Eggheads, two to you.

Well, now, Stella,

get this and you never know what might happen.

Here we are. The premises of the London Stock Exchange

are at which London address?

The premises of the London Stock Exchange

are at which London address?

OK...

Not quite sure of this answer, at all.

Hanover... Hanover Square...

Not quite sure whether it's that or not.

Erm, I'll go for Fitzroy Square.

-OK.

-That one.

Fitzroy Square for the London Stock Exchange.

Depends how well you know your London squares.

-Of course, you're not a Londoner.

-No.

The only one of those in the City of London,

-where the Stock Exchange is, is Paternoster Square.

-Ah.

Paternoster Square.

So, first one wrong.

Might not be the end, though. The Eggheads have got to get this.

Which Speaker of the House of Commons was created

Viscount Tonypandy in 1983?

Which House of Commons' Speaker

was created Viscount Tonypandy in 1983?

We're all agreed, Dermot, it was George Thomas.

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

Bad luck, Stella. It's always an uphill struggle on your own,

but you did ever so well dealing with the tension and the nerves

and the rest of it. And I thought how unlucky you Dorset Coasters

were in those head-to-heads. Went to sudden death, some of them,

and all of them just turned on one question. Some mighty battles there.

I think on another day it could be a very different result,

in the head-to-heads and the final round.

Thank you very much for playing, Dorset Coasters.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

Their win streak continues.

You won't be going home with £20,000,

which means the money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£21,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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