Episode 115 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, where a team of five quiz challengers

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Their pedigree is well known. They've won some of the country's

toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

Taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are Team Phoenix. This team are all students

at Grey College, part of Durham University. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Swifty. I'm 21, and I'm a modern languages student.

Hi, I'm Danny. I'm 20, and I'm a politics student.

Hi, I'm Leigh. I'm 23, and I'm a trainee teacher.

Hi, I'm Tom. I'm 19. I'm an economics and politics student.

Hi, I'm Stuart. I'm 21. I'm a modern languages student.

-Swifty and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Explain Phoenix to me. Why Phoenix?

It's our college emblem on account of the fact that in 1959,

one of the college accommodation blocks was burnt to the ground.

Hence, phoenix from the ashes.

I was at Durham University and I had nothing to do with that incident.

You've come together as students and you've all got different interests.

We all attend the same college.

Three of us are members of the college football society.

The other two, Danny and Tom, are the pub quiz organisers in the college.

-So, down the end, you're the brains?

-Well, hopefully.

-It's Danny and Tom.

These lot are our Eggheads. The Eggheads of Grey College.

Are they big on campus, the Eggheads?

-Absolutely.

-Absolutely.

-People watch them?

-Definitely.

-Are you enjoying your student days?

-ALL: Absolutely.

-Nearly over for most of us.

-This is probably the highlight of my term.

-It's downhill from here.

-Well, it's a great university.

Every day there's £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers.

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

So, Team Phoenix, the Eggheads have won the last 17 games,

which means £18,000 is yours if you beat the Eggheads today.

That might go a long way in the Grey College Bar.

ALL: Yeah!

Our first head-to-head battle is on Food and Drink.

Who wants this?

-Going to have to be me. Sacrificial lamb.

-Step up to the plate, mate.

Stuart from the Phoenix against...?

Erm...I think I'll take down...

I'll take down! I think I'll take on Daphne, please.

OK, Stuart from Team Phoenix against Daphne. Why, "Oh, golly gosh?"

Why that?

Well, I hardly ever get chosen, and the last time, I lost.

-Is that right?

-That's fantastic.

They've been studying the patterns of play.

Stuart against Daphne from the Eggheads.

Would you take your positions in the question room?

Stuart, why did everyone volunteer you for Food and Drink?

I'm guessing it's to do with the languages degree.

Food and Drink isn't exactly my specialist subject,

but a knowledge of language helps when it comes to Food and Drink,

cos most of them are foreign dishes.

Oh, I've got you. The French word for "pomme" and things like that?

-In a manner of speaking.

-It's a little bit tenuous...

-Just a bit, yeah.

-..but if that's what you've got, it's no problem.

-It was the best thing we had, so...

-Hold up your arm for a second.

What happened there?

I broke my hand. Took a little tumble outside the DSU,

right at lecture changeover time,

so probably about 200 people walking up and down the hill.

Fell over, broke my hand, slid a few feet. It wasn't ideal, really.

Daphne, will you take pity on him as a result of that injury?

Ha-ha! Why should I?

There we are, that's what you're dealing with!

I'll ask each of you three multiple choice questions on Food and Drink.

-Stuart, choose the first or second set.

-I think I'll go first.

OK, good luck.

What name was given to the drinks consisting of lemonade or some other

soft drink, pre-mixed with alcohol, that became popular in the 1990s?

It's definitely not gargle-blasters, because I've never heard of them.

Slurpees doesn't seem too likely, either.

So, as far as I can see, that leaves alcopops.

Alcopops is the right answer, Stuart. Well done.

Daphne, your question.

The Italian dish fritto misto refers

to an assortment of foods that have been cooked in which way?

I wish I was a language student,

but fritto sounds as if they're being fried. So, fried.

Fried is correct.

Back to you, Stuart.

What is the main ingredient of the Indonesian dish nasi goreng?

Erm...I'm not sure how big seaweed is in Indonesia.

So, I'll discount that one.

I know that rice and sweet potato are both common in that cuisine.

I think rice, as the basis of a dish, alone,

wouldn't be likely, so I'll say sweet potato.

-Do you know this one, Daphne?

-Rice.

-Rice is the answer, Stuart.

-The Indonesian language wasn't on your studies.

-Absolutely not, no.

That's a good alibi.

Daphne, the chef Alexis Soyer

helped to reform the British Army's catering during which war?

Oh, a lovely history question!

Crimean War.

Crimean War is absolutely right.

You need to get this one right, Stuart,

or you have been knocked out by Daphne, another injury.

Hindle wakes, a dish of chicken stuffed with fruit and nuts,

is said to have been brought by Flemish weavers to which county?

I genuinely...erm...wouldn't know where to begin with this one.

Flemish cuisine, not really a speciality either.

Yorkshire, geographically, is probably the biggest.

So...

my only guess here would be Yorkshire, so I'll take that.

Hindle wakes. Brought by Flemish weavers.

Where do you think, Eggheads?

-ALL: Lancashire.

-Lancashire is the answer, Stuart.

-OK.

-Stuart, you've been knocked out by Daphne, who puts on

her little old lady act, but she hits hard.

Both of you, please rejoin us here in the studio.

Stuart, bad luck.

The challengers have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost a brain so far.

The next subject is Film & TV.

-Who'd like this?

-Think this is me, lads.

-I'll have a crack at this one.

-OK, Tom, against?

Right, let's have a think. Statistics man, what d'you reckon?

-Chris?

-I can't really pick...

I think...I've got a feeling on Barry. So, yeah, I'll take Barry.

Tom from Team Phoenix against Barry from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions now.

-So, Film & TV, Tom.

-Yeah, that's me.

-You've got an interesting surname.

-Yeah, my surname is McMinigal.

I find that it gets mispronounced quite a lot.

I have difficulty with that. It's a regular thing.

It's the bane of my life, actually. It upsets me.

-M, small C, M-I-N-I-G-A-L?

-That's the one.

Ever met anyone else with the same surname?

Outside my family, no. Maybe one day. It'd be nice, Jeremy.

McMinigal. It will probably have people watching

who have that surname picking up the phone.

-Good luck, Tom.

-Thank you. Cheers.

You've got three multiple choice questions on Film & TV.

-The first or the second set.

-I'll go first.

Here we go. James Jordan is a name most associated

with which television programme?

I can't say I've ever heard of him on Strictly Come Dancing.

It would probably be one of the judges, but I think

I know the judges' names so I'm going to eliminate that option.

The Apprentice. Big fan of The Apprentice.

I don't think it's that, so I'm going to plump for...

down the middle, Antiques Roadshow.

Antiques Roadshow is your answer. Anyone on your team know?

I thought he was a dancer on Strictly Come Dancing.

He is on Strictly Come Dancing, Tom! And I think he must be a dancer.

Shocker.

Barry, which character did Johnny Depp play

in Tim Burton's film version of Alice In Wonderland?

Of those three there's only one character

that Johnny Depp could possibly play. The Mad Hatter.

Mad Hatter is correct. Back to you, Tom.

Which female presenter walked across England

and hosted the fellwalking series Wainwright Walks Coast to Coast?

I don't think it's something Zoe Ball would do.

She doesn't strike me as the type who would be in that sort of show.

It sounds like a documentary,

and based on that I'm going to elect for Fiona Bruce.

It's Julia Bradbury. It's Julia Bradbury.

-Oh, no! I don't believe it.

-Fiona will take it as a compliment.

Barry, get this right, you've got the round.

Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, played by Sharon Small,

is the colleague of which TV policeman?

I don't think it's Thomas Lynley. I'm not sure,

but I think...Christopher Foyle had a female assistant, so I'll go for him.

Christopher Foyle is wrong. Daphne, who is it?

-Thomas Lynley.

-Thomas Lynley.

OK, Tom, he's let you back in here.

You've got to get this one right.

What was the title of Charlie Chaplin's first talkie?

Tell you what, Jeremy, this is a toughie. I need to get this right.

I've been let back in by Barry.

I don't know why. I've been down the middle twice.

That's not my reason for going for it.

I'm going to eliminate The Great Dictator.

I've got a feeling about The Gold Rush.

So, yeah, I'll elect for The Gold Rush.

The Gold Rush. Barry, what do you think?

Didn't he play Adenoid Hynkel in The Great Dictator? Wasn't that a talkie?

It was, and it was his first talkie. Great Dictator is the answer, Tom.

You've been knocked out by Barry.

You won't be in the final and Barry will!

Come back, both of you, and rejoin us here!

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains

from the final round, whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains.

How's the mood?

-Still upbeat.

-We're still in it to win it, lads, come on!

You can still definitely do it. Also, you've got youth on your side.

Look at the envy in their eyes, there.

The next subject is Music.

So, who wants this?

-I think you'd be better, Swifty.

-Yeah, have a pop at it, Swifty.

Swifty on Music, against which Egghead?

You can have Chris, Pat or Judith?

-Chris, potentially?

-Yeah, Chris.

-Chris?

-Yeah, Chris.

I'll take on Chris, please.

Swifty from Team Phoenix against Chris. It's you.

-Your musical zones?

-Anything bar girl bands and boy bands!

Chris from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions in the question room.

-You're studying languages as well, Swifty?

-That's correct, Jeremy.

-What are you studying?

-French and Spanish.

-And you've been away?

Yes, four months in France

and six months in a lovely town called Salamanca in Spain.

Oh, great days, I imagine.

Yeah, best year so far at university.

Never tell cos you're all so young,

-but these are the best years of your life!

-I'd agree.

And music, what are your tastes?

My knowledge is quite specialised, I like late '70s stuff.

The Jam, The Clash, Elvis Costello, things like that.

OK. I'll ask each of you three questions in turn.

Swifty, you can choose the first or second set.

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go. Fenty is the surname of which singer, born in 1988?

Erm, well it's obviously not Madonna. She's far too old to be born in 1988.

Erm, Rihanna, I believe, may be younger,

and given the word form, Fergie being relative to Fenty.

I'll go for Fergie, please.

It's Rihanna.

-It is Rihanna.

-Fergie is short for Ferguson.

Fergie is short for Ferguson, Daphne's telling me.

Chris. In which year did Elvis Presley marry Priscilla Beaulieu?

Ah, well, 1977, he died.

'57, he was too young, so it must be '67. 1967.

1967 is correct.

Back to you, Swifty. Hang on in there.

"What will this day be like, I wonder?"

are the opening words of which song from the film version

of The Sound of Music?

Erm, I've absolutely no idea. It's my sister's favourite film,

but I've never joined her in watching it, I'm ashamed to say.

I'm going to have to have a complete guess and go for Edelweiss.

Edelweiss is wrong. The correct answer is I Have Confidence.

Chris, for your second point,

what was the name of the musical work, or masque,

that originally featured the song Rule Britannia?

Ah, that was written...er, du-du-dum, oh, get on with it!

Alfred the Great founded the British Navy,

and Rule Britannia obviously celebrates the Navy, so it's Alfred.

Alfred...is correct. Chris, you've got two points there.

There's no way back for you, Swifty.

I'm sorry. Chris has taken the round and you've been knocked out.

Both of you, rejoin your teams.

Right, we've got a problem here. Do we need a tactical change?

You could still win, and it's £18,000, so...

That's the nature of the game. One person in the final, guaranteed.

-Hopefully two.

-It's not quite going to plan.

No, the rounds we expected to come up, or we wanted to come up,

haven't come up, so...

To defend you, you've spent so much time studying for your degrees...

-That must be it.

-..all the kind of trivia they know about,

-you don't bother with that.

-Haven't had time for TV.

No, you haven't been watching TV. As for Food and Drink, you know...

Pasta, isn't it? It's pasta. Nothing more.

So, you have now lost three brains from the final.

It's going to be difficult but it's not impossible.

The Eggheads are still intact,

and the last subject before the final is History.

Danny, mate. I think you are the man.

-Danny to take this one.

-Danny on History, OK. Which Egghead?

-Who's left?

-Pat or Judith.

THEY CONFER

-I think Judith, yeah.

-Can I take on Judith, please?

OK, Danny from Team Phoenix against Judith from the Eggheads.

Please go to the question rooms now.

Danny, we need to get some answers right in this round.

Yes, it hasn't gone very well so far.

-You study Politics, so a bit of overlap with History.

-Yes, I was hoping for Politics

but hopefully a bit of it will migrate over.

It's not my strongest subject, but I'll give it a go.

Judith, any tips?

You've seen many teams come and go in the Eggheads studio.

Just don't despair, because quite often

we lose to one person at the end.

I mean, it's not at all unknown.

History is the question on which you won your £1 million.

It is, but you can't know everything, unless you're Kevin, can you? LAUGHTER

OK, so good luck to you, Danny.

You can choose the first or second set of questions. Let's see if you can work Judith over here.

It hasn't worked well so far, but I'll go first, Jeremy.

Here we go.

In British history, King George II was born in which country?

I don't know off the top of my head. I am going to try and...

do an educated or semi-educated guess.

Er...

Well, most of the Royal family's lineage is from German extraction,

which would lead me towards Germany.

I think Russia would have been unlikely, I think,

although I know there was some crossover with the monarchy there.

Italy doesn't strike anything, I think just because...

George is probably more of a German name than a Russian or Italian name.

So it's a very wild guess but I'm going to guess Germany.

Well done. It is Germany. You've got the points.

A lot excitement here. Judith,

rulers of Ancient Egypt were often depicted wearing what,

as a symbol of their divine power?

SHE CHUCKLES Good heavens! Well, not false teeth, surely.

I think that it probably was beards, actually.

I'm trying to think of what all those tomb paintings looked like.

They'd all seem to have beards, so beard.

False beard is correct.

Back to you, Danny.

Which engineer built the world's first iron bridge, over the River Severn?

Which engineer built the world's first iron bridge, over the River Severn?

Well, I believe they're all engineers.

I'm not 100% sure, again.

For some reason, something in my head is towards Brunel.

I know he was very keen on his bridges.

I guess all engineers are, but Brunel especially was quite keen on his big structures.

Something's leading me towards Brunel, so I'll go with Brunel.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Chris, you'll know this.

Yes, Abraham Darby, long before Brunel's time.

-So it's Abraham Darby, the answer, Danny, there.

-Ah.

Judith, if you get this right,

you pull ahead.

In which ancient city did Alexander the Great die?

Not Carthage. And I don't think it was Babylon.

I think it was Samarkand.

No, Samarkand is wrong.

It WAS Babylon, Judith.

What about this? They got one wrong.

Danny, get this right, she then messes up - you're in the final.

Who was the husband of the Soviet politician Nadezhda Krupskaya?

Right.

Russian history isn't my strong point.

I don't think Trotsky was married...

and I'm not sure why but nothing in my head's pointing towards Trotsky.

For me it's between Stalin and Lenin.

I think...

Hm.

I'm not sure that Lenin was married for a very long time.

Or I think he may have had many wives, or at least a few wives.

I'm going to go with Stalin, although it's a bit of a guess.

Stalin is your answer. Anyone on your team know?

-We had a toss up between Stalin and Lenin.

-OK, Eggheads?

-Lenin.

-Sorry, Danny, she was married to Lenin.

-Never mind.

-So one point each, and, Judith, if you get this right,

you are in the final.

In the 15th century, Henry Chicheley held which public office?

I think...

Er...

I think he was Archbishop of Canterbury.

Judith, Archbishop of Canterbury is correct.

The right answer. So, Danny, sorry - you've been knocked out as well.

Judith will be in the final. In fact, all the Eggheads will be,

and if you come back to us, we will play that final round.

This is what we've been playing towards.

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

but I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

So Swifty, Danny, Tom and Stuart, all from Team Phoenix,

would you please leave the studio?

Leigh, good luck to you. They've left you all alone.

Yeah, they've left me hanging.

And they look as if they're finding it quite amusing.

Oh, really? I was hoping they were looking sheepish.

I thought they would, but they're going to enjoy it.

So, the Eggheads are all here and at least... If you take them apart,

it becomes Durham University history.

-Yes, it's a big claim, isn't it?

-Exactly, so let's think positive.

So, Leigh, you're playing to win Team Phoenix £18,000

and it's going to be interesting to see how you split the money if you do carry it off.

-Yep.

-Daphne, Chris, Barry, Pat and Judith,

you're playing for something that money can't buy,

which is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge, and you are allowed to confer.

Well, maybe they can contact you spiritually from the other room.

So, Leigh, the question is,

is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

First or second?

Yeah, I'll stick with the theme and go first, please.

Good luck and here we go, Leigh.

In a church, what is the name of the stand on which the Bible rests?

Um...

Well, it's not the font,

because that's something that you are dipped in

if you're being christened.

It's not the vestry. That's somewhere you get changed.

So, the Bible is...

by process of elimination, the thing that goes on the lectern.

Lectern is the right answer. Well done. Good stuff.

Eggheads, what name is given to an accidental mistake

which is supposed to reveal someone's hidden feelings?

-Freudian slip.

-Freudian slip.

That's a Freudian slip, Jeremy.

-Freudian slip is correct.

-I have one from my own family.

My sister was the host of a large charity dinner

with all the notables of Leeds in there,

and the guest speaker was Howard Jacobson,

and she stood up to propose a vote of thanks and said,

"I'd like to spank Howard Jacobson."

LAUGHTER

-And after that, he then wrote a bestselling novel.

-Indeed.

OK, Leigh, your second question.

If you get this right, you will have got four questions right

overall, and you'll not be the lowest scoring team

in the history of Eggheads, so you want to get it right.

Which major sporting event was first staged in 1903?

I'm really not sure, I've got to be honest.

We were talking sport last night,

and particularly about the Tour de France, just as a group.

I just...

It's fairly recent as a major sporting event.

For some reason, I'm erring towards US Masters.

I don't know why.

Um...

If it's the FA Cup Final, I am not going to hear the end of it, though.

And for that reason...

I'm going to go FA Cup Final.

OK, FA Cup Final is your answer,

-on the basis that you wouldn't hear the end of it if it was...

-Yes.

OK. We've not had that process of reasoning before.

It's not the FA Cup Final. Eggheads?

Tour de France.

-Oh, no.

-Do you know who won it, Eggheads?

I think it was Maurice Garin.

Maurice Garin, that's right.

OK, so it was Tour de France.

It's not over yet.

Eggheads, the game of pachisi is a forerunner of which board game?

It's ludo, definitely.

-Ludo?

-Definitely. Absolutely.

OK, we're going with ludo, Jeremy.

The answer is ludo, so well done, Eggheads.

So that means, Leigh, you have to

get this question right to stay in the contest with a chance of winning £18,000.

You could still do it.

I know it seems improbable but forget what's gone before -

-You can still do it.

-Yep.

What was the stage name of Harry Houdini's brother Theodore,

who was also a successful magician?

Not of those are saying anything to me particularly.

I'm trying to get...

..something from the clue that he was also a magician.

Maybe a play on, you know, the name Theodore,

but there's nothing that's really...

presenting itself to me.

Theodore Hardeen.

Theodore Hincliff. Theodore Hawsip.

Just because it's got a better ring to it, I'll go for Hincliff.

Theodore Hincliff is your answer.

I think, with this, and I wouldn't know, but just looking at it,

I'm assuming that what he did was he took the name,

the correct answer here, and he put it before Houdini.

So if you start working along those lines, maybe you would have got it.

It's Hardeen. Hardeen Houdini.

-OK.

-So given that that answer's wrong, there's no way back,

and we say congratulations, Eggheads. You've won.

-Leigh, tough questions.

-Yeah.

And you were on your own, because they were knocked out,

-so you don't have to take the blame for that.

-No, no.

Don't be downcast.

I'm just disappointed, the way the whole game's gone, really.

-None of us were answering questions that we wanted to answer on.

-It's tough.

General knowledge and quizzing is a bit like that.

The Eggheads know stuff they're not interested in. It's a very unusual thing.

Most of us, we're so narrow, so focused.

They just know stuff.

Anyway, commiserations to you, challengers.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you're not going home with the £18,000, which would have come in handy in Grey bar, I'm sure.

So 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.

£19,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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