Episode 118 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

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 known. They've won the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads. And taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are the Crazy Golfers.

The majority of this team all work for the same company.

One of the team-building exercises their boss insists on

is golf lessons. Let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Leanne. I'm 26 and I'm a sales administrator.

Hi, I'm Bradley. I'm 27 and I'm a financial controller.

Hi, I'm Hannah. I'm 23 and I'm a sales administrator.

Hi, I'm Rob. I'm 36 and I'm a sales engineer.

Hi, I'm Patrick. I'm 41 and I'm a sales manager.

-Leanne and team, warm welcome to you.

-Thank you.

The golf lessons you all do together?

We do. We started out with golf lessons.

None of us had ever played golf, so it was a team-building exercise.

The boss isn't here but does he take you out on a working day

-or at the weekend?

-Sometimes.

-He's quite generous sometimes and does let us go...

-Very generous.

Has it worked? Have you become a better team because of your golfing?

-We can hit the balls now.

-I've got worse, actually.

It's been a steady downhill spiral, so...

But if you win today, we've got to thank the boss

for building you up as a team.

Absolutely, yeah. We will treat him to the best set of golf clubs.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Crazy Golfers, the Eggheads have won the last 20 games,

which means £21,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Does that make it more exciting?

-Yeah, a little bit.

OK, the first head-to-head battle is on History.

Which one of you would like this?

-Who's taking History?

-Got to be Patrick.

-You want me to take it?

-I think it's Patrick.

-Yeah, Patrick.

Patrick. D'you want to pick an Egghead, Patrick?

Err...I think...let's play Daphne.

-Daphne.

-Daphne.

-Yeah, I'll play Daphne.

Patrick from the Crazy Golfers against Daphne, there she is,

from the Eggheads. Please take your positions in the question room.

Patrick, what exactly does your business do?

We manufacture and supply electrical test and measurement equipment

for commercial and industrial use, really.

Is there discussion of history in the office?

Yeah, there is when Rob's around.

He's a bit of an old timer, really, and the boss as well.

They like to reminisce.

And Daphne, I've noticed CJ always teases you about this round,

that you witnessed most history first hand.

Well, I was born before the Second World War.

-There's an awful lot there.

-Yes.

OK, good luck. Three multiple choice questions on History in turn.

Patrick, choose the first or second set of questions.

The first, please, Jeremy.

All the best, Patrick.

During World War II, who famously said, "It makes me feel

"I can look the East End in the face,"

after Buckingham Palace was bombed?

I'm thinking Queen Elizabeth, but at the time she wasn't queen.

Princess Margaret, maybe. George VI.

I'm thinking more between King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Not sure. I'm going to take a guess and say Queen Elizabeth.

Queen Elizabeth is right. Well done. Not our current queen.

-The Queen Mother.

-The Queen Mother...

is who it was, but it doesn't matter. You got it right.

Here's your question, Daphne.

In 1612, Pendle Hill in Lancashire became notorious for what?

They were the famous Witches of Pendle.

The Witches of Pendle. They were indeed, Daphne.

Back to you, Patrick.

The members and supporters of the 1871 Paris Commune

were known by what name?

I really don't know the answer to this question.

It's a crazy guess.

I'm thinking that the old pop group, the Communards,

got their name from somewhere, so I'm going to guess the Communards.

Great work, you got it right, Patrick. Communards is right.

Daphne, Charles I was executed outside which London building?

It was Whitehall Palace.

It was indeed Whitehall Palace. They know a lot, don't they, these Eggs?

Patrick, your question.

Which of Charles II's courtiers

served as a model for Britannia on coinage?

This is a total guess. I've no idea, so I can't put anything...

I'm going to guess, totally, Barbara Villiers.

It's not Barbara Villiers. Any Egghead know?

ALL: Frances Stewart.

You ALL know! Frances Stewart is correct.

Here's your question, Daphne.

What name was given to the ancient right

by which people could let their pigs feed

on common land of the forest?

I think Estover was collecting wood from the forest,

and turbary was collecting turf, and it's pannage.

Pannage is the right answer, Daphne. Well played on History.

-Sorry, Patrick. She's knocked you out. She's pretty good.

-Very!

Daphne, you're in the final. Patrick, sorry, you're not.

Both of you please come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost one brain

from the final round, and the Eggheads have lost no brains so far.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Who would you like to choose for this one?

I can't do this one. I've no chance.

I'll...I'll take it.

OK, very brave, Hannah. Well done.

Straight on it. OK, against who?

I'd say CJ or Pat. Who d'you...?

-CJ.

-I'll take on CJ.

Hannah from the Crazy Golfers against CJ on Arts & Books.

-How about that?

-Yes. It's one of my middling subjects.

Let's see how you both do. Do go to the question rooms now.

You've been reading biographies recently, Hannah.

Erm, the two most recent ones are Alan Carr's

and Chris Evans' first book.

I still need to go out and buy the second one.

-And they're good books?

-Really good reads. Couldn't put them down.

Cos we're in Arts & Books now, d'you enjoy fiction or...?

I prefer more real life things.

I read the odd fiction, but I tend to stick to real life, biographies.

CJ, I don't know if you've had a biography written about you yet.

So there's not much point reading.

Only a couple of unofficial ones online.

I'll ask each of you three questions on Arts & Books in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner,

and goes through to the final.

Hannah, would you like the first or second set?

The first, please.

Here we go. In Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives Of Windsor,

Sir John Falstaff tries to woo two married ladies.

Mistress Page and which other?

It's not one of the Shakespeares that I have read,

so it's going to have to be a complete guess.

And I shall go with Mistress Ford.

Mistress Ford is the right answer.

Well done, Hannah. Good start.

CJ, the novels The Body In The Library

and At Bertram's Hotel feature which character?

I don't recognise At Bertram's Hotel,

but I think The Body In The Library is Miss Marple.

They're both Agatha Christies. Miss Marple is correct. Well done.

OK, Hannah. Your question.

Which bestselling 1998 motivational book was written by Spencer Johnson?

Again, it's not one that I've heard of,

so again it's going to be a guess.

When we are doing the quizzes on the quiz machines in the pubs,

it's "When in doubt, take the middle one,"

so I'll go for How To Live On 24 Hours A Day.

Judith has pioneered a technique known as

"the Keppel technique" which involves her going down the right.

In this case, that would have been the way to go.

It's Who Moved My Cheese?

It's almost a fable. Have you read it, Kevin?

No, but I knew it had been around for some time.

You still see it quite prominently in bookshops.

-Is it a self-help book?

-It's about mice in labyrinth have cheese.

One day the cheese disappears. One mouse just slumps down and gives up.

The other mouse starts running. And he finds more cheese.

And the point is, it's the classic human response.

When your cheese is taken, do you just give up

or do you actually go out and look for more cheese?

So glass half-empty, glass half-full?

Exactly. You don't have to read it now. Have I given away the ending?

CJ, you don't need

-self-help books, do you?

-I need help, but not self-help.

Here is your next question.

Which poet's letters to his lover, Monica Jones,

who died in 2001, were published in 2010?

Hmm...haven't heard this.

I'm not sure about Philip Larkin.

When they died is irrelevant as to when the...the lady died.

Well, I know something about Philip Larkin,

I know something about Laurie Lee. That name doesn't ring a bell.

I know nothing about Thom Gunn, so perhaps that's the one.

I'll try Thom Gunn.

No, it's not Thom Gunn. It was actually the great Philip Larkin.

You're equal. Hannah, you're doing well. You're holding him off.

-Get this one right, put him under pressure.

-Let's do it.

In 1910, the artist LS Lowry began work in which occupation?

In 1910, the artist LS Lowry began work in which occupation?

Oh...

Obviously know him as an artist,

but not a clue as to what he did before, what job he went into?

I'll take a stab at hospital porter.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know?

-ALL: Rent collector.

-Rent collector. He was.

-Never mind.

You're not out yet, Hannah. He still has to get this one right.

CJ, in Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales For Children,

what is the name of the girl who "told such dreadful lies,

"it made one gasp and stretch one's eyes?"

I think I read these when I was very young.

And I cannot remember for the life of me...

Obviously there's the Roald Dahl Matilda,

but that's not to say it couldn't be that.

I mean, I...there's one that is niggling at me,

but I've absolutely no reason to know why it's niggling at me.

It could be an entirely false memory,

but I'm going to go for Penelope.

-Penelope's wrong, CJ, actually. It's Matilda.

-It is Matilda.

Hannah, you've taken him to Sudden Death. Gets a bit harder.

I don't give you options now.

You have to give me an answer. See if you can knock this Egghead out.

Here's your first question.

Who created the 2006 artwork, I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds,

which was made from butterfly wings?

I really don't know.

I can't give an answer on that one, I'm afraid.

-I'll have to pass.

-CJ, do you know?

-I'll guess at Hirst.

Damien Hirst is the answer.

CJ, your question for the round.

"He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream

"and he had gone 84 days now without taking a fish,"

are the opening lines to which 20th century work?

-The Old Man And The Sea.

-By Ernest Hemingway.

The Old Man And The Sea is the answer I was looking for.

Characteristically no commas or semi-colons or anything in that.

CJ, you've taken the round.

Hannah, sorry. He got you there. You won't be in the final.

Please both of you come back here and rejoin your teams.

So, couple of players down, Leanne.

What would the boss say if he was here with his golf clubs?

He'd say keep your head about you and keep focusing.

-Exactly, focus on the...

-On the prize at the end.

-Yes.

The challengers have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost no brains. Next subject is Sport.

Is this a specialist subject?

-Definitely Bradley.

-Bradley.

-Yeah, I'll take that, please.

-Against which Egghead?

-Err, I'll have a go with Kevin, please.

OK, Bradley on Sport against Kevin from the Eggheads.

Please go to the question room now.

-Bradley, what are your local teams?

-Huddersfield Town and Bradford City.

-So you support them both?

-Support's a bit strong.

I do follow football generally to be honest, but yeah,

cos of our two local teams I do check up on the scores and results.

There are other sports you like as well.

-Darts and Formula One and a whole range?

-Yeah, pretty much.

I play for my local pool team, but sports in general.

Any sport I'll watch, pretty much.

So playing some and watching all the rest and...?

Yeah, drives my girlfriend a bit crazy sometimes,

but it's...I do enjoy it, so...

OK, well you're taking on the maestro here.

Kevin, not bad at sport, but not your strongest.

-It's not my strongest, no.

-Have you ever got a question wrong?

Of course. I've lost this one a few times.

OK, so three questions on Sport in turn.

Multiple choice, and Bradley,

you can choose the first or second set of questions.

Er, I'll go second please.

Kevin, we go to you first. The rugby union player, Gavin Henson,

left the Ospreys in 2010 and signed for which English club?

I believe he moved to Saracens.

Saracens is correct. Over to you, Bradley.

Jimmy Fortune and Joe Fanning are famous names in which sport?

I've never associated them with cricket.

Well, I'm saying they aren't, but I've never heard of them.

I would tend to say more horse racing than badminton,

so horse racing.

Horse racing is right. Well done, Bradley.

One each. Back to Kevin,

Jonathan Edwards and Brendan Foster

were members of which athletics club?

Well, Brendan Foster, of course, is famously north-eastern.

The principal club up there is Gateshead Harriers.

Jonathan Edwards was also with them. Gateshead Harriers.

Gateshead Harriers is correct.

Back to you, Bradley.

CONMEBOL, this is capital letters, C-O-N-M-E-B-O-L,

is the governing body of football for which region?

I would, out of them three there, I would tend to go for Oceania.

Your answer's Oceania. It's South America.

OK, get this right, Kevin, you've taken the round.

Your third question.

Which Australian tennis player won his native Grand Slam

singles tournament in 1976, despite being ranked 212th in the world?

I'm pretty sure that was Mark Edmondson. Yeah, Mark Edmondson.

-CJ?

-Lowest ranked player ever to win a Grand Slam.

-Mark Edmondson.

-Mark Edmondson is right. He was ranked 212,

but he won it in Australia.

Kevin, you've taken that round.

I wouldn't call you our lowest ranked player.

You'll be in the final. Bradley, you've been knocked out.

That's the trouble with letting him go first.

If he gets three and you get one wrong there's no way back.

Please, if you can come back here. Rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost three brains from the final round,

whilst the Eggheads have still not lost a brain.

Now, the last subject before the final is Film & TV.

Who wants this?

-Are we going to decide...?

-I'd say Rob.

-Rob?

You're the man for this.

I think leave Leanne for the General...

You can do it, Rob.

Rob, OK. Against, Rob? Who?

Er, Pat, please.

OK, Rob from the Crazy Golfers versus Pat from the Eggheads.

To make sure there's no conferring, go to the question room.

-So, Rob, you've been volunteered.

-I have indeed.

-You watch a lot of TV...

-That's the main thing I do in the evenings,

so hopefully it's all about TV programmes I've been watching.

-A bit of video gaming as well?

-Up to the early hours at weekends, yeah.

What are you gaming on? The Eggheads are looking for recommendations.

I mainly play a lot of first-person shooter games,

things like that, which... I tend to enjoy running around

and shooting people over the internet for...

-People you know, or can you shoot anybody?

-Complete strangers.

You ever played those, Pat? You've got a background in computers.

I've played shoot-em-ups in the past.

-They can get addictive, Rob.

-Just a little bit, yeah.

I got addicted, I had to take the CD out of my computer

and break it with a hammer.

-That's the only way of stopping.

-You can't stop me playing.

All right, good luck. Three questions, multiple choice.

-The first or second set, Rob?

-I'll have the first, please.

Here we go. In 2005, Gethin Jones became a regular presenter

on which TV series?

I don't think it's Blue Peter.

Points Of View, I don't think he was on there either.

Well, I'm not too sure on that,

so I would say it's definitely Gardeners' World.

No, it's not Gardeners' World, Blue Peter is the answer.

OK, Pat.

The TV exercise guru Lizzie Webb,

who joined TV-am in 1983 was popularly known by what name?

I think she was rewarded for her high action style

by being christened Mad Lizzie.

Mad Lizzie is the right answer.

I can picture her immediately. I wonder what she's doing now.

-Probably still in perpetual motion.

-Still spinning around in a studio.

OK, Rob, your question.

Which actress co-starred with Matthew McConaughey

in the 1990 sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Well, I've never seen it.

I don't think it's the sort of film

Renee Zellweger would be involved with,

and I don't think it's the sort of thing

Gwyneth Paltrow would do, so I'm going to have to say Hilary Swank.

-Eggheads?

-Renee Zellweger.

-Renee Zellweger.

The answer is Renee Zellweger, as a matter of fact.

Was it a bit more upmarket, upgrade?

That one sank without trace, I think. I know nothing about it.

The first version is one of the most famous horror films ever.

Doing a sequel 16 years later is not a terribly good idea.

No, probably not. OK, Pat,

get this right, you've won the head-to-head.

The TV presenter Dominic Wood, one half of the duo

known as Dick and Dom, was awarded which title in 1995?

Pat, if you get this right, you're in the final.

TV presenter Dominic Wood, one half of the duo

known as Dick and Dom, was awarded which title in 1995?

Well, 1995, he must have been...

probably a teenager.

Young Entrepreneur, Young Scientist...

Young Magician, gosh...

I've no idea.

I wonder, is any of those more plausible than the others?

Young Scientist of the Year.

Young Magician...

Well, the Magician might suggest a connection with show business,

performing, that may have led to his television employment.

Entrepreneur...I really have no idea.

I'm going to go for Young Magician on the basis that it's performance

and perhaps, from there, he moved on into television presenting.

Young Magician of the Year. Rob, do you know this one?

I would also say it's Young Magician of the Year.

Pat, you're right. It's Young Magician of the Year.

You've got the round. Rob, you've been knocked out.

-Never mind.

-Come back, both of you, and we will play the final round.

So, this is what we've been playing towards.

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 Bradley, Hannah, Rob and Patrick from the Crazy Golfers,

sorry, but I need to ask you all please to leave the studio.

Leanne, you are playing to win the Crazy Golfers £21,000,

They will be very grateful if you get the money. Won't you?

Yes.

Pat, Judith, Kevin, CJ and Daphne, you're playing for something

that money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

You'd be allowed to confer if there was anybody with you!

So, Crazy Golfers, the question is,

is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

-Leanne, first or second?

-I'll go first, Jeremy.

All the best to you.

What is the meaning of the French word "demain?"

We do actually work for a French company, so I should know this.

Just a little bit of an inkling on yesterday, but I'm not 100% sure.

I'll go with Yesterday.

Yesterday. What's French for yesterday, Judith?

-Are you a French speaker?

-Hier.

Hier is yesterday. The answer is tomorrow.

Tomorrow is "demain." Eggheads,

used in traditional shaving brushes, silvertip is hair from which animal?

-Badger.

-Badger?

-Badger.

It's a badger.

Badger is the right answer.

-Love the way CJ shouts "Badger!"

-Badger!

Military style answer from CJ.

Leanne, your question.

According to the Office for National Statistics,

what was the most popular name for girls born in England

and Wales in both 2008 and 2009?

I think Olivia, I know a lot of young girls named Olivia,

so I'll go with Olivia, please, Jeremy.

Spot on, Leanne. Well done, Olivia is the right answer.

That's a tough question, well done.

Eggheads, which glam rock band started as a folk-rock group

with the debut album, My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair,

But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows?

-T.Rex?

-T.Rex?

-I think it was T.Rex.

-I don't know.

-I think T.Rex.

-Yeah?

-I think so.

Our consensus seems to be T.Rex.

T.Rex is your answer.

Must be a contender for the longest album title in pop history.

It's not Sweet or Mott The Hoople, it is T.Rex. Well done.

OK, Leanne, you need to get this one right because they've got two right.

£21,000 to play for. Here it is.

The rival female politicians, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia

have both held the post of prime minister in which country?

The rival female politicians, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia

have both held the post of prime minister in which country?

Take your time.

I think I'm going to have to take a guess on this one.

They sound as though it could be any of those, to be honest.

I would take a guess at Lebanon.

Lebanon is your answer.

It's actually Bangladesh.

Sorry, Leanne, so Eggheads on two and you on one.

No way back for your team and we say,

congratulations, Eggheads, you've won.

-Well, you got the girls' names right...

-I did.

-..I wouldn't know the answer to that.

-I got one.

And it's difficult playing on your own when the rest of the team

have gone, but thanks for coming in and I hope you enjoyed it.

-I did very much.

-They're merciless, aren't they?

Whatever mood you find them in. Commiserations to the challengers.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally,

their winning streak continues. That means the Crazy Golfers

don't go home with £21,000,

so we now roll that money over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will ever beat you?

Join us next time to see

if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£22,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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