Episode 121 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 well-known.

They've won the country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Glebe Glimmers. This team are all members

of the Whickham Glebe Sports Club.

They've been competing in the Wednesday night quiz

at the club for over ten years. Let's meet them.

Hello, my name's Alan.

I'm 63 years of age and I'm a retired customer services advisor.

Hello, I'm Bill. I'm 66 and I'm now retired from the printing industry.

Hi, I'm Audrey. I'm 64 and a retired university library assistant.

Hello, I'm Fred. I'm 70 years old and a retired office manager.

Hello, my name's Peter. I'm 54 years old, and a financial controller.

-Alan and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

Good to see you. So, tell me about the quiz. Is it ferocious?

Oh, yes. It's very competitive. And the team that I've got tonight

are selected from different teams, so it's not one team represented.

-So the cream of the crop is what we've got.

-Well, hopefully.

OK. And the club itself is cricket and football?

Yeah, it's mainly cricket and football.

-I'm assuming you play both?

-Once upon a time, many years ago. Not now.

-So you're social members?

-We are all social members.

-Or rather quiz members, we could say.

-You certainly could.

-And you're Glimmers because you have a...?

-A glimmer of hope!

I'm sure more than that! OK, well good luck.

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, Glebe Glimmers, I can tell you,

-the Eggheads have won the last 23 games.

-Good grief!

Yeah, £24,000 says you can't beat them. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-The first head-to-head battle is on Film & TV.

Which one of you would like this?

-It's going to have to be me.

-Yeah, Peter.

-Peter?

OK, which Egghead would you like to see the end credits roll early for?

I was just thinking Chris, yes.

Yes, Chris.

So, Peter from the Glebe Glimmers against Chris from the Eggheads.

To make sure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the question room.

Peter, good luck in this round. Film & TV it is.

-Would you like the first or second set?

-I'll take the second.

Chris, your question. Which TV sitcom featured Hugo,

the rather dim-witted son of local millionaire David Horton?

Ah, yes, he married the equally dim church warden, didn't he?

-That's The Vicar of Dibley.

-The Vicar of Dibley is correct.

Over to you, Peter.

With which role within the food industry is MasterChef presenter

Gregg Wallace most associated?

Not really up to date on my cookery programmes, I must admit.

I prefer to eat rather than to watch them.

Erm...

..I would have to take a guess at this and say pastry chef.

-See if anyone on your team knows. Anybody?

-He's a greengrocer.

Greengrocer is the right answer, Peter. Chris, to take the lead.

In the 2004 film Sideways, the two leading male characters

take off on a road trip through the wine country

of which American state?

I wouldn't care to try a wine in Nevada or Massachusetts,

where it's too cold, so it's got to be California.

California is correct. Peter, back to you.

The 2002 film, All Or Nothing, featuring Lesley Manville

and Timothy Spall was made by which director?

All Or Nothing.

Timothy Spall...

I don't think it's Paul Greengrass.

Out of the other two, I would prob...go for Mike Leigh.

Well done, you're absolutely right. Mike Leigh it was.

Over to you, Chris.

Which composer's music is played over loudspeakers

by Tim Robbins' character in a famous scene

from The Shawshank Redemption?

If you get this right, you're in the final.

Never seen The Shawshank Redemption.

Err...

..over loudspeakers.

I'll just take a punt on Mozart, Jeremy.

-Barry, is he right?

-Yes, it's The Marriage of Figaro from Mozart.

Chris, you're right. Sorry, Peter, he's got you there.

The one wrong answer proved fatal. Do please both of you

come back to us here in the studio.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain from the final,

whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains.

The next subject is History.

Which of you would like History?

Bill's the history man.

-Bill's taking it.

-Bill, OK. Against which Egghead, Bill?

Any suggestions, anybody?

Barry? Which one d'you want?

Yeah, we'll go with Barry.

So, Bill from Glebe Glimmers against Barry from the Eggheads.

Please go to the question room now.

Well, I reckon you're looking forward to this round, Bill.

-Oh, well, I hope so!

-You love your history, don't you?

I do, yes, very much.

So it's History, and it's three questions. Multiple choice.

Bill, first or second?

Erm...I'll follow Peter and hope I'm lucky. I'll go second.

Barry, here we go. The Hohenzollern Dynasty

were kings of which country from 1701?

The Hohenzollerns were the kings of Prussia.

Prussia is the right answer, Barry.

-I'm sure you knew that, Bill.

-Hmm...I'd have guessed, maybe.

King George V was one of the foremost collectors,

in his time, of what?

Err...yes, I don't know exactly,

but I can't imagine him putting beer mats on the wall.

Postcards, I suppose would be a possibility.

But I think I would favour stamps. Stamps would be my answer.

Stamps is correct. Well done.

Another point to your team. Here we go, Barry, your question.

The shops, houses and other buildings that lined

the original stone-built London Bridge

were ordered to be demolished in which decade?

That's a good question, and I'm not quite sure of the answer.

I think it was earlier rather than later.

I think it might even have been as early as the 1550s.

I don't recall seeing any pictures from the 17th century onwards,

so I'll go for the 1550s.

Nice use of logic, but you're wrong. 1750s it was.

Bill, your question.

The Battle of Ascalon was part of which larger conflict?

Ascalon...

Ascalon...

I don't think it's Crimean. So I'll guess, really I'm guessing here.

Ascalon sounds as though, possibly it's...

I'll go for the Thirty Years' War.

See if Barry knows. Barry?

Ascalon's on the coast of Israel. It was a battle in the First Crusade.

First Crusade, Bill. So you're level. One point each.

Third question, Barry. Which historical figure became famous

for setting out a network of roads in the Scottish Highlands

in the 18th century?

It was George Wade.

George Wade is the correct answer. Well done.

Bill, during the Medieval period, what was a birlinn?

Take your time, you've got to get this right to stay in.

It's going to be a shot in the dark, really. A birlinn.

Doesn't sound like a feasting hall that I've ever come across.

Sea vessel, possible, but I'm not so sure.

I've got a feeling it could possibly be a broadsword.

Broadsword is your answer. Actually it's sea vessel.

So, you got that wrong.

Sorry, Bill, you won't be in the final,

and Barry will cos he's won through on History.

And if you come back to us, we will play the next round.

So, Alan, what now?

Well, we've got to try a bit harder and hopefully,

or a bit luckier, I should say.

Every question's easy if you know the answer,

-but if you don't know, you have to guess.

-The glimmer mustn't fade.

-It mustn't fade.

-Keep the glimmer!

-We'll keep the glimmer going.

As it stands, the Glebe Glimmers have lost two brains from the final.

The Eggheads have lost no brains so far. The next subject is Sport.

-That's good, isn't it?

-Yes, we're going to

-have to confer on this one.

-OK.

-Yes.

-Definitely not me.

-We'll confer. It's you.

A quick confer, we have got sort of tactics going here.

So, I'm going to be the lamb to the slaughter on Sport.

OK, Alan, against who?

Erm...CJ, please.

Alan from the Glebe Glimmers against CJ from the Eggheads on Sport.

And please, if you would go to the question room now.

Alan, good luck. Sport is the subject,

and would you like the first or the second set of questions?

The other members went second. It hasn't worked,

so I'll go first please.

Here we go, good luck.

The footballer Jack Wilshere, who made his first league appearance

for Arsenal in 2008, made his debut for which national team in 2010?

I don't think it's England.

And I'm trying to think if he's Scottish or Welsh.

I think he's Scottish. I'll go with Scotland.

-Any of your team know?

-He's English.

-I thought he was English.

Yeah, England is the team, Alan.

Hope that's not costly for you.

CJ, Joost van der Westhuizen is a famous name in which sport?

Problem is, his name is almost identical

to a guy who sponsors a chess tournament.

I just hope I'm not confusing him with him.

Erm...I'm fairly sure it's not tennis. Erm...

..and I don't think it's athletics.

At least, I don't recognise the name.

And, Westhuizen is a Dutch or Afrikaans word,

so you can understand it would be rugby union.

Athletics is the one I'm niggling about,

-but I'm going to go for rugby union.

-Rugby union is correct.

CJ, you've got a point.

Alan, the Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg

was born in which country?

It's H-U-umlaut, L-K-E-N-B-E-R-G.

-Hulkenberg.

-Yep.

It sounds German. But...

whether it is or not...Finland?

Poland?

It sounds German so I'll go Germany.

I'm glad you did. Germany is the right answer.

CJ, what was Geoffrey Boycott's test match batting average for England?

There are very, very few test cricketers

who have an average above 50. Very few.

67 is exceptionally high, so I'm going to rule that one out.

I've seen a list of batting averages of England players,

and I seem to remember, I actually thought the top one was about 48.

Would pretty much draw me to one specific answer there.

I mean, over 50 would be exceptional.

Geoffrey Boycott was exceptional, but nearly 58 is very high.

Simply because the number that came into my head

before the options came up was 48, I will try 47.73.

47.73 is the right answer.

Alan, you need

to get this one right because of your earlier wrong answer.

Which boxer won the WBC Light Middleweight Title in 1979,

by defeating Rocky Mattioli?

Well, before that came up, Maurice Hope,

I was thinking about that boxer,

but now that you've put the other two up,

I'm starting to doubt myself.

Terry Spinks, Maurice Hope, Robin Reid.

Well, before you put them up there, Maurice Hope came to us,

so I'm going to stick with Maurice Hope.

-You like your boxing, do you?

-I watch a little bit of it, yeah.

-Maurice Hope is right, Alan.

-Yeah.

Well done. Now you have to hope that CJ gets this one wrong.

Get this right, you're in the final.

What name is given to a member of the crew of a racing yacht,

whose main task is to operate the winches?

So no snooker then, eh?

Did my best!

Well, if you winch something you grind it around, I suppose.

Can't work...

can't see it being grappler.

You could also grunt, I suppose, cos it would be hard work.

But, winches grind around, so I will try grinder.

-Grinder is your answer. Eggheads?

-Grinder.

-It's a grinder.

Grinder is right. CJ, you've taken the round. Well done.

Sorry, Alan, bad luck. You won't be in the final.

The captain will not be present when they play the final round.

Do please both of you come back to us, now.

So, £24,000 to play for. The Glebe Glimmers started with a glimmer.

We hope it hasn't burnt away.

They have lost three brains, and the Eggheads are still intact.

The last subject is Food & Drink.

-Who would like this?

-It's one of you two.

Well, it's one of us, Audrey.

-Audrey or Fred?

-I'll have a go, but...

-Well done, Audrey.

-..food is not my strong point, apart from eating it!

-Come on!

Before you go, just choose an Egghead. Daphne or Pat?

-I'll have Pat.

-Yes.

OK, Audrey from the Glebe Glimmers against Pat, on the end,

for the Eggheads.

Please go to the question room now.

Audrey, Food & Drink we're on.

Choose the first or second set of questions.

I'll go first, please.

Good luck. Audrey, what name is given to a restaurant

where roast joints of meat are sliced and served to order?

That's definitely a carvery.

Carvery is the right answer, well done. Pat, your question.

Which type of pasta takes its name from the Italian

for "little ribbons?"

Well, I think penne are named after quills.

As in, bird, feather, quills. They're tubular chaps.

And tortellini, perhaps, little cake, little...thing.

I think the ribbony ones are fettuccine.

Fettuccine is correct. The ribbony ones.

Audrey, your question. In culinary terms, what is London particular?

Never heard of a London particular. Erm...

Apple crumble, I don't think so. Beef and ale pie, possibly.

But I wonder if pea and ham soup's something to do

with fog and London smog. I'll go for pea and ham soup.

Pea and ham soup is the right answer. Nice work. Good quizzing.

Pat, the town of Tewkesbury is historically famous

for a style of which condiment?

I wasn't aware it had a claim to fame of that sort.

Tewkesbury...

Tomato ketchup, well, ketchup is a melee word,

so I presume it had its origins in Britain during the time

of the Empire, and it's also very popular in America.

Mustard, I tend to link

with East Anglia, and perhaps even the north-east of England.

But again, it could be in Tewkesbury as well.

Cranberry sauce is a slightly American sauce.

I'm sure it's used in England.

But cranberries are grown in a very strange way.

They're grown in flooded ponds.

So, I don't know if they grow many cranberries in England.

And they would have to be grown to be turned into sauce in Tewkesbury.

I'm a bit puzzled with this.

I've never heard of it in relation to mustard.

But then I've never heard of it in relation to anything.

I'll go for mustard, but it's a punt. I've no idea whatsoever.

I can see that Daphne knows the answer. Is he right, Daphne?

Yes. It's a very strong mustard,

and Shakespeare mentions it in one of his plays,

but I can't remember which one.

What does he say? He says something about Tewkesbury and mustard?

Yes, very strong. As strong as Tewkesbury mustard.

As strong as Tewkesbury mustard? You think that might be

in a Shakespeare play somewhere?

Very good reference point there. So, Pat, mustard is right.

Audrey, sorry. I thought he was going to go

off the cliff, there.

Your question. Which grape is used to make the French white wine

called Pouilly-Fume?

Pouilly-Fume...Fume's smoked.

It's not a Muscat, I don't think.

It's a cross between Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

I will go for Sauvignon Blanc.

Sauvignon Blanc is the right answer. You're playing really well, Audrey.

Pat, you're under pressure again.

If you get this one wrong, you're out.

An Oxford John steak is taken from which type of meat?

Good golly.

An Oxford John steak.

I can't particularly link any of those animals

to the Oxfordshire Home Counties area.

There would have been woodlands, royal woods

and all the rest of it many years ago, so it could be venison.

Pigs are reared everywhere. Lamb,

although perhaps slightly linked with the uplands, nonetheless,

lamb can be reared on ordinary flat ground as well.

I've no idea. Once again, I'm guessing.

And this Russian roulette must eventually end badly for me.

I'll go for venison.

Venison is your answer. This is a difficult round, Pat.

I haven't seen you struggle in a round like this before!

-They're hard questions.

-But is Food & Drink...

-are you getting into Kevin Zen on Food & Drink?

-Oh, God, no.

The answer's lamb. So, you've been knocked out.

You're not in the final. Well done, Audrey, you're in the final.

You have beaten an Egghead. So, it's more than a glimmer now.

Do both please rejoin your teams and we will play that final round.

Well, Daphne, I've had a good think

and I've remembered where the mustard line comes from.

-Right.

-OK? Henry IV?

I was right, yes.

And Falstaff says, "His wit is as thick..."

Oh.

-"..as Tewkesbury mustard."

-Yes.

I had a feeling it was Falstaff.

That's not bad, is it? She just picks a little phrase out.

-Very good.

-Very good. So this is what we've been playing towards.

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

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't take part.

So, Alan, Bill and Pete from the Glebe Glimmers,

and also Pat from the Eggheads, would you please leave the studio?

So, Fred and Audrey, good luck to you both. Fred, tell us about you.

Oh, well, I'm quite old. I'm well retired.

-Used to work for British Gas.

-How long for?

-Oh, 30 years.

-Really?

-Yes.

-That is a career.

And I like travelling, natural history and quizzing.

-And you watch this programme?

-No, I've never seen this programme(!)

I watch it every night, thank you.

Well, now you're on it, and good luck.

We've got a big jackpot for you, £24,000, so Audrey and Fred,

you're playing to win that money for the Glebe Glimmers.

CJ, Daphne, Chris and Barry, you're playing for something

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

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

This time the questions are General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer. So, Glebe Glimmers, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

Audrey and Fred, good luck.

Which musician did Courtney Love marry in 1992?

Kurt Cobain.

Yes, we're happy with Kurt Cobain.

Wow, straight to it!

Kurt Cobain is correct. Well done.

The lead singer with...?

Nirvana.

Very good! And you're 70, Fred! Doing well.

-I think so!

-Doing well, knowing about Nirvana at 70.

OK. Eggheads,

the civil engineer Robert Stephenson,

who built the railway bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,

was what relation to George Stephenson,

the pioneering railway engineer?

If only we had somebody who knew about this sort of thing(!)

He was his son.

Son is correct.

Back to you, Glebe Glimmers.

Which borough of New York City is the largest in area?

-Staten Island isn't...

-Small.

Staten Island's small, so it's between Queens and Manhattan.

-Which one is Central Park in?

-Manhattan.

What do you fancy of them?

-Toss-up between Manhattan and Queens.

-Yep.

The largest borough. Manhattan's long and narrow.

What d'you fancy? Manhattan or Queens?

-Manhattan.

-Manhattan.

-We think Manhattan.

It's wrong. It's Queens.

Queens is the largest borough of New York City. OK, Eggheads.

To take the lead.

The group of Celtic languages called Goidelic include

Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and which other?

I would have gone for Manx.

-I don't think it's Cornish...

-That is Brythonic.

I would have gone for Manx.

-Also geographically.

-Geographically, yeah.

-Cornish and Breton are related.

-Cornish and Breton are quite related.

-Sure it's not Breton?

-No, I think that's Brythonic.

Different sort of language.

We are going to say Manx.

Manx is correct.

So, we know what this means.

Our Glimmers, we've got to get this one right.

The Ark Royal, that was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1985,

became what number vessel to bear the name Ark Royal?

-Alan would know that.

-He would.

-He would.

Have you any thoughts at all?

-There's been quite a lot.

-Aye, aye.

Cos it's way back to the 17...

it's been 1700s onwards.

I think we might go with the 6th.

Yes, we don't know this, but we think it's the 6th.

The answer is the 5th.

-The 5th.

-Never mind.

So we say congratulations, Eggheads, you've won.

-Bad luck. Bad luck.

-Never mind. Nice experience.

It was great fun having you, and commiserations to you.

The jackpot being high is great, but it reminds us how good they are.

-They are, yes.

-Exactly.

With your Tewkesbury mustard, Daphne, and all that.

-Where did that come from?

-Well, I did Henry IV Part One and Two

for O-Levels. So, that was 50-odd years ago.

-Yeah, quite.

-Her ego's big enough! Stop paying her condiments!

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally,

and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £24,000

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.

£25,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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