Episode 138 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 pedigree is well known as they've won some of the toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads. Challenging our resident champions today:

They all work for the same building and finishing firm in Solihull.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm James. I'm 30 and I'm an associate director.

Hello, I'm Richard. I'm 49 and I'm a company director.

Hi, I'm Charley, I'm 25 and I'm an office manager.

Hi, I'm Jenna, I'm 26 and I'm an estimator.

Hi, I'm Jack. I'm 23 and I'm a quantity surveyor.

Welcome.

Great to see you. Finishing is what you do as the last part of a building project, is it?

Yes, we take the house from looking like the bricks and the blocks, that kind of thing,

and you can see all the timber.

We put the plaster on, paint it, tile it and give you the finished house.

-So all the key staff.

-Yes. Very important.

-Right. Good luck to you.

-Thank you.

-Hope it goes well.

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, The Grimes Finishers, the Eggheads have won the last 13 games

which means £14,000 says you can't beat them today.

The first head-to-head is on the subject of Film & TV.

Which one of you would like Film & TV?

I think our Film & TV specialist is definitely Charley.

Charley, who would you like to take on?

Who would you like to go for, Charley?

I'll go with Barry. He's wearing a similar top to me!

He is, as well!

-I'll go with Barry, please.

-OK, Charley from The Grimes Finishers against Barry on Film & TV.

To ensure no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

Three multiple choice questions on Film & TV.

-Charley, the first or second set?

-I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here is your first question. Good luck.

Which role was played by Peter Cook in the 1967 film Bedazzled

and by Elizabeth Hurley in the remake released in 2000?

I can't say I've seen the Peter Cook version, to be honest,

but I've definitely seen the Liz Hurley version.

It's not Santa Claus, it's not Svengali. I'm certain it's Satan.

Satan is the right answer. Well done.

Nice work. Not everybody knows that.

OK. Your question, Barry.

In 1988, Sid Owen joined the cast of EastEnders playing which character?

Sid Owen famously plays Ricky!

Ricky Butcher is the right answer. Well done.

Charley, your question.

What is the first name of the character played by Felicity Huffman

in the TV series Desperate Housewives?

Luckily for me, I've watched quite a bit of this in my spare time.

It's not Lauryn, definitely not Lianne,

it's Lynette.

Well done. Absolutely right. You watch the right programmes!

Barry, your question.

A 1977 film version of which TV sitcom

featured the characters on holiday in Spain's "Costa Plonka"?

Ooh, I'm not sure on this. I don't think it was Steptoe and Son.

I don't think there was a film made of Are You Being Served?

It sounds a little early. So I'll go for Till Death Us Do Part.

-You're wrong, though. It's Are You Being Served?

-Ahh!

-OK.

How about that? If you get this one, Charley...

-Pressure's on.

-Yes, you can go through to the final.

In which film did both Jenny Hanley and Joanna Lumley appear as Bond girls?

For some reason, Thunderball's sticking out.

I don't think it's On Her Majesty's Secret... I'll go with Thunderball.

I'm not sure.

Eggheads, what's the answer?

I think it's Majesty's Secret Service.

Her Majesty's Secret Service is the right answer. Charley, sorry.

Joanna Lumley and Jenny Hanley.

I'm struggling. Is it George Lazenby?

It's very brief. When he goes up to the ski lodge for the first time,

the criminals' mastermind hideout.

There are about 20 girls, shoved in there. It's a very brief appearance.

OK, Barry, if you get this wrong, you're gone.

Which British actor played the leading role in the 1998 film Croupier?

Ah, I really don't know on this one.

Could be any of them.

1998. I'm torn between Daniel Craig and Jude Law.

I don't think it's Clive Owen.

-I'll go for Daniel Craig.

-CJ knows. He can't help himself!

-Clive Owen, I'm afraid.

-Clive Owen is the answer, Barry.

-So you've lost. Well done, Charley!

-Thank you!

Well done. You'll be in the final round. Barry, you've been knocked out.

Please both rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost no brains from the final round

whilst the Eggheads have lost one brain.

The next subject is Arts & Books. Who would like this?

-That was another one of Charley's rounds.

-That was mine.

Can you go again? What do you think, Jenna? Maybe you?

It wouldn't be my favourite. I might have to sacrifice myself.

-I can't read!

-Yeah, I'll sacrifice myself.

OK, Jenna. Against which Egghead? Obviously can't be Barry.

-I'll take Pat, please.

-Jenna from The Grimes Finishers against Pat.

To ensure no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

Arts & Books. Three questions. Jenna, first or second set?

I'll go first, please.

What term has been used for the Modernist interior

of a typical contemporary art gallery?

I'm pretty sure that places like the Tate Modern are referred to as the White Cube.

I can't see it being Green Pyramid or Red Sphere, so I'll say White Cube.

White Cube is the right answer.

Said with conviction. OK, Pat.

The 18th-century novel Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

takes the form of a series of what?

I think this is a giant book,

and a classic example of an epistolary novel.

I think it consists of a series of letters.

Letters is the right answer.

OK. Jenna.

In the later years of his life, Charles Rennie Mackintosh

spent time in Port-Vendres on the south coast of France

mainly producing what type of art?

I can't see that it was watercolours. He was more of a sculptural artist.

And I'm not familiar with him being famous for engravings.

So I'll go for sculptures. It's a guess, really.

Watercolours is the right answer. Sorry, Jenna.

So Pat now has a chance to get into the lead.

Which writer was appointed Second Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte,

wife of George III, and witnessed events before and after the Battle of Waterloo?

I do know that one of the great pioneers in surgery

was a French doctor who operated at the Battle of Waterloo

and who subsequently operated on Fanny Burney.

So that seems to be quite a coincidence.

It certainly puts her in the right time frame.

I'll have to go with that distant hunch and say Fanny Burney.

You knew enough. Fanny Burney it is. Pat takes the lead, Jenna.

You need this to stay in.

Who is the first character to speak

in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice?

I'm not very familiar with The Merchant of Venice.

I'm going to say Antonio

because it sounds like potentially the most Italian kind of name.

-Antonio is correct.

-Yes!

-Well done.

Pat, your question.

Between the late 1690s and the early 1720s

which artist produced a series of approximately 40 portraits of members of London's Kit-Cat club?

Peter Lely famously painted Cromwell, warts and all.

1720s. That's 60-plus years from the Civil War.

But Lely could have painted an old Cromwell. So that's not tight logic.

I really don't know. I'm going to go for Godfrey Kneller

because I think he's noted as a portraitist.

You've got it absolutely right, Pat. Well done. Godfrey Kneller.

Jenna, you've been knocked out.

So you won't be in the final. Please both come back to us here.

The challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost a brain.

The next subject is Music.

Who's the musician? Who'd like this?

-Oh, dear!

-Jack or Richard or James?

-This isn't going how we wanted it to!

-Jack's the music man.

-Yes, Jack.

-You're the music man.

-I'll give it a go. Why not?

-I think you'll be good.

-Jack.

Which Egghead would you like to take on?

-Who do you think?

-Judith or Kevin or CJ.

He might be good at music.

-Shall I go for Kevin?

-Yeah, Kevin.

-I'll go for Kevin, please, Jeremy.

All right. Bravely done. Kevin on Music.

To ensure no conferring, take your positions.

Let's see how you both do. Three questions on Music. Jack, first or second set?

I'll go first, Jeremy, please.

Here's your first question.

"Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen

"Carry me back to the days I knew then"

are lines from which UK number one single of the 1970s?

I'm not really sure. This is more Richard's era, I'd say!

It's a bit of a guess, but I'll go for Mull of Kintyre, please.

Mull of Kintyre is the right answer. Well done, Jack.

OK, Kevin.

Hugh Cornwell and Jean-Jacques Burnel are names associated with which band?

They were both members of The Stranglers.

The Stranglers is the right answer.

OK. Jack, who reached number four

in the UK singles charts in 1968 with One, Two, Three O'Leary?

For some reason, Des O'Connor is shouting out at me.

So I'll go for Des O'Connor.

You're good at this. Des O'Connor is right.

Is Daniel O'Donnell sort of newish?

Modern? Like he's around now?

-I think he's too recent for that, yes.

-Kevin.

The building and former record company headquarters

called Hitsville USA is in which city?

Yes, of course, all three of those...

Just a question of which of the big studios had that nickname.

Because all three of those cities

were famous for major studios.

I think Hitsville USA may have been a nickname for Motown

so I'll say Detroit.

Detroit is the right answer. Well done.

It's a tight round. Two each.

Third question to you, Jack.

Sir Thomas Allen became a highly regarded classical music performer

in which role?

Classic's not really my strength.

Again, it'll have to be a bit of a guess.

-I'll go down the middle. Opera baritone.

-Opera baritone

-is your answer. Eggheads, is he right?

-Yes!

Three out of three. Kevin, if you get this wrong, you're out.

Which composer's operas include The Stubborn Lovers, and The Cunning Peasant?

They don't sound right for Janacek.

Although any of these are possible because I've never heard of these operas.

I'll rule Janacek out.

Smetana and Dvorak, similar vintage. It could be either.

So I'll go for Smetana.

The correct answer is Dvorak, so Kevin, you're knocked out.

Well done, Jack. How about that?

You did it. You knocked out not just an Egghead, THE Egghead.

Kevin, you won't be in the final round. Jack, you will.

Please come and rejoin us here.

The challengers have lost one brain. The Eggheads have lost two.

The last subject before the final is Sport. Who would like this?

That's quite annoying - Jack is our main man for sport!

Neither Richard nor I like sport at all!

So I'll do it because Richard is the man for general knowledge.

OK. James on Sport. I can see that would be annoying

but then he's in the final. That's the main thing.

Who do you want to take on on Sport?

I'll go with CJ.

James from Grimes Finishers and CJ from Eggheads.

The subject is Sport. Please go to the Question Room now.

So, good luck. Three questions on Sport. Multiple choice.

James, first or second set?

I think we'll go first.

Here we go. Good luck to your team.

What name is given to the kick at goal taken after a try is scored in Rugby Union and Rugby League?

Well, I do quite like watching rugby.

I never really played because when I was thrown the ball as scrum-half,

they used to like to clatter me.

So I don't play it but I do like watching it.

And I know that is conversion kick.

Conversion kick is quite right.

The same thing happened to me when I played rugby! CJ,

Gladstone Small has represented England at which sport?

He's not a snooker player.

I know the name. I think he's a cricketer.

Let me just check.

People with West-Indian-sounding names tend to be cricketers.

Um, yeah, I think he's a cricketer. I think it's cricket.

Cricket is the right answer. You are equal after one question.

Back to James.

In which event did the US athlete Leroy Burrell twice set the world record?

I will admit I have absolutely no idea.

It'll have to be a complete guess.

I'm going to go with 3,000 metres steeplechase.

It was 20 years ago. It was the 100 metres.

1991, 1994. He broke the world record twice in the 100 metres.

CJ, your chance to pull ahead now.

Which football club played their home matches at Burnden Park until 1997?

I haven't got a clue. I will try Bristol Rovers.

Bristol Rovers is wrong. It's Bolton Wanderers.

That's that terrible thing of a football question

intersecting with an English geography question.

-It's the perfect storm for you!

-What more do I want?

OK, James,

try and pull clear now. Adrian Newey joined which Formula One team

as chief technical officer in 2006?

I do know that the Red Bull team were quite new at that kind of time

so maybe he was a big name signing for them.

So I'll go with Red Bull.

Nicely done. You're right. Red Bull is the right answer.

This is interesting,

with £14,000 to play for. CJ, if you get this wrong, you're out of the final as well.

Which boxer won his eighth world title

in an eighth weight class

by defeating Antonio Margarito in November 2010?

He has the record for the most world titles at the most weights.

I think he's the only one to have done more than five, I think.

It's Manny Pacquiao.

Absolutely right. Extraordinary boxer. Manny Pacquiao.

So it's Sudden Death, James, on Sport!

I know this is not ideal from your position, nor CJ's either.

I don't give you alternatives here. I just want the answer from you.

Mary Peters won her gold medal at the Olympics held in which city?

For some reason, it's always best to go with your first idea,

and my first idea would be...

..Berlin.

That's the wrong answer. Munich, it was.

1972. Right country, actually!

-These things happen.

-But Munich.

She won a gold in the pentathlon

which was doubtless overshadowed by other events. CJ,

your question. In which decade of the 20th century

was the snooker player Stephen Hendry born?

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

I think he was born about February, March, '69.

So I will say '60s.

You're spot on in every respect. It was '69 and it was the '60s.

These decade questions seem to always have a year at the beginning or end.

So you're right, CJ. You've taken the round

in uncomfortable terrain. You're in the final.

James, sorry, but you put up a stout performance there.

Come back to us, both of you, and we'll 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 those of you who lost your head-to-heads can't take part in this round.

So James and Jenna from The Grimes

and also Barry and Kevin from the Eggheads, would you please leave the studio.

Richard, Charley and Jack, you're playing to win £14,000.

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

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

The questions are all general knowledge and you may confer.

So, Grimes Finishers, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

Would you like to go first or second?

Going first has brought us luck so far, so first, please.

Good luck. Who succeeded Norman Tebbit as MP for Chingford in 1992?

-I'm not sure Lynne Featherstone...

-My first feeling was Iain Duncan Smith.

-I couldn't say why.

-Could you repeat the question?

Who succeeded Norman Tebbit as MP for Chingford in 1992?

I think we'll probably go with your person. Iain Duncan Smith.

I really don't know. It's the first one that came into my head. I'm ten per cent sure.

We're going to take a guess at Iain Duncan Smith.

Norman Tebbit's Conservative, and the only name on the list

that is Conservative is Iain Duncan Smith. It's the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, of which empire did Irene of Athens

become sole ruler in 797 AD?

Byzantine, I should think?

-Hmm.

-Irene is a Byzantine name.

-If we had to pick, I'd prefer Byzantine of the other options.

-OK.

-I think we'll have to go.

-We're not 100 per cent sure,

but we think it's Byzantine.

And you're 100 per cent right.

Byzantine it is.

I thought they were going to falter there. What a tempting moment!

You're level. Second question, Grimes Finishers.

How many miles does light travel in a light year?

-I've never heard of quintillion.

-Nor me.

-I've not.

-But it could be.

-Could well be a quintillion.

-Um...

-Shall we go for quintillion because we've never heard of it?

Or do we go down the middle?

-I really don't know.

-I'd go down the middle if I was on my own.

-I would.

-But I don't know if I'd get that wrong.

As a majority decision, we're tempted with quintillion

because we've never heard it before!

So we're going to go down the middle

with 5.88 trillion.

-OK. Let me check with the Eggheads. Quintillion? Is that a number?

-Yes.

That's the one I think the answer is.

What is the quintillion?

-You have million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion.

-Right.

You're right and they're wrong.

It's 5.88 trillion. Well done. Playing brilliantly.

Eggheads, your second question.

See if we can get our quintillions in a line now.

How many species are including in the group known as "roaring cats"

as they are the only cats that can roar?

-Tigers, lions.

-Leopards.

-Do they roar?

-I'm not sure.

-Cheetahs don't.

-Cheetahs don't. Jaguars.

-Do you think it's four?

-Four or six would be my preference.

-Which?

-Which is your preference?

Vote.

-I suppose seeing as we can't name them...

-Yeah.

-..we should go for four. It's very dodgy.

-I would say four.

-It's very dodgy, I agree.

-Very dodgy.

-Four?

-Yeah, why not?

Again, we don't... We're not at all sure.

But we can't think of any more than three, so we're going for four.

I'll put you out of your misery. You're right.

Lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar.

OK, two points each. Get this right

and then they're under pressure to get theirs right, or you win.

The Lombok Strait separates Lombok from which other island?

I don't know. I'd just be guessing.

Again, what would you guess, though?

-I would go down the middle.

-Yeah.

It's a guess. Total guess.

-Which one are we guessing?

-I would guess the middle.

-What would you guess?

-Don't know why, but Timor is ringing a bell.

I don't know why. For no logical reason.

-Go for Timor, then.

-Yeah, Timor.

But then Tahiti...

Don't talk yourself round. Go with what you think. Try that.

-We said we'd go with our gut.

-We're going to hazard a guess

at...

..Timor.

Timor is your answer. Do the Eggheads know?

-Bali.

-Bali is the answer, guys.

If it's any comfort, that was the one you weren't going to pick!

OK, Eggheads, if you get this right, you've won.

Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Marie of Edinburgh,

became queen of which country?

-I think Bulgaria.

-I'm happy to go with that.

-I've got no idea.

-This is all on my head.

It's based only on a tiny inkling,

but I think it might be Bulgaria.

I think it might not be.

-Romania?

-Bulgaria is wrong.

-It's Romania.

-How annoying. It was one or the other. Sorry.

-Had you got Bali... Had you got Bali!

-I know!

Let's not go there. You're still in it.

It's Sudden Death now.

No alternatives. You have to give the answer. No multiple choice.

Here's your Sudden Death question.

In the UK in 2005, which organisation rebranded itself

and adopted a new slogan, "Protect the Human"?

Think of anyone who's rebranded.

-I'm thinking of Lucozade.

-Really?

-Did it rebrand itself?

-It's not Greenpeace, is it?

-No, I wouldn't really know.

-Protect the human.

-Protect the human.

-Protect the human.

-I have a funny feeling.

-It's an organisation.

It's not going to be a brand. It's an organisation like...UNICEF.

-Greenpeace. Or UNICEF.

-I don't know if they rebranded.

-Did Greenpeace rebrand?

-I don't know if they did.

It seems like something that goes away from the...

I don't know why I said Lucozade, but I can see it on the bottle.

-Go for it, if we're not sure anyway.

-Go for it.

-Jack said, uh...

Some divine inspiration and he's going to go for Lucozade.

OK.

Everybody laughs!

It's quite a long way off. But you've veered towards the right territory.

It's Amnesty International.

When you said UNICEF, I thought it won't take a moment to get it.

It may well be their slogan. I don't know Jack.

So, Eggheads,

if you get this right, you've taken the contest. A great fight.

In Roman mythology,

who was the equivalent of the Greek Eos, goddess of dawn?

Aurora.

Where does Irene fit in?

Is she peace? Irene and Pax.

-Is it Aurora and Eos?

-Aurora is the dawn, isn't it?

-Aurora is dawn.

-Aurora is dawn. Irene is...

-Peace.

-Peace, not dawn.

-I think Aurora's dawn.

-OK.

We're going to say Aurora.

If you've got this right, you've taken the contest.

And it is Aurora. Congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

Commiserations, challengers. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

Their winning streak continues, though it's juddering a bit!

You won't go home with the £14,000 so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, well done. Who will beat you?

Join us again to see if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£15,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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