Episode 150 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 challengers

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Their pedigree is well known, as they've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads and taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths

are the May Team from Devon.

This team of brothers and sisters are making their Granny May very happy

by coming on Eggheads

because apparently it is her favourite programme.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Josh, I'm 27 and I'm a territory sales manager.

Hi, I'm Harriet, I'm 23 and I'm a racehorse groom.

I'm Max, I'm 29 and I'm a solar PV installer.

Hi, I'm Olivia, I'm 21 and I'm a fashion textiles student.

Hi, I'm Anthony, I'm 31

and I'm a special educational needs coordinator.

-So, Josh and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Hello.

And this is all the brothers and sisters?

-That's it. There's no more.

-And tell us about Granny May.

We decided to come on or I put these guys forward

because it is her favourite programme,

so we thought she'd like to see for her grandchildren on it.

-Does she live near you?

-She lives...

-Next door to me, actually.

-In Devon?

-In Devon. So she cooks the tea, six o'clock, and we're round there watching Eggheads.

-So she's got you into the programme?

-Pretty much, yeah.

She introduced us to it, yeah.

OK, now, she has written me a letter. I've got it here.

-Oh, no!

-Oh, no!

She says, "I'm very proud to see my grandchildren on Eggheads."

-Oh, my...

-"I watch it every day.

-"Hopefully, they will not let me down."

-Oh!

"I wish them the very best of luck."

-That's really good.

-You can check the writing, it is her, OK?

So, anyway, for Granny May, best of luck,

and you know that there is £1,000 up for grabs every day for our challengers.

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

so, May Team, the last group of challengers actually won the game against the Eggheads.

They've had a rotten time recently.

They were taken apart by a team of Blackpool rock makers

and it's been sticky ever since.

So £1,000 says you can't beat them. Are you ready to try?

-We're going to give it a go.

-We'll give it a go.

-Good luck.

The first head to head battle is on Geography. Who would like this?

-I think that's me.

-Geography degree, so...

Max, which Egghead would your Granny want you to take out first?

-I think...

-Pat.

-I think we'll go for Pat, please.

-Pat.

-Yeah, I think Pat.

-Fine.

Max May, from Team May, versus Pat, who may or may not.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

Three multiple choice questions for you,

and the subject is Geography

and, Max, if you lose the round you get knocked out.

Pat, if you win this round you will have a very angry granny to deal with.

Max, would you like the first or second set of questions?

I think I'll go for the first, please.

Good luck to you. What is the currency of Sri Lanka?

Erm, well, the baht is Indonesian, erm...

so I'm going to rule that one out.

I have a feeling it might be the Sri Lankan rupee,

so I'm going to go with that.

Sri Lankan rupee is absolutely right.

-Is the baht Indonesian or...?

-Thailand.

-Where's the baht from, Eggheads?

-Thailand.

-Thailand. OK.

-Ah...

It's all right, Max, don't worry about that.

Pat, where in England is the junction called Scotch Corner,

where the A66 meets the A1?

I've passed through this junction several times

going from London to South Shields

and it's in North Yorkshire.

You can come across the Pennines and join the A1 there.

So it's in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire is the right answer. Max, back to you.

In the UK, the arch of St Brides Bay faces out towards which larger body of water?

Yeah, I'm not sure of that one, actually.

For some reason, I've a feeling it might be on the south coast,

so I'm going to go with the English Channel.

It's actually in Pembrokeshire, so Atlantic is the right answer,

not the English Channel.

OK, Pat, your second question to take the lead.

Which term refers to a type of very shallow soil on top of bedrock?

I'm not at all sure about this, this one.

I've a suspicion that podzols aren't...

I'm not sure you get them in great agricultural growing regions.

I think they might be poor soils up in the northern latitudes.

But it's very speculative. I'll go for podzol.

You're wrong, Pat, actually, the answer is ranker.

So how about that? Maybe the spirit is with you here, Max.

You are equal after two questions.

What name is given to a type of long, streamlined rock formation

often created by wind erosion and found in deserts?

Erm... I'm instantly drawn to yazoo.

I think I might have heard of this before

but none of those three really springs out.

But I'm going to go with yazoo.

Yazoo is your answer. OK.

Yardang is the right answer, Max.

OK, Pat.

Cape Disappointment is a promontory at a state park in which US state?

I'm slightly inclined against Florida.

I'll go with Washington State.

If you've got this right, you are in the final.

The answer is Washington.

-CHALLENGERS GROAN

-So you've won over those three questions.

Sorry, Max, you've been knocked out. He plays well, doesn't he?

Please both come back and rejoin your team-mates.

So the challengers have lost that one brain,

the Eggheads have lost no brains from the final round.

The next subject is Film and Television.

-Ooh!

-Who would like this?

Well, I think it's out of the sisters.

I think it's the only one I might have a chance at.

-OK, then.

-That's fine. And against which Egghead?

-Barry?

-We need to go for Barry, I think.

-Yeah?

-Yeah?

-We'll have Barry, then, please.

-Barry on Film and TV?

Yes, yes. All right.

Harriet from the May Team against Barry from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question room.

Harriet, what do you do?

I'm a racehorse groom for a National Hunt trainer.

-Oh, great. And again, in Devon?

-Yeah. Brayford.

So you have to train them and see how they do on the racetrack?

Yeah, exactly. We exercise them every day,

take them up the gallops and make sure they're ready for race day.

Are there days when you think, "This horse is going to win because it's in incredible shape?"

-Exactly, yeah.

-Are you right when you think that?

Not all the time.

It's a lot to do with luck as well, yeah.

-If Barry was a horse, would you put a bet on him?

-I don't know.

-No, probably not.

-Very wise indeed.

I don't think age is on his side.

-Ooh!

-Ahhh!

-He's very wise, though.

OK, three questions on Film and Television.

We'll see how much you watched while you were not working in the stables.

-You can choose the first or second set.

-Erm...

I'll go for the first set, please.

Best of luck to you.

In December 2010, which star of his own Comedy Roadshow programme

was announced as a judge for Britain's Got Talent?

A judge for Britain's Got Talent, right.

I should probably know this. Erm...

But I think I'm going to fire with Jimmy Carr.

Let me ask your brothers.

Last night she was talking about how she liked Michael McIntyre -

-Harriet's favourite comic but...

-Your favourite comic, Harriet.

Michael McIntyre is the right answer.

Barry, your question.

The 1971 film Carry On Henry tells the story of which famous Henry?

I would have loved to have seen a Carry On film about Henry Kissinger

or even Henry Ford, for that matter.

It was about Henry VIII.

It was about Henry VIII, you're right.

So you have a point and Harriet, here's your second question.

The 1985 film Letter To Brezhnev was set in which city?

I've never seen the film or heard of it,

so this is going to be a complete guess.

Brezhnev - I don't even know if that gives it away.

I'm going to guess with Liverpool.

It's a great film and it is set in Liverpool as well.

-Well done!

-A good guess.

-CHALLENGERS CHEER

Here's your question, Barry.

In the 1950 film All About Eve, what is Eve's surname?

Oh, gosh. This is a film I've seen.

All About Eve.

She plays a woman who's struggling to become a star

on the back of acquaintances with more established stars

but I can't remember what her surname is.

I'm sure Daphne would know this one.

But I don't know this and this is a guess.

I'll go down the middle and say Eve Jesson.

No. Daphne?

-I'd have gone for Lund.

-No.

-No?

-Anyone else?

-I'd have gone for Harrington.

-Very good.

-Easy, that one.

-Harrington is the right answer.

Very good. OK, third question. So what is it? It's one point each.

And, Harriet, if you get this right

you put Barry under a little bit of pressure.

See if his knees buckle.

The screenwriter Lee Hall married which British film director in 2003?

Erm, once again, not a clue.

So it's going to be a complete guess.

I'm going to go down the middle again with Andrea Arnold.

No, it was Beeban Kidron, not Andrea.

OK, Barry, if you get this one right, you win the round.

Which actor played the Doctor in the Doctor Who story City Of Death,

for which Douglas Adams wrote much of the script?

Gosh.

I really don't know on this one, so I shall play the percentage game.

Tom Baker, I believe, of those three

was the Doctor in most Doctor Who stories, so I shall go for Tom Baker.

Tom Baker is right.

THEY GROAN

OK, Barry, you've won the round. You got it right.

Harriet, you've been knocked out, so you won't be in the final round.

Please, both of you, come back and rejoin your team-mates.

So, as it stands, the challengers have lost two brains,

the Eggheads have lost no brains so far.

The next subject is Arts and Books.

-Ooh!

-Is this good?

-We've got someone doing...

-A fashion student.

-Yeah.

-A fashion student?

-Yeah.

I think that's probably the person to take it on.

-Olivia, is that you?

-Yeah, that's me, sadly.

I go to a few galleries but recently...

Who do you fancy taking on?

-Chris?

-Chris on Arts and Books. How about it, Chris?

Yeah, I'll take a bullet for Granny.

Olivia from the May Team versus Chris from the Eggheads

and please go to the question room now.

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

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

Erm, I'll just go second, to be different.

Chris, your question. The team Quattrocento is used to refer to Italian art of which century?

Well, it means the 1400s, so it's the 15th century.

You're quite right. It is the 15th century.

Olivia, the word limner refers to which type of artist?

OK, well, I haven't actually heard of that word before.

My best friend does photography and she's never mentioned it.

For some reason, I want to go for sculptor.

I'm not quite sure why but that's going to be my answer.

Anyone know this? I've not heard this before.

-Anybody on your team, maybe?

-No.

-Eggheads?

-Painter.

-Painter.

-I thought it was somebody who drew, actually.

-So what is a limner?

-Generally a portrait painter.

We think it's a portrait painter. Sorry. You've got it wrong.

Painter is the answer.

Chris, the character Maura Ryan, queen of London's underworld,

was created by which writer?

Well, if it's queen of the London underworld,

it's got to be Martina Cole, innit? Yes, Martina Cole.

Martina Cole is right.

-Your second question, Olivia.

-Yeah.

-You've got to get this one right now, OK?

-Yeah.

The playwright Ben Travers wrote a number of popular farces

that came to be known by the name of which theatre

where they were performed?

OK, well, I know that they're...

Well, they're probably all theatres

but I've only heard of the Criterion

and I don't know.

Ben Travers. I've heard of him.

I'm just going to go for Criterion.

-Let me ask Daphne. Daphne?

-Aldwych.

Can you not break it a bit more gently?

We've got Granny watching this.

-I'm sorry, Granny, but it's Aldwych.

-It's the Aldwych.

-Oh, sorry, Grandma.

-You've been knocked out.

You can still win. They've been beaten by a single player before

and quite recently.

Chris, you're in the final, Olivia, you're not.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams now.

As it stands, the challengers have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads are still intact.

-The last subject is Politics.

-GROANING AND LAUGHTER

-Is that bad?

-This is one that no-one was looking forward to.

So it's Josh at this end or Anthony at the far end.

I think I'm going to be the sacrificial lamb, here.

-Sounds good.

-Yeah.

-Shall I just...? Shall we try and go for Daphne?

-Yeah, why not?

I would like to take on Daphne, please?

OK, Anthony from the May Team. Daphne, are you ready on Politics?

-Mm, I don't really like it, no.

-Nor do I.

-No-one does, do they?

And Daphne from the Eggheads.

So let's see how you do. Please go to the question room now.

OK, Anthony, I know you're a reluctant contestant on Politics

-but here we go.

-OK.

-Are you ready?

Three questions and you can choose the first or second set.

I would like the first set, please.

Your first question. Good luck.

What percentage of the overall vote was won by Liberal Democrats

in the 2010 general election?

Er, I think I could rule out 12,

so I think it's between 23 and 34.

Or maybe it is 12.

Erm... No, I think I'm going to go for 23, please.

-Spot on, well done. 23%.

-CHEERING

First point to Anthony. Daphne, here's your question.

What was the surname of Samantha Cameron

before her marriage to the politician David Cameron?

I think she was Samantha Sheffield.

Samantha Sheffield is correct.

Nicely done. I didn't know that. Did you all know that?

-Yep.

-Oh. "Yep," says Judith. "Yep."

Anthony, Clement Attlee served as leader of the Labour party

for how many years?

40 seems a very long time to be a leader.

Erm, I think I will go for 30, please.

-Well, 30 is a very long time, as well.

-20.

-It's 20.

1935 to 1955.

Daphne, your question.

Hastings Ismay, Peter Carrington and George Robertson

have all been British holders of Secretary General of which international organisation?

Oh, yes, erm...

Lord Ismay said that NATO was there to keep the Americans in,

the Russians out and the Germans down.

And NATO is the right answer, Daphne. Well done.

Anthony, what subject did the German politician Angela Merkel study

at Leipzig University?

If you get this wrong, you've been knocked out, Anthony.

I would have thought Mandarin Chinese was quite unlikely.

Erm...

I think I'm just going to go for a more standard sort of subject,

so I'm going to go for physics, please.

-Brilliantly done. You're right. Physics is the right answer.

-Yeah!

OK! So two points each.

If Daphne gets this wrong, we go to sudden death.

If she gets it right, she's in the final.

Which leading figure in US politics, Daphne,

was Governor of Massachusetts between 2003 and 2007?

Oh, I don't know.

I guess the one I've heard about is Rush Limbaugh.

We've discovered a real blank in your knowledge there

because he's the right-wing talk show host.

The other two are politicians and it was Mitt Romney we wanted.

-Never heard of him.

-Never heard of him?

-No.

Mitt Romney. There we are.

-We learn something every day, don't we?

-Yes.

Anthony, you've taken an Egghead to sudden death.

Your team may just be turning the corner now.

Gets a bit harder. I don't give you different alternatives. Here we go.

Carlos Menem first became president of which South American country

in 1989?

I don't know why but I'm thinking Argentina.

Or maybe Ch...

I'm just going to go with my original... I'm going to say Chile.

-No!

-You've gone with Chile. OK.

Your original was Argentina, really, but...

The answer is Argentina.

That is painful.

-That is painful.

-He said he'd go with his original.

"I'm going to go with my original - Chile."

OK. Daphne.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis,

in exchange for the USSR removing its missiles from Cuba,

Soviet leaders asked the United States to remove its missile bases

from which country?

This for the round, Daphne.

-Turkey?

-Turkey is the right answer. Daphne, you're in the final.

Sorry, Anthony. They say you've got to take your chances,

particularly against our own little Miss Marple, there.

She's very, very, very savage.

Oh, I'm not! I'm a pussy-cat.

No, you're not. You can be brutal and you've won the round again.

So if you both come back to us, we will play the final round.

I won't say, "Granny, look away now."

This is what we have been playing towards, the final round,

which is general knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head to heads

won't be allowed to take part,

so Harriet, Max, Olivia and Anthony from the May Team,

would you please leave the studio?

Josh, you're playing to win the May Team £1,000.

Daphne, Chris, Barry, Pat and Judith,

you are playing for something that 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 are allowed to confer.

So, Josh, the question is, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

-Would you like the first or second set of questions?

-I'll go second, drag it out a bit.

Here we go, Eggheads, your first question.

Which secretion is produced by the sublingual and submandibular glands?

-Saliva.

-Saliva.

-Saliva.

-Saliva.

-Saliva.

We're all saying saliva.

You passed the word saliva up and down the line there

-and everyone agreed.

-Yes.

-I saw that.

Saliva's right.

Over to you, Josh.

What is encased in pastry in the Scottish delicacy called a black bun?

Mm. I should probably know this.

Erm, Granny would probably know this, she's a keen cook,

and my aunt is a chef in a restaurant

but I haven't heard of this.

Erm, I'm thinking Scottish delicacy, so probably quite traditional,

so I think I'm going to go for fruit cake.

Fruit cake is right.

Josh, well done.

OK, Eggheads your second question.

The nickname Mr Cricket became synonymous with which Australian cricketer?

-Mike Hussey.

-Are you sure?

-Mike Hussey.

-I agree with that one.

-Definitely.

Daphne is absolutely sure it's Mike Hussey.

Mike Hussey is the right answer, Eggheads.

Second question to you, Josh.

In the 1860s, the Austrian Archduke Maximilian

was proclaimed the Emperor of Mexico

backed by an army sent by which European leader?

Erm, I'm going to rule out Lord Palmerston.

I don't think it's that.

Initially, my first instinct was to go for Otto von Bismarck,

so I'm going to go with that.

Let's ask the Eggheads this one. Is it Otto?

-Napoleon III.

-Was that THE Napoleon?

-No, that's Napoleon III.

-His nephew?

-Mm-hm.

It's Napoleon III.

-Ooh.

-Oh, dear.

-Ooh, dear.

Because you asked them to start, they can now take the contest.

There are five of them,

so if they get this one right, that is the end, Josh.

Who won a Golden Globe award for his lyrics to the song A Love That Will Never Grow Old

from the film Brokeback Mountain?

I'm not sure on this one.

Bernie Taupin is Elton John's one, isn't he? Tim Rice...

-I think we'd have heard of it.

-I don't think Tim Rice.

I think my first thought was Tim Rice.

I'm inclined to go for Don Black. I don't know it, but...

Don Black has written reams of stuff.

I'm sure we'd have heard of it if the other two had written it.

-OK, Don Black? You happy with that?

-Yeah, well...

-I'm just wondering about Bernie Taupin.

-Is that a strong feeling?

No feeling as to how solid it is, though, so...

-Sure?

-Yeah, I'm sure.

-So Don Black?

-Don Black.

-Don Black's written all kinds of things.

OK, we're going to go for Don Black.

Don Black. Do you think they've got it right?

-Probably but I hope they haven't.

-Yeah.

Then again, you've paid the penalty before

for not listening to Pat's inklings.

-Oh!

-Have we done it again?

You have. The correct answer is Bernie Taupin.

-Well done, Pat.

-Pat has an inkling

and as soon as somebody says, "How sure are you?"

he then withdraws it.

So you have to ignore the second part of what Pat says.

Right.

Oh, this is interesting now.

If you get this one right, we go to sudden death

-and then anything can happen.

-Indeed.

What name was given to the material formed from ice and wood pulp

with which it was proposed to build an unsinkable aircraft carrier

in the Second World War?

Surprisingly, I haven't heard of this.

Erm, but Cemesto, I'm thinking cement and it's not that.

Erm, the one, again, the one that really kind of...

I thought straight away looked like it could be feasible would be Pykrete,

so I'm going to go for that one.

I know that Chris will know the answer. Chris?

I think it is Pykrete, actually, yeah.

Pykrete is the right answer.

Ooh! Ooh, we've got a bit of a contest here.

So you held the Eggheads over three questions.

-I'm happy with that.

-All five of them, as well.

We go to sudden death, Eggheads.

Here it gets a bit more difficult

because I don't give you alternatives.

On Wall Street, for what does the letter S stand

in the name of the regulatory body known as the SEC?

-Securities.

-Securities and Exchange Commission?

-Securities Exchange Commission?

-Securities and Exchange Commission.

We think that's Securities.

Securities is correct.

OK, your question. You must get this one right.

Which football club played its home matches at Boothferry Park

until 2002?

It does ring a bell and I'm sure my mates are screaming the answer,

but nothing is really coming to me.

But I'm thinking 2002, what clubs would have moved into a new ground then.

I know Manchester City, their new ground would have been round about then.

Maybe Sunderland, City of Light, Stadium of Light,

would have been maybe around then.

Erm, so I'll probably... I'm going to plump for Man City.

The correct answer is Hull City. Sorry, you got it wrong.

They moved to the KC Stadium after that.

So we say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

And we say sorry to Granny, as well, but you did well in the last round

and if you get them square over three questions, as you'd agree,

-it can fall apart, can't it?

-It can.

-And it has.

-Thank you for coming in.

-Thank you.

-Great to meet you.

I wish we'd met Granny as well.

Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them, most of the time.

They reign supreme over quiz land.

The May Team won't be going home with the £1,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done. Who will beat you?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't.

Till then, bye, Granny.

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