Episode 80 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.

Question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

You might recognise them as they've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads!

And taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are the Ochils Highflyers. This team are all members

of the Ochils paragliding club in Stirling.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Jan, I'm 54, and I'm a computer consultant.

Hi, I'm Ann, I'm 60 and I'm a yoga teacher.

Hi, I'm Jim, I'm 51, and I'm a technical director.

Hi, I'm Iain, I'm 45, and I'm an IT director.

Hi, I'm Pierre, I'm 63, and I'm a retired consulting engineer.

Welcome to you, Highflyers. Just first of all, define for us

very clearly what paragliding precisely is.

Paragliding involves having a flexible wing

that packs into a backpack and we generally walk up the hill,

lay the canopy out, clip into a harness

-and then if the wind is right, we'll go flying!

-Do you try and do it

into the wind to take off, is that easier?

Well, Iain knows all the technical details.

-That's because I get it wrong!

-Right...

The answer is yes, you typically take off into wind

and as Jan said, if the wind is strong enough,

you don't even need to step off, you'll be gently lifted up.

If there's very little wind,

sometimes you do have to leg it down the slope

which can be entertaining for those watching if you don't do it properly!

Isn't it a bit dangerous?

It's a hazard of the sport but as long as you're trained properly

and you check your equipment and you apply some common sense,

you can keep yourself safe.

And the benefits are fantastic, flying is wonderful!

Do you have anything in common with those hang-gliders

or are they sworn enemies?

They don't like you when you're in a thermal,

-which is the current of air that takes you up.

-Why not?

A lot of the time, they think the paragliders shouldn't be

in the thermal with them, so there is a bit of aggro then.

-Why not?

-You have to be careful in a thermal because you can hit

-the other person. But on the whole, we get on pretty well.

-Good!

Don't get on with the Eggheads today, knock them out

and take their money!

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show. Ochils Highflyers,

the Eggheads have won the last seven games.

That means £8,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Our first head-to-head battle is on Film & Television.

Who'd like to play this one, Film & TV?

Film & Television, I think we agreed Ann?

-Yes, it will be me.

-Ann will play Film & Television.

-OK, Ann.

You can choose any Egghead you like.

Hmm. What do you think, Pierre?

We have two people we have limited intelligence on!

Go for Barry, maybe.

Pierre's very keen on Barry, for some reason.

-I think we...

-OK.

-OK! Barry.

-Let's go play.

Well, it's no mystery to us, the lovely Barry!

Let's have Ann and Barry into the Question Room please,

just to make sure you can't confer.

So, Ann, when you're paragliding,

do you always try and fly in the direction of home

or wherever you've parked your car or whatever?

No, what we usually do is try and get as far down the Ochil Hills

and further if we can.

It's much more interesting to do a long flight

and then go back and say, "Guess how many miles I did today?"

How do you get back? What if you're blown off-course?

Well, you can catch the bus back

but sometimes you have a walk out, it depends where you land.

Sometimes people will give you a lift, if you hitch.

If their brakes fail, you can stick the parachute out the back!

Work well, air brakes! Do you want to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

OK, best of luck, Ann, here you go.

What is the profession of Russell Brand's character, Aldous Snow,

in the 2010 film Get Him To The Greek?

-Have you seen it?

-I haven't seen it.

And I do like Russell Brand, actually.

I mean, the obvious seems rock star but...

..hmm.

I think I'm going to go with the centre and go for politician.

OK, politician, Get Him To The Greek.

I'm sure he'd make an interesting politician but it's rock star,

it's the one you thought of originally.

Barry, who played the central character, Ralph Gorse,

in the 1980s drama series The Charmer?

Ah, The Charmer, smooth and articulate!

It could only be Nigel Havers.

Nigel Havers is the correct answer, so Barry, you have the lead

and let's get you started, Ann.

Who's the oldest of the three main Top Gear presenters?

I did watch this programme on Sunday.

I know it's not Richard Hammond.

So it'd be between Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

I'm going to go for James May.

Ah. Jeremy Clarkson will be very pleased!

I don't think your teammates will be! It's Jeremy Clarkson.

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

Which actress has appeared in the films Speed,

Two Weeks Notice and A Time To Kill?

I watched Speed and enjoyed it very much

and she's one of my favourite actresses, it's Sandra Bullock.

Sandra Bullock is the right answer.

The round is over. Sorry, Ann! Can't extend it there!

Barry's already done enough to take it through to the final round.

Please come back and join your teams.

Well, it was Barry who hit the quizzing thermals there, Ann,

soared into the final round, no place for you.

One brain missing from the Ochils Highflyers.

All the Eggheads are there, let's play our second round.

This subject is Sport.

Who'd like to play this one? Sport.

-Oooh...

-Nobody wants to play this one!

-Not a good subject for us!

Who would like to go... Iain, do you want to take it?

Not particularly but I'll do it if you want!

-We'll play Iain.

-And who would you like to take on from the Eggheads?

-It can't be Barry.

-Daphne?

-Daphne.

-I think Daphne, that would seem fair.

All right, Iain and Daphne playing this one, into the Question Room.

So, paragliding, can anyone take it up?

Presumably you don't need a licence?

I guess training is a good idea but can you take it up without training?

You can do it, but it's very sensible,

particularly when you're looking at a drop of several thousand feet

if you get it wrong!

You want to take that very seriously,

so we would certainly strongly advise you, join a school,

get the training.

The biggest thing is, once you're up there, you're on your own.

Once you actually commit to take-off, there's just you

-so you've got nobody else to blame.

-You couldn't have summed up

playing a head-to-head in Eggheads better!

Would you like to go first or second?

Oh, I'll risk first, please.

First question then, for you, Iain.

In 1987, the Suzuka circuit

was used for the first time

for which country's Formula One Grand Prix?

I have to say, Suzuka just sounds so much like Suzuki.

It sounds incredibly Japanese so I would have to go for Japan.

It's the right answer, yes, of course, Suzuka.

Japan. So, Daphne,

which of the laws of football refers to a player being

nearer to his opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent?

Well, I hope that's the quicker explanation of the offside rule?

Yep! That's the cut-out-and-keep description

of the eternal pub debate.

Define the offside rule, that's correct.

And second question to you, Iain.

How old was the boxer Muhammad Ali when he fought

in his last professional bout, against Trevor Berbick, in 1981?

Have to say, this is going to be "a try and eliminate some."

I'm 45, I don't think I'd want to face him in the ring.

I don't know, it's going to have to be a bit of a guess.

I have a feeling it wasn't as old as you might think. 47?

For boxing, at that level, I wouldn't have thought so.

43, perhaps. I'm tempted with 39.

I think you would tend to peak late 20s, early 30s.

And he'd maybe come back a bit at the end for 39...

-I'll stick with 39, please.

-Good choice, it's the right answer.

39, Muhammad Ali, when he fought Trevor Berbick in '81. Daphne,

the English rugby union player

Simon Shaw usually plays in which position?

Oh dear!

Sorry, Simon, I've really no idea.

I just hope you're a lock.

Er, he is a lock. Simon Shaw is a lock.

No apologies needed there to Simon Shaw!

It's all square then, and a third question

for both of you. Iain, which cricket team, captained by MS Dhoni,

won the 2010 Indian Premier League?

I'm afraid you could write my cricket knowledge

on one of the bails in a blunt pencil!

I'm Scottish, I don't really do cricket.

Haven't a clue, take a punt, go for Chennai Super Kings, please.

A wild guess, and not so wild, it's correct, yes,

the Chennai Super Kings won the IPL, Indian Premier League, in 2010.

So you've got to get this, Daphne!

In which year did the tennis player Martina Navratilova

win her first grand slam singles title?

Do you know, I don't know?

Er...

1981.

OK, 1981, going for grand slam singles title

which would be the same year Muhammad Ali fought Trevor Berbick,

Iain's question there.

But it wasn't that historic year, it was another historic year of 1978.

Oh, right.

But it means great news

for the Ochils Highflyers. You're in the final round

due to your in-depth knowledge of Indian cricket, Iain!

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

After that round, it's all square. Both teams have lost

one brain from the final round.

So we go on to our third head-to-head today.

This one is Art & Books.

It can't be Ann or Iain.

-Will I play that?

-You should play it.

-I'll play that one, Dermot.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Not Barry or Daphne, so Chris, Pat or Judith.

-What do we think?

-Pat.

-Pat? I'll play Pat, Dermot.

-OK, Jan and Pat,

taking this one on. Into the Question Room then, both of you.

Jan, would you like to go first or second in this Arts & Books round?

I'd like to go first, please.

First question then, and best of luck with it.

Which term, from the French for "to come from"

is used to refer to the documented history of an artwork?

Right, I have to say, I don't have a Scooby. However,

I can see that a pastiche sounds like it's a mixture of things.

And purism sounds like it's to do with one particular aspect.

I think I'm going to go with provenance.

Yep, right answer, provenance. Well done.

Good start from Jan. And Pat,

in which year was JK Rowling's book

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone first published in the UK?

Well, she's published...is it seven, the complete series?

Er...

Seven books, I'm thinking of going for 1997 but I'm unsure.

I don't think she's had time since 2002

to get seven books out.

And 1992 might be just a little too far back.

I don't know, Dermot, so I'm going to have to say 1997,

-with some trepidation.

-All right.

The answer is 1997, it's correct.

First question, didn't want to get that wrong,

especially with Jan on the board. Second question.

For what does the letter C stand in the name of the British writer

CS Forester?

Er, I'm not sure I know the answer to this one.

Er, I'm drawn towards Cecil.

I don't think it was Clarence. And Charles...

It's between Cecil and Charles.

I'm going to go with Cecil.

Well done, it's the right answer, yes.

Cecil Scott Forester. Well done with the Cecil.

You've got two. Pat, your second question.

The Rodin sculpture, The Burghers Of Calais, commemorates

a significant moment in the town's history during which war?

The Thirty Years' War, I think, was an engagement

that engulfed what was modern Germany.

The Hundred Years' War was a proper barney between England and France

that lasted well over 100 years.

And I think it was an English king besieging Calais

that prompted the burghers to offer themselves

in exchange for the safety of the city.

I'm not sure but I'll say Hundred Years' War.

Hundred Years' War for The Burghers Of Calais, it's the right answer.

You've got two as well.

Jan, going strongly here, third question.

What is the title of the fourth instalment of the Twilight

series of books, released in 2008?

I have actually read the first of the Twilight series,

although it is really for teenagers, I think!

So, I'm not totally sure of the title of the fourth.

However, I'm going to go for New Dawn.

OK, New Dawn, and you read the first instalment.

Pity you didn't get to the fourth cos it is Breaking Dawn.

Presumably the time of day vampires don't like,

got to go to bed! Er, Breaking Dawn.

So a chance for Pat.

Absolute Power, which was adapted into a film starring Clint Eastwood,

was the debut novel of which American author?

Hmm.

It sounds like it's going to be something to do with the White House

and US presidents, all that sort of thing.

Er...

Michael Connelly, I think, writes pretty standard high-quality crime...

novels.

James Patterson, perhaps you could argue

that all of them write high-quality crime thriller type books.

Absolute Power.

I don't know. I think James Patterson, of the three,

looks more likely to jump out from an airport bookshelf at you.

Absolute Power sounds like a bit of a blockbuster, so,

on that extremely unscientific basis, I'll go for James Patterson.

OK, both failing with your books question

on the third question. It's not James Patterson, it is...

-David Baldacci.

-Absolute Power. So we go to Sudden Death.

Still in it, Jan,

but, going to make it harder, take away those choices,

just to sort out a winner.

This is your question. Which pop artist designed

the famous banana record sleeve for the album

The Velvet Underground & Nico?

I only know one pop artist so this is my answer, Andy Warhol.

That'll do, it's the right answer!

Andy Warhol, yes, OK, Pat.

"By this leek, I will most horribly revenge,"

is a line from which Shakespeare play?

Which plays are concerned with the revenge...

We've got Iago's plotting in Othello.

I'm not sure whether that's revenge.

Hamlet is preoccupied with revenge for the death of his father.

Let's face it, there are probably a dozen Shakespeare plays

in which people are muttering about revenge.

Well, Hamlet reckoned his father was killed, correctly,

and was very cut up about it.

It's garnered me lots of points in the past so I'll have to go to Mr Hamlet again.

-Another percentage play.

-Hamlet is a key man.

-OK, Hamlet.

-He may let me down this time.

What do you think, other Eggheads?

-CHRIS AND DAPHNE: Henry V.

-It's Henry V, Pat.

-Oh dear.

Way, way out.

-Pistol after being mocked by Fluellen.

-It's Pistol and Fluellen.

-It's a comic scene, is it?

-Yeah.

"By this leek, I will most horribly revenge."

What a great line. No revenge needed there.

Jan, you're through to the final round.

Get ready for it, playing for the money today.

Please come back and join your teams.

Highflyers are in the lead now, two Eggheads gone

and one member of the Highflyers.

Our last head-to-head now before that final round.

This one is Music

and Jim or Pierre to play.

Jim, you're the favourite for the Music!

-Jim?

-Yes.

-OK, Dermot, Jim will play the Music.

-And who would you like to take on

from the Eggheads? Who've we got left?

We've got Chris and Judith.

PIERRE: Judith.

-Judith.

-OK, it's Judith, please.

-OK, Jim and Judith,

playing this one. Could you do it from the Question Room please?

Jim, guess what I'm going to ask you about.

Snowboarding! Kite buggying!

I do tend to do a few unusual sports.

Yeah, like all being dragged along with the wind.

What's this kite buggying?

It started with, when it got too windy to fly,

we needed some other sport to try so kites were the next-best thing.

Once you start with the kites, you see the power they've got,

you think, "Well, this could move me along."

And so, you get yourself a set of wheels

and it's down the beach from there!

I thought it was down Stirling high street!

No, I've not tried that yet!

So you've got that. Snowboarding, you can do that with kites?

-You can snowboard with a kite?

-That was why I took up learning

snowboarding in the first place, so I could try it with kites.

-But I've still got a bit to go yet with it.

-OK, well, er...

Maybe this might not be adventurous enough for you

but it'll be a mental workout. Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck, Jim, here you go.

Tiger Feet was a UK number one single in 1974 for which group?

Right, er...

I don't think it was Boney M.

-I'm pretty sure it wasn't Slade so I'm going to go for Mud.

-Mud?

-Was it, Barry?

-It was Mud, definitely.

-Did you do the little dance?

-I may have done.

It's the right answer, yes, Mud. A good start there for Jim.

Judith. "And through it all, she offers me protection,

"a lot of love and affection, whether I'm right or wrong,"

are lines from which Robbie Williams single?

Well, angels protect you, don't they?

So I think it's Angels.

Yes, it is, the right answer. Angels.

So, Jim, second question.

The cellist Pablo Casals was born in 1876 in which country?

Right.

This one, I don't have a clue.

But going by the name, I don't think it would be France.

P...Pablo.

I'm going to go for Spain.

Yes, it's the right answer. Pablo Casals, born in Spain in 1876.

Judith, Me Ol' Bamboo and The Roses Of Success

are songs from which musical?

Me Ol' Bamboo... I don't know. Me And My Girl.

OK, Me And My Girl. Is it, Daphne?

I'm trying to work it out.

Er, Mary Poppins?

-No...

-Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

-It's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

-Well, well, well.

-It's Dick Van Dyke singing it,

you can't hear him singing Me Ol' Bamboo in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Are we going to get another member of the Highflyers

into the final round? We do, if you give me a correct answer here, Jim.

The Club Is Alive was UK number one single for which pop group

in July 2010?

Now...er, I don't have a clue!

The Club Is Alive...

I'm going to take a guess and go for JLS.

You're in the final round, it's the correct answer, well done!

That final round's

going to be alive with Ochils Highflyers and not many Eggheads!

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

This is what we've been playing towards,

it's time for 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 Ann from the Ochils Highflyers

and Daphne, Pat and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you leave the studio please?

So Jan, Jim, Iain and Pierre, you're playing to win

the Ochils Highflyers £8,000.

Chris and Barry, you're playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation. As usual, I'll ask each team

three questions in turn.

This time, the questions are all general knowledge,

and you are allowed to confer in this round.

So, Jan, Jim, Iain and Pierre, the question is, are your four brains

better than the Eggheads' two? Highflyers,

do you want to go first or second?

-Shall we go second?

-Second this time?

-We'll go second, please.

OK, deciding to let the Eggheads kick off there.

Noddy Holder and the Reverend Audrey.

Lovely couple. All right, first question to the Eggheads.

Which pattern, characterised by teardrop-shaped figures,

is named after a town in Scotland

known for the manufacture of fabric decorated with this design?

It's actually imported from India, and it's Paisley.

It is Paisley, as I'm sure our challengers well knew,

but elected to go second.

Paisley is the correct answer, Eggheads off the mark.

And Ochils Highflyers,

first question for you. Which former fishing village in Ireland,

overlooking Galway Bay, gives its name to a popular type of ring

which can be worn as a symbol of friendship, love and loyalty?

-I think I know this, I think it's Claddagh.

-Might as well.

-Pierre?

We think it's Claddagh.

OK. The Claddagh ring, yes, it's the right answer.

And Eggheads, second question.

Prince Charles became a pupil at which school, in 1962?

To toughen him up, probably his father's idea,

they sent him to Gordonstoun.

It's the right answer, Eggheads, yes.

Again, I'm sure, given its location, you would have known that!

But you've done well with your first question,

let's see you match it with your second.

The Italian tourist resort, Rimini, is located on which body of water?

It's on the Adriatic Sea.

-OK.

-You agree on that?

-I haven't a clue!

There's not much of an agreement here

but I think it's on the Adriatic Sea.

-Have you been there, Pierre?

-No, not in Rimini itself.

-But you've travelled in Italy.

-I've travelled...

It's on the Adriatic, Rimini, yes, it's the right answer.

Two each. Eggheads,

what's the name of the official unit of currency

in Papua New Guinea?

Well, it's not the Vatu, I know that for a start.

The Tala or the Kina... The Kina is ringing bells with me.

That's the only one I recognise as a currency.

I think that's Papua New Guinea, I've no idea what the Tala is.

Tusitala, Teller Of Tales,

what they called Robert Louis Stevenson in the South Pacific.

-Kina is ringing bells.

-Go with that?

-Yes, I'm happy with that.

-Yes, it's the Kina, Dermot.

-The Kina.

It's the right answer, Eggheads, yes, which means,

Ochils Highflyers, you must get this one

to keep your hopes alive.

Where was the Eurovision Song Contest held in 1974,

the year that Abba won with Waterloo?

OK, I don't think it's Dublin

because All Kinds Of Everything was the winner.

And I don't think it's ever been held in Brighton

so let's go for Madrid? THE OTHERS CONFER

-Yes?

-Seems possible.

-We agree on that?

-Yes.

We think it's Madrid.

Madrid for the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974.

Historic because it introduced

Abba to the world, with Waterloo. And it was held in...

Brighton!

-Oh!

-It was in UK...

Which means, Eggheads, you've won!

Luxembourg won it in '73 but they didn't want to hold it

so gave it to the UK and it ended up in Brighton

and the rest, as they say, is history.

Well, that's a bit of history in the making there, very good game

against the Eggheads. Ochils Highflyers, some memorable head-to-heads there,

and great tales of soaring above the clouds, or in the clouds or below...

You know what I mean! Good luck with the paragliding,

may the thermals come your way for the future!

Our thanks go to you for taking on the Eggheads, it just wasn't to be.

Those Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and their winning streak continues.

You won't be going home with the £8,000. 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. £9,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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