Episode 90 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 where a team of five quiz challengers attempt

to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

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

And taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Incidentals from Southampton. This family team

with sisters Ali and Nicola and mum and dad Pauline and Freddy

have called upon the services of their dentist John to complete their line-up. Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Ali, I'm 44 and I'm a children's author.

Hello, I'm Nicola, I'm 46 and I'm a practice nurse.

Hello, I'm Pauline, I'm 67 and I'm a retired nurse tutor.

Hello, I'm Freddy, I'm 68 and I'm a podiatrist.

Hi, I'm John, I'm 55 and I'm a dentist.

-Ali, you and Nicola are sisters?

-We are, yes.

-But you do very different things. You write?

-I'm a children's author.

-You have published what?

-About 13 books so far, but about another ten coming out fairly soon.

-Goodness me!

-You're busy?

-Yes, there's quite a lot happening.

-Nicola, what do you do?

-I'm a practice nurse.

-Whereabouts are you nursing?

-In Southampton.

-One particular area?

I work in a doctor's surgery in the west end of Southampton.

-What made them call on your services, John?

-They knew I'd done a few quizzes in the past.

Are you the ringer? Is that what you are here?

-Probably.

-The dentist. OK, well, good luck against the Eggheads.

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

If they fail to beat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over.

Incidentals, the Eggheads have won the last four games,

which means £5,000 says you can't beat them.

-Are you ready to try?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-OK, your first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Sport.

Who's the sporting person?

It looks like me to start.

Shall I go for a good win or go for somebody?

-Go for a win.

-Follow your instincts.

-I'll take Sport and I'd like to take on Judith, please.

-Right.

-Who?

-It's you.

-Are you sure?

-A little bit of strategy even about the margin of victory.

I think that's what I heard! So John from the Incidentals, their dentist, against Judith.

Prepare for your extraction from the Eggheads.

To ensure no conferring, take your positions in the question room.

John, you have done quizzes on TV before, I understand?

-A long time ago.

-Go on. Which one?

-Mastermind. I won The Krypton Factor.

-Fantastic. When was that?

-'82.

-And Mastermind?

'81 and 2008...7. 2007.

So with Magnus and Mr Humphrys?

-Yes.

-In the Magnus Magnusson episode, what was your specialist subject?

The Life and Works of Dorothy Parker.

We're a bit of a way from that with Sport, but let's give it a go.

-I think we've got a good quizzer here, Judith.

-So do I.

-OK, three multiple choice questions on Sport.

-John, the first or second set?

-I'll go first, please.

Your question, John. In which sport were performance-enhancing, hi-tech,

ankle-length suits banned from January 2010?

That will be swimming.

Swimming is the right answer. You sounded certain.

OK, Judith...

Traditionally, during half-time at polo matches, the crowd goes on to the field to do what?

That's treading down the divots.

Repair the divots is correct. They don't catch the horses.

They've got riders, haven't they? Let's not worry about it.

John, which rugby league team won the Challenge Cup in 2010?

I did see some of that as well.

Um...

I think it was Warrington.

Warrington is the right answer.

Judith, your question.

The motorcycle rider Dani Pedrosa was born in which country?

Can you spell the "Dani"?

D-A-N-I and then P-E-D-R-O-S-A.

Oh, well, it could be any of them, actually.

Italians are, on the whole, daring drivers and motorcycle riders,

so I'm going to say Italy.

-Brilliant logic.

-The wrong one.

-The wrong answer. Spain is the answer.

-Oh.

-All Spanish viewers now offended!

John, your question. If you get this right, you're in the final round. You will have knocked out Judith.

The Bunbury Mile is one section of a course at which horse-racing venue?

I knew there'd be a horse-racing question. I'm terrible at them.

The Bunbury Mile...

Newmarket.

Newmarket is the right answer.

I didn't know you took it so personally.

LAUGHTER

-Judith, you have been dispatched.

-I've been extracted.

-Yes, extracted from the team by their dentist.

Please come back and rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost no brains from the final round. The Eggheads have lost one brain.

The next subject is Film & TV.

Who would like this? Not John.

It's going to be you, Dad.

Who are we going to go up against?

You have a choice. What do you reckon?

-Pat.

-Pat, yeah.

-OK, Freddy from the Incidentals against Pat from the Eggheads.

So there's no conferring, take your positions in the question room.

So, Freddy, how long have you and Pauline been together?

-48 years, plus a bit.

-Well done. You met in your teens, I'm just thinking?

-That's right.

I was 16, Pauline was 15. Maybe a bit before that. We met at the ice rink in Southampton.

-Is it still there?

-No.

-It's a bone of contention.

-There aren't enough ice rinks anywhere.

-Absolutely.

-Three questions on Film & TV in turn. Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

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

-I'll go first.

Here we go. Which of the Doctor's enemies in Doctor Who became famous for using the word "exterminate"?

Well, I do know all of those three.

I'm pretty sure it's not the Cybermen or the Silurians.

-We'll go with the Daleks.

-Daleks is the right answer. Well done.

Now to you, Pat.

The TV presenters Declan Donnelly and Anthony McPartlin were both born in which city?

I think they're both from Newcastle upon Tyne.

Newcastle upon Tyne is correct. Back to you, Freddy.

Who directed the 2001 film Artificial Intelligence, AI,

starring Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law?

I'm not absolutely sure about this one.

I don't think it was Ridley Scott.

I don't even think it was Steven Spielberg. I'll go for Peter Jackson.

Peter Jackson is your answer.

Not Jackson, Freddy, I'm afraid. It was Steven Spielberg.

Pat, your question. Which TV drama did Matt Di Angelo and Kelly Adams join in Series Five

as the characters Sean and Emma Kennedy?

I've watched all three of these series.

I have a suspicion Kelly Adams is almost a Kylie Minogue lookalike.

Not quite, but a blonde actress.

So my first thought is Hustle.

Certainly there are very few core characters in Spooks.

It's just Peter Firth and a handful of agents

and Waking The Dead has perhaps even a smaller core cast.

So I think they must have joined the con man fraternity in Hustle.

Hustle is right. You're in the lead. Freddy, you need this one now.

Which actress was the mother-in-law of the singer Mel Torme?

I'm going to have to just make a stab at...

I'm thinking the best guess line was always to go down the left.

-We'll go for Beryl Reid.

-Beryl Reid is your answer.

Judith has this patented technique. Left or right?

-It's down the right.

-And Thora Hird is the right answer!

There, you see?

It's Judith's special method.

Sorry, Freddy, you've been knocked out by Pat who will be in the final and you won't.

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

Bad luck, Freddy. It wasn't Beryl. Daphne, you know about Mel Torme?

Yes, he was married to Janette Scott who was Thora Hird's daughter.

She was a well-known actress in the '50s and '60s.

And Mel Torme, for those who don't remember him, tell us what he did.

Oh, he was a singer, The Velvet Fog.

-In the '50s, in the '60s?

-Yeah, and the '70s.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain from the final round. The Eggheads have lost one brain.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Right up your street.

-That'll be you, Ali.

-It'll have to be.

-You might get one of your books coming up in this round.

-Let's hope so.

-Which Egghead?

-It can't be Pat or Judith.

-I'm being drawn to the shirt more than anything. It has to be CJ.

Good choice. Ali from the Incidentals against CJ from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions now.

This is perfect - Arts & Books and you write books!

It should be perfect, but the scope for humiliation is terrible.

There are children's authors all over the UK watching this, ready to laugh their socks off at me.

They'll probably laugh at CJ. That's what they normally do.

When did you get your breakthrough as a children's writer?

After many years of trying, in 2006, my first book Finding The Fox from the Shapeshifter series came out.

It was three or four years of really trying before that happened.

That was a book for what age?

Nine-plus, but a surprising number of seven and eight-year-olds follow it through

and a surprising number of teenagers and adults.

-It must be fantastic to have the first call that says, "We'll put it out."

-Unforgettable. Just fantastic.

Good luck. CJ, you mustn't embarrass the author. Arts & Books, three questions, multiple choice.

-Ali, do you want the first or second set?

-I'll go with the trend and have the first set, please.

Ali, good luck. Here we go. The prize-winning novelist Colm Toibin was born in which country?

-Oh...

-The name is spelt C-O-L-M and then T-O-I-B-I-N.

Well, it doesn't sound very Canadian to me.

Or very New Zealand.

It does have an Irish ring to it.

I've not heard of him which is shameful,

but it does sound Irish, so I'll plump for Irish.

Republic of Ireland is quite right. Well done.

-Pat, can you help? Colm Toibin?

-Colm Toibin.

-Have you heard of him?

Yes, he's a prominent author, yeah.

Your question, CJ. In which year was the Lord Chamberlain's role

in censoring theatrical performances in London abolished?

I've got no idea. Um...

Well, the late '60s was a time for...

..quite a few more liberal policies coming into the British government.

I'd be surprised if it was as late as '88.

I've got absolutely no idea.

-I don't know. '68.

-'68 is right.

How unfair is that!

Help us out here.

-I thought it was something to do with a play called The Romans In Britain.

-That was 12 years later.

Was there a 1968 event?

No, it had been coming gradually. There had been several plays over the course of the early to mid-'60s

that led to calls for the thing to be repealed and eventually it happened in 1968.

It just took time to work through.

OK, Ali, second question. Anna Of The Five Towns, a 1902 novel set in the Potteries, is by which author?

I've never heard of it on Thomas Hardy's novels.

Anna Of The Five Towns sounds like something Catherine Cookson did!

Anna Of The Five Towns...

I'm not sure, so I'm going to follow the Keppel method

and go down on the right-hand side and go for Arnold Bennett.

-Now known as the Keppel method. Is she right, Judith?

-She's right.

Thank you, Judith.

It's extraordinary.

OK, CJ, the author John Fowles lived in which coastal resort

and used it as the setting for The French Lieutenant's Woman?

My favourite novel. Lyme Regis.

Lyme Regis is correct. Two each.

See if you can get this one and make him sweat, Ali.

Which Austrian painter died in 1918 during the Spanish flu epidemic aged only 28?

Ah, Austrian painters!

If only I'd ever paid attention to any kind of painters.

I have absolutely not a clue.

Austrian. Let's have a look.

Romako does not look like an Austrian name to me. Maybe I'd be tempting fate a second time.

Klinger and Schiele.

Klinger. That sounds more German.

Or even Russian, but Schiele's got an Austrian feel to it,

so I'll go for Egon Schiele.

Egon Schiele is the right answer. Well done.

CJ, if you get this wrong

you have been knocked out by a writer. The 1793 painting The Death of Marat,

depicting the murdered man in his bath, was the work of which artist and friend of the deceased?

It was very controversial

and because of it the painter had to go into exile in Belgium.

And in his funeral procession when he died, copies of all his paintings were held up, except for this one,

because it was too controversial. It's Jacques-Louis David.

That is the right answer. You're well matched.

We go to sudden death, Ali. It's a bit more difficult.

It's not multiple choice now. Here's your question.

Which 1950s children's novel tells the story of Tom Long, who having been sent to stay

with his Uncle Alan and Aunt Gwen has adventures after hearing a grandfather clock striking 13?

This was one of my all-time favourites.

It's a fantastic story which I recommend every child and adult should read again.

-It's Tom's Midnight Garden.

-Quite right. Well done.

CJ, you're out if this is wrong.

Which writer, whose books include An Unkindness of Ravens and The Speaker of Mandarin,

-was made a Baroness by the Labour Party in 1997?

-Female writer...

No, I don't know either of the titles so it's a blind guess.

I'm having trouble thinking of any female writers who are titled.

Let's try...

-PD James.

-PD James. Do you know this, Ali?

I know the book An Unkindness of Ravens. I'm picturing the cover.

-I can almost see it. I keep thinking of Ruth Rendell, but I'm not certain.

-Do you know, Pauline?

-No.

-It is Ruth Rendell. CJ, you've gone! You got it wrong. Not PD James.

Well done, Ali!

You've knocked out an Egghead and you will be in the final round.

Both please come back to us here.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain, the Eggheads two.

The last subject is Science.

Which challenger would like Science?

-It could be either of you.

-What do you think?

You could do without me more if I lose!

-I'll do Science. I'll be scientific.

-OK. Against?

-I'd like to go against Daphne, please.

-So Nicola on Science against Daphne.

-Feeling good, Daphne?

-Nope!

-All right, off we go to the Question Room.

OK, Science it is. Three questions, multiple choice.

-Nicola, first or second set?

-I have to go first, I think.

Good luck. What name is given to a metallic material formed from a mixture of other metals?

Well, I think a hybrid is usually to do with things like plants or animals.

I don't...

I'm not awfully sure what melange means, so alloy.

Alloy is the right answer. Well done. It's building confidence

in this team. Which unit of time, Daphne, was once defined

as 1/86,400ths of the mean solar day?

The second? I don't know!

The second is correct. There are 86,400 in a day?

-I suppose so.

-OK.

Your question, Nicola.

Each of the 20 faces of a regular icosahedron is which shape?

That's I-C-O-S-A-H-E-D-R-O-N. Icosahedron.

I think it...

I'm not awfully good at maths, but I think it probably has to be a pentagon.

But I could be entirely wrong.

I'm going to go for pentagon.

-Anybody, Eggheads?

-I suspect it's a triangle.

-It is.

Not a pentagon.

Daphne, your question.

Which term refers to reproduction in which an egg develops into a new individual without being fertilised?

Well, partheno means virgin, so I think it's parthenogenesis.

Parthenogenesis is the correct answer. Well done.

OK, you need to get this right.

Of the four fundamental forces or interactions that are believed to operate in the universe,

which is the weakest?

Mmm. I know nothing about this at all,

so it's going to be a guess.

So I'm actually going to go for something that, to me, sounds like it's the wrong answer,

but I'm probably wrong in thinking that it's the wrong answer - gravitation.

The logic, I don't know. It could be the new method here.

Because you're right, actually. Gravitation is the right answer.

Gravity is incredibly weak.

If it was strong, you couldn't pick anything off the ground.

-But electromagnetism sounds like it could be any...

-But it operates over very small distances.

Weak nuclear force is only inside atoms and molecules. It's incredibly strong inside that small space.

We're getting immersed in science, Daphne. Here's your question.

Get this or we go to sudden death.

Which creature has the scientific name Calliphora vomitoria?

I-I think...

I think I've heard the word for cockroach and it's not that.

And I don't think it's brown rat.

Bluebottle fly.

Your answer is bluebottle fly.

They could all logically, I suppose, be vomitoria related.

The fly is the right one, though. Well done.

Amazing play

by our Egghead. Sorry, Nicola. You won't be in the final round.

Both of you come back and rejoin your teammates.

This is what we've been playing towards. It's the final round.

Those of you who lost head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part. So Nicola and Freddy

and Judith and CJ from the Eggheads please now leave the studio.

So you've played really well, Incidentals, and now for the crunch.

Ali, Pauline and John, you're playing for £5,000.

Pat, Kevin and Daphne are playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three questions all on general knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

So are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-No answer required! Do you want to go first or second?

-First.

-Stick with first.

All the best.

In company accounts, what term is used to refer

to the allowance for the fall in value of an asset during its working life?

-Depreciation.

-Depreciation?

-Yep.

We'll say depreciation.

Depreciation is the right answer.

Eggheads, your question.

Strine is a version of English said to be spoken by people from which country?

-Australia.

-S-T-R-I-N-E?

-S-T-R-I-N-E.

-It's Australia.

-Yeah.

-Australia is the right answer. You've been, Daphne?

-So has Kevin.

Did they say anything in Strine?

-They probably did!

-Want an example?

-No, mate.

"Eye level arch play devoisters."

-What does that mean?

-No idea!

-"I'll have a large plate of oysters." That is Strine.

-OK.

-But not as we know it.

-OK.

Not as we know it! Someone referred to as pulchritudinous can also be described by which term?

You're the author, but I think that's beautiful, isn't it?

-Oh, crikey.

-Or is it arrogant?

-Can we have that word again?

Someone referred to as pulchritudinous can also be described by which term?

P-U-L-C-H-R-I-T-U-D-I-N-O-U-S.

I think it's beautiful, but it might be arrogant.

It's a fantastic word. I'll use it in my next book!

-So we think...?

-Beautiful.

-I think it probably is.

-Beautiful?

-Beautiful.

So... All right, girls? Boys? We're going to say beautiful.

Beautiful is the right answer. Well done.

Which item of furniture

is an armoire?

It's not a table.

-I thought it was a wardrobe.

-So did I.

I was thinking wardrobe.

Sometimes these terms can be applied differently in different countries,

but I don't think it's drawers. And it's not a table.

I think it's a wardrobe. Sometimes there's crossover, but we'll go with wardrobe.

Wardrobe is correct.

Third question.

Often the key one. A modern style of which common foodstuff was developed in the 1720s

by a Mrs Clemence of Durham?

-Mrs Clemence...

-I have not the remotest idea.

-Ketchup...

-You'd think Worcestershire sauce is Worcester.

-Although it's made from anchovies, so...

-Ketchup is American.

-It's a Dutch thing.

And mustard is so well-known. I think Worcestershire sauce.

It's made from anchovies, so somewhere in the sea area... Durham is possible.

-By the coast.

-What do you reckon?

-Try Worcestershire sauce.

We're going to go for Worcestershire sauce.

And yet you ruled it out because it wasn't from that area. It's not.

-It's mustard.

-Oh, no!

-It's mustard.

-Mustard?

Do we know anything more, Daphne?

She used to go round

hawking little pots of paste that she'd made from mustard seed.

Right. Get this and you've won.

In which British overseas territory does one of the main thoroughfares, Winston Churchill Avenue,

run directly across the airport's runway?

-It's not St Helena.

-In Gibraltar there is a road that runs across the runway.

-The airport runway is at the top of the peninsula.

-Yeah.

And the road runs round to Catalan Bay.

-So I think it's Gibraltar.

-I think so.

-I think so.

We think that's Gibraltar.

-Gibraltar is your answer. Not the Falklands?

-No.

Gibraltar is correct. Congratulations. You've won.

-It can be sudden at the end.

-Mustard!

-You wouldn't think mustard was developed that late.

-It's been great to meet you. Good luck with the writing and the dentistry!

-Thank you.

Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally. They still reign supreme.

I'm afraid you won't go home with the £5,000, so that rolls over to our next show.

Congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers can defeat them.

£6,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2012

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