Episode 1 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

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

They are the Eggheads.

And challenging the awesome might of our quiz champions today

are the Sausage Skins from Glasgow.

The team all work for the same

sausage skin manufacturing company, as well as quizzing.

At work, team captain Barry has helped to run local quiz nights.

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Barry. I'm 55 and director of marketing.

Hi, I'm Brian, I'm 32 and I'm an IT support technician.

Hi, I'm Neil, I'm 39 and I'm an IT systems manager.

Hi, I'm Andrew, I'm 35 and I'm an IT systems analyst.

Hi, I'm Derek, I'm 48 and I'm a technical director.

Welcome to you, Sausage Skins.

I've got a little biog of you all here,

and it says that you produce enough sausage skins per year

to stretch to the moon and back over three times.

-True?

-That's correct.

Now, is that to the moon, back and to the moon, or the moon and back three times?

The moon and back three times.

So six times - moon, back, moon, back, moon, back. OK.

Right, that's a quiz question for the Eggheads. What distance is that?

1.5 million.

Not precisely!

OK, well, best of luck to you, Sausage Skins.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, challengers, the Eggheads have won the last 11 games,

which means £12,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

So let's give it a go.

Your first head-to-head battle, then, is Geography.

And as you know, any one of you can take on an Egghead.

-I will take that one.

-You take Geography, yeah.

-So who do you think I should play against?

-Go for CJ.

-CJ first up.

I'm going to take that one, Dermot, and I'm going to play against CJ.

OK, Brian has been selected by his team,

and CJ is the chosen challenger.

Would you both please take your positions in the Question Room?

Brian, you get to choose. Would you like to go first or second?

Can I go second, please?

Here it comes, CJ.

What term is used for an imaginary great circle around the Earth

that passes through the North and South magnetic poles?

A great circle is a meridian.

Is the right answer. Good start, CJ.

Brian, this is your first question.

Times Square, famous for its New Year's Eve celebrations,

is a feature of which New York borough?

I've not been, so it's going to have to be a bit of a guess.

I'm going to go with Manhattan.

Manhattan's the right answer. Well done, Brian.

CJ, Australia's Northern Territory borders

Western Australia, South Australia and which other state?

Not absolutely sure. It should be Queensland, that's in the northeast.

I'm not sure, but it should be Queensland,

so I'll go for Queensland.

OK, it's amazing how good you are the further away it gets.

Queensland is the right answer. OK, you've got two.

Let's see if Brian can make it two as well.

The name of the Irish city of Cork is derived from a Gaelic word

with what geographical meaning?

Well, again, I'm not too sure.

I know Cork's in the south of the country,

and I'm go rule out mountain.

So, I'm go cross my fingers and say marsh.

It's the right answer. Well done, Brian.

Marsh is the right answer. CJ, your third question.

Which term refers to a steep-sided mound

of sand and gravel deposited by a melting ice sheet?

Not at all sure. I think krummholz is something to do with glaciation.

It's the only term I think I've heard of

or I can remotely place, so I will try krummholz.

Krummholz...

Ah, that's wrong! It's kame.

Listen, serious stuff here, Brian, because

you book a place in the final round if you get a right answer here.

Vesterbro and Norrebro

are neighbourhoods in which Scandinavian capital?

Bit of a guess. They sound Norwegian, so I'm going to plump for Oslo.

Oslo, OK. Can book a place in the final round if this is correct.

Playing for £12,000 today.

Put that on hold. It's not the right answer. CJ?

I would have gone for Stockholm.

Well, that's good to know that you weren't close. It's Copenhagen.

Vesterbro and Norrebro. OK. Well, interesting.

Both failing on the third question,

so we go to Sudden Death, and just to explain, Brian,

you're not getting any more choices now.

I've just got to hear a correct answer from you.

I just read a question. CJ's first.

CJ, the Blackdown Hills are on the border between Somerset

and which other county?

Um, I haven't heard of them.

I've got to try and work out which counties border Somerset.

Dorset?

Begins with a D, but not Dorset. It is Devon.

OK, well, another chance, Brian.

Let's hope you don't let this one go.

Cayenne is a capital city on which continent?

I believe that's South America.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Which means, Brian,

you're in the final round playing for £12,000.

CJ will not be helping the Eggheads. Please come back and join your teams.

First blow to the Sausage Skins.

Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

We move on, then, to our next subject today,

and this is Film & Television.

Who wants to play this?

THEY CONFER

-I'll go for it, yeah.

-Who are you going to take?

Chris or Barry. On the basis of the green shirt, I'll take on Chris.

Scientific choice.

Neil is going to play Chris, then, on Film & Television.

Make your way to the Question Room.

Neil, you get to choose, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go second, please, Dermot.

Ah, I see. Well, it worked for Brian.

Let's hope it works for you, Neil.

Your first question, Chris.

Which actor played the boxer Irish Micky Ward

in the 2010 film The Fighter?

Never saw it. Never heard of it.

Christian Bale at that time was busy with Batman and stuff, wasn't he?

And I don't think it's Matt Damon. I have to go with Mark Wahlberg.

Mark Wahlberg.

It is the right answer.

It's correct. OK, your first question, Neil.

The actress Carey Mulligan was born in which country?

I believe she's English,

but I'm not 100% sure that's her country of birth.

So on the basis that that's the only thing that's ringing a bell,

I'm going to go UK.

OK, playing safe and getting it right. Yes, well done.

Carey Mulligan.

British. OK.

Chris, the animated character Colonel Hathi

appears in which Disney film?

Hathi is Hindi for "elephant", and he's in The Jungle Book.

Once you've got that, not hard to work it out. There we are.

Jungle Book. Colonel Hathi.

So, two to Chris, and Neil

playing catch-up with this question.

Who presented the TV series What The Romans Did For Us?

I have to be honest, I have no idea about this.

I never saw the show.

I don't think it was Kate Humble,

so on the basis it's then a 50-50, I'll go with...

Adam Hart-Davis.

Oh... You should see the look on your team-mates' faces.

I'm going to put you out of your misery. They're very happy.

It's the right answer.

2-2.

Chris, the writer Glenn Chandler

created which long-running TV crime drama?

Well, A Touch Of Frost was based on novels by RD Wingfield.

The Bill was a team effort, I think, so it's got to be Taggart.

Both going really strongly here. That's the right answer, Chris.

It's 3-2 and, Neil,

you know how important this question is for you.

Which Australian-born actor played

the leading role in the 1960 film

based on the HG Wells novel The Time Machine?

OK, well, I haven't seen the movie,

so I'll have to try and work this one out.

Leo McKern, I have a feeling, was he Rumpole Of The Bailey?

I don't think he was in that movie.

I think I'm just going to plump for Rod Taylor.

Quality stuff. That's the right answer. Well worked out, Neil.

OK, well, 3-3.

Once again it's Sudden Death. Chris, this one's to you.

The writer Harold Pinter collaborated with which director

on the films The Servant, Accident and The Go-Between?

That was Joseph Losey.

It was! That is the correct answer.

So, the pressure's now on you, Neil.

The 1995 television drama Pride And Prejudice,

and Sense And Sensibility in 2008

were adapted from Jane Austen novels by which writer?

I haven't got a clue, Dermot.

I'm just going to have to throw a name from somewhere,

so I'm going to say Michael Hughes.

Michael Hughes...

No, it's not, Neil. It's not. It's Andrew Davies.

Andrew Davies. Does it come back now, Neil?

I know the name, yeah.

Well, bad luck. It means

you're not playing in the final round.

Chris, you will be in the final round. Come back and join your teams.

Chris JUST squeaking through there. That's levelled it up.

It means both teams have now lost one brain from the final round.

And so we move on to our third head-to-head today,

and this one is Science.

Who'd like to play this? Remember, Brian and Neil,

you've played, so it's down to one of the other three.

-I'll go for it, yeah.

-Andrew?

-I'll do this one.

OK, straight in there, Andrew. Now pick an Egghead.

CJ and Chris have played, so you've got Daphne, Barry or Kevin.

-Daphne.

-Daphne.

-Go on, Daphne.

-Sorry, Daphne. Thank you.

Thought so!

"Sorry, Daphne"!

OK, I think you're feeling pretty confident there, Andrew.

Let's put it to the test in the Question Room, then, please.

Could you both make your way there.

Andrew, would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll break with tradition and go first on this one, thanks, Dermot.

Worked for Brian, didn't work for Neil.

You're going first this time. Here you go, Andrew.

What name is given to a small portable computer

that accepts input through a touch-screen?

Hmm. Well, I think if I got this one wrong, I'd be strung up

when I got back to work, since I work in IT.

So based on that, I think I'll choose tablet, thank you.

Tablet's the right answer. Well done. Good start, Andrew,

and, Daphne, your first question, then.

What is the variant of the jet engine that has no turbine

and only operates when high speed is achieved?

Well, the only one I've heard of is ramjet, so that's my answer.

And it's the correct one. Well done, Daphne. One each. Back to Andrew.

In which habitat is the bearded tit most likely to be seen in Britain?

I guess you do get a lot of birds nesting in woodland,

but something's drawn me towards reedbeds or moorland on this one.

Reedbeds, I think wrens, I think small aquatic birds,

so I'm going to take a guess and go moorland, but it is a guess, thanks.

OK, moorland.

Ruling out coniferous woodland, right to do that,

but it's reedbeds. Of the other two,

you've chosen the wrong one. Reedbeds.

OK, well, Daphne,

a chance to take the lead, then. Your second question.

The prehistoric creature called the deinotherium

is most closely related to which living animal?

Oh, dear! No idea.

Elephant.

You've got it right. Elephant. It's the lead, then, for Daphne.

Means you've got to get this one, then, Andrew.

Spelter is an impure form of which metal?

Now, I have heard this before,

but whether I'll remember it is another thing entirely.

Aluminium, you get that by electro-chemical reaction now,

so if you're making that, you'd hope it would be fairly pure,

so based on that, I'm going to go with a guess and go with zinc.

Well, you left yourself with zinc or nickel,

and you've now left yourself with a chance.

It's the right answer.

Well, just sit back and hope there, Andrew.

Daphne, which hormone is secreted by fat cells in the human body

and is thought to be associated with feelings of satiety and hunger?

I'm not sure, but...I think I will try glucaten.

-Glucagon.

-Glucagon, sorry.

-OK, gone for that.

Daphne's fickle finger of fate. Has it picked out the right answer?

-You haven't! It's incorrect.

-Oh.

-It's leptin.

-Leptin!

-Leptin. Yes.

Well, once again, it's Sudden Death.

And, Andrew, you know the form, then.

You're not going to see any more choices, and your question is this.

Which moon or satellite is the only one in the solar system

that is known to have a dense atmosphere?

Two years of astronomy and astrophysics back in '94 to '96,

you'd think I'd remember this.

I'm being drawn to Titan for some reason.

I'm thinking frozen seas, you see, there's a large satellite

of one of the gas giants, I believe, that's got frozen seas.

It's going to have to be an unfortunate guess,

but I'm going to say...

..Titan.

It's the right answer.

Brilliant! OK, well, will it knock Daphne out?

Daphne, the mathematical constant

and base of natural logarithms approximately equal

to 2.71828 is denoted by which letter of the alphabet?

SHE LAUGHS

X. I don't know!

Exit for you! It's incorrect!

And I wonder, Andrew, do you know?

-I would say it was E.

-It is E! E!

-Oh, I'd never have got that.

-Well, you're doubly out, then.

That was, after your last answer there, Andrew, Titan,

that was a Titanic performance, without the sinking at the end.

Well done, you! You're in the final round playing for £12,000.

Would you come back and join your teams?

As it stands now,

the Eggheads have lost two brains from the final round.

The Sausage Skins have lost one.

Our last head-to-head before that final round, and it is History.

And the remaining available players from the Sausage Skins

are Barry or Derek.

THEY CONFER

I'm afraid, Dermot, it's my chance to....

-Shine, Derek.

-Shine!

-Who are you going to choose from Kevin or Barry?

-Who do we think?

-Go for Barry.

-Barry, can we have you, please?

Yeah, you can have him and keep him!

Derek and Barry, then, playing History. Into the Question Room, please.

Well, Derek, I hope you're as good at History as Andrew was at Science.

Let's see. Would you like to go first or second?

I would like to go second.

You kick us off, then, Barry.

The lands of the Mauryan Empire,

once ruled over by Ashoka the Great, are in which modern region?

Ashoka is one of my favourite kings from the whole of history,

and he was an Indian king of about the third century AD.

India is the right answer. Well done, Barry.

OK, first question, Derek.

In Britain, what name is given to the Communist-led

guerrilla campaign that began in Malaya in 1948?

Oh, er... Emergency doesn't sound right to me.

50-50. I'll go with the Malayan...Crisis.

OK, 50-50, between Crisis and Conflict.

-It was never going to be right, because it's Emergency.

-Oh.

Malayan Emergency, it was. OK, nothing there, then, for Derek.

Second question going to you, Barry.

Which Elizabethan organised and financed unsuccessful attempts

to found a colony at Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina?

I think Francis Drake wasn't the colonising sort.

He was much more happy in his ship gadding about the world,

and Martin Frobisher, I believe,

was looking for the Northwest Passage,

but the one who tried to finance the colony

was Sir Walter Raleigh.

Is the right answer. Well done, Barry.

OK, well, he's got it there, he's 2-0 in the lead,

which means, Derek, you've got to get a correct answer here.

The rigorous training called the agoge

undertaken by young males of the Ancient Greek state of Sparta

was designed to prepare them for a life as what?

Well, again, there's none of those answers are jumping out at me.

Oh, I'm going to go warrior, Dermot.

Fearsome warriors, the Spartans.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Well, let's see if Derek

can claw this back and get into the final round. A lot has to happen.

The first part of that jigsaw is Barry has to get this wrong.

Barry, the arbalest was a powerful medieval variant of which weapon?

I have been asked this question so many times,

and each time I'm asked it, I get it wrong!

And I'm ashamed to say that I'm still confused.

I recognise the word, but let me just have a think about this.

I don't think it's a crossbow.

Arbalest.

And I'm sure in the past I've always said it was a catapult,

so this time I'll say it's a cannon.

DERMOT LAUGHS

I'm laughing. CJ's weeping.

It's a crossbow, Barry!

I told you, I just cannot remember this answer!

We'll ask you in a day's time, and you'll still get it wrong.

Probably.

Well, I mentioned this series of events

that have to happen for you to get into the final round, Derek.

One piece has fallen into place there.

If this falls into place, you've got a real chance.

You've got to get this.

Which pope sent Augustine on a mission to Britain

to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons?

I'm looking at those three answers. Um...something...

There's something compelling about Gregory I.

The first of a line of Gregorys.

I will go with Gregory I.

The first in a line of Gregorys, yes.

Some clue there, I suspect, in the number!

-It's the right answer, Derek!

-Oh!

OK, all square once again.

Four out of four in these head-to-heads into Sudden Death.

Barry, the Prime Minister William Gladstone was born

in which English city in 1809?

They're very proud of Gladstone, because he was born in Liverpool.

You either know it or you don't, and you know it. Liverpool is correct.

OK, over to you, then, Derek.

Which famous archaeological site was excavated by Basil Brown

on the instructions of the landowner Mrs Edith Pretty?

I really don't know the answer.

I'll try Skara Brae in Orkney.

Skara Brae.

It's not Skara Brae. Barry?

It's Sutton Hoo, where they found the burial of King Raedwald.

Sutton Hoo is the answer we were looking for,

which means you nearly got there, Derek,

but covered yourself in glory with that comeback.

Not to be in the end. You're not in the final round. Come back and join your teams.

So this is what we've been playing towards.

It is time now for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round,

so it's Neil and Derek from the Sausage Skins,

and CJ and Daphne from the Eggheads,

all please leave the studio now.

So, then, Barry, Brian and Andrew,

you're playing to win the Sausage Skins £12,000.

Kevin, Chris and Barry,

you are playing for something which money cannot buy.

It is the Eggheads reputation.

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

The questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer in this final round.

So, Sausage Skins, the question is,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-Sausage Skins, would you like to go first or second?

-First?

-First.

We'll go first, Dermot, please.

Final round, £12,000 at stake.

Best of luck, guys, here's your first question.

Which figure is sometimes referred to as Old Nick?

-It's the Devil.

-The Devil, definitely, yeah.

We're fairly confident about this, Dermot. We think it's the Devil.

It certainly is. It's the right answer. Well done.

One to you, then.

And, Eggheads, the type of building known as a pagoda

originated on which continent?

-Happy with Asia?

-Yeah.

-Asia.

Asia's correct. Yes. One each.

Back to the Sausage Skins.

Duke Ellington composed a jazz version of music

from which Tchaikovsky ballet?

There's a lot of rhythm and a lot happening in The Nutcracker.

-A lot of melodies and so forth.

-I actually haven't a clue, really.

Yeah. I'm happy to go with Nutcracker.

I think we're having a difficult one, this, Dermot,

but we're just going to plump for The Nutcracker.

The analysis being that there's a lot going on.

I don't know how, but you got it. Right answer. You've got two.

The Egghead crackers.

Eggheads, in the Isle of Man, the British monarch

is officially referred to by which title?

In the Isle of Man, the British monarch

is officially referred to by which title?

-Known as the Lord of Man, regardless of gender.

-Really?

-It's Lord of Man.

Lord of Man is the right answer.

2-2.

And could this win you the money? We'll find out in a moment or two.

Sausage Skins, which British fashion model

is the daughter of the singer Gavin Rossdale?

Which British fashion model

is the daughter of the singer Gavin Rossdale?

THEY CONFER

The answer's Daisy Lowe, Dermot.

It's the right answer, yes. Has it won you £12,000?

The answer to this will decide.

Eggheads, which author was born Franklin Birkenshaw?

-Hmm.

-Hmm.

-Hmm.

-We have nothing on this one.

-Nothing on this at all.

I've vaguely heard it somewhere, but I can't remember who it is.

I don't think it's Fay Weldon.

I was thinking it was, possibly, but I've got nothing on it.

I've got nothing to go on there at all.

There's something at the back of my mind that says Fay Weldon.

Oh, right, OK.

Right.

I'm trying to think.

I don't know why, I've just got the nagging... Anyway.

So we think we might go for... You think maybe...

Well, it's just an inkling,

but I can't face the fact that I might have read it...

OK, we don't know it, as you might have worked out by now.

Sort of thing we should have come across, really, but we'll...

I don't know. I've just got a nagging doubt about...

Anyway, we'll go for Fay Weldon.

Fay Weldon. Nagging doubt from Kevin.

Heard Chris say he didn't think it was Fay Weldon,

so it's all on your inkle, Barry, your inkling.

And not much of an inkling at that!

Well, you made Daphne happy behind you. It's the right answer.

Fay Weldon!

That very nearly got you the money,

but work to be done.

You're very familiar with Sudden Death.

OK, serious stuff, of course, £12,000 at stake.

In 1999, which author

co-founded the internet guide and information source known as H2G2?

For your information, we do need a full answer,

in that we need a first name and a surname.

-Well, never heard of it, first of all.

-Yeah.

Tim Berners-Lee's credited for founding the World Wide Web,

it's certain, but having said that,

I don't know if you'd class him as an author.

-Would he have written about the internet?

-I don't think it's him, somehow.

-OK.

-Anything else to go on?

-It was in 1999 as well.

-Yeah.

It's not anyone related to Google or these kind of people?

I can't think why they would be described as an author either.

Um... I think we're going to have to have a punt on this.

-What's the name you said before?

-Tim Berners-Lee,

but I don't know if you'd count him as an author.

Very difficult, Dermot,

but we're just going to go for Tim Berners-Lee.

Tim Berners-Lee, credited by many people as the founder

of the internet, but it's not Tim Berners-Lee.

It's incorrect, Sausage Skins.

Eggheads, do you have any idea, just out of interest?

I don't think we have, no. Presumably the HG might be initials.

Er, right, well, it would have stumped the Eggheads apart from CJ.

He is obviously not participating, but, CJ?

H2G2 comes from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It's Douglas Adams.

Very, very good, CJ. It's Douglas Adams.

It was his attempt to create a guide to life, the universe and everything.

OK, so it means a chance for the Eggheads to win the game.

Eggheads, who became the Archbishop of York in 2005?

Who became the Archbishop of York in 2005?

-Sentamu?

-I think so, yeah. Nobody else has.

-No, and there hasn't been one since then, has there?

-John Sentamu.

Er, John Sentamu.

John Sentamu is the right answer. Eggheads, you've won.

I don't need to tell you - how close was that? How close was that?

Once question in it. That was it.

Sudden Death in all the head-to-heads.

Everybody here, including Derek and Neil in the Question Room there

are covering themselves in glory, and very, very close there.

Just Fay Weldon, which Barry just pulled out of somewhere.

What a great game! I know it's no consolation to you.

You haven't won the money, but you have missed out by a whisker.

Thank you very much indeed for taking part today in a great game of Eggheads!

But not to be, there, for the Sausage Skins.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and their winning streak continues,

which means 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.

£13,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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