Episode 102 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.

Taking on our quiz champions today

are Ready Freddie Go!

This friends and family team

are planning to put any money they win on Eggheads

into opening a specialist physiotherapy centre

in southeast London. Let's meet them.

Hello. I'm Richie. I'm 61 and a local government officer.

Hello. I'm Dan. I'm 63, a roofing contractor.

Hello. I'm Joe. I'm 51 and I'm a roofing contractor.

Hello. I'm Danny. I'm 42 and I'm also a roofing contractor.

Hello. I'm Dave. I'm 54 and a flower wholesaler.

So, Richie and team, welcome.

-Thank you very much.

-Very good to see you.

I should ask you who Freddie is, for a start.

Freddie is a young chap called Freddie Farmer,

and it's my friend here Dan's grandson,

and when he was born, he unfortunately had cerebral palsy

and has mobility problems.

So our aim is to raise the money

for this physiotherapy unit, which will help him

and also many other children that come from the South East

with similar mobility problems.

Right, and Dan, at least, well, I can't guarantee a win here -

these are tough competitors -

but it gets people talking about Freddie, anyway.

Yeah. That's our aim. And a bit of help.

All right, well, good luck.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Ready Freddie Go,

I can tell you that the Eggheads have won the last 12 games,

which means that £13,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Want to have a go?

-We certainly do.

So, the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Food & Drink,

which we haven't had for a while.

Who would like this?

-I think we've got that sorted. Joe?

-Yep. I'll go for that.

Joe? OK, against which Egghead? There they all are.

I'll go for their opening batsman. Kevin, please.

OK, so it is Joe from Ready Freddie Go

versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in our question room.

OK, I will ask each of you three multiple choice questions

on Food & Drink, in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins.

Joe, it's your choice - would you like the first or second set?

I think we decided to go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

Good luck, Joe.

Fattoush, a salad made from vegetables and bread,

is a traditional dish from which part of the world?

Right, I've had the very good fortune of trying fattoush.

I've tried it in Egypt.

So I'm going to go for the Middle East.

Well done, Middle East is right. Well done, Joe. Good stuff.

Kevin, which pasta has a name that means little hats?

That is cappelletti.

Cappelletti is the right answer.

-As in "cap", I suppose.

-Mmm.

Joe, in the dish Oysters Kilpatrick,

oysters are served cooked and topped with what?

Erm...

I'm quite partial to an oyster!

I don't think I've ever had Kilpatrick, though.

I can't imagine, for one minute, it being barley.

Out the two, Jeremy,

bacon looks the favourite for me. I'm going to go for bacon.

-You're already savouring the taste of that.

-Mmm.

-How does it taste?

-Very nice.

-It's the right answer, yeah.

You describe yourself as a foodaholic.

Absolutely. You don't get this big by eating salad, I tell you.

OK, Kevin, your question.

What is the name of the Liverpool dessert made from leftover cake?

Okay-doke.

I've been to Liverpool a few times, but I can't say...

..this is something I've ever partaken of.

I think the only thing there I think I've heard of is Wet Nelly,

so I'll say Wet Nelly.

Wet Nelly is the right answer. You haven't heard of the others?

They may have been made up.

They may be genuine.

Joe, sakura is a Japanese cheese

flavoured with the leaves of which plant?

Right, Jeremy, I've never heard of this.

But I know that the cherry blossom is very big in Japan.

So I'm going to take the driver out the bag

and smash one straight up the middle and go for cherry.

And cherry is the right answer.

Good play from Ready Freddie Go! Joe, three out of three.

See if Kevin get this third question right.

If he doesn't, you've knocked him out.

What is the name of the dish which, according to legend,

revitalised George Washington's troops,

helping them to win the War of Independence?

Well, I don't know it, so I'm just going to have to go on

a bit of historical information here,

which may take me down the wrong path entirely.

But I'm assuming that this means

when his army was overwintering and starving at Valley Forge,

I'm guessing.

It was the winter of 1777-78.

Now that's in Pennsylvania,

and therefore, the closest, geographically, there

is going to be Philadelphia Pepper Pot.

So I have no idea, but I'm going to have to go on that.

I'm looking at the challengers, rolling my eyes here,

cos it's an absolute classic Kevin answer, that, isn't it?

You've got it right. It is Philadelphia Pepper Pot.

That's very impressive.

OK, so three points each.

We go to Sudden Death.

Playing well, Joe. Gets a bit harder now -

I don't give you alternative answers, OK?

Pu-erh is a variety of which beverage?

Again, I've never heard of this one, Jeremy.

But I'm pretty certain there's lots of varieties of teas,

so I'll go with tea.

-Tea is quite right.

-Well done, Joey.

Kevin, the two main fillings of a fluffernutter sandwich

are marshmallow cream and which other spread?

I'm assuming the marshmallow must be the fluffer bit.

So let's assume it's something...

This sounds as though it should be American.

So they like to put peanut butter on stuff.

Peanut is a nut. Peanut butter.

Do you think he's right, Joe?

I would've gone for peanut butter, yeah.

-Have you ever eaten a fluffernutter?

-No, I haven't.

It's peanut butter. Still on Sudden Death.

It's still equal. Here we go. Over to you, Joe.

In 2002, Cliff Richard launched a wine called Vida Nova

from a vineyard in which country?

Yeah, Cliff Richard's not my cup of tea, singing-wise,

but I think, wine-wise, he's got a good range at his vineyard

-and it's in Portugal.

-Portugal is correct. In the Algarve.

Well done, Joey, good boy.

Kevin, the fortified wine Vermouth derives its name from which herb,

formerly a major flavouring ingredient?

I believe it's a sort of corruption of wormwood.

Wormwood is the right answer. From the German "wermut".

OK, over to you, Joe.

Still not a wrong answer from either of you. Goodness me.

Spam: The Cookbook is a work by which cookery writer,

-born in 1915 and known for her wartime recipes?

-(Oh, dear.)

I can only think, Jeremy, the name's just come to my mind,

whether it's right or not, I don't know, but it's Marguerite Patten?

Marguerite Patten is the right answer.

-Good egg, Joey! Good egg, son!

-This is very impressive play.

Kevin, over to you. You're under pressure now.

Which British chef born in 1969

gained his second Michelin star

five years after losing his arm in a car accident?

No, you've got me. You've got me. Not good on celebrity chefs.

Don't pay much attention to that sort of thing.

I can't think of any one-armed chefs, unfortunately.

I'm sure I have come across one, but I can't think of any names.

Second Michelin star.

I just can't think. I'm just going to have to give a name.

I have no idea whether he has one arm or not.

-Nick Nairn. I'll try Nick Nairn.

-Do you think he's right, Joe?

-I know he's wrong.

-Who do you think it is?

I had the pleasure of eating in his restaurant in Canterbury.

-It's Michael Caines.

-It is Michael Caines.

-You've been knocked out, Kevin.

-Excellent round.

-Well done, Joe.

And it's impressive, cos you're playing a guy

who has been the world quiz champion

four times, Joe, so it's no mean feat to knock him out.

-He's a legend.

-You are a legend. Knocked out on Food and Drink.

So, come back to us and we'll play on.

-That was a truly great round, Joe.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

The challengers have lost no brains. The Eggheads have lost Kevin.

Let's see where we go from here. It's Politics next.

Who would like this?

-Was it you, Richard?

-Politics, yeah. I hope I can follow your lead, Joe.

Richie. OK, against which Egghead?

-Can't be Kevin.

-I think Barry, please.

OK, so it is Richie from Ready Freddie Go!

against Barry from the Eggheads, on Politics.

And to make sure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the question room.

So, Richie, you work in local government.

I do, yes, Jeremy, I work in local government.

-What's the politics like there?

-Well, dare I say, very political.

I'm sure it is. But you're on, I guess, the business end,

so you're not being elected yourself.

No, I work for a local government,

so I'm not put into post by anyone

other than my senior managers and the like.

And we have to go through the process of interview, etc,

before being appointed to post.

OK, so you don't have to knock on doors and get yourself elected.

-That's handy.

-I'm glad to say I'm not.

Although I think I could handle the canvassing.

Politics is the subject and,

Richie, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

Could I go first, please, Jeremy?

Who became chief executive of the RBS banking group in 2008?

That followed the difficulties they had with the toxic debt.

Alistair Darling would have been the-then Chancellor.

Iain Duncan Smith was definitely not, as a Conservative.

I believe it would have been Stephen Hester.

Stephen Hester is correct. Well done.

OK, Barry, which politician wrote the lyrics for the CD of love songs

called True Love, released in 2011.

Oh, you can't keep a good man down. This was Silvio Berlusconi.

Silvio Berlusconi is the answer.

Richie, on his 75th birthday,

who said, "I am prepared to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared

"for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter"?

I think I can discount Tony Benn.

It's a question of whether it's Winston Churchill

or David Lloyd George.

I think I'll have to go with Winston Churchill on that one, Jeremy.

And I think you're absolutely right, well done.

Barry, the Finn, Ari Vatanen,

who became a member of the European parliament in 1999,

had previously been a professional in which sport?

Oh. I don't think it's ski jumping.

Now, I have heard this name. Ari Vatanen.

There's a lot of good Finns in rally driving,

but then again there's a lot of fine Finnish athletes.

So which one is it?

Vatanen. I don't think he's an athlete.

So I'm going to go for rally driving.

Rally driving is the right answer.

I thought you were going to trip him up there, but we didn't.

Richie, your third question.

What was the name of the mid-1960s San Francisco-based radical group

who named themselves after a 17th-Century English movement?

Well, I haven't heard of The Diggers,

that would lead me to think that was mining.

And The Levellers, sounds more like a folk group.

So I'd have to go with The Luddites.

Luddites is your answer. Barry, do you know this one?

I can't make up my mind between

The Diggers or The Levellers, to be honest.

I think they were The Diggers.

They were The Diggers. Sorry, Richie.

Barry, get this one right,

you're in the final round.

Harrington Lake is a country home of the prime minister of which country?

Harrington Lake.

I don't know this, but I'll discount Australia,

because there aren't too many lakes in Australia.

But there are certainly many lakes in New Zealand and Canada.

But on the very specious principle

that Canada has more lakes than New Zealand, I will go for Canada.

You've got it right, Barry. It is Canada.

He's good on his logic, isn't he, Richie?

-He certainly is.

-He's taken the round and he's in the final

and you've been knocked out.

Please, both of you, come back. We will play on.

So Ready Freddie Go! has lost Richie now.

They're restoring a bit of balance, the Eggheads,

but I can see they've been shaken.

So you've lost one brain, the Eggheads have also lost a brain

and we play another round, which is Arts & Books.

Who would like to do Arts & Books?

That would be me. Yeah.

Danny? Against which Egghead?

Chris? Yeah, definitely.

I think we'll go for Chris, please.

OK, so it's going to be Danny from Ready Freddie Go!

versus Chris from the Eggheads. Please go to the question room.

Arts & Books. It's three questions,

and Danny, you can choose the first or the second set of questions.

I think I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. The Jasper Johns painting, Flag,

sold in 2010 for almost 30 million, features which flag?

It went for dollars.

Jasper Johns. I don't think he's a British artist,

so I'll discount the Union Jack.

The Jolly Roger, not too sure.

I don't think so. I'll go for the Stars and Stripes.

Stars and Stripes it is, well done.

30 million, wow. OK, Chris,

Van Gogh's painting, known as Cafe Terrace At Night,

depicts a cafe in which city?

Well, Van Gogh was Dutch.

Don't think he ever went to Copenhagen.

He certainly never went to Bucharest,

but he did wind up in the south of France, so it's got to be Arles.

Arles is correct. A-R-L-E-S. That's exactly right.

On we go.

Danny, the club of which Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft is a member

shares its name with which Greek philosopher?

Right.

I don't think they'd name a club after Diogenes...

..or Xenophanes.

So I think I'll go for Socrates.

Let's see if your team-mates know. Anyone know here?

We thought Diogenes, that's the one.

It is Diogenes, yeah.

Chris, Washington Irving is believed to be the first writer

to use which name to refer to New York?

The Big Apple's fairly recent, isn't it? That's 20th century.

It's not Empire City, although it's in the Empire State.

I believe he referred to it as Gotham.

-Did he now?

-Mm.

-And did it catch on?

Well, you've got Gotham City in Batman,

but that's something else altogether.

That's DC comics, if I remember right.

I think he used to call New York Gotham.

He did call New York Gotham. I hadn't heard that.

You're absolutely right, well done.

Back to you, Danny. You need this right

or you have been knocked out.

Who wrote the classic farce, Donkeys' Years,

first performed in 1976?

I'm not too aware of Peter Shaffer or Michael Frayn,

so I will go down the middle,

purely based on the time it was written, as well,

and say it was Alan Ayckbourn.

It's not Alan Ayckbourn.

It's actually Michael Frayn who wrote it, Danny.

Sorry, you've been knocked out by Chris.

So if you come back to us, we'll play on.

Richie, change your tactics now or...?

I think we've got to play the same way.

Once we've set a strategy,

I think it's wise to carry on with that strategy.

Believe me, you are not out of it at all.

We've had teams win with only one person in the final

and you've got at least two.

The challengers have lost two brains, the Eggheads have lost one.

We're not at the final yet.

The last subject before it is Film & Television.

Who would like this?

-Me?

-Yeah.

-Dave, on the end? OK, against which Egghead, Dave?

I'd like to play with Judith, please.

You'd like to play with Judith, OK. So Dave from Ready Freddie Go!

against Judith from the Eggheads on Film & TV.

Please go to the question room now.

So, Dave, you have a mainly night-time routine, don't you?

Yes, Jeremy. My day starts about 1.00am.

I get up and get ready to go to work in New Covent Garden Flower Market.

-You're wholesaling flowers?

-Yeah, we're on the wholesale side of stuff.

Do you then take them from import

and from farms and sell them to shops? Is that right?

Yeah, shops, other decorators for society weddings

and we try to finger that end of the market.

Right, that's, I guess, hard work.

But is it a good community down there?

It's a fantastic community.

Once you're in that market, most people stay there

for most of their lives. Not many leave.

And when they do retire, they always seem

to drift back in to say hello every now and again.

What's it like at two, three in the morning? Is it really pumping?

It used to be a bit more busy than it is now,

but we don't get the congestion charge, so that helps.

But, no, it's a good, lively atmosphere.

So, if Judith gives way gracefully here,

she will get a lot of flowers, is that right?

A huge bouquet on every day she wishes.

I'm hoping you have the TV on while you're there,

so you're going to do well in this round.

Three questions on Film & Television.

Dave, you can choose the first or second set.

Going along with my colleagues, I think I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. In 1997, Charlie Dimmock became a regular

on which television programme?

Charlie Dimmock, yeah. I've heard of her.

I think there's a couple of things I remember about her if I'm honest,

but I'm not 100% sure.

I don't watch many of these. I have seen Top Gear

and she's definitely not on that. I'm pretty sure she was on Ground Force.

Ground Force is the correct answer, well done.

Don't know what she's up to now.

She's probably doing something very exciting.

Judith, which comedy double act's TV shows

featured two bouncers known as The Two Rons?

Oh, help.

I don't think it's Lee and Herring.

I think it was Little and Large.

I suddenly had a doubt.

I think it's Little and Large.

-It's Hale and Pace.

-Oh, no.

All right. Here we go, Dave.

What breed of dog is Uggie,

the canine star of the film The Artist?

Right, OK. Uggie, Uggie.

I would go with very tenuous links here

and I am going to rule out the Jack Russell.

And I fancy...

I think I'll go with Chihuahua.

Chihuahua. Your team-mates recoiled slightly there.

-Team-mates?

-It's Jack Russell.

-It is, yeah.

It's kind of become a famous dog

cos the film was so successful and it's a silent film.

Jack Russell terrier is the answer,

-Dave, sorry.

-Oh.

Judith, on to you. The film producer Kathleen Kennedy

frequently collaborates with which director?

I don't know. I'm just sort of thinking,

maybe cos Roman Polanski can't get back into America,

maybe she collaborates with him, to make his life a bit easier.

The other two are such strong characters,

I don't think they'd collaborate with anybody.

I'm going to say Roman Polanski.

-That's the wrong answer. It's Spielberg.

-Oh.

-Steven Spielberg.

So, she's let you back in here, Dave.

Get this right and you're in the final round. Here we go.

In the James Stewart film Mr Smith Goes To Washington,

what was Mr Smith's first name?

Jefferson, Madison or Cleveland.

Going on American names, I think I will go with Madison.

Straight down the middle.

OK, team-mates?

We think it's Jefferson, Jeremy.

Jefferson is the answer, Dave.

Sorry, you just scraped by onto the wrong answer.

Still, Judith is still, is it

-fair to say, in trouble?

-Yes.

-Or something more graceful than that?

Here is your third question.

If you get this wrong, Judith, it is curtains.

In which classic film noir did Gloria Grahame

play a character called Debby Marsh?

Gloria Grahame. I can see her face.

What on earth was she in?

That was a remake I'm thinking of.

Oh, dear, I don't know. The Paradine Case.

It's the wrong answer. It's The Big Heat.

So well done, Dave. Got past Judith

cos she got three wrong answers. and you will be in the final round.

And if you come back to us, we will play that final.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round, which, as always,

is General Knowledge. But I'm afraid

those who lost your head-to-heads can't take part in this round.

So that's Richie and Danny from Ready Freddie Go!

and Judith and Kevin from the Eggheads.

Would you please, all of you, now leave the studio.

Dan, Joe and Dave, you're playing to win Ready Freddie Go! £13,000.

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

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Ready Freddie Go!, the question is,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And would you like to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

OK, guys, good luck to you.

Who had a UK hit single in 1989 with Love Changes Everything,

from the musical Aspects Of Love?

I'm pretty certain it was Michael Ball.

I believe it was Michael Ball, wasn't it?

-Definitely not John Barrowman.

-Jason Donovan was in the...

-He was in Joseph, wasn't he?

-Yeah. Michael Ball.

-OK.

We think that's Michael Ball.

Michael Ball is the correct answer, guys. Well done.

Over to you, Eggheads.

Who originally wrote the words to Hark The Herald Angels Sing?

-I think it's Wesley.

-Wesley wrote a lot of hymns.

Christina Rossetti was In The Bleak Midwinter.

I don't think she wrote this one.

-No.

-I think the music was by Mendelssohn.

-In fact, I'm sure it was.

-Newman was Cardinal Newman, wasn't he?

-So I'd go with Charles Wesley myself.

-Yeah, music by Mendelssohn.

We think that's Charles Wesley.

-Music by Mendelssohn, was it?

-Yes.

It certainly was Charles Wesley who wrote the words.

Well done, Eggheads. Your first point.

Back to you, Ready Freddie Go!

Which part of a garment might be described as bateau?

Bateau means boat, doesn't it, in French?

I've got a funny feeling...

My inkling is neckline. I think it's the shape of it.

I was thinking about the Plimsoll Line,

where you just wear boats around the middle.

You said it was to do with boats.

I'm sure it's the design, but I'm not 100% certain.

-No, nor am I.

-What do you reckon?

I think it's neckline, you think waistband, you make the decision.

You pick.

We'll go for waistband, on the basis that we say it's a boat.

We'll go for waistband, Jeremy.

I think you should have listened to Joe.

When you said it I could visualise it,

it's where it's a bit wider and it hangs like a boat.

-You haven't seen our waistlines though.

-More like a battleship.

The answer is neckline. Neckline, not waistband.

OK, Eggheads, your chance to take the lead.

Where was the tennis player Victoria Azarenka born?

-I think she's from Belarus.

-Yes, that was my first thought.

-Azarenka.

-It's not a Georgian name.

-I don't think she's Georgian.

No, they have specific endings and it's not one of those.

-I prefer Belarus.

-I'm pretty certain it's Belarus.

I'd go with Belarus, yeah.

We're going to go for Belarus, Jeremy.

Belarus is correct.

So they have two and you have one.

Very important you get this one.

Brown University, part of the Ivy League,

is located in which US state?

I've been to Yale. Went to Yale.

That's...Boston-way.

-I think it's Maine.

-Brown?

-I think it's Maine.

Maine's screaming out at me.

I went to Boston once

and I had a day trip, went to Harvard.

If they're all in that same plot, Maine is the nearest one to it,

I think. I've been to Rhode Island. I don't think it's there.

-OK, we'll go with Joe.

-It's a guess.

-We're guessing here, Jeremy,

but seeing as Joe knows everything,

we're going for Maine.

But it's wrong.

-Not everything.

-Sometimes the wrong answer does scream out.

I've seen that many times.

-Vermont?

-The answer is Rhode Island.

-I've been to Rhode Island.

-Never mind.

So there is no way back for your brilliant team.

-Never mind.

-We have to say congratulations, Eggheads.

You have won.

And congratulations to you, Joe,

on being an absolutely brilliant quizzer.

-Oh, well.

-Don't worry about Maine.

You have been amazing all the way through.

There's good lobsters in Maine, I know that.

The Food & Drink question would have been no problem at all.

That Food & Drink round was stupendous.

-We've never seen anything like it.

-Excellent.

Commiserations to your team.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and their winning streak continues.

That means you won't be going home with the £13,000,

although I hope we've raised awareness of Freddie

-and all that goes along with that.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

So the money rolls over to our 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.

£14,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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