Episode 103 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 five quiz challengers pit their wits

against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain, the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths today

are The Stotties. These friends and colleagues

have taken the inspiration for their team name from a famous regional delicacy. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Adam, I'm 30 and an external sales engineer.

Hello. My name's Gavin, I'm 30 and a paintshop team leader.

Hi, my name's Daire, I'm 35 and an electrical service engineer.

Hi, I'm Johnny, I'm 33 and I'm a sales engineer.

Hi, I'm Benjamin, I'm 29 and an applications engineer.

Adam and team, welcome. So tell us about the stottie.

It's actually the stottie cake and it's a large, flat bread bun, really. That's all it is.

-Sweet or savoury?

-It's savoury.

-I was at college at Durham,

so I think I did have a stottie sometimes, but you're Sunderland and Newcastle, all over the north-east.

-Ever had a stottie, Judith?

-It sounds delicious.

- Do you eat it for breakfast? - No, you normally have a sandwich filling in it.

-Bacon or sausage.

-You don't have it toasted with bacon in it?

-You'd have it with bacon?

-Bacon, pease pudding.

-Will you have a huge stottie feast if you win?

-Probably beer.

-Beer!

-Probably beer.

-Beer and stotties if they win. Good luck. There will be money for that.

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

but if they fail to win that rolls over to the next show.

The Eggheads have won the last 13 games,

so £14,000 says you can't beat them today. How's that?

-How many stotties is £14,000?

-A lot!

-260,000...

-Depends if they're hot or cold.

The first head-to-head battle is Geography.

Who would like this, guys?

-That's actually my subject.

-OK, Adam. Against which Egghead?

Don't be intimidated. They may be having a bad day.

Em, I'll go for Barry, please.

-How's that?

-Fine.

-He finds out about geography by actually going to places.

It takes a while, but it's very effective. So it's Adam versus Barry.

Just to ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

-OK, Adam, are you ready to roll?

-I am.

-You've done some geography?

No, I just always seem to be interested in maps, you know,

and just general geography. I usually take it in more than other subjects.

-Barry, you love your maps.

-Yes, I really do. I still read them, from time to time, of an evening.

-Old maps are a history lesson.

-I love reading historical maps,

especially ones about ancient empires. You can learn so much.

Fascinating. Three multiple choice questions. Adam, first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Adam, good luck. Sheffield is on the edge of which national park?

Right. Well, I'm pretty sure that the Brecon Beacons is in Wales,

so I'm gonna discount that.

I'm not sure about the New Forest.

I think it's probably on the edge of the Peak District, so I'll go with Peak District.

-Peak District is quite right. New Forest is Hampshire?

-Yes, yes. Beautiful part of the world.

OK, one to Adam.

Barry, which field of study investigates how land forms are created?

Geohydrology must be about the flow of water.

Geoselemetry, I'm not sure, but morphology is the study of shapes

and geo is Earth, so I'll go for geomorphology.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Adam, back to you.

What name is given to any large system of rotating ocean currents?

I don't think it's orbit.

I think that's more to do with the planets and things like that.

I think I've heard somewhere before that it might be...

Is it gyre?

-Gyre.

-Yeah.

-Gyre is right.

Good answer, Adam, well done.

Barry, the Italian island of Burano is associated with which traditional industry?

It's certainly not coal mining. I don't believe it's leather tanning. Lacemaking.

Lacemaking is the right answer. Over to you, Adam.

Which African country has a name which roughly translates as Land of Incorruptible People?

Right. I'm going to have to take a guess at this one

and go down the right for Burkina Faso.

-Is he right, Barry?

-He is. Sometimes translated as Land of the Upright Men.

Land of the Upright Men. Isn't that a great description of Eggheads?

-The capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou?

-Yes.

Third question. Got to get this.

Which Indian state has borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet?

It's certainly not Punjab.

Assam is over, I believe over in the east,

but I think this one is Sikkim.

Sikkim is the right answer. Doing really well, both of you.

You are locked together.

-We go to sudden death. I don't give you alternatives, OK?

-Yeah.

The Simpson Desert is a feature of which country?

The Simpson Desert?

Is it... Is it the USA?

It's not. It's Australia.

Barry, your question.

What colour is the cedar tree on the Lebanese flag?

Oh.

The cedar, the most beautiful tree of all in the world, I think.

Is it green? I believe it's green.

Green is the right answer. Well done, Barry. A perfect round.

You're in the final. Adam, sorry.

You played well. Both, please, come back and rejoin us in the studio.

As it stands, the challengers have lost a brain. You played well.

-Thanks.

-But you've been knocked out. The Eggheads haven't lost one.

Let's see what happens now. It's Film and TV.

Who wants this?

-That's definitely Gavin.

-OK.

-Spends a lot of time watching things?

-Definitely.

-Spend a lot of time on my bum!

There's no shame in that. Which Egghead?

Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Gavin versus Tremendous Knowledge Dave. Please take your positions.

Film and TV. Three questions. Gavin, you can choose the first or the second set.

I'll go with the first, Jeremy.

Here we go. The central character in the film V For Vendetta wears a mask of which historical figure?

That's one film I've never seen.

But I've seen pictures of it, I must admit,

so I would rule out probably Lord Nelson. And I wouldn't know what Julius Caesar looks like,

so I'm going to say Guy Fawkes.

Guy Fawkes is right. Well done.

I picked it up in a bookshop. V For Vendetta is a famous...

-What's the word for cartoon books?

-Graphic novels.

-Yeah.

It's incredibly drawn. The mask is the first thing you look at.

Dave, how are you doing?

-All right, I'm fine.

-Here's your first question. What was the name of the colour process invented in 1916

and used for films such as The Wizard of Oz?

I didn't know it was invented in 1916, but I'm going to go for Technicolor.

Technicolor is right.

OK, over to you, Gavin.

Which former member of Atomic Kitten became the presenter of the TV series Snog, Marry, Avoid

in 2008?

Well, it's a show I've never seen,

but out of three of them who I know has done presenting,

I don't think Natasha Hamilton has done it, so Kerry Katona or Jenny Frost.

I'm going to go with... Jenny Frost.

Well done. Jenny Frost is right. It would have been very tempting

to go for Kerry there.

Here we go, Dave. The 1960 British science fiction film Village of the Damned

was based on a novel by which author?

Right, em... I don't think it's Brian Aldiss or JG Ballard. John Wyndham.

John Wyndham is quite right.

Here we go, Gavin.

So far, no one has got - until the end of Adam's round - an answer wrong.

So you're all playing well.

Don't let me jinx it. What was the name of the manor in the TV sitcom To The Manor Born?

I've actually watched that quite a few times on the television. I'm going to go with Grantleigh.

Very good. Grantleigh is absolutely right.

Dave, if you don't get this right

you'll be out of the round.

Out of the game. Which Blue Peter presenter was a former international trampolinist?

I'm just trying to think of the people.

In the back of my head, I've got that Michael Sundin was involved with the circus at some point,

that he did maybe trapeze or something.

The problem is I don't really know what Romana d'Annunzio's done.

I'll have a go at Michael Sundin, just on the basis that I think there was trapeze involved with him.

Michael Sundin is the right answer. Good use of your memory banks.

OK, we go to sudden death again.

Gavin, it's a bit harder now.

Which film released in the UK in 2011 and starring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley

was based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro?

I have not got an idea, Jeremy. I'm going to have to... I can't even have a guess.

I really just don't know.

I can't even think of a film out in 2011.

Pride and Prejudice, I'll say.

Not Pride and Prejudice. It's called Never Let Me Go.

OK, Dave, you win if you get this.

What was the title of the music hall show that was broadcast by the BBC between 1953 and 1983

from the City Varieties Theatre, Leeds?

I'm going to go for a perspicacious guess. The Good Old Days.

That's the right answer, Dave. You are in the final. Well done.

Sorry, Gavin.

-You didn't manage to paint him out.

-No.

-And you've been knocked out.

Both come back and rejoin your team-mates.

-Challengers, what do we do now? We've lost two Stotties.

-Get the rest right!

-Win the rest.

-OK.

-Or it's left to one.

Eggheads have lost none so far. Our next subject is History.

Who wants History?

-History's going to be mine.

-Daire, OK. Against which Egghead?

-Can't be Dave or Barry.

-Judith.

-So it's Daire versus Judith from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

-Good luck. Three questions on history. Daire, choose the first or second set.

-First, please.

OK, here we go. The War Between the States is an alternative name for which conflict?

I don't believe it will be the Boer War. Or Hundred Years' War.

-So I would go with the American Civil War.

-Absolutely right.

The American Civil War. Judith...

Which politician, who died in 1902 aged 48, was buried at World's View,

a hilltop in what is now Zimbabwe?

That would be Cecil Rhodes.

Cecil Rhodes is right. Country formerly known as Rhodesia.

OK, over to you, Daire. The 1926 General Strike in Britain took place in which month?

This one I'm not very sure about.

I'll go down the middle. August.

-Do you know this, Judith?

-I don't know why. I'd say May.

May is right, yes. Sorry, Daire. You've got it wrong, it's May.

Judith, your question.

Churchill and Roosevelt met which leader at the Cairo Conference in November, 1943?

I would think that is probably de Gaulle.

-I would think that is probably not.

-Oh.

-Any Eggheads know?

-Chiang Kai-shek.

-This seems an obscure answer. Who was he? Why did they meet him?

They met him to sort out what would happen in the war against Japan.

He was the ally of the British and Americans in the Chinese theatre of the Far East war.

Chiang Kai-shek is not a name we conjure with much.

-Was he in power for long?

-He was.

Effectively, though China was a mess in between the wars,

effectively he was there from late '20s

through until the Communists won the civil war in the late '40s

and then he took his forces off to Taiwan, Formosa as it then was,

-and he didn't die until 1975. He was dictator there until 1975.

-Thanks, Kevin.

Judith, you're wrong on that. You're equal after two questions.

Daire, which King of England took part in the Battle of Guinegate,

also known as the Battle of the Spurs, against a French force? I'll spell Guinegate for you.

G-U-I-N-E-G-A-T-E. All one word.

This is one I'm not very sure of. I'm going to go with...Henry V.

It's Henry VIII. It's Henry VIII.

OK, Judith, for the round.

Which part of the church of Battle Abbey was situated on the supposed spot where King Harold died?

Well...

I would think they would probably have built the altar over where they died

if it's commemorating the battle.

You've taken the round. Well done, Judith.

Sorry, Daire. She's knocked you out.

If you both come back to us, we'll play the next round.

So the challengers have lost three brains now. The Eggheads have still not lost a brain.

And our last subject is Sport.

Who wants this? Sport.

-You're better than I am.

-It has to be Johnny.

-Johnny?

-OK, then.

-OK, Johnny. Which Egghead will you take on? Pat or Kevin?

Who do you reckon, guys?

Kevin. Go Kevin.

-I'll take on Kevin, please.

-Said with great determination.

So Johnny versus Kevin on Sport. Please go, both of you, to our Question Room now.

-I'll ask each of you three questions in turn. Johnny, choose the first or second set.

-First, please.

Here we go. Rory Best, Andrew Trimble and Cian Healy played rugby union for which country?

Cian is spelt CI-A-N.

Some pretty regular names, so I'm going to go for Ireland.

Ireland is the right answer.

OK, Kevin, your question.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics in which city featured a man called Bill Suitor

flying across the stadium using a jetpack?

This was all part of the razzmatazz that surrounded the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.

It's Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is correct.

We all thought we'd be travelling with jetpacks.

-Well, I do. Don't you?

-You do, do you?

-You have to, don't you?

-Why hasn't that ever caught on?

-I don't know.

It could be to do with the technology or that it looks odd.

If any of you start using a jetpack, let me know.

OK, Johnny. In 2012, the French couple Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat

won European titles in which sport?

I'm going to rule out badminton. I think the Asians are stronger at that.

To be honest, I don't watch the other two sports,

but I'm swayed towards equestrianism.

-That's my final answer.

-Equestrianism. Horse riding.

It's actually ice dancing. I guess they were dancing together.

-It's likely.

-I suppose so.

Kevin, a chance to take the lead.

In 1973, who did George Foreman fight in the boxing match known as the Sunshine Showdown?

Well, I would think '73 is too late for Sonny Liston.

Ali he fought in the...

in the Congo. So I think, logically, it's got to be Joe Frazier.

Joe Frazier is the right answer.

They all have names, those matches.

-The Thriller in Manila, the Rumble in the Jungle.

-Yeah.

It's hard to remember who did what!

Johnny, you need to get this right or Kevin takes the round,

which you do not want.

The Teranga Lions is the nickname of which country's football team?

To be honest, I've not heard that name before. I'll just take a wild guess and say Senegal.

Well done. Senegal is correct. Nice one.

Kevin, you can take the round now.

Trophies named after Daphne Akhurst and Norman Brookes are prizes in which sport?

She's A-K-E-H-U-R-S-T, isn't she?

-A-K-H-U-R-S-T.

-No E? OK.

-Not Akehurst.

Well, I've vaguely heard of her.

I'm pretty sure that Norman Brookes is tennis.

So, yeah, tennis.

They're at the Australian Open, I gather. It's tennis. Well done. You've taken the Sport round.

Sorry, Johnny.

You've been knocked out and you won't be in the final.

They've done a bit of damage to you going into this final round. Let's see what happens next.

This is what we've been playing towards - the final round on General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost

won't be allowed to take part. That's Adam, Gavin, Daire and Johnny from The Stotties.

Would you please now leave the studio?

You are playing to win the Stotties £14,000, Benjamin.

Barry, Pat, Judith, Kevin and Dave are playing for something money can't buy: the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions. They're all general knowledge and you can confer.

It doesn't help you much, I know. Benjamin, can your one brain beat the Eggheads' five?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'm going to go second.

Eggheads, moolah is a slang word for what?

-Money?

-Money.

-Are we agreed on that?

-That's money, Jeremy.

-Yes. We had another slang for it the other day.

-Was it rhino?

-Rhino, yeah!

Over to you, Benjamin.

What name is given to a low bed on wheels that can be stored under a larger bed?

Em...

I've never heard of that.

I don't think it'd be the Captain's bed. He'd have the normal bed.

I'm going to take a guess at a wager bed.

It's truckle. We've got one at home, but I didn't know that. Have you got one?

-I haven't, no.

-Who knows about truckle beds?

-I think truckle comes from the wheels.

-OK, Eggheads.

What is the first name of the US politician Mitt Romney?

-Well, he's a Mormon. Do you think Abraham?

-I'm not sure.

I think his father was Willard, but I feel it was Everton.

- Why? - I saw a programme about Mormons.

I'm sure Everton was mentioned in relation to Romney.

That's as good a thing as we've got to go on.

I've not heard this.

- He's a Mormon bishop. - That's all I've got to go on.

The other thing is what's it doing there?

-It does seem slightly incongruous to be in there.

-Yeah, yeah.

You can't make Mitt out of those.

-That's a fair point.

-It's a very small inkling.

- But it's the only inkling. - Go with Everton.

We are going to go with Everton, Jeremy.

You think the first name of Mitt Romney is Everton. Everton Romney.

I don't know where it came from. The name is Willard.

It wasn't his dad, it was him! Willard Romney.

Well, Benjamin,

-this is handy.

-Yep.

-I wish you'd got your truckle.

Then you'd be in a commanding position. Anyway, get this one right and you're back in contention.

"All the world's a stage," is the motto of which gentlemen's club, founded in 1831,

for distinguished names in theatre and the arts?

Again it's something that I've never heard of.

Em...

Based on it being for the arts,

I would say the Athenaeum.

-No, it is the Garrick Club.

-Oh.

-It is the Garrick.

It has some amazing...

Was it AA Milne's legacy that pays into it?

-Been there, Judith?

-I think that's right. Winnie the Pooh keeps it going.

And it's mostly Disney. The Disney rights keep it going.

I've been there. It's got paintings on every inch of the wall.

An amazing place. So the Garrick is the answer, not the Athenaeum, Benjamin.

Eggheads, get this right and you will have triumphed.

There will be no way back.

Which radio comedy, first heard in 1965, was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman?

I think the other two are older, Round the Horne and Navy Lark.

-You reckon Take It From Here?

-Can you repeat the question?

Which radio comedy, first heard in 1965,

was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman?

Round the Horne is older.

- It's definitely older. - I thought Navy Lark was...

was earlier. Earlier than '65.

-Who would have done The Navy Lark?

-I thought Round The Horne.

Did you? Isn't that much earlier?

People tend to think it is, but I...

-The Navy...

-I think Take It From Here was before that as well.

It's Marty Feldman. Was he Round The Horne?

-'65 rang a bell for me with Round The Horne.

-Did it?

- We've got to go with the only inklings we've got. - I'd go Take It From Here.

-Em...

-I think it's Round The Horne.

-OK, fair enough. Go with that.

-And I apologise in advance if...

-No problem.

-I think it was '65.

We're uncertain, but Kevin has a feeling it's Round The Horne.

You're uncertain. If they're wrong, we go to the third question

and you've got to get it right.

They've played not especially well so far.

The answer is that the radio comedy was Round The Horne, Eggheads.

You did get it right. Congratulations, Eggheads.

You have won.

-Take It From Here was '48.

-Oh, right.

-I thought it was earlier.

And Navy Lark was '59. So they weren't even close.

So Round The Horne. Well done. That's... Yeah.

Interesting to see the wheels turning there.

Bad luck. And commiserations to you and the team.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

You won't be going home with £14,000, so the money now rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done. All five of you, but struggling a bit there.

I wonder who will beat you. Or if anybody will.

Join us on our next programme to see if a new team of challengers can defeat them.

£15,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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