Episode 110 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 taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today are Minerva.

This team all work in departments at the University of Lincoln.

They take their name from the Roman goddess of wisdom,

whose head is also the emblem of the University.

So let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Zoe. I'm 29 and I'm a senior faculty officer.

Hi. I'm Pam. I'm 48, and I'm a campus librarian.

Hi. I'm Charles.

I'm...over 55, and I'm a professor of marketing and retailing.

Hi. I'm Deborah. I'm 46 and I'm a chief finance officer.

Hi, I'm Carol. I'm 46, and I'm a library officer.

Zoe and team - welcome.

-Thank you.

-Do you meet and quiz at University, or what?

We met for the first time as the group of five of us a week ago.

Did you? OK. So the library should help.

-You open the books from time to time, do you, or not?

-Every now and again.

My excuse is we don't do fiction.

We only do textbooks, so arts and books, you know...

Maybe. That may work as an excuse.

We did have, I think, a professor of philosophy from Oxford -

one of the cleverest people in the country - come in,

and the first question was, "What colour was Noddy's hat?"

And his eyes completely glazed over, so there is the test.

If you're too academic, you don't know.

OK, every day there is £1,000 worth 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. I'm sure you know that.

Now, I can tell you, Minerva,

that the Eggheads have won the last 20 games,

so £21,000 is on the table today saying you can't beat them.

Would you like to start?

Give it a go.

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of history.

Who's been looking at the history books?

-That's Carol, isn't it?

-And who did you want to take on, Carol?

-Carol against...

-I'll take on Judith, please.

Right, she loves her history.

So, Carol from Minerva versus Judith from the Eggheads on history,

and just to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the question room?

So, Carol, being a librarian is a technical thing, isn't it?

Well, I'm actually a library officer. I'm not a qualified librarian yet.

Oh, I see. So you can be working in a library, touching books

and climbing on ladders but not be a librarian?

You have to have your professional qualification

to call yourself a librarian.

And what kind of thing do you have to study to get it?

It's a master's degree in Library and Information Science.

Which is what letters you put on the end of books and all that?

Well, that is part of it, yes. The good old Dewey decimal system.

Is it a lovely job, when you work in a library?

It can be really good.

I bet. OK, good luck. You're in the history round.

So we have no cataloguing problems here, against Judith.

I'll ask each of you three questions on history in turn,

and whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

Carol, would you like the first or second set?

I'll go first, please.

Good luck, Carol. Here we go.

What name was given to the secret chambers built as hiding places

for Roman Catholic priests? Were they...?

Right, I do think I know that one.

I've certainly not heard of priest-gulfs, or priest-bays,

so I do believe they're priest-holes.

They are indeed priest-holes, Carol. Well done.

Judith, back to you.

Who was the first Vice President of the United States?

Abraham Lincoln was much, much later.

I think it was John Adams, who was then President a bit later.

John Adams is your answer. A-ha!

Ooh! It's right.

-I just wanted to worry you for a second.

-You did.

Carol, Mary Frith - better known as Moll Cutpurse -

was famous in the 16th and 17th centuries as what?

Right. I haven't actually heard of her

but if she's cutting purses,

I think she would most likely be a pickpocket.

Logical and quite right. She's a pickpocket. Well done. Well done!

OK, Judith. To catch up -

in the Middle Ages, what name was given to a person

who made small metal objects, particularly for horse's bridles?

Oh... Well, it's not a scrivener, because that's someone who writes.

I don't know what the other two are. I don't know.

I'm going to say loriner.

That's the correct answer. Why is it loriner? What if you met a loriner?

What would he be doing?

I think he makes small metal objects, just as the question said.

-OK.

-Nothing more to add!

Thanks, Barry. Thanks a lot!

That took us forward. OK, Carol.

At which British university was Ludwig Wittgenstein appointed

Professor of Philosophy from 1939 to 1947?

This is one that I'm a little bit stumped on.

I will go straight down the middle and go for Cambridge.

You've got three out of three. Well done, Carol.

OK, Judith. It's your third question.

If you get this one wrong, you've been bounced out on history.

The surname Ataturk, given to Mustapha Kemal in the 1930s,

had what meaning?

Ah, well, he was a liberator of the Turks,

but I'm not necessarily...it's going to be that. Father of the Turks.

Does 'ata' mean father in Turkish, or something?

I think I'm going to say father of the Turks.

That's exactly what it does mean. Father of the Turks is right.

Tough question - they're all similar there. And you've both got three.

Carol, I'm sorry you couldn't shake her off with three correct answers.

The perfect round for you both. Gets a bit harder now, Carol.

Not multiple choice. So I don't give you alternatives.

Which ship took part in a famous race from China to Britain in 1872 against the clipper Thermopylae?

Oh, yachting. That's not a strong subject of mine.

I can't even think of any famous boats from that era,

I don't think.

1800s?

The Victory? It's too late for the Victory.

Or the Golden Hind.

No, I'm sorry. I'm going to have to pass. Nothing is coming at all.

Cutty Sark is the answer. Cutty Sark.

So...

Judith, if you get this one right, you're in the final round.

Which 19th-century monarch was, in his own words,

"Rather too fond of women and wine" as a teenager?

Well, George IV was fond of women and wine more or less all his life

but he might have just said as a teenager.

I should have thought it was George IV.

George IV is the right answer. Well done, Carol.

Sorry, you played well.

You've been knocked out by our Egghead, though.

But there's plenty more time for your team to fight back,

so please both of you come back to the studio.

So, as it stands, the challengers have lost one brain, Carol,

who played very well, and the Eggheads have kept Judith.

Let's see what happens next. It's going to be arts and books.

We heard your mitigation earlier on this, but...

That's me, I think, Jeremy.

OK. Against which Egghead - not Judith, obviously?

No. Can I take on Barry?

Sure. And you love your arts and books, Barry.

Absolutely.

Don't be threatened by that.

There's a look of pleasure whenever Barry does this subject.

So Pam from Minerva versus Barry from the Eggheads on arts and books.

Please go to the question room now.

-So it's somebody else from the library.

-Yes. I am, yes.

And do I call you a librarian?

I am a chartered librarian, yes.

-So you've got all the qualifications?

-Yes.

OK. Three questions for you, Pam. Multiple choice.

Would you like the first or second set?

I think I'll go first, please.

Here we go. In the Harry Potter books, what is used to determine

which of the four houses at Hogwarts a pupil will enter?

Well, I'm not really into children's fiction

but Harry Potter is a bit of an odd one because I have read them all

and seen all the films, and I know they put the Sorting Hat to the task.

It's the Sorting Hat.

Yes, very good. The Sorting Hat it is.

Here we go with your question, Barry.

What is the occupation of Arthur Kipps,

the central character of Susan Hill's book, The Woman In Black?

Goodness me! I've not actually read this.

Clergymen wear black, so it could be that.

And solicitors I suppose wear dark suits, but I'm going to...

I was thinking schoolmaster...

I'm going to change my mind. I'm going to go for clergyman.

Oh, well, you're weaving around everywhere there,

and avoiding the right answer, because it's solicitor.

So, Pam, you're in the lead. Hang onto that lead.

Which name, now used to refer to a rigidly conventional person,

first appeared in the 1798 play, Speed The Plough?

Well, I think Mrs Malaprop is known for malapropisms which is

saying things wrong, getting things the wrong way round.

So conventional... Lady Luck or Mrs Grundy?

I don't know, because I haven't read the play and I haven't heard...

but I'm going to have to go for Mrs Grundy.

Mrs Grundy is correct. Barry, your question.

Which poet, born in 1809, is best known for his translation

of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam?

"Awake! For Morning in the Bowl of Night

"Has flung the Stone that sets the Stars to Flight..."

Absolutely wonderful poem

and it was first translated by Edward Fitzgerald.

Edward Fitzgerald is correct, Barry. Well done. Thanks for the quote.

OK, it still means, Pam, if you get this one right,

three out of three, you've knocked him out.

Which artist painted a portrait of himself

and his first wife Isabella Brant sitting in a honeysuckle bower?

I know the round is arts and books, but I'm more books than art,

I'm afraid.

I'll discount Rossetti, I think, and...I don't know why,

but I've got a feeling about Rubens.

I'll go for Rubens.

-I'll ask Barry.

-It's Rembrandt.

-You think it's Rembrandt? No, it's not.

-Oh!

Rubens is correct.

Oh, dearie me!

Rubens is correct. So three out of three, Pam.

You've knocked Barry out. Sorry, Barry. You won't be in the final round. No way back for you.

Pam, Barry, come back to us here in the studio.

Good stuff, Minerva.

That's more like it and we've just been looking up Minerva

the goddess, who is wisdom but other things as well.

Quite a long list.

Commerce, which is your subject... She's the god, in fact,

of everything except sport which is the next round.

So who would like this?

Not "like", I think - that's probably the worst explanation,

but I volunteer to do sport.

So which person would you like to take on?

I think, judging what we wanted to leave,

I think I'll take Pat on and probably regret it!

OK, so Zoe from Minerva versus Pat from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question room.

Zoe, you could have taken sport with confidence because I know you've done a lot of refereeing.

I have, yes, when I was about 22-23.

Amateur refereeing of football?

Yes, amateur refereeing at lower-league under-sevens,

because they were the only ones that would take me on!

OK. And did you think to yourself, maybe it's time to go and do

some refereeing at professional games and all that?

Yes. Unfortunately nobody would take me on as a professional

because the men don't like to be refereed by a female

and the females actually don't like being refereed by a female.

-Is that right? So you found there was a glass ceiling?

-Yes.

It was really tough because all the guys who

I kind of left the courses with,

they all went and did quite a bit and there was just me left on my own.

Gosh, that's...a salutary tale.

-It is.

-Good luck in this round. Three questions on sport.

You can show those blokes who's boss!

Hopefully, either that or make a complete idiot of myself!

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

-I'll go with the flow - the first.

Here we go. Which British Olympic gold medallist became

Lord-Lieutenant of the city of Belfast in 2009?

I was kind of dreading anything Olympic coming up

because it's not one of my stronger areas.

The rule of thumb, I think, tends to be go down the middle.

So my assumption could be Mary Peters. And I'll go for that.

Mary Peters - a little suppressed laughter from the Eggheads,

-because they know you've got it right.

-Ha ha!

-Well done.

Pat, your question.

In tennis, what call does an umpire often give

when the ball has bounced twice before a player reaches it?

I presume he must shout "Not up".

I don't see why he'd use either of the other two terms.

He must say, "Not up".

Not Up is correct. I just always heard "Up!" like that,

but I think "not up" is what he was shouting. We now know.

OK, Zoe. Will Carling played for which club throughout his career?

I definitely should know this

because I had a poster of Will Carling up on my bedroom wall

when I was a young teenage girl.

My instinct isn't Wasps

and something is telling me it's Harlequins, so I'll go with that one.

And you're playing very well because it is Harlequins. Well done.

Two out of two. OK, Pat.

The members of the USA women's gymnastics team

at the Atlanta Olympics were known by what name?

Atlanta. That might have been the era of Kerri Strug or Mary Lou Retton -

those sort of people. What would they have called them?

It's a team as well as an individual event, it's a team event.

Who would have seven in their team?

I'll go for Magnificent Seven, but it's a guess.

Magnificent Seven is the correct answer.

Well, that's annoying, Zoe.

You need to get this one right.

-You don't need to but it would be good if you did.

-Yes.

In 2010, Britain's Euan Burton won World and European Championship medals in which sport?

I don't think it's table tennis.

I think you can do that as a double game.

I would be more inclined towards cycling or judo.

I think I'll go for judo, please.

See if the Eggheads know.

-It is judo.

-Judo is the right answer.

-Fabulous!

This team is playing well.

You have three out of three in every round so far.

So, Pat, if you get this wrong, you're out.

In 2011, which boxer defeated Carl Froch in the final

of the Super Six Super-middleweight tournament?

I don't think it's Bernard Hopkins because he's a really big name

who just pops out occasionally for a big-money world-title fight.

I don't think he gets involved in any sort of mini tournament.

I'll guess at Andre Ward.

Miraculous guessing from you because you're right again.

Andre Ward it is, well done.

OK, to sudden death. A bit harder.

I don't give you alternatives.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

In 2006, a rowing lake at Caversham was opened

and named after Steve Redgrave and which other rower?

Em, I'd go for his rowing buddy, Matthew Pinsent.

Matthew Pinsent is the right answer.

Called, wonderfully, the Redgrave Pinsent rowing lake.

Pat, if you get this wrong, you are out of the competition.

In 2012 which Tour de France winner was stripped of his 2010 title?

I have to be a little bit careful here.

Floyd Landis has had... he was stripped of his title.

Alberto Contador has been stripped of his title.

I think Landis is before 2010. His drugs saga ran and ran and ran,

so I will go for Alberto Contador.

Alberto Contador is the right answer. Still on sudden death.

You picked a very good Egghead here, Zoe.

The football manager Herbert Chapman, who died in 1934,

is credited with making which team

the dominant force in English football in the 1930s?

OK, I should know because football is one of my main interests.

The 1930s is a bit far back.

Something, maybe more of an obscure football team,

maybe somebody like Preston North End would be possibly my shout,

-so Preston North End.

-No, it's Arsenal.

Oh, I don't like them!

They won five league titles in the '30s

and poor old Chapman died in 1934 at the age of 55.

OK, Pat, you get this right, you're in the final.

Italian brothers Eduardo and Francesco Molinari

and the Japanese brothers Jumbo and Joe Ozaki

have all been ranked in the world top 50 in which sport?

Jumbo Ozaki, for 15 years, was a regular sight at the Masters

and at big golf events

and the Molinaris have played in the Ryder Cup, so it's golf.

-Do you think he's right, Zoe?

-Yes.

-You're right, Pat.

A hard-fought round but you have taken it

-and you will be in the final. Sorry, Zoe.

-It's OK, one of those things.

You got your sporting background and everything but he plays a hard game.

Both of you, please return to us in the studio.

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains now

and the Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round

and the last subject before that final is music.

Who would like this?

Charles, why do you say, "Oh, no!"?

-Have we avoided your key subject, is that it?

-You have, that's right.

-Science was my first choice.

-Deborah on music. Against?

I think I'll go for Kevin.

So, Deborah versus Kevin on music.

Please go to the question room.

-Deborah, you are Deborah Harry?

-That's right.

Born in 1965, something you coincided with Blondie?

Yes, she was around when I was growing up.

-You don't do any of the songs?

-Unfortunately not.

-We can't request one?

-Lots of people do.

Music and three questions, multiple choice.

Deborah, would you like the first or second set?

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

Good luck, if you get through to the final,

you've evened it up and there's a lot of money to play for.

What was the name of the band that won the UK version of the X Factor in 2011?

I think I know this one.

I have three daughters and they're all big X Factor fans.

-I'm going to go straight for Little Mix.

-Little Mix is correct.

Kevin, in which year was A Whiter Shade Of Pale a UK number-one single?

I think very much part of the late '60s so it was 1967.

1967 is correct.

Your question, Deborah.

Rex Harrison's son, Noel, a former Olympic skier,

had a hit with which Oscar-winning song?

I think I should know who Windmills of Your Mind is by

and I don't think it was Noel Harrison,

so I'll eliminate that one.

Moon River was American.

I think I'd have to go for Born Free.

I'm trying to remember who did Born Free, who did that?

-Matt Munro did that.

-It's actually Windmills of Your Mind.

Kevin, you have a chance to take the lead here.

The operatic roles of Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly

and Rodolfo in La Boheme are written for singers of what vocal range?

I always have trouble with this sort of thing. I see enough operas.

Rodolfo is the lead, he is the male lead in La Boheme.

Pinkerton is the male lead in Madam Butterfly for that matter.

A smaller part, though.

Logic says they should be tenors in the way leading roles usually are.

I will say tenor.

Tenor is correct.

OK, Deborah, you need to get this one right.

Who composed the 1907 opera Tom Jones,

based on the novel by Henry Fielding?

I know the novel. I don't know the opera.

I'm trying to think who was around at that time.

Of these three, I think Gustav Holst may have been around at that time.

I'm not familiar with the work of the other two,

so I'll go for Gustav Holst.

The 1907 opera Tom Jones was composed by Edward German.

Sorry, Deborah.

No way back. You're knocked out, I'm afraid.

We'll miss you in the final.

Kevin will play with the Eggheads in the final

and if you both return to the studio, we will play the last round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It's time for the final round which is general knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

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

So Zoe, Deborah and Carol from Minerva,

and also Barry from the Eggheads,

would you now please leave the studio?

Pam and Charles, you are playing to win Minerva £21,000.

Pat, Judith, Kevin and Dave,

you're playing for something that money can't buy,

which is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time they're all general knowledge and you can confer.

So Pam and Charles, the question is,

are your two brains able to take down the Eggheads' four?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-We'll go first, please.

Good luck, Minerva, here we go.

What is someone described as gimlet-eyed said to be?

-Definitely not to do with hearing.

-Eyes?

Do you know what a gimlet is?

-It is a sharp instrument.

-Sharp-sighted.

-Doesn't seem to be anything to do with drunk.

-Sharp-sighted, I think.

-Do you think?

-Sharp-sighted, Jeremy.

Sharp-sighted is the right answer, well done.

Eggheads, your question. Poplin is a type of what?

Cloth.

It's cloth.

We all agreed?

-Jeremy, we believe that is a type of cloth.

-Cloth is the right answer.

It may get harder.

Which Latin phrase, literally meaning for the sake of example,

is abbreviated to e.g.?

-Do you know?

-No, I don't know it.

-Gravitas, that sounds like heavy.

Gratia is thank you. Galea, I've no idea.

Gravitas could mean serious.

-Serious or heavy.

-I don't know.

OK, we'll go for the Gratia one.

Exempli Gratia is the right answer.

Well done. Two out of two.

OK, Eggheads, this is going to be quite interesting.

I've got a feeling. Let's see how you're looking. I can see the fear.

Jeremy Heywood replaced Gus O'Donnell

in which Civil Service post?

Was it...

Yeah, he wasn't either of the others.

Gus O'Donnell was the head of the Civil Service. Cabinet Secretary.

Cabinet Secretary.

-Cabinet Secretary out of them three. We are all agreed.

-Yeah.

Our answer, Jeremy, is Cabinet Secretary.

Tremendous knowledge, Dave. You're quite right.

Cabinet Secretary it is.

OK, two out of two for you both.

It doesn't get any easier, does it?

What type of creatures belong to the Cichlids family?

Cichlids is C-I-C-H-L-I-D-S.

I've got a feeling they would be insects but I don't know why.

-I think so.

-I don't think it is fish.

-My first thought was that.

-It doesn't seem to be fish, does it?

-No. Birds either.

-It doesn't seem to be birds.

-Shall we go for insects, do you think?

Yeah, I think I know words for fish

and words for birds that are not like it. But not for insects.

-What do you think? Shall we go insects?

-Yeah, we'll go insects.

Insects, Jeremy.

Insects. What brought you to insects?

Well, just that we didn't think it was fish

and we didn't think it was birds.

I suppose "-ids".

Why does "-ids" make me think of insects?

It sounds a bit as well like cicadas and that sort of thing...

Yeah, cicadas.

-..but it's not.

-It's wrong.

-It's wrong. It's fish.

-Oh, dear.

If you get this right, Eggheads,

you've taken the contest.

Who played the title role in the 1928 silent film Sadie Thompson

which was remade in the 1950s with Rita Hayworth in the title role?

Was it...?

I'm pretty sure it's not Louise Brooks.

Greta Garbo was in Hollywood by that time

but I don't her associate with that.

It's not to say...

Oh, there's a possibility actually that it might be.

But I thought Gloria Swanson before the choices came up.

So it could have been Greta Garbo.

-I can't rule that out.

-But you thought before the thing came up.

I thought Gloria Swanson before it came up, so I think...

-We'll go Gloria Swanson.

-Happy with that?

-Yes.

-OK.

We are going off Kevin's instincts

and saying Gloria Swanson is the answer.

Do you think they are right?

-I don't know.

-I think I would have gone for that but I don't know.

Gloria Swanson is the correct answer

so we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

-Oh, those rotten Cichlids.

-Cichlids.

-It does...

I looked at it just quickly and it said insects to me.

There must be something subconscious going on there with that word.

Well, anyway, there we go.

They did play well and they do play well and that's what they do.

They are quizzers through and through, so they have won

and commiserations to you, challengers.

The Eggheads did what comes naturally to them

and their winning streak, which is impressive, continues.

I'm afraid that means you won't be going home with the £21,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show. How exciting!

So we say congratulations, Eggheads,

and we wonder again who will beat you.

Join us next time to see

if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£22,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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