Episode 115 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. They are the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths today

are the EEG Heads. This medically-minded team

are regular quizzers at the Oran Mor pub in the West End of Glasgow. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Charlotte, I'm 25 and I'm a clinical physiologist.

Hi, I'm Ify, I'm 28 and a doctor.

Hi, I'm Christopher, I'm 23 and I'm a clinical physiologist.

Hi, I'm Mark, I'm 27 and a doctor.

Hi, I'm Jamie, I'm 27 and I'm a clinical physiologist.

-So, Charlotte and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Good to see you.

-EEG is the machine you strap to your head.

-Yeah, uh-huh. It's electrodes we put on patients' heads

-to measure electrical activity in the brain.

-What does EEG stand for?

-Electroencephalogram.

-So you can actually see the brain power, can you?

Yeah, we can see the different brain waves going along and if a person is in a different state,

whether they're awake or drowsy or asleep, the brain changes.

-So if somebody collapses here, you could zap them.

-We could.

And if you were to put all of the Eggheads onto an EEG simultaneously,

-would Britain explode?

-Probably, yeah!

Could you tell how much they know just by looking with your suction pads?

We could try. We could tell there's a brain there!

I have wondered that sometimes. Well, good luck. You've got the best team name, I must say.

Every day there is £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers, but if they fail to win

it rolls over to the next show. So, EEG Heads, the Eggheads are on quite a streak.

They've won the last 25,

so £26,000 is yours if you can beat them. OK?

-Use any medical equipment you want. Do you want to start?

-Yes.

The first Head to Head is Food and Drink.

Who would like this?

-I'll take that. I'll take this.

-OK, Charlotte, which Egghead? No Kevin today.

- Pat or Chris. - I'll take on Pat.

Pat and Chris - the two who look like they've eaten the least(!)

OK, Charlotte versus Pat. To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

I'll ask each of you three questions on Food and Drink in turn.

Whoever answers the most correctly goes through to the final. Charlotte, first or second set?

I'll take the first question, please.

Good luck. Buck rabbit is a Welsh rarebit topped with what?

Hmm, I've never actually heard of that.

I'm thinking it's more of a savoury topping rather than a sweet one

because Welsh rarebit tends to be a savoury dish.

So I'm going to go for poached egg because I don't think carrot would be very substantial for a topping.

I'll go for poached egg.

Good logic from the EEG team. Poached egg is correct.

Should be poached EEG, shouldn't it?

OK, Pat, your question.

What is the common name of the edible fungus fistulina hepatica,

a mushroom with a meaty texture and a red juice?

I think I've only heard of one of those. I think I've heard of a beefsteak fungus.

-I'll go for that.

-Beefsteak fungus is right.

Charlotte,

the prickly pear is sometimes known by what other name?

I've heard of a prickly pear, but I've not heard of an alternative name for it.

That's the only name I know for it. I'm going to exclude Indian orange because it's a citrus fruit.

And I think I'll exclude gooseberry as well since it's a berry.

I'm going to go for an Indian fig.

Very good. You're right.

This round...

All the questions conjure up an image. Well-written round.

OK, Pat, your question. What type of foodstuff is a poblano?

It sounds faintly Hispanic.

That doesn't really make that much of a difference.

The chilli pepper is the most Hispanic of those three,

but they grow loads of olives in Spain I'll have to go for chilli pepper, but it's just a guess.

-Do you think he's right, Charlotte?

-I'll say no.

No, he is right. Chilli pepper is correct.

Third question, Charlotte.

Which chef, known for his public falling out with Gordon Ramsay, was chef at the Savoy Grill

when it achieved the first Michelin star in its history?

Don't know any of those names.

I'm going to go for Tom Aikens.

I'm sorry. It's Marcus Wareing. I thought you were going to get it.

I could sense a great quizzer.

Let's see if Pat gets this.

What type of dish is cousinette, whose ingredients include sorrel and spinach?

I haven't heard of this dish. Sounds French.

Cousinette?

Of those three, I don't know which it is, but I'll go for soup. Sorrel sounds most likely for soup.

The logic is good, the answer is right. Soup.

Charlotte, he's knocked you out.

But don't worry, early days. Please, both of you, come back here to the studio.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain from the final round, the Eggheads no brains.

The next subject is Film and TV.

Which of you would like this?

-Jamie!

-Jamie? OK.

Against which Egghead? Which brain?

Judith, maybe? Judith?

-I'll go for Judith.

-So Jamie from the EEG Heads versus Judith from the EGG-heads.

Please take your positions in the Question Room.

I'll ask you three questions on Film and TV. If you get the most right, you go through to the final.

-Jamie, first or second?

-First, please.

Here we go. Rob McElwee and Helen Willetts found fame on TV as what type of presenters?

Neither of those names ring any bells at all.

I watch a lot of sport and they're not ringing any bells with sport.

I think I'll go down the side of cookery. I don't watch a lot of cookery shows. So cookery.

They'll thank you for this. They're weather.

First one wrong. Judith,

who starred as Guy Hubble in the TV series The Royal Bodyguard, first seen in 2011?

I didn't see it.

I think it's Robert Lindsay.

-No, it's David Jason, but if you didn't see it...

-It could have been anybody.

OK, Jamie, your question.

Who received his only acting Oscar nomination for his role in the 1974 film The Towering Inferno?

Em...

Quite confident it's not Fred Astaire. He's more of a song and dance man.

Robert Wagner ended up playing Number 2 in the Austin Powers films later on in his career,

but I think William Holden was in Towering Inferno.

This surprised me. It's the one you ruled out first. What was Fred Astaire doing in that film?

-He was a sort of ageing con man.

-An ageing con man?

-Did he do any dancing at all?

-No.

-I don't recall any.

-Not any?

-No.

So it was Fred Astaire and he didn't do any dancing.

Judith, your question.

Who provided the voice for Kermit the Frog in the film The Muppets, released in the UK in 2012?

I haven't heard of any of those.

Oh, well. I didn't see it, either.

And I certainly didn't read the cast list. So...

My daughter is called Whitmore, so I'm going to guess at Steve Whitmire.

-And you have the right answer.

-No! Good for her.

-The Keppel Method, down the right, has worked.

Jamie, you've got to get this.

Jo Warne was the first actress to play which character in EastEnders?

I'm fairly certain Dot's always been Dot Cotton.

And...

Pat Wicks.

Was Pat Wicks originally Pat Butcher's name?

I know Peggy's been played by someone before Barbara Windsor

so I'd go Peggy Mitchell, but I'm not an EastEnders fan.

-So your answer is...?

-Peggy Mitchell.

-It's correct, Jamie.

OK, so it's one each.

Judith, get this one right and you're through.

Who did the actress Rita Wilson marry in 1988?

1988.

-I think it might have been Michael Douglas.

-Good guess.

It's not. It's Tom Hanks.

-Uh-huh.

-So you're equal on one point. We go to sudden death.

Jamie, well done. It was touch and go, but Judith saved you.

-It gets harder because I don't give you alternatives now.

-Yeah.

Which British comedian wrote the episode of The Simpsons called Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife?

I'm confident Ricky Gervais got to write an episode.

-I'll say Ricky Gervais.

-Ricky Gervais is right. Well done.

You're on the ropes, Judith.

Get this wrong and you're a goner.

Who starred as Balian in the 2005 Ridley Scott film Kingdom of Heaven?

I've no idea.

Russell Crowe.

-Not Russell Crowe.

-I don't know.

-I don't know why I laugh. I would have guessed as well. Orlando Bloom.

So well done, Jamie!

How about that? It was touch and go for a while.

Yes!

You overhauled Judith. Judith, you've been knocked out by Michael Douglas and Orlando Bloom.

Please both rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost one brain, but the Eggheads have also lost a brain from the final round.

The next subject for you is Music.

Which of you would like Music?

-Chris.

-Chris?

OK. Against?

-Chris, I think.

-Chris on Chris.

-How do you feel? Happy? You look happy.

-I do, actually. I don't mind at all.

-As long as it's not modern rubbish and rap.

-Fingers crossed.

-Classical stuff I'm all right with.

-OK, Christopher from EEG Heads and Chris from Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

-So you're still studying?

-Yes. Due to finish very shortly.

-I gather it's very hard work.

-It's hard work to juggle working more or less full-time

and studying a full-time degree.

It's a chore, but it's kind of rewarding, I suppose, at the end of each semester.

What do you become at the end?

-A clinical physiologist.

-I should have guessed that!

There's no answer to that. I'll ask three questions on music. Let's see how much music you listen to.

-First or second?

-First, please.

Here we go. Your first question.

Who had a UK number one single in 1985 with 19?

The only one I've heard of is Adamski. Maybe Glenn Medeiros.

I'll go with my first instinct. Adamski. The only one I've heard of.

It's Paul Hardcastle.

OK, Chris. In March, 2012,

which 2011 X Factor contestant released a version of Seven Nation Army,

originally a hit for The White Stripes?

The only name I recognise there is Stacey Solomon, so I'll go with it.

Stacey Solomon is wrong. It's Marcus Collins.

OK, Christopher.

Who wrote the opera Louise, which received its premiere in Paris in 1900?

Only one I've heard of is Massenet, so I'm going to have to go with that one, I think. Complete guess,

-but...

-OK. Massenet is wrong, though.

-Anyone know? Eggheads?

-Charpentier.

-Charpentier.

Charpentier is the answer. Over to the other Christopher.

Commerce Street, Montgomery, Alabama is the site of a museum

dedicated to which country star

who made his professional debut in the city?

Gene Autry was the Singing Cowboy.

I don't think he came from Alabama.

Did Jim Reeves

or was it Hank Williams?

Jim Reeves died quite young in a car crash, so there might be,

given the American ghoulish obsessio with death, a museum to him.

I think he came from down south somewhere, so I'll say Jim Reeves.

-No, it's, uh...Hank Williams.

-Mm-hm.

-Hank Williams.

Christopher, this is...

I think we can call this not a high-scoring round so far, but it can change.

What was the title of Paul McCartney's album released in February 2012?

Well, I really doubt it's Kisses On The Bottom.

That's a kind of silly title. Same with Bumps On The Bonce.

But I wouldn't put it past him.

Tickles On The Tum...

I'm going to go Bumps On The Bonce, down the middle.

The answer is actually Kisses On The Bottom, not Bumps On The Bonce.

OK, Chris,

see if you can give the EEG team a bump on their bonce.

Which country has a national anthem whose first line translates as,

"Land of mountains, land on the river"?

Austria use the same tune as Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles,

the Emperor's Hymn.

Switzerland is a land of mountains, but it's not on any real rivers.

But given that Romania is on the Danube and also has mountains

I'll have to say Romania.

It's not Romania. Anyone know on the Eggheads?

-Switzerland?

-Austria?

-Austria is the answer.

So we go to Sudden Death. It's been a lingering death so far.

This is an unusual situation. Let's see if somebody can get one right.

Christopher, I won't give you alternatives. It gets a bit harder.

Mr Mojo Risin' was the nickname of which US singer born in 1943?

Pass.

Eggheads?

-No.

-Nothing from the Eggheads?

-Chris? Anyone know?

-Is it Jim Morrison?

-Yes. Well done, Jamie.

It's actually... Do you know why?

I know a lot of The Doors songs. It's a line that repeats over and over again in a song.

It repeats over and over again in LA Woman because it's an anagram of his name. Mr Mojo Risin' - Jim Morrison.

OK, Chris, your question.

Get this right, you're in the final. Who wrote the musical Bitter Sweet?

-Noel Coward.

-Noel Coward is the right answer.

Christopher, you've been knocked out. A long and bitter battle.

Chris is in the final. Both of you, rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands, the challengers have now lost another brain, two brains in total.

The Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

The last subject is History.

Which of you would like History?

We're thinking Mark. He's been swotting up a wee bit.

-Mark?

-Lambs to the slaughter.

-Don't get up just yet.

-Against which Egghead?

-I like the way Daphne's smiling at me, so I'll go for Daphne.

It's a very frightening smile.

OK, Mark from the EEG Heads and Daphne from the Eggheads, please go to the question room now.

Good luck in this round. I'm going to ask each of you three questions on History in turn.

-Mark, would you like the first or second set?

-First, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck. In a medieval monastery, what was the name of the room set aside for writing?

Well, looking at the three answers,

dormitory looks like somewhere you go to sleep,

scriptorium from "script" meaning "to write",

and refectory looks like somewhere you reflect upon yourself or pray.

I'm going to go for scriptorium, please.

Exactly right. Scriptorium is correct.

Daphne, what was the real first name of Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasants' Revolt?

Gosh!

Out of those... I don't really know.

But I would guess Walter.

Walter is right.

Mark, who was the father of the Roman Emperor Caligula?

Well, it definitely ends in "us",

so, Britannicus...

The Emperor Caligula?

I'm not 100%, but for some reason in my head, Germanicus rings a bell.

But I'm going to go Britannicus.

The bell should have been louder!

It was Germanicus.

How tantalising is that!

I could hear the Eggheads here just mumbling about Germanicus, which is why we knew you'd gone astray.

OK, Daphne, what was the name of the promise made by Germany in 1916

that they would give adequate warning before attacking merchant and passenger ships?

Oh... I've never heard of it.

Since I come from Kent, Kent Agreement.

-Is wrong.

-Sussex Pledge?

-Chris will know this.

I think it's the Sussex Pledge.

There'd been a great outcry after they sank a ship called The Sussex.

I think a lot of auxiliary nurses or something were drowned.

I think they made the Sussex Pledge,

so there'd be no re-run of the sinking of The Sussex.

Interesting. Sussex Pledge is right. Daphne, you got it wrong.

Even Stevens. Mark, over to you.

What language was used by the Aztecs?

I'm not sure if any of these are a language I'm familiar with

or if two of them are fictitious and one of them is real.

My two previous answers have been down the right,

so I'll go for in the m... on the left, Tulu.

-You were going to go in the middle?

-I was.

Barry will know because he's been an Aztec emperor.

You've been to the area of the whole excitement, haven't you?

-Yes, I've been to Mexico.

-Sorry. Go on.

-It's Nahuatl.

And we all know at least one word of Nahuatl

because the Nahuatl word is "avocado".

Right. It's funny to have a language with a name you can't pronounce.

Nahuatl is the answer, Mark.

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

Which French king was captured by the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356?

It was John II.

John II is right, Daphne. Well done. You're in the final round.

Mark, I don't know what to say.

You were so close and pulled yourself away from those right answers.

Both of you, come back here and rejoin your teams.

So this is what we have been playing towards, the final round, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads can't take part,

so, Charlotte, Christopher and Mark from the EEG Heads

and Judith from the Eggheads, please leave the studio.

Ify and Jamie, you're playing to win the EEG Heads £26,000.

Pat, Barry, Chris and Daphne, you're playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three questions in turn. They are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer. So, Ify and Jamie, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First.

-First.

Good luck, guys. £26,000, you can do it.

Ipanema is a region of which city?

I think there was a song called The Girl From Ipanema.

-Kind of samba-ish, I think?

-I've no idea.

I think I would say Brazilian, so Rio?

Yeah, Jeremy, I think I'll go Rio de Janeiro.

Spot-on, Ify. Rio de Janeiro, it was.

And the logic was impeccable. All right, they have a point.

Eggheads, which hospital now associated with spinal injuries was founded in response

to a cholera epidemic in the 1830s?

-That must be Stoke Mandeville.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I think this is the wonderful place, Stoke Mandeville.

It is a wonderful place. Stoke Mandeville is right.

Back to you, EEG Heads.

From 2002 to 2004, Roberto Mancini managed which Italian football club?

I think I've seen him in the same colours as Man City.

-I think Lazio probably...

-Yeah.

We have images in our head of him

in the same colour and pattern he wears at Man City

which would be light blue, white and yellow which are Lazio's colours

-We'll go with Lazio.

-Lazio is the right answer.

Well done. Two out of two.

OK, Eggheads,

in 1975, Papua New Guinea achieved independence from which country?

-Australia?

-Yeah.

-We're all agreed on this one as well.

We believe it was Australia.

Australia is correct.

Oh, this is a tight game.

The third question can often be crucial.

A Metonic cycle is a period of how many years?

-Metonic.

-Metonic.

-Something's telling me it would be 11.

-11 would be my instinct as well.

I don't really know why that would be.

-It's a strange cycle to be going in odd numbers.

-Go with our gut?

If anything, 11 would be my gut, yeah.

We're going to go with gut instinct on this one. We're not too sure. 11.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know.

-I think it's 19.

-How do we get 19?

It's the relationship between the sun and the moon

-that repeats over a 19-year cycle.

-The answer is 19.

11 is wrong. Two out of three...

Let's see what happens now.

Eggheads, if you get this one right, your streak will continue. I won't call it a lucky streak any more.

Who wrote the 2012 novel, Waiting For Sunrise?

-I have no idea on this one.

-I haven't.

Ishiguro was Remains Of The Day, but I've not heard of anything by him.

I've heard of him doing something recently. That's extremely vague.

He briefly appeared in the press. Maybe he wrote a book. I don't know.

-Maybe. I've not heard of anything recent by Sebastian Faulks.

-No.

-William Boyd is quite a busy lad.

-Yeah.

-Pat's usually right.

-It's extremely vague.

He was mentioned in the papers having not written for a long time.

-Your vague inklings are very helpful.

-It could be wrong.

I'm happy to go for that. Shall we go with that?

It's Sudden Death if it's wrong.

As you've gathered, on this, we haven't really any idea at all,

but on the vaguest of vague inklings, we'll go for Ishiguro.

Your answer is Kazuo Ishiguro.

-I wonder if you challengers know?

-I was going to go Ishiguro as well.

-Remains Of The Day and what was the cloning one?

-Never Let Me Go.

That's right. He didn't write this.

-Oh, it's William Boyd.

-William Boyd.

-Sorry.

-Let's see what happens now. We go to Sudden Death.

I don't give you alternatives. It's a bit harder. £26,000 we're playing for. The Eggheads have tripped up.

The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny,

was moved in 1996 from Westminster Abbey to which castle?

Is it Stirling?

1996, it could be to do with Scottish independence.

It could be Holyrood or...

No, Holyrood looks really modern. I don't think it would fit in.

I would say if it was taken from Scone Palace, I would say it would be moved back?

-Shall we go with that then?

-Yeah.

-I think just because of the name, we're going to go for Scone Palace.

-The answer is Edinburgh.

-Oh!

OK, Eggheads, you have a second chance to take the contest.

The substance camphor consists of carbon, hydrogen and which other element?

Naphthalene?

-That's not an element.

-Is it oxygen?

It's a hydrocarbon

and yeah, they tend to form bonds with oxygen at the simplest levels.

-It's a fairly simple structure.

-Go for oxygen.

We're not 100% certain on this, but we're going to go for oxygen.

-What's camphor used for?

-Insect repellent and moth repellent.

The formula for camphor is C10H16O.

The correct answer is oxygen. Well done, Eggheads.

Congratulations, you have won.

Bad luck, challengers. You played a good game.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them. Your winning streak continues.

You won't be going home with the £26,000, so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, many congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£27,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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