Episode 21 Eggheads

These people are 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 the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are The British Flag, from Macclesfield.

This team of friends regularly socialise together

at their local,

called The British Flag,

and are self-confessed competitive quizzers. Good. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Ian. I'm 66. I'm a retired purchasing manager.

Hi, I'm Tony. I'm 56, and I'm a retired IT manager.

Hi, I'm John. I'm 58-years-old, and I'm a retired research scientist.

Hi, I'm John. I'm 58 years of age, and I'm an IT manager.

Hi, I'm Terry. I'm 66, and I'm a self-employed stock taker.

Welcome to you guys. Tell me about the pub, The British Flag.

Decent drop of beer there, and a good quiz?

It's a very nice backstreet pub in Macclesfield,

known to discerning drinkers.

Wonderful landlord, landlady,

-and wonderful clientele.

-Fantastic.

And what about the quiz there?

We don't really quiz there, Dermot.

We've quizzed at various schools around,

and various pubs,

but not on a formal basis.

There's a group of us of about ten,

maybe 12.

So, when we quiz,

four or five of us quiz together.

I think this five has never quizzed together before.

OK. Well, this five have!

As you may have spotted,

they've been together for many a year now on Eggheads.

So, let's see if you can put them to the sword.

Every day, there's £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.

So, The British Flag, the Eggheads have won just the last game,

so £2,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Our first head-to-head.

This one is music. Who'd like to play this?

-Hello!

-OK, Ian!

That's me, Dermot.

-This is a plan, obviously.

-Oh, yes.

You don't need to consult with the other guys.

Have you got in the plan who you will play from the Eggheads?

I think I'll play Daphne.

All right.

-Decided to go for Daphne.

-If I may.

Of course, you may.

Ian, as you know, we put you in the Question Room,

to make sure you can't confer with your team-mates.

Would you both make your way there, please?

Right, Ian. Music.

Do you want to go first or second?

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

All right. Off you go then, Ian.

The instruction "con forza" on a musical score

indicates the piece should be played how?

Given the word "forza", I would think it's unlikely to be "friends".

It's Italian. I'm not familiar with the term,

-but I would guess it's probably "with force".

-It is, yes.

It's that simple.

Well done, and a good start.

And over to you, Daphne.

Wilkommen is the first song in which musical?

And Daphne loves her musicals.

And I love Cabaret, as well.

-Is that your way of telling us that's Wilkommen?

-Yes.

Of course it is. That's the right answer.

I think we eased both of you in there,

with those questions.

Your second one then, Ian.

By what nickname was the alto saxophonist Julian Adderley

better known?

I don't know any jazz musicians called Bullet or Arrowhead,

but I do remember someone called Cannonball,

and he was called Adderley.

So, it's Cannonball.

That would fit, wouldn't it?

It's the right answer. Yes, Cannonball.

Daphne. Skying is a 2011 album by which group?

I have heard of this.

The Horrors.

The Horrors...

is the right answer.

SHE LAUGHS

-Are you all right, Daphne?

-Yes!

Yes, well you got it. OK, Ian,

your third question.

What is the title of David Bowie's 1973 album of cover versions?

I know the answer to this, because my eldest son

is a massive David Bowie fan.

The answer is the middle one, Pin Ups.

Pin Ups! OK. Massive fan, then. You've got it.

Pin Ups is correct.

Over to you, Daphne.

Which vocalist sang on the single

The Girl From Ipanema,

that reached the top ten in the US in 1964?

Astrud Gilberto.

Is the right answer. Yes.

It's three-all.

Well, both cruising through those opening questions.

Obviously far too easy for both of you. Let's take the choices away.

Ian, this is your first sudden death question.

Which Merseybeat band

was the first act to top the UK charts

with their first three singles?

I know this, Dermot. It's Gerry & The Pacemakers.

It is. Gerry & The Pacemakers. Well done!

Pressure on Daphne again.

What was the name of the 1980s and 1990s Manchester techno group

whose hits included Cubik, Olympic and In Yer Face?

SHE LAUGHS

No idea.

I know you're a big fan of techno(!)

-SHE LAUGHS

-I don't even know what that means.

I don't know!

I don't even know any Manchester groups.

I have no idea. I'm going to pass,

because any guess I'd make would be ridiculous.

OK, you have no idea. For Daphne to say that, she really doesn't.

Ian, do you know?

I'm pleased to say I've no idea.

That's fine. You've won anyway.

-Other Eggheads? I'll just check your knowledge.

-Sorry.

808 State.

ALL: I've heard of them.

Well, now you have, and now Ian has,

and I think he'll remember them,

as it means he's claimed your scalp, Daphne. You're out of the game.

Ian, you're playing in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

The Eggheads will be Daphne-less

in the final round.

Not knowing the simplest of questions, Daphne(!)

-What was the name again?

-You've forgotten already.

The Eggheads missing one brain from the final round, so far.

The British Flag all still there, of course.

Our second head-to-head today is Film & Television.

Who'd like to play this, and hopes to be as successful as Ian?

Film & TV.

-You have that as a first?

-Second choice...

-Me.

-You're second choice.

-John.

-This is me.

OK, John. Choose an Egghead.

Anyone apart from Daphne.

Oh, dear.

Chris, please.

Chris. OK.

Let's have Chris and John into the Question Room,

to contest this one.

John, can you follow Ian into the final round?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First please, Dermot.

Film & Television is your chosen category,

and this is the first question.

Which children's television characters

regularly ate blue string pudding?

I would think it's unlikely to be Bill and Ben,

because they certainly never ate that when I watched them.

I think this would be

The Clangers.

The Clangers. Yes, those strange beings from another planet,

is the right answer.

Yes, The Clangers, on the blue string pudding.

OK. Well identified, John.

Chris, what was the name of the astrologer who appeared regularly

on National Lottery draw programmes in the 1990s?

She had a rather interesting past. She was Mystic Meg.

It is the right answer.

Back to you, John. Second question.

The 1954 film The Glenn Miller Story starred which actor

as the eponymous bandleader?

Oh. Erm,

I'm not really sure about this.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Henry Fonda.

I've a sneaking suspicion

that it was James Stewart,

OK, you've gone for James Stewart,

playing Glenn Miller in The Glenn Miller Story.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Chris, your question.

After Valerie Singleton moved away

from being a regular studio presenter of Blue Peter,

she joined which programme?

Horizon's a science programme, which I don't think she'd have joined.

Nationwide's a news magazine,

That's Life, a sort of consumer thing with Esther Rantzen.

I don't think she'd have worked particularly well

with Esther Rantzen.

Bit of a clash of personalities there.

So I think she went to Manchester, working on Nationwide.

Nationwide

is the right answer, Chris.

Well worked out. OK, John.

Third question for you.

Barney Collier, Rollin Hand, and Cinnamon Carter

were regular characters in which television series?

I've got absolutely no idea with this,

so it's going to be a complete guess.

Mission: Impossible.

OK. Sums up your feelings in trying to get the answer.

"Hmm, impossible." It's the right answer.

Mission: Impossible is correct. You have three.

Chris, in Tim Burton's film

Edward Scissorhands,

who played the title character's creator?

HE SIGHS

Well, it's an American film.

I don't think it was Christopher Lee.

It wouldn't have been Peter Cushing.

I think it was one of the last appearances of Vincent Price.

Vincent Price in Edward Scissorhands is correct.

Chris, once again, sudden death.

You guys have been doing very, very well do far.

But, as you know, John, it gets a lot harder now.

Here's your sudden death question.

Which British actor directed and starred

in the 1991 thriller Dead Again?

I really... I'm struggling now.

I really have no idea. I'm just having to take a wild guess at this.

Richard Attenborough.

Richard Attenborough. It's always better to have a guess.

-It's not right. Do you know, Chris?

-Not a clue, Dermot.

It's Sir Kenneth Branagh.

Always a lot harder with nothing to choose from there.

But a chance for Chris. The first chance in the game.

Which actress, born in 1917, played Governess Faye Boswell

in the TV drama series Within These Walls,

and made her last screen appearance as the Australian novelist

Katherine Susannah Pritchard

in the 1996 film Shine?

That was Googie Withers.

It is Googie Withers!

It is the correct answer.

Chris has struck back.

You won't be in the final round, John.

Would you both come back and join your teams?

I have a feeling it will be like this all the way.

This game is going to be very tight.

It's all square. Both teams have lost one brain from the final round.

We move on to our third head-to-head.

This one's Science.

Who'd like to play this? We have Tony,

or the other John, or Terry.

ALL: It's Tony.

Choose an Egghead. Daphne and Chris have played, so CJ, Kevin or Judith?

Judith, please.

OK, Judith.

Let's have Tony and Judith into the Question Room, please.

Tony, always your choice as the challenger.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Your first question is nice and short.

Can you tell me what is 60% of 200?

60% of 100 is 60. Double it. 120.

That's the one in the middle, Dermot, please.

It's the right answer. Yes, of course. 120.

Judith, the dandy-horse

was an early 19th century precursor

of what invention?

Well, horses used to mow lawns.

With special shoes on, and things.

So it could possibly be a lawnmower. The "dandy-horse"...

I don't think it was a bicycle.

I think I'll go for lawnmower, cos that was my instinct.

-Lawnmower. All right.

-No?

No.

SHE LAUGHS

It was a thought.

Ha-ha-ha. It's a bicycle.

Oh, no.

Eggheads, it wasn't like a bike, was it?

It didn't have pedals or a chain.

You just sat on it, and did it with your feet.

Push with your feet, yeah.

A dandy-horse. I don't know, the name kind of says it.

but not a lawnmower, a bicycle.

So, Tony, this is the best start you could possibly wish for.

You get yours right, and she gets hers wrong.

This will give you a mighty lead if you get this.

What term is used to refer to the study of the origin

and evolution of the universe?

I don't know any of these words, Dermot,

but "cosmos" to me seems like

the most likely derivation.

I'm going to go for cosmol... cosmogr...

'cosmog-ony'.

H-ha. Yes. Cosmogony.

Well, we have "astro-" and "galact-" in the other ones,

but you've got the right one there. Cosmogony is correct.

Judith,

-in the periodic table...

-Oh!...

..Do you know, I chuckled before I asked the question.

I thought, "Where will the groan come,

"before I get the whole question out?"

In the periodic table,

which element has the atomic number, 50?

I just think the periodic table is just like the game of bridge.

You have to learn it while you're a child, or you'll never master it.

Yeah.

Well, I really don't know, frankly.

So...

I'm taking zinc at the moment against colds.

I'm going to say zinc.

Zinc? Against colds...

No? Tin?

No, it's tin. It's tin.

Judith, you're out. It's all over.

It's a very difficult question, that.

I'm not ashamed of myself.

Tony, well done. You've beaten Judith.

You're through to the final round.

Would you both come back and join your teams?

As it stands now, the Eggheads have lost two brains

from the final round,

while The British Flag have just lost one.

Will things turn worse for the Eggheads,

or will they improve their position

in our last subject before the final round?

This is History, and we have John or Terry to play it,

from The British Flag.

I thought you were going to do this, John.

I thought you were. I don't mind.

-Really? You don't mind?

-No, it's John, I think.

OK.

I'll do the History one, then, Dermot.

OK, and choose from CJ or Kevin.

CJ or Kevin?

THEY DISCUSS

CJ, that's the word I'm getting in my ear. CJ?

Let's have John and CJ into the Question Room right now, please.

John, your choice, as you know.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first.

History,

and first question to you, John.

By what name was the area

between opposing trenches in World War I commonly known?

Right. I must admit I've never heard of Winner's Land,

but Van Diemen's Land

is down in the south of our earth,

so I would expect the answer to be No Man's Land.

No Man's Land, of course. Yes.

You're off the mark. And CJ,

how many kings of England have been called Stephen?

As far as I know, it's just one. I don't know of a Stephen II.

Married to Matilda,

so I'd assume it's just one.

One king of England called Stephen is correct.

John, in which year

did the Post Office Tower in London open?

Again, I'm not sure of the answer,

but I think '55 would be too early.

And if I remember rightly, I remember Harold Wilson talking about

"the white heat of technology".

And he came into power in '64,

so I'll go with 1965.

'65? Fitting in with that kind of period, you think. You're right!

Yep, 1965.

Two for you. CJ,

the Athenian statesman Demosthenes

spent the early part of his career as a logographer.

The ancient Greek equivalent of which modern position?

This is one of those where the options don't help.

In my opinion, certainly not a military planner.

I'm wondering if mathematics is there to try to confuse me

with logarithms or something.

I've always known him as a writer, so I'll try speech writer.

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

Two-all, and back to you, John.

The Jagiellon dynasty -

that's spelled JAGIELLON -

The Jagiellon dynasty ruled large parts of which continent

in the 15th and 16th centuries?

Difficult one. I've never heard of that name before.

15th and 16th centuries? I don't suspect it would be Europe.

Most of that was probably the Borgias who did their stuff then.

So it's Asia or Africa.

Mm, "Jagiellon".

It could be an Indian word.

Or round about that area.

I'm going to go for Asia.

OK. For the Jagiellon dynasty, Asia.

No, it's not. It is Europe, which you ruled out.

-Eggheads?

-Poland.

And Lithuania, as well.

-And bits of the Baltic.

-The Polish-Lithuanian Empire,

which great swathes of Eastern Europe came under.

Well, a chance for CJ.

In the early third century, when the Romans divided Britain in two,

which city became the capital of Britannia Inferior?

Ah.

The division of Britain, I think,

was a sort of diagonal line.

from the Northeast coast down to the Southwest.

I think, if we assume

"Inferior" means "southern",

rather than "less worthy"...

I haven't heard this.

I mean, Bath is possible...

I haven't heard it as being Norwich, but it could be

And also, geographically, Norwich makes more sense, I suppose.

I haven't heard this, but I'll try on geography,

and guess at Norwich.

Norwich. Turning that into a geography question,

and being the UK, for you, it's a nightmare, isn't it?

It's the wrong answer, CJ.

-Other Eggheads?

-York.

-Eburacum.

-Which you weren't really thinking of.

York is the capital of Britannia Inferior.

You're still in it, John.

And we're in sudden death, again.

The Battle of the Golden Spurs

saw the people of Flanders inflict defeat on which country's forces?

Flanders?

Mm.

I don't think they travelled very far, did they?

So it would have to be a country very close to them.

Erm, would it be the Dutch that they defeated?

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

No, they didn't travel very far, but it wasn't the Dutch.

If you had another answer, I bet you'd say it is the...

-French.

-The French.

I thought they were too small to do that.

France. The culmination of an uprising against French rule

in Flanders. So, didn't really travel at all.

It was the French came to them.

Right. Well, another chance for CJ.

Which English king was born in the town of Wantage, in Oxfordshire,

in 849 AD?

I'm hoping Kevin's shown me a statue of this,

and it said "849 - 899" on it. I'm hoping,

Alfred the Great?

He's got a picture of it?

There's a statue in Winchester with a famous plinth

that's the wrong way up.

And Kevin's taken me on a tour of Winchester.

OK. During which, you took in the statue of Alfred the Great.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Worth that trip, just to win through

to the final round. Bad luck, John.

It means you won't be there

with the other members of The British Flag.

Will you both come back and join your teams?

This is what we've been playing towards.

Time for the final round, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But, I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

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

So, the two Johns from The British Flag,

and Judith and Daphne from the Eggheads,

would you all leave the studio, please?

So, Ian, Tony and Terry,

you're playing to win The British Flag £2,000.

Kevin, CJ and Chris, you're playing for something money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge,

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Ian, Tony and Terry,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three brains?

Guys, do you want to go first or second?

-First.

-First please, Dermot.

First question for you, British Flag, and good luck.

Keratitis is an inflammation of which part of the eye?

THEY DISCUSS

I don't think the optic nerve.

It's got to be something that actually...

-My inclination's the retina.

-Is it?

-I don't know why.

Mine is, too. I was leaning towards that.

Go for retina, then.

We're going to try retina, Dermot.

Retina, for this inflammation, keratitis...

is an inflammation of the... Is it the retina, Eggheads?

I was more inclined towards cornea, myself.

-It's the cornea.

-Oh!

Not the retina.

Daphne definitely knew that.

But it wasn't the Eggheads' question. See how they do with this.

Pico Bolivar

is the highest mountain in which South American country?

It's not Argentina.

That's Aconcagua. Should be, anyway.

Simon Bolivar is known as the liberator of Venezuela.

And he didn't have any particular connection with Chile.

And there are higher mountains in Chile.

So, logically, it should be

Venezuela.

We're not certain, Dermot, but we think it's Venezuela.

Not certain, but pretty certain, I think.

It's the right answer, yes.

So, you have a lead, and The British Flag

needing a point here.

In the acronym of the regulatory authority Ofgem,

for what does the letter M stand?

Does anybody have an obvious answer, or will we work this one out?

You'd think it would be monitoring, wouldn't you?

Ofgem, or Ofgas?

It manages bodies.

I don't think it's manufacture.

Can we rule it out?

You can rule out manufacture.

So is it not likely to be markets?

It could well be, as a competitive...

Is it not likely to be markets, rather than monitoring?

Isn't that what they're doing - monitoring?

-Yes.

-So the answer is going to be markets.

If you two are happy with that...

Do you know what we mean? Yeah?

We'll try markets, please, Dermot.

Markets. OK, interesting discussion there.

Nearly went for monitoring, first instinct,

but a discussion, and have gone for markets.

It is, as you were saying, the Office of the Gas and Electricity

Markets. Correct. Well done.

Eggheads,

Cyrillic became the third official alphabet of the European Union,

after which country joined in January, 2007?

It's Bulgaria, the one that used the Cyrillic alphabet.

Both Bulgaria and Romania joined then, didn't they?

We're going to use the Cyrillic.

That was when Bulgaria and Romania joined.

Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet, so it's Bulgaria.

OK, Bulgaria. Not too hard for Eggheads there.

They know their languages and alphabets. It's the right answer.

OK, well,

British Flag. Third question.

Maria Stuart, first performed in 1800,

is a play by which German writer?

Silence from within the ranks.

The only one I know is Goethe.

Yeah, but they're all German writers.

My instinct is for Goethe.

What do you think, boys?

Goethe? That's the one you favour, isn't it?

That's the one I favour, but it doesn't mean it's going to be right.

But we'll have a go.

Democratic discussion. We're going for Goethe.

Goethe. You've got to get it, as well.

Maria Stuart, first performed in 1800, is a play by...

-Schiller.

-Ah!

Which means, Eggheads, you've won.

Bad luck, guys. Good quizzing, though, in those head-to-heads.

Just didn't go your way in this final round.

But thank you very much for playing the Eggheads.

Are we still welcome at The British Flag if we're in Macclesfield?

-Certainly.

-Definitely.

-Absolutely.

As long as you pay.

We'll all drop in for a pint. Who's buying? CJ.

He doesn't drink.

Heh-heh. OK.

-Thank you once again for playing the Eggheads.

-Thank you.

Those Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and they still reign supreme over Quizland.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £2,000,

and that means 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.

£3,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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