Episode 5 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 challenging our resident quiz champions today are...

DUFFA. It stands for Didsbury Ultimate Frisbee For Amateurs

and everyone on the team is an active member. Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Steve, I'm 31 and I'm an IT project manager.

Hello. I'm James, I'm 29 and I'm a patent attorney.

Hi. I'm Ellie, I'm 26 and I'm a fluvial geomorphologist.

Hi. I'm Alan. I'm 31. I'm training programme manager.

Hi. I'm Tim, I'm 30 and I'm a senior account manager.

Welcome to you, DUFFA. We've explained what that stands for.

Tell us about Ultimate Frisbee for amateurs then, Steve.

-Good fun?

-Great fun. It's a mixed sport

so we have seven people on the pitch at a time

and you can sub on and off and you're competing against another team,

trying to catch the disc into their end zone.

In terms of the scoring, is it American football scoring,

or netball scoring, or what?

Similar to a try in rugby

so you're trying to catch the Frisbee in the end zone

without the other team intercepting it or it hitting the ground.

Do you have to get your feet down in the end zone?

-Yes, you have to have your whole body in the end zone.

-Whole body?!

There's quite a lot of diving out for the final disc to catch it,

-the final yard.

-Who's the best at throwing the Frisbee, then?

-I think that would be Alan.

-Yeah, I think Alan.

How far could you get it?

On a really good day, if the wind is with me,

I can throw it the length of the pitch comfortably

which is 100 metres.

Whoa! Not just threw it 100 metres, but pick someone out with that pass?

THEY LAUGH

Erm...maybe.

If it goes well.

We could do it indoors here.

Clear all the kit out of the studio,

maybe get the Eggheads in their shorts.

DUFFA LAUGH

They're actually in them already. There's a thought.

Now, every day there's £1,000 worth

of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over.

So, DUFFA, the Eggheads have won the last 15 games

-That means £16,000...

-Wow!

-..says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Might buy you a new Frisbee or two if you win.

OK. Well, let's play. Let's see if sport comes up eventually...

But it's not coming up now because our first head-to-head battle is

on the subject of Film and Television.

Who'd like to play this?

-I think that's you, Steve.

-That would be myself.

OK. Straight in, Steve.

Any Egghead you like, at this stage.

-Who do you think?

-Who do we think?

I think it's Judith or CJ, I think.

-CJ.

-CJ.

We'll have CJ, please.

He was giving it that, "How much is that doggie in the window?" look.

Let's have Steve and CJ into the question room

to contest Film and Television.

Off you go, please.

Steve. Do you want the first or the second set of questions?

I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Right, Steve. Film question to start.

The 2010 Disney film Tangled

is a modern take on which fairytale?

OK. I'm not sure I've seen this...

but I can sort of picture...

I can picture the poster, I think.

I believe there's a picture of a witch eating an apple

which would make me think it's Snow White

so I'm going to say Snow White.

OK. Witches and apples, Snow White.

It would be if there were witches and apples

but that's led everyone to shake their heads.

What is it, other DUFFA members?

ALL: Rapunzel.

It's Rapunzel.

Let down your hair, the tangle... they're referring to that. OK.

Well, CJ, chance for an early lead.

Who played Ma Larkin in the TV series The Darling Buds Of May?

I never saw her in the show but I have met her on a few occasions

because we're both vegetarians and it's Pam Ferris.

Both vegetarians?

I thought you might have met because you've both been in panto.

Not together but she'll have that honour soon.

DERMOT LAUGHS

Pam, if you're listening, we apologise.

Great role though in The Darling Buds Of May, CJ identified it.

Well done. One to you. OK, Steve.

Let's see if we can get you off the mark. Who was the first woman to win

a best director Academy Award?

It's a tough one, this one. Erm...

I'm not sure I could name any female directors which is not a good start.

I think I'm going to have to go right just on the basis

that Kathryn Bigelow's ringing a very faint bell for some reason.

So, Kathryn Bigelow, please.

Yeah, it is the right answer.

I think it's ringing a bell because it's relatively recent.

Took a long time for a woman to claim this Academy Award.

-CJ, for which film?

-The Hurt Locker.

-The Hurt Locker, yeah.

Well done there, Steve. But CJ...

had the lead. Will he regain it?

CJ, where is the American TV series Boardwalk Empire primarily set?

I think it's with Steve Buscemi

and Atlantic City is associated with boardwalks so Atlantic City.

Boardwalks, gambling and all that goes on in that show.

It's the right answer. Yes, well done, CJ.

Back in the lead. And Steve, it means you need to get this.

For which film did Alec Guinness won his only best actor Oscar?

OK. Again, I'm afraid I don't know the answer.

So I'm going to have to work on a hunch.

And I'm going to say it's Our Man In Havana.

OK. Our Man In Havana.

All great films, great actor and surprisingly,

only won the one best actor Oscar.

But it's for that amazing role in The Bridge On The River Kwai.

CJ, you don't get to face another question.

I know you enjoy it but you've enjoyed winning, I'm sure.

2-1 to you. Means you won't be playing in the final round, Steve.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, after the early exchanges, DUFFA are one brain down

from the final round. The Eggheads are all still there

but only one round gone, plenty of mileage left.

And our second head-to-head is Arts and Books.

Who'd like to play this?

Ellie, are you doing that because you so want to play it?

-I find it difficult so I don't want to play it.

-Not you, then.

Arts and Books, who wants to play it?

-I think it's me.

-I think it is you, Tim. What's your Egghead of choice?

-Pat?

-Shall we say Pat?

-Yeah.

-I'll give Pat a whirl, if that's OK, please?

-Give Pat a whirl?!

Let's have Tim and Pat into the question room, please.

Tim, in this Arts and Books round,

would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, please, Dermot.

That means you start, Pat. Here's your question.

"My name was Salmon like the fish, first name Susie.

"I was 14 when I was murdered on December 6th 1973."

It's a quotation from which novel?

Sounds like it's The Lovely Bones.

It was made into a film recently with Saoirse Ronan playing

the dead girl who is the narrator of the entire thing.

She watches from above. So I think it's The Lovely Bones.

Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones. It's the right answer. Well done.

-Would you have got that, Tim?

-I think so, Dermot. Yeah... Well...

-It's hard to know now. Concentrate on this.

-OK.

Your first question.

In which year was the English metaphysical poet John Donne born?

OK. I think it was pretty early, Dermot.

So I'm going to go for the earliest of the three, 1572.

Well worked out. It's the right answer. Yes, 1572, John Donne born.

Well done there, Tim. That's one all. Pat, your second question.

Which British poet wrote the World War I sonnet The Soldier?

They're all poets link to varying degrees with World War I.

I think The Soldier is by Rupert Brooke.

It's the right answer, Pat.

Two to you. OK, Tim.

What was Anne Bronte's first novel?

OK.

So, I'm just trying to play it through my mind.

I'm trying to get any other Bronte novels out of there.

Erm...and...

Agnes Grey is sticking in my mind

so one I think I'm going to go for that, please.

Agnes Grey...

is the right answer. Tim, well done.

Pat, your third question.

Who wrote the 1965 novel Midnight Cowboy?

Well, it's a very famous film.

I've never heard it mentioned in connection with Kerouac

and Hubert Selby Jr is invariably

described as the author of Last Exit From Brooklyn.

So there is an argument for going for the unknown here.

-I think I'll have to go for James Leo Herlihy.

-OK.

so eliminating the other two and left with James Leo Herlihy...

you got the right answer, Pat.

The work of an Egghead. OK.

OK. So, it means you've got to get this, Tim, you know that.

Portrait de Paul Eluard, which sold for £13.5 million

in February 2011, is a work by which artist?

OK, Dermot, I'm not 100 % sure.

I think, and this could be a mistake,

I'm going to rule out Salvador Dali

because that doesn't strike me as right.

I'm familiar with some of his work.

Erm...

I'm familiar with some of Marcel Duchamp's work, of course.

But, Miro, is it? Erm...

Yeah, by a process of elimination I'm going to go for Miro, please.

OK, Miro, elimination, mimicking Pat, there,

trying to knock out two of the answers,

what's left must be the right one.

You've actually knocked out the right one already.

It's Salvador Dali. And that closes the round.

Falling at the last hurdle, not getting that,

which means you're not playing in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, then, in spite of Tim's best efforts,

DUFFA have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still intact.

And our third head-to-head, coming up right now, is Sport.

Who would like to play this one? It's James or Alan?

That's me, Dermot.

And who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Remember that Pat and CJ have played, so the other three.

I think Judith. Please.

-Judith, OK.

-You are mean!

She knew that was coming!

You haven't seen him quizzing. It will get even meaner, I'm sure.

Let's have James and Judith into the question room, please.

OK, you get to choose, as always, James.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-Yes, I'll go first, thanks, Dermot.

First question then, James. Where was the 2011 Cricket World Cup held?

I'm pretty sure that it was held in India that year.

So, India's in Asia so I'll go for Asia.

Pretty broad geographical categories.

Asia's the right answer, of course.

OK, Judith.

The footballer, Jack Charlton, usually played in which position?

I don't think he was a goalkeeper.

I think he was a striker.

JUDITH LAUGHS

Our Leeds United correspondent hanging his head in shame.

Of course, one of Leeds United's greatest players.

And scored a few goals, I know, for Leeds.

Did he get as many as Micky Jones and your other great strikers?

I'm not sure, to be honest.

Of course he didn't, because he wasn't a striker, he was...

Well, he was a defender, obviously.

He was so tall he could only be a defender.

He was a defender and noted for his take-no-prisoners style.

That means a good start, then for you, James.

In the lead. Second question coming your way, too.

What was the world record time set by Sally Gunnell

in the final of the 400 metres hurdles

at the 1993 Athletics world Championships?

The last one there sounds a little bit too long, I think,

for 400 metres hurdles.

47, that sounds very quick.

That wouldn't be a bad time without the hurdles,

so I think I'll go straight down the middle, for 52.74.

So, we've got too slow, too quick, just right, you think in the middle.

And you are right, yes, 52.74.

That's great news, James. You're 2-0 up and go through to the final round

if Judith doesn't get this.

Where was the opening race of the 2011 Formula 1 season

scheduled to take place,

before anti-government protests there led to its cancellation?

I think, for once, I do know this. I think it was Bahrain. Bach-rain!

Bach-rain. A political element to that, of course, as well,

and it's the right answer, Judith. Keeping your fading hopes alive.

They may well be extinguished now

because you go through to the final round

if you get the right answer here, James.

Yani Tseng and Na Yeon Choi are famous names in which sport?

I think I'll rule out golf

because I haven't heard of those names as golfers.

Erm, it's a pair of names, so maybe they play pairs in badminton.

I'm tending towards badminton, I think.

And yes, I'll go with badminton.

Badminton for Yani Tseng and Na Yeon Choi.

Are golfers.

Golf? Wow!

Yes. Golfers.

And a chance gone begging to get into the final round.

Will Judith make you pay?

Judith, in which year did Bill Beaumont

last play test match rugby union for England?

I haven't a clue. I thought it was 1950-something.

SHE LAUGHS

So it'll be a pure guess.

1986.

Off you go, Judith.

It's the wrong answer. It's 1982.

-Oh, bye-bye.

-In 1982, yes,

Bill Beaumont last played test match rugby union for England

so it didn't matter about your mix-up with the golfers, James,

you're still through to the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

That's looking better.

DUFFA still have two brains missing from the final round,

but one Egghead now gone in the form of Judith.

So our next subject, our last head-to-head before the final round

is Geography. Your remaining available players

are Ellie or Alan.

-That'll be me.

-All right, Ellie.

And who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Remaining players there are Kevin or Barry.

Kevin or Barry, who do you want?

Barry... Go, go cavern.

-You think Kevin?

-Kevin?

-Go for it.

-Go Kevin?

-Yeah.

Go, Kevin, go. Or go out of the game, is what we want him to do.

Let's have Ellie and Kevin into the Question Room, please.

Now, Ellie, of course,

your profession is relevant to this Geography round.

I want to try and say it anyway -

a fluvial geomorphologist.

What's that when it's at home?

That is someone who surveys rivers

to help restore and manage them

and look at the interaction of water and sediments

and the features that it creates and the processes that go on.

-You can help to restore a river in a sustainable way.

-Fascinating subject,

I think we could discuss it all day.

Problem is, those Eggheads are drinking up that knowledge.

We're giving them an advantage against some other team, so better stop and play the round.

Would you like to go first or second?

Yes, I'll go first.

Good luck, Ellie. First question for you is this one.

What is the official currency of Italy?

I...thought it probably was the lira,

but it's now the euro,

now they're in the European Union,

so I'll go with euro.

That would be just about right, yes.

The official currency of Italy

is, of course, the euro.

As Ellie pointed out, it used to be the lira.

OK, your first question then, Kevin.

Peru has a coastline on which body of water?

It's on the west coast of South America,

so that's the Pacific.

Certainly is, yes. Pacific is the right answer. We're looking for

some river questions for you, Ellie.

Not in this one, anyway.

What is the approximate population of South Africa?

SHE SIGHS

Well...

I'm not sure, so...

10 million seems low, perhaps.

50 million seems too high, so I'll go for...

down the middle, 25 million.

25 million, like Sally Gunnell's record.

-James' technique there, down the middle.

-Yes.

But it's actually quite populous.

It is 50 million.

50 million or so people living in South Africa.

So nothing there. What will Kevin do with his second question?

We'll find out now.

What colour is the top stripe on the national flag of Lithuania?

I always hate having to visualise these stripes.

They haven't got blue, so that's out.

They have got yellow and green on the flag

cos it's yellow, green and red.

Which is the top one?

I can't visualise green on the top

so I'm going for yellow.

Yellow.

That's just... It is the right answer, Kevin, yes.

Let's turn to the business at hand.

Ellie, very important question here. You need to get this.

Castlebar is the county town of which Irish county?

Well, another good question.

I've only heard of Mayo.

I've not heard of Westmeath, Offaly,

so just going on that,

I'm going to go for Mayo.

CHUCKLING

-Barry, why are you laughing?

-It's the right answer.

-It is right, yes, well done.

-Yes!

THEY LAUGH

Glad to see an excited contestant there.

Well, you're potentially facing Sudden Death against Kevin.

He has to get this wrong, though, for that to happen.

If not, no place in the final round.

Kevin, how high is Aneto, the highest peak in the Pyrenees?

-More metric measurements.

-Yeah, we had that recently with you.

-You don't like the metric.

-No, I don't.

Um...

I'm thinking it's probably in the sort of 12,000-feet range

so I'll go for the 4,404.

4,404 for Aneto, the highest peak in the Pyrenees.

What do we think, other Eggheads?

-I'd have thought it was slightly less.

-That seems too high to me.

-That's half the height of Everest.

-That's 12,000 feet, roughly.

-Yeah.

The other Eggheads don't agree.

They're right, you're wrong, Kevin.

-It's 3,404.

-OK. Lower than I thought.

Can we have another celebration, Ellie? Or no, let's wait

till you get a question right. You're into Sudden Death.

Can you put Kevin out?

What is the official language of Oman?

Oman...

Oh...

I should have a...

an educated guess,

but everything evades me. Um...

I...

Do you want to have a guess or pass, Ellie?

I'll pass. I can't guess. I'm afraid of offending someone.

All right, you might get another chance.

Kevin will plunge the sword.

-Arabic.

-It's Arabic.

Official language of Oman.

OK, nothing there for Ellie. Will Kevin go through with this?

The Sao Francisco River flows

for approximately 3,000km through which South American country?

It's in Brazil.

And that's that, then.

Yeah.

It is the right answer, Kevin, yes.

Brazil is right, so you are through to the final round.

Bad luck, Ellie. You got him into Sudden Death

and just that blank there, the mind wiping itself of all knowledge

when we went into Sudden Death. You won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Bad luck there, Ellie.

We finally got a river question, but Kevin got it!

Not fair. But this is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for the final round, which as always is General Knowledge.

I'm afraid those who lost your head-to-heads

can't take part in this round, so Steve, Ellie and Tim from DUFFA,

and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you all leave the studio now, please?

So, James and Alan,

you're playing to win DUFFA £16,000.

Barry, Pat, Kevin and CJ, you're playing for something

no amount of money can buy - it is your very reputation.

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

they are all General Knowledge and you may confer in this final round.

DUFFA, the question is, are your two brains better

than the Eggheads' four?

And James and Alan, would you like to go first or second?

-Shall we go first?

-Let's go first.

-We'll go first, Dermot.

Best of luck, guys.

First General Knowledge question in the final round coming your way.

In 2004, Liam Byrne became an MP representing which party?

I think there's not that many Lib Dem MPs

and if he was one, I might have heard of him.

-Maybe we should eliminate Lib Dem, you think?

-OK, yeah.

Which election was it? 2000...

In the year 2004.

It wasn't a great year for the Tories.

I guess Labour is as good as a guess as we could.

-Shall we do that, you think?

-Yeah.

It's a shot in the dark, but I think we're going to go for a Labour.

You've got the right answer.

-Yes!

-Liam Byrne.

2004, not a general election year. It was a by-election.

OK, Eggheads, your first question.

Someone Like You was a UK number one single

for which singer in February 2011?

It's Adele. It got to number one,

dropped back down, then went back to number one.

It's that wonderful, wonderful singer Adele.

We all agree about that. It is the right answer,

yes, Adele. OK, one each,

and your second question, then, guys.

White Nose Syndrome

is a condition that's killed thousands of which creature?

It doesn't sound like foxes, I don't think.

No, I've got an inkling

that it's bats, but I can't pull up a very good reason for it.

What's the other one?

-It's hedgehogs.

-Hedgehogs.

Shall we go with your hunch?

Let's go with bats.

Our answer is bats.

Bats. With White Nose Syndrome,

-you've worked it out again. It's the right answer.

-Yes!

-Well done, guys.

Bats is correct, so you have the lead.

Eggheads, which country celebrates Greenery Day on the 4th May,

Children's Day on the 5th May

and Respect For The Aged Day on the third Monday in September?

-It's Japan, definitely Japan.

-Japan, Respect The Aged Day.

I think the clue there is Respect For The Aged day,

and the answer is Japan.

Should have one here, shouldn't we?

Japan is the right answer. Yes, well done. So two-all.

Third question for DUFFA.

In 2001, Tina Weaver became the editor of which newspaper?

-The hunches have been working so far.

-You got a hunch?

Leaning towards the Sunday Mirror,

just leaning ever so slightly.

Um, all right, Sunday Mirror.

We're swimming in deep water

but I think our answer is the Sunday Mirror.

It seems to be getting deeper and deeper for you.

Every question, you've gone,

"Oh, I don't know."

Your feet aren't touching the bottom

but you've got the right answer.

It's the Sunday Mirror.

Tina Weaver, editor of the Sunday Mirror, appointed in 2001.

So, Eggheads, you need to get this.

The explorer Thor Heyerdahl

named his raft Kon-Tiki after a god from which civilisation?

-Probably the Inca.

-Inca.

Because of sailing between the west coast of South America

and the South Seas. Or vice versa.

So, yeah, think it's Inca.

Well, he sailed on the Kon-Tiki

to prove that the South Americans colonised the...

Was it Polynesia?

And we believe it was named after an Inca god.

-It was made of balsawood, wasn't it?

-It was.

-Got a bit waterlogged.

-It's in a museum in Oslo. I've seen it.

OK, you've seen the KonTiki and you identified Inca

as the right answer, Eggheads.

We go to Sudden Death in the final round,

£16,000 at stake.

James and Alan going very well, swimming in deep waters, said Alan.

They just got an awful lot deeper

because in Sudden Death, as you know, we take away the choices.

Here's your question.

What was the name of the founder

of the Miss World beauty pageant, who became famous

for announcing the results in reverse order?

Remember, in Eggheads, we require a first name and a second name.

The only name that even rings a bell in connection with Miss...

-Is it Miss Universe?

-It was Miss World.

Miss World beauty pageant.

I think, Donald Trump is ringing a bell. I know he's got...

I think it's a wrong bell, but I don't have a better answer.

Donald Trump is the best I can come up with.

-Let's go with it.

-The only name we've got is Donald Trump.

-Is that your answer?

-That's our answer.

Donald Trump, with the Miss World beauty pageant. Um...

No, it's not the right answer.

Before Donald Trump's time. Do you know, Eggheads?

-Eric Morley?

-Eric Morley,

-then he died and his daughter Julia took over.

-Eric Morley,

British Eric Morley came up with the Miss World concept.

It's not over yet, because the Eggheads, to win,

have to get their question right.

In 2004, Paul Staines

started to write a political blog under what name?

-Guido Fawkes.

-Sorry?

-Guido Fawkes.

-Guido Fawkes.

-It's the most famous political blog.

-All right.

I'm reliably informed by my colleagues that it was Guido Fawkes.

What do they say about him?

-The only honest man to enter Parliament.

-Possibly!

It's the right answer, Eggheads. You've won.

I'll announce the results in reverse order. DUFFA, you're in second place

but thank you very much for playing Eggheads so entertainingly.

But the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and their winning streak goes on.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £16,000.

That means the money rolls over to the 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.

£17,000 says they don't.

Until then, from all of us here, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd