Episode 69 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together they make up the Eggheads, arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is: can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, where five quiz challengers pit their wits

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

Challenging our quiz champions today

are the Oilfield Telstars. This team of colleagues all work

for the same offshore telecommunications company based in Aberdeen. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm John, I'm 26, and I'm an offshore telecoms engineer.

Hi, I'm Ulrik, I'm 25 and an accountant.

Hi, I'm Michael, I'm 25 and an accountant.

Hi, I'm Simon, 28 and senior account manager.

Hi, I'm Andrew, 43, and an area manager.

John and team, welcome. Offshore meaning you do phones on oil rigs?

Yes, basically, we provide data and voice services to, em, oil rigs,

-oil and gas rigs in the North Sea and Africa.

-So you fly on helicopters the whole time?

Personally, I do, yes. These guys are more office based.

-And you've brought the boss along today.

-Somebody has to pay for the taxis!

-Is Eggheads big on oil rigs?

-Yeah, I would think so. You do 12-hour shifts on oil rigs,

so when everybody knocks off they watch a bit of Eggheads after a shift.

-I can imagine that. A good way to wind down.

-A lot of people do that. That's my understanding, yeah.

Hello to everyone on an oil rig watching this. Every day there is £1,000 up for grabs.

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

So the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means that £4,000 says you can't beat them today.

The first head to head is on Music.

Who would like this?

-Andrew or Michael?

-Are you good at this?

- I'll do it. - Michael.

Michael on Music? OK. Against which Egghead?

I think I'll go with Daphne.

The 25-year-old versus...the 45-year-old.

Oh, I love you!

So Michael from the Oilfield Telstars against Daphne from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions in the Question Room.

-Michael, what sort of music do you want to come up here?

-Er, more current than old.

-And not so much classical.

-Not too much opera?

-No, please.

I'll ask each of you three multiple-choice questions. Whoever answers the most wins.

-Michael, the first or second set?

-I'll take the first, please.

Good luck to you.

Here we go. Which Oasis song includes the lyrics,

"So Sally can wait, she knows it's too late as we're walking on by"?

It's Don't Look Back In Anger.

-Straight there. Well done. It certainly is.

-Thank you.

Daphne, here's your question.

Who ain't dead, according to the title

of a 2008 UK Top Ten single for Scouting For Girls?

Elvis?

Elvis Ain't Dead is quite right. So, Michael, your question.

The British jazz musician Kenny Baker was most famously connected with which instrument?

Em, trumpet.

You don't even hang around there!

-You just knew that?

-Em, it was in my head.

-Well done. Trumpet is right.

-Thank you.

Very confident play here, Daphne!

OK. Your question. See if you can keep up.

Which artist had a UK number one album in 2011 with Talk That Talk?

-I think that was Rihanna.

-Have you got it at home?

No!

Rihanna is the right answer. Well done.

Let's see where we go from here. Crucial third question.

Guy Garvey, lead singer of the band Elbow, was born in which town?

I'm not actually sure about this one, so this will have to be a complete guess.

And I don't have any sort of inkling as to which one of these three would be the best choice,

so I'll have to guess. I'll rule out Bakewell. I don't think it's that.

I'm going to go with...Bourne.

-Born in Bourne?

-Hm.

-But he was born in Bury.

Daphne's chance to take the round.

Which composer's widow married Georg Nikolaus Nissen in 1809

and worked with her new husband on a biography of her former?

Hmm.

I don't think it's Mozart.

Em...

Oh, gosh. I'm trying to remember when Beethoven died.

-Beethoven?

-Let's see if the Eggheads know.

-- I think it's Mozart.

-Yeah.

-- Is it?

Michael, you're off the hook.

You're still in it. Level. We go off the multiple choice now. It's Sudden Death, OK?

We don't give you alternatives. Which male singer had a UK Top Ten single

in 1965 with his version of the Beatles' song Yesterday?

En...John Lennon?

No, he was in the Beatles. It was Matt Monro.

OK, Daphne,

your chance to take the round on Sudden Death.

Which English composer was appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in 1679?

Henry Purcell.

Henry Purcell is the right answer, Daphne. Well done.

Michael, well fought.

You've just been knocked out. You won't be in the final. Daphne will.

Please both of you come back here and rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost one brain, the Eggheads have lost none so far.

The next subject is Sport.

A lot of volunteers for this?

Can I go?

I think I'll take this one. I'll take this one, Jeremy.

-OK, John. And against which Egghead?

-Judith?

- Judith. - I'll take Judith on, please.

John from the Oilfield Telstars...

This is where it might turn round.

Judith on Sport, always fun. To make sure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

-John, your favourite sports?

-Football, rugby, tennis.

Anything really, apart from cricket. I'm pretty interested in all of them.

-Judith, your favourite sports?

-I'm not interested in any of them!

-Not even Subbuteo?

-I used to play tennis. I like tennis.

-OK, it's Sport.

-John, the first or the second set?

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

Tennis' end of season ATP World Tour finals moved to which city in 2009?

I want to rule out Lisbon.

End of ATP...

I think the calendar is...

Australia,

France, London...

and then...America.

So the end, I would like to say, would be in...

-I think it's in London.

-London is your answer. Quite right.

Well done. Let's see how Judith does now.

In which year did AP McCoy have his first winning ride in a professional horse race, Judith?

Well, he was Champion Jockey...

I mean, and also BBC Personality of the Year.

I should think he's probably late 30s and he started riding maybe when he was 18.

So it could be 1976... Wait a second. I can't add now.

2002...

I should think it's 1992.

Yeah, it is 1992. There was something very odd!

I've never been able to do maths!

OK, but you're right. Well done. John, your question.

In which position did Ieuan Evans play international rugby union?

I'm going to rule out scrum-half

as I think Dwayne Peel was probably around about that time playing scrum-half for Wales.

I also don't think he played on the wing.

I'm going to go for flanker, please.

Wing is the answer, John. Wing.

So, Judith,

in football, which Italian word is used for the defending role that is also known as sweeper?

Well, Libero sounds something about to do with freedom.

Calcio... Oh.

I wish I spoke Italian! Mediano...

-I think it might be Calcio.

-Calcio is wrong.

You need to come and watch some football, Judith.

-I'll take you to a game one day. I really mean that. The answer is Libero.

-Oh!

-Dave?

-It's like a sweeper.

You just play to protect the two central defenders.

It's either playing deeper or you play just in front of them.

That's where the Libero comes from.

It's patrolling that area so the two central defenders aren't isolated.

And the freedom to move upfield.

And distribute the ball.

-Is that a bit clearer, Judith?

-Well, um...marginally.

-I don't believe you.

-Maybe.

-OK, John. One each so far.

Which type of cricketing dismissal is impossible if the bowler's delivery pitches outside leg stump?

Cricket, as I said before, is not one of my strong areas in sport.

Could he be caught if the ball was outside the line?

Possibly.

LBW...

-I'm going to go with my first instinct, which is caught, Jeremy.

-Let's see if your teammates know.

We don't think cricket is our strength, either!

-It is actually LBW.

-Oh, OK.

Judith has a chance to go through.

-Sorry for laughing, Judith. This will give you encouragement.

-Yes.

Malcolm Arnold received a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 UK Coaching Awards

for his work in which sport?

Not the Malcolm Arnold I was thinking of!

A lifetime achievement award. I've never heard...

I don't know who he is. I should think...probably most likely to be athletics.

Athletics. If you've got this right, you're in the final round

and you'll have blasted through on Sport. Is she right, Eggheads?

-Yes.

-You are right! Well done! Sorry, John. You've been knocked out

and you won't be in the final round. Please, both of you come back and rejoin your teammates.

Bad luck, John. That LBW question, your mind can play tricks on a question like that.

Yeah, I think so. Cricket isn't one of my strong areas,

so I was thinking the ball would spin in and that would be quite unfair to be caught. There you go.

You've lost two brains. It's a good moment to turn things around.

The Eggheads have lost no brains. The next subject is Science.

Which challenger would like Science?

-Yeah, I think I'll take this one.

-Are you doing it?

-I think so.

-Simon?

-No, no, Andrew.

-OK, on the end. The boss. Against which Egghead?

We have got Kevin and Pat and Tremendous Knowledge Dave as he's known.

-Don't do Kevin. I think Tremendous.

-Yeah, I think we'll take on Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

-I love the way your nickname is sticking.

-We'll see after this round how that's going to stick!

So it's Andrew from the Oilfield Telstars against Tremendous Knowledge from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions.

We're going to do Science now. Three questions. Was the plan for you to be doing Science, Andrew?

I think we all have our specialist subjects,

-but I think we're clutching at straws.

-Freewheeling! OK.

-Andrew, do you want the first or second set of questions on Science?

-Follow tradition. First, please.

Here we go. The lynx rufus or bobcat is a type of cat native to which continent?

OK. I'm thinking not Africa.

Bobcat, lynx.

Em... Again, Europe I'm straying away from.

So I'm going to take a guess and go for North America on this one.

North America is right. Well done.

This is your question, Dave.

Which common garden bird has the scientific name passer domesticus?

Which common garden bird has the scientific name passer domesticus?

I don't think it's the starling.

I don't think it's the song thrush. Domesticus indicates house.

So my answer will be house sparrow.

House sparrow is right. Well done. Was Kevin giving you advice on how to answer earlier?

He's given some tips,

but if I revealed them, he'd have to kill me.

Something about listening to the question was all I heard.

It does help. Andrew,

Jean Piaget, born in Switzerland in 1896,

became a famous pioneer in which field?

Piaget...Piaget.

OK, Switzerland.

I'm going to stray away from astronomy.

I have no inkling for the child psychology.

There are a lot of industrial and chemical engineering works

in the German part of Switzerland, up near Basel, so right or wrong I'll go for chemical engineering.

Chemical engineering. Eggheads?

-Child psychology.

-They all chorus!

Child psychology is right. Sorry.

OK, Dave.

Your chance to take the lead. In computing and the internet,

for what does the letter R stand in the abbreviation URL?

Right, em...

Something Kevin should have given me tips on is computer terminology!

Let me have a think.

URL. I think it's... The URL is basically when you link onto a webpage.

So it's got to really precede the word link, I think.

So I'm going to rule out rescue. Rescue link doesn't really work. Or reminder link.

-I'll go for resource link.

-Resource link. Barry would know.

It's Universal Resource Locator.

-Locator.

-And that's just the web address?

-Yeah.

So URL, the answer is resource. Dave is ahead, Andrew needs this.

What are the respiratory organs in certain arachnids that consist of fine layers of tissue?

Goodness me. OK, spiders.

I don't think...

Mm. Interesting.

I don't think it's globe lungs.

Fine layers, I'm thinking possibly book.

Disc lungs doesn't sound right. I'm going to take a guess here

and I'll go for book lungs.

A really great guess. Quite right. Book lungs it is, well done.

Fine layers was the clue.

Dave, get this right and you're in the final. The anomaly called the Great Attractor

has been suggested to exist in which location?

Can you repeat the question?

The anomaly called the Great Attractor has been suggested to exist in which location?

Hm.

I've got no idea.

So it's probably going to be a daft guess, but the human brain.

It's almost the opposite, actually. Intergalactic space.

-It's obviously a lot bigger.

-Fair enough.

-We go to Sudden Death.

Back to you, Andrew. Can you win? It's not multiple choice, OK?

The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft was the first human spaceflight mission by which country?

I'm going to go for China.

China is the right answer. Well done.

Dave's question to stay in.

Which planet's astronomical symbol is a circle with an arrow pointing up and to the right,

the same symbol used to represent the male in biology?

Pick any one of nine!

Right. Sorry, can you just repeat that again, please?

Which planet's astronomical symbol is a circle with an arrow pointing up and to the right,

the same symbol used to represent the male in biology?

I...

OK, I'll go Jupiter.

The answer is Mars. Dave, you've been knocked out.

Well done, Andrew!

-Fantastic!

-You did really well on Science. Do both of you come back and we will play on.

So the challengers have lost two brains and the Eggheads one brain from the final round.

The last subject before the final is Politics.

So who would like this?

We've got Ulrik or S

-I think it's me!

-It's you.

-Yes, I think it's me.

-Are you from the UK?

-No, I'm Danish.

We've had Danish politics before. Let's hope we have some more! Against which Egghead? Kevin or Pat?

-Let's try Kevin.

-OK. Said decisively. Going for it now.

Knocking out the big man. Ulrik from the Oilfield Telstars versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room.

-I'll ask three questions on Politics in turn. Ulrik, first or second set?

-I'll go first, please.

Good luck!

The Fixed Term Parliament Act that was passed in September, 2011,

provides for elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every how many years?

-I think it's five years.

-Nicely done. Five years is correct.

Good start!

Kevin,

which African city hosted the UN Climate Change Conference in 2011?

Yeah. I think Cairo was a bit otherwise engaged.

I don't think it was Lagos. I think it was Durban.

Durban is the right answer.

Ulrik, back to you.

I feel bad, but which British Prime Minister reportedly said to a US President,

"This is no time to go wobbly, George"?

Well...

I suppose it was to George Bush Senior.

Or Junior.

So it could be either Margaret... or Tony Blair.

Tony Blair.

It's actually Margaret Thatcher.

-You thought Senior.

-Yeah.

-It was the first Gulf War.

Kevin, your chance for the lead.

The constituency that includes the Houses of Parliament was a safe seat for which party in 2010?

Hmm.

It's not LibDem,

but...

I...

Conservative.

Conservative is the right answer. Well done.

Ulrik, you need to get this.

In Irish politics, which post is referred to by the name Tanaiste?

In Irish politics.

I have absolutely no idea. Let's try Finance Minister.

It's Deputy Prime Minister. You've been knocked out by Kevin.

Brave to go into Politics

with a Danish background. You won't be in the final. Kevin will. Both please rejoin your teams.

-So a comeback of sorts there, John.

-Yeah, we're trying to come back,

-but hopefully we've saved the best two until last.

-Let's see.

It's time for our final round, which is General Knowledge.

Of course, those of you who lost

won't be allowed to take part. So John, Ulrik and Michael from the Oilfield Telstars

and Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads, please leave the studio.

-Good luck, Simon and Andrew.

-Thank you.

-You're playing for £4,000.

Pat, Judith, Kevin and Daphne are playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

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

So Oilfield Telstars, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First.

Here we go.

Good luck. What part of a Roman soldier's equipment were his caligi?

-Equipment?

-Caligi...

OK, I don't think it's boots. They wore sandals.

-Caligi...callipers...

-Callipers.

-Trousers?

-Trousers.

Would they wear gloves?

-My...

-Callipers.

-Possibly. I think trousers would be my guess.

-I'll go with that as well.

OK, I think we'll go for trousers.

-Help us out, Eggheads.

-It's boots.

-Boots.

-Caligula, the emperor, was nicknamed Little Boots.

When he was a child, he was on campaign with his father

and became a mascot for the soldiers around the camp.

They gave him a pair of these little army boots. He became known as Little Boots, hence Caligula.

-So the name came from...

-From the nickname.

-Sorry. The answer is boots.

-Oh, dear.

Eggheads,

in 2011, BBC Radio 7 was relaunched under what name?

- It's BBC 6 Music. - No. No, no, no.

Cos that exists anyway. It's Radio 4 Extra I think, isn't it?

-I don't know.

-I think it is.

Radio 5 Live is a separate station. BBC 6 Music is a separate station.

It was under threat, but was then reprieved.

Radio 7 was a separate one. It's the only thing it could be, I think.

I think Radio 4 Extra because the other two both exist separately.

-Yeah, let's go for that, then.

-We'll go for Radio 4 Extra.

Completely right. Radio 4 Extra.

OK.

-You need to get this one right.

-Yeah, we definitely do.

In which city are the headquarters of Germany's Bundesbank?

I don't think Frankfurt. Is Frankfurt a financial district?

-I don't know.

-Munich?

I don't think Bonn. Munich... When you think of Munich, you think of the beer festival.

-Financial district.

-Bonn?

-I don't know. We're really...

-We're clutching at straws!

Which one do you think isn't likely? Which one are you going to rule out?

Which one is too far out there?

Like you say, Munich, I don't think I would go with that. Bonn or...

OK.

-Frankfurt, maybe. You don't think it's Frankfurt.

-I don't.

-But I was wrong on the last one.

-Right, OK.

-So pick a...

-Pick an option?

-Yeah.

You don't think it's Munich?

It could be.

I would... Bundesbank, Munich?

Big city. I would go with Munich. It's maybe a bit too obvious!

-Go with Munich.

-It's too obvious?

-Possibly.

-But... OK. You make the call.

-Struggling on this one, aren't we?

Again, Jeremy, this is a bit of a process of elimination.

I don't think we've got it right, so we'll go with Munich.

Munich is your answer. Frankfurt.

Oh, we cancelled that one right at the start!

Is the European Central Bank

-in Frankfurt as well?

-Yeah.

-And the Stock Exchange.

So you could say they are all together. They're all there in Frankfurt.

-That's where all the money happens.

-In Europe.

-Eggheads, get this right and you've taken it.

Henry Cort was an innovator in which industry?

Iron.

Iron, yeah.

The puddling method of producing iron. That's it.

-That's iron, Jeremy.

-You didn't really hesitate.

You didn't think of being uncertain to make other people feel better?

-Sorry!

-There's something quite brutal about you Eggheads on form.

The correct answer is that Henry Cort was an innovator in iron.

You've taken the final round and the contest. You have won!

Giving them the first question can be difficult, but the second...

They can just go for it. They look friendly,

-but in a quiz situation they're violent.

-Absolutely. Very good.

-I hope you enjoyed it.

-Indeed.

-Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally.

They still reign supreme.

You won't be going home with £4,000, so the money rolls over.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team can defeat the Eggheads.

£5,000 says that they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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