Episode 70 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 challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

Taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today are...

This team of friends from in and around Portsmouth

all know each other through working in the legal profession.

-Let's meet them.

-Hello, I'm Alison, I'm 50 and I'm a solicitor.

Hello, I'm Michael, I'm 54 and I'm a family lawyer.

Hello, I'm Jonathan, I'm 49 and I'm a parish priest.

Hello, I'm Sue, I'm 61 and I'm a retired lawyer and mediator.

Hello, I'm Sophie, I'm 44 and I'm a solicitor.

-So, Alison, you work in the law?

-We all do,

or have done in the past, worked in the law.

-You smuggled a vicar in?

-I have. He used to be a solicitor in a former life.

-I see.

-You're all connected in that way.

-Indeed.

-Is the law fun?

-It has its moments!

-Have you quizzed together before?

-The five of us have not quizzed together as a team,

but individual members have quizzed in various permutations.

-Do you watch the show?

-We do, and have done so avidly since we knew we were coming on!

So, you've got theories about strategy?

-We'll see if they work!

-All right, we'll see what happens.

Every day there's £1,000 up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Solicitous, the Eggheads have won the last four games,

-which means £5,000 says you can't beat them today!

-We'll have a go!

We'll start with a head-to-head battle on the subject of Geography.

-No, that's good.

-Who wants that?

-That'll be me, then.

-Go for that, Sue.

-I'll be the first lamb to the slaughter, then.

-The first victorious!

Sue, who do you want to play? Which Egghead?

-Who shall I pick?

-I'd try Dave.

-Go for Dave.

-Definitely try Dave. He's a new face.

OK, I'm being told Dave, as he's the unknown quantity.

He is known as "TK" Dave, Tremendous Knowledge Dave, for historical reasons.

We're just getting to grips with your prowess in the various areas,

so this'll be interesting.

It's going to be Sue from Solicitous versus Dave from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, take your positions in the Question Room.

OK, let's see how we do. Good luck, Sue.

Three multiple-choice questions on Geography in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

Sue, would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck to Solicitous.

The city of Moscow is in which part of Russia?

OK, it's not going to be Far Eastern Russia.

Er, it... Hm, hm, hm...

It's either western or south-central.

I'm going to go down the middle and say South-Central Russia.

It is further over to the west, I'm afraid. It's Western Russia.

We go to Dave.

The Somali capital Mogadishu is situated on which ocean?

I believe... Well, I'm not too sure.

I'll rule out Pacific.

Yes, I'm going to go Indian.

Indian is the right answer.

-That defeats the famous rule.

-For once, it's not Pacific!

I don't know if they told you this, but when the option is Pacific, they always go Pacific.

-They do, but in this case, I couldn't go Pacific.

-No, exactly.

Or cheese! But that would definitely be a wrong answer!

Pacific and cheese - two things I don't like!

Indian is correct. Dave takes the lead. Your question, Sue.

What is the approximate population of Brazil?

It's a very big country,

with huge, erm, unpopulated pockets.

Er... I don't know.

I'm going to...

..go for...

..300 million.

300 million. So, bigger than the USA?

-It's big. How big is it? Anyone?

-I think 200 million would be nearest.

200 million is what we're looking for, Sue.

-It's still absolutely huge, isn't it?

-Oh, yes.

Is it bigger space-wise than the USA?

-No, the USA is a bigger land area.

-Yes.

And they're about 265, are they, or 300?

-About 300 and something.

-The US is about 308, is the latest.

-308?

-Yes.

-Right.

OK, "Tremendous Knowledge" Dave,

if you get this right, you've taken the round.

The village of Portmeirion,

famously used as the location for the TV series The Prisoner,

is in which Welsh county?

Right, erm, again, I'm not totally confident,

but let me just have a think about this.

Monmouthshire's headed towards Gwent and South Wales,

so I don't think it's that.

Then you've got Dyfed with Carmarthenshire.

I'm going to go for Gwynedd.

Lovely bit of logic. You've got it right. Well done.

It is Gwynedd. You've taken the round after two questions.

Sue, I'm sorry, you've been knocked out.

But it's early days for your team. Both of you, rejoin your teammates.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost a brain from the Final Round.

The Eggheads have lost none so far.

The second subject for you is Film & TV.

Who would like this?

-Am I taking that?

-Sophie.

You're fabulous! You're good!

-Which Egghead?

-Which Egghead, Sophie?

-Daphne, please.

-Good choice.

-Sophie the lawyer versus Daphne the banker, do we say?

-That's what you used to do, isn't it?

-I was only a lowly secretary to a bank manager.

That's what they all say!

I'm not a banker!

Sophie from Solicitous versus Daphne from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

What kind of law do you do, Sophie?

Criminal lawyer. I prosecute.

-You used to be defence, is that right?

-That's correct, till about 2006.

-What made you change?

-Opportunities with the Crown Prosecution Service were great,

and I was getting a bit tired of getting up in the night to go to the police stations.

Is it easier to prosecute people because most are guilty or what?

-Er, we still have to prove it.

-LAUGHTER

-That's kind of inconvenient.

-It gets in the way sometimes!

I have a note that says that when you were four, you won a competition

-which was to dress as what?

-A ladybird.

And the prize was to sit on what?

Roger Moore's knee!

-We ought to have a question on that really!

-Yes!

OK, I'm going to ask each of you three questions on Film & TV.

Whoever answers the most questions goes through to the final.

Sophie, would you like the first or the second set?

The first set, please, Jeremy.

Here we go with your first question. In the TV soap EastEnders,

what was the first name of the mother of Ian Beale?

Angie was married to Den

and had, erm...

I can't remember their daughter's name.

Sharon, I think it was. Letitia Dean played her.

Pat...

Famous for her earrings.

Erm...

I can't remember her son's name, but it certainly wasn't Ian,

so it's Kathy, Jeremy. Kathy.

-I'm sensing you're a fan of the programme.

-I used to be.

You got it right. Well done. Kathy is correct.

Good. You've banked a correct answer. Well done.

Daphne, the 2011 instalment of which film series is subtitled "Ghost Protocol"?

I think it's Mission: Impossible.

You've got it right, Daphne. It is Mission: Impossible.

Over to you, Sophie.

Who played the title role

in the 1980s TV drama "Shine on Harvey Moon"?

I don't know Kenneth Cranham.

I have, I think, heard of Kenneth Connor and Kenneth More.

I'm drawn to Kenneth More, so I'll say Kenneth More, Jeremy.

It's not Kenneth More.

Kenneth Cranham is the answer that we were looking for.

Sorry! Daphne has a chance to pull ahead.

Daphne, how old was the Hollywood star Steve McQueen

at the time of his death in 1980?

I... Yes, I think he was, erm, 50.

I mean, he had quite a long fight against cancer, didn't he?

I would say 50.

50 is correct.

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

At the age of 73, David Seidler became the oldest winner

of a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his work on which film?

I haven't heard the name

in connection with Shakespeare in Love.

And I've seen The King's Speech recently,

but I can't remember that name in connection with that.

But I'm more drawn to that than Chariots of Fire.

-Sorry, can I have the name again, please?

-David Seidler.

-Seidler...

Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

Best Original Screenplay.

Now I'm talking myself out of what I was first drawn to,

because Shakespeare in Love was a very good screenplay.

I'll go for Shakespeare in Love,

just because it was an excellent original screenplay.

-Do you know, Daphne?

-Well, it's not Chariots of Fire

because that's Colin Welland.

I would've gone for The King's Speech.

It is The King's Speech, Sophie.

-Sorry! Go on, Judith.

-He had a stammer himself.

-Did he?

-Yes.

-I didn't know that.

-Yes. As a boy.

And he obviously had a long career in film and then came back?

That, I don't know. All I know is he had a stammer, so he wrote it.

Brilliant film.

Daphne, well done. Sorry, Sophie, you've been knocked out.

You won't be in the final and Daphne will.

Both of you, come and rejoin your teams.

What can you do now, Alison? Is there any legal remedy?

-Could you subpoena them or something?

-Appeal!

-Appeal!

-Yes!

Just press on. You have lost two brains, but you're not out of it.

The Eggheads have not lost a brain yet.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

I'm thinking somebody's going to like that.

-That would be you, Ali.

-That was going to be you, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-Shall we try?

-All right.

-Happy?

-Yes.

-I'll take Arts & Books.

-Against which Eggheads?

I'd like to play Chris, please.

OK, so Alison from Solicitous versus Chris on Arts & Books, down the end of the table there.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

It's Arts & Books. Are you reading anything good at the moment, Chris?

-No.

-Not The History of Trains, or anything?

If I don't know it by now, I never will do!

I'll ask each of you three questions on Arts & Books.

-Alison, that sounds encouraging, doesn't it?

-Doesn't it just?

-Would you like the first or the second set?

-First, please.

Here's your first question, Alison. Jacob Black is a major character in which series of books?

Well, I don't think it's the Famous Five.

And I've read all the Harry Potter books and seen all the films,

and I think that...

..he's Sirius Black in Harry Potter,

so I'm going to go for Twilight.

You could've been caught on that one, couldn't you? Well done.

Twilight is correct.

-Anyone here read Twilight?

-ALL: No.

-It's for teenagers.

-Sure, but sometimes people do.

Harry Potter - lots of people read that. No-one read it?

I've not read it, no. I think he's the werewolf character,

-the love rival.

-He's frightfully good-looking.

-Is he?

Takes his shirt off a lot in the films.

Judith says the main character is frightfully good-looking.

Does that make you feel like reading it?

More of a disincentive, I would think, Jeremy!

Here's your first question. In which century was the author JRR Tolkien born?

Ahh...

Well, he served on the Western Front in the First World War, didn't he?

Which some people say gave him some of the inspirations

for the darker passages in the Lord of the Rings.

So to have done that, he must've been born,

unless he lied about his age to get into the army...

Er, when did he die?

Yes, very last knockings of the 19th century, Jeremy.

19th is the right answer. Kevin's very good on his dates.

-1892.

-Maybe that's why Kevin hasn't been picked yet!

OK, Alison, your second question.

"The redbreast whistles from a garden croft

"and gathering swallows twitter in the skies"

are the final lines of which John Keats poem?

We recently visited Keats' house in Hampstead...

..and I think that the answer is Ode to Autumn.

Very good play. You're quite right.

Ode to Autumn is right. Two out of two. Well done.

Chris, The Walking Man,

a bronze sculpture of a male body without arms or a head,

is a work by which artist, born in 1840?

Ahh.

Henri Matisse was a painter.

Degas did do a bit of sculpture but was better known as a painter.

But Auguste Rodin was a sculptor and made bronzes and things.

I'll go with Auguste Rodin. The dates are right, as well.

The correct answer is Auguste Rodin.

Well done. The Walking Man.

On we walk. Here we go, Alison.

"Zog" and "Stick Man" are books by which children's author?

Julia Donaldson

Spot on. Well done. It is.

-Have you read any of them recently?

-No!

Or at all!

Chris, The Thread, released in 2011

and set in the Greek city of Thessaloniki,

is the third novel by which author?

Mm, that's interesting. Are we talking Ancient Greece or...

..the interesting First-World-War times in Thessaloniki?

Erm... I don't think it's Louise Bagshawe.

I don't think it's Victoria Hislop. I'll have to go with Cecelia Ahern.

I think Judith doesn't like that answer. Who is it?

-It's Victoria Hislop.

-It is indeed.

You got it wrong, Chris. You are knocked out by Alison.

Well done. You've got someone there in the final.

If you both come back, we will play on.

Solicitous have lost two brains, but the Eggheads have lost a brain from the Final Round.

The last subject for you is Sport.

Is that good?

-Jonathan we all said.

-OK.

-I'm designated Sports.

-OK, Jonathan. Against which Egghead?

-Pick Judith.

-ALL: Judith.

I think we'll take Hobson's Choice - Judith, please!

-SHE GROANS

-Starting to be painful, isn't it?

It's my third Sport in as many games, I think.

-But you won the last one.

-And the one before that.

-Indeed!

She's reading the back pages a lot.

So Jonathan from Solicitous versus Judith from the Eggheads on Sport.

Just to make sure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

-You've got a really interesting CV, if I may say so.

-Thank you.

So, solicitor and then priest?

That's right, yes. I was a solicitor in private practice for ten years,

and I've been a parish priest since 1997.

What made you change, from one extreme to the other?

I don't think they're quite extremes. They're both clerical.

-One is holy, then.

-Well, yes.

So maybe God has a part to play in that.

There's a vocational element to it.

It felt the right decision and it still feels the right decision to have switched.

You also have sporting connections, not least with Portsmouth Football Club.

I'm currently chaplain at Portsmouth Football Club.

Do you pray for injured players, and before games or what?

The chaplaincy team is more a sort of spiritual safety net,

trying to let players know there's something greater than football,

even though they may not think it!

Do you have to be a supporter to do that job?

It does help. I go to games and I do enjoy it,

-and I do support Pompey, so that comes naturally.

-OK.

They've had their ups and downs, haven't they?

Of course. We've had some highs, we've got a few lows, but we shall come through them.

Best of luck to you in this round. Three questions, multiple choice.

Judith is smarting because you chose her, which is encouraging.

Would you like the first or second set of questions?

I'll have the second set, please.

We throw to you first, Judith. Which team won the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup?

I'm completely baffled. Erm... Was it in New Zealand?

I'm thinking aloud rather than asking you. Erm...

Who won it? God Almighty.

Er, South Africa.

No, no. Jonathan?

-It was New Zealand.

-It was New Zealand, Judith.

Your chance to take the lead.

Which role did Graham Gooch usually perform for the England cricket team?

Right, yes, I know a bit of cricket.

Graham Gooch may still be the highest-scoring batsman

in English Test Cricket.

He wasn't a wicketkeeper.

I can eliminate bowler. He was an opening batsman.

Opening batman is quite right. Well done.

The Challengers are ahead.

What was, Judith, Sergey Bubka's personal best

in the outdoor pole vault?

-In the pole vault?

-The pole vault.

Well, a metre is slightly more than three feet, so three, six, 18,

so more than 18 feet.

More than 21 feet and more than 27 feet.

A room is about eight feet.

Three, six, 18... I should think it's probably...

I wonder if it could be seven.

I think he can just get to seven metres.

So, your answer is...

-Er, I think it's -

-The middle one?

-No, I think it's six metres.

-Six...

-You've got to give me an answer from the screen.

-Well, 6.14, then.

-OK.

-You're right.

-Oh, phew.

-That was jammy! That was jammy.

OK, Jonathan, your question. Which Premier League football team

did Mario Balotelli join in 2010?

Mario Balotelli. Yes, he's an Italian striker.

I'm going to eliminate Manchester United.

I think currently he plays for Manchester City.

Whether he had a spell at Chelsea...

I think I'm talking myself out of it. I'll go for Manchester City.

Manchester City is the right answer. Well done.

Judith, your question. If you get this wrong, you are out.

In which weight division did the Welsh boxer Nathan Cleverly

retain his world title in October 2011?

I think that was Welterweight.

You said that with conviction, almost as if you were at the match.

-I wasn't!

-It was a guess, wasn't it?

-Absolutely.

-It's Light Heavyweight, Judith. You've got that wrong.

-I'm out.

You are out on Sport.

-Jonathan, well done.

-Thank you.

-The vicar is through to the final.

You took on one of the Eggheads and emerged triumphant. Good news for our Challengers.

Both of you, rejoin your teams.

This is what we have been playing towards,

it is time for the Final Round, which is general knowledge.

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

won't be allowed to take part.

Sue and Sophie from Solicitous, and Judith and Chris from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Alison, Michael and Jonathan, you are playing to win Solicitous £5,000.

Kevin, David and Daphne,

you playing for something that money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

The questions are all general knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

So, Solicitous, the question is, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-They are!

-Shall we find out?

-Do you want to go first or second?

-We'd like to take the first set.

Good luck. Here we go.

Which Scottish city gives its name to a soft and crumbly type of confectionary rock

made with cream of tartar?

-Right. OK, they're all in Scotland.

-They're all in Scotland, yes. Er...

I mean, confectionary,

it makes me think of Edinburgh rock, that pastel-coloured rock.

There is definitely a thing called Edinburgh rock.

What about Inverness? I've got...

Well, I don't recall any sweet thing coming from Inverness,

and certainly not Aberdeen.

I remember on holidays, when I went to Edinburgh, we had it.

-I didn't like it very much, but I recall it.

-Like eating chalk!

-BOTH: Go on, then.

-I think our answer's going to be Edinburgh rock, Jeremy.

-Edinburgh is the right answer. Well done.

-Well done.

OK, your question, Eggheads.

The word "tantony"

is used to refer to the smallest in a litter of which creatures?

-Pig.

-Yes.

-Can we have a spelling?

-T-A-N-T-O-N-Y.

The word "tantony".

That is a pig. Or pigs.

It's sort of St Anthony. It's a contraction.

-Is that right?

-Yes.

-Why would they call the smallest pig St Anthony?

I don't know! But I know what the derivation is!

You are right. It is pigs.

-Did you know that one?

-ALL: No.

-It was tricky!

-It was a hard one.

OK, here we go with your second.

Anne of Bohemia, born in 1366,

married which English king?

So that would've been about 13...

..80 that she got married.

So that's one of the earlier kings.

Richard II was a House of...

-He immediately preceded Richard III, didn't he?

-Yes.

So he's too late.

Henry IV was a Plantagenet, wasn't he?

Yes.

So I'm not very sure about that,

but I would think sort of medi...

-..Edward III.

-It's sort of in the medieval era, isn't it?

Edward III...

-Have you got any better ideas?

-No.

-Go with that.

-We're not sure about this one, Jeremy,

but we're going to go with Edward III.

I'm sorry, Edward III is the wrong answer.

The answer is Richard II.

And so the Eggheads can pull ahead.

"We Found Love" was a UK number-one single in 2011 for which female singer?

-It's Rihanna, isn't it, with Calvin Harris?

-I think it is.

That was Rihanna who did that, with Calvin Harris.

You're playing very confidently. It is Rihanna.

So you need to get this one right.

If you get this wrong, the contest is over.

The Yemeni woman Tawakkol Karman

was a joint recipient of which Nobel Prize in 2011?

-A Yemeni woman.

-Mm.

Mike?

Yemeni...

-I've got no idea.

-I don't think it was the Peace Prize.

-Wasn't that -

-Wasn't it Obama that got that?

He could well have done. That's often the way it works for American presidents.

What are you drawn to, Jonathan?

-It seems unlikely, but I'm drawn to Chemistry.

-So was I.

-I'm thinking -

-That she was working abroad or...?

Yeah. I couldn't swear to it, but I think that's...

If I had to pick one, which we do, I would go for Chemistry.

-Well, have you got an inkling there?

-I've got an inkling.

Go with that, because I've got nothing.

We've got some problems here, Jeremy.

We don't really know. We don't think it's Peace.

We've got a vague inkling on my left that it's Chemistry,

and that's our best hope.

-We're going to go for Chemistry.

-Chemistry is your answer.

If you've got this wrong the contest is over.

You ruled out Economics. Didn't talk about that.

No Yemeni economists?

There was a bit of trouble in Yemen. Would any of you Eggheads know?

-Peace.

-It's Peace.

-Peace is the answer.

I'm sorry. It's not Chemistry.

-It was the one we were convinced it wasn't.

-No way back, I'm afraid!

Eggheads, congratulations, you have won.

Let's just test them out. She shared it with somebody, who was it?

-Erm...

-Two Liberians.

-Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who's the Liberian President.

-Yes.

And another Liberian activist,

whose name is something like Leymah Gbowee.

You're pretty much there with it. It think it is Leymah Gbowee.

Well played, Eggheads.

-Really great to have you on-board.

-Thank you for having us.

Solicitous.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally. They still reign supreme over quiz land.

You won't be going home with £5,000. The money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Playing really well today.

Who will beat you?

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

£6,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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