Episode 74 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 champions are the Merry Harriers.

This team is an amalgamation of various quizzers

from the Surrey County Quiz League.

And aside from their shared passion for quizzing,

the other thing that connects them is the warm welcome they receive

at Colin and Julie's pub, The Merry Harriers.

So let's meet them.

I'm Colin, I'm 53 and I'm a pub landlord.

I'm Julie, I'm 47 and I'm a pub landlady and llama trekker.

I'm John, I'm 59 and I'm a company director.

Hello, I'm Judith, I'm 54 and I'm a systems analyst.

I'm John, I'm 59 and I'm a part-time yoga teacher and gardener.

-Colin and team, welcome.

-Thank you, Jeremy.

-And you run the pub, Colin?

-Yes, indeed. It keeps me rather busy.

But you're also busy with a llama farm.

Yes, we have a herd of nine llamas that we've had for ten years now

and we've taken several thousand people out on llama treks.

Oh, I see, the llamas go exploring or...?

The llamas go out walking and carrying picnics

-and exciting people, really.

-Oh, fantastic.

-Is that just backing onto the pub?

-It is, yeah.

This pub sounds more and more interesting by the second.

-And you quiz in the pub?

-We have a quiz night in the pub

but we also take part in the Southwest Surrey Quiz League

and most of the people here tonight play either for our team

-or other teams in the league.

-OK. Well, good luck.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

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

So, Merry Harriers, the Eggheads have won the last eight games,

which means £9,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes.

-Definitely.

Good, that's what we like. The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of science.

So do we have a scientist here?

-I think that's me, isn't it?

-Judith is our scientist.

OK. And you can choose an Egghead. You've got all of them to pick from.

-Who do you think you should choose?

-I think you should take Judith.

-I would want to take Judith, yes.

-It's a Judith v Judith.

-A double Judith.

OK. Judith from the Merry Harriers versus our own Judith on science

and just to ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

So how am I going to deal with this? I've got two Judiths?

-Judith Egg.

-Judith Egg, OK.

Three multiple-choice questions on science in turn

and, Judith our challenger, would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck to you.

What name is given to the surgical device that allows doctors to see and work inside body cavities

without having to make a large incision?

I don't think it's an occluder.

I think a cannula is a little tube of some kind,

so I think it's an endoscope.

Very good. Endoscope it is. Well done.

Judith, your first question on science.

In terms of their physiological function,

what are insulin, adrenaline and progesterone?

Oh, they are hormones.

Hormones is the right answer.

One each.

Judith, Judith, Judith.

What does a phonometer measure?

P-H-O-N-O-M-E-T-E-R. All one word. Phonometer.

Oh, phonometer. That would be sound, then.

Sound is the right answer. Well done, Judith.

Judith Egg, what type of creature is the Australian honeyeater?

Oh, well, bears eat honey, don't they?

I don't think it's a wild dog.

Honeyeater. It could possibly be a bird-of-paradise type bird.

On the other hand, bears eat honey.

It's a golden rule. Bears eat honey.

Bear.

-It's a bear, you say?

-Not in Australia, obviously.

I haven't yet told you you're wrong but your team-mates think you are.

-Barry?

-I think it's a bird.

-It is a bird, Judith.

-It is a bird.

OK, this is good for you. If you get this one right, you're in the final.

Preston Tucker was an innovator in which field in the 20th century?

Well, I've not heard of Preston Tucker.

Erm... I don't know a lot about computing and who invented things

but I'll guess it's not that.

I haven't heard of it in the field of genetics either,

so I'm probably completely wrong but I'm going to go for automobiles.

Very good. You got it absolutely right.

-Wahey!

-Really, really determined play from Judith.

Sorry, Egghead Judith, you have been knocked out.

You will not be in the final round.

Please, both of you, both Judiths, come back and rejoin your teams.

Well done. A good start. Off the blocks. You've rocked them.

You can see the uncertainty. If you look closely, you can see the fear.

As it stands, the challengers have lost no brains, the Eggheads have lost one.

The next subject is sport. Who would like this?

-Have you got a player?

-Sport.

-I'll take it.

-You'll take it, yeah?

-I'll take it.

-OK, it's Colin. Against which Egghead, Colin?

I will play against Chris.

So Colin from the Merry Harriers against Chris from the Eggheads on sport.

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

Well, at least it's not arts and books, Chris.

That makes a very pleasant change, Jeremy, yes.

Colin, when you have the quiz in your pub, who writes the questions?

-Me.

-Oh, that's encouraging. Good luck in this round.

Three questions on sport

-and you can choose the first or the second set, Colin.

-I'll go first.

Here's your first question.

Which horse won the 2011 Epsom Derby?

I used to follow flat racing quite closely

but I don't any more.

But Denman doesn't ring a bell. The other two are more familiar.

I'm going to go with Ballabriggs.

Ballabriggs is wrong, actually.

-Eggheads, do you know?

-Pour Moi.

-Pour Moi.

-Ballabriggs won the Grand National.

-That's maybe why it was in your mind.

-Yeah.

Chris, Haircut 100 is the nickname of which snooker player?

Mm.

Shaun Murphy sounds like an Irish lad,

unlikely to be called Haircut 100.

Judd Trump sounds like some branch of Donald Trump and co,

so we'll go with Neil Robertson.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-I love your reasoning.

-Because somebody has the same name as Donald Trump it can't be the answer?

-Mm.

-OK.

It is Trump, actually. It is Judd Trump. Sorry, Chris.

So two wrong answers in a row.

You're back where you started, Colin.

In 2011, the footballer Charlie Adam left which club to join Liverpool FC?

I know it wasn't Wolves.

And it wasn't West Ham. I'm fairly certain it was Blackpool.

Blackpool is the right answer. Well done.

Well done. Celebrations at this end.

Chris, Sam Tomkins, born in March 1989, is a famous name in which sport?

Erm... Not heard the name in athletics or cricket

but it sounds like a good solid working class lad from up North,

so I'll go with rugby league.

Rugby league is the right answer.

One point each.

-Did you know that, Colin?

-I did.

He said regretfully.

OK, what name is given to the various humps that have to be navigated

on a competitive BMX track?

I'm far too old for that, Jeremy.

Erm...

I'm going to take a complete guess at...

yelps.

Yelps sounds right but it's not. It's whoops.

So Chris has a chance to take the round.

See if he can use his brilliant, Sherlock Holmes style process of logic,

the Trump reasoning, as we call it.

Which Argentinian golfer won the 1967 Open Championship

at the age of 44?

Well, Roberto de Vicenzo sounds more Italian than Argentinian,

so it's down to Eduardo Romero or Antonio Cerda.

On the basis that it sounds more Argentinian than Eduardo Romero,

I'll go with Antonio Cerda.

Yeah, it's not. It's Roberto de Vicenzo.

-Oh.

-OK, so you're one point each after three questions.

It gets a bit harder now. It's Sudden Death, Colin, and I don't give you alternatives.

So here is your first Sudden Death question.

See if you can knock him out on sport.

Anthony Ogogo, a contestant in Big Brother's Celebrity Hijack in 2008,

won a medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

in which sport?

I'm going to go, for no real reason,

with pole vault.

It's not pole vaulting. It's boxing.

He got the silver medal in the middleweights.

I suppose if you're watching from a distance, they would look similar.

LAUGHTER

Chris, if you get this right, you're in the final.

The footballer Socrates represented which country in international competition?

The only Socrates I know was the Greek philosopher but...

Socrates. Well, Greece.

-No, it's Brazil.

-LAUGHTER

Colin, your Sudden Death question.

Which city hosted the 2011 World Athletics Championships?

I seem to remember it was somewhere where the temperature was an issue.

And I think it was in southern Europe.

I'm going to go with Rome.

Let's see if the Eggheads know this.

-Daegu.

-Daegu, says Kevin. Which is in which country?

-South Korea.

South Korea is the answer, not Rome.

Chris, get this right and you're in the final round.

Mike Atherton played for which county cricket team throughout his professional career?

-Lancashire.

-Lancashire is the right answer.

You've done it, Chris. Well done.

Colin, you've been knocked out after a hard-fought round on sport.

Please, both of you, rejoin your team-mates.

So, the challengers have now lost a brain

and the Eggheads have also lost a brain.

The next subject for you is geography.

Which of you would like this?

I said I'd cover geography, didn't I, so you OK?

-Yeah. Let's do that.

-You all right?

-OK.

-OK.

Against which Egghead? It can't be Chris or Judith.

No, no. I'm going to go against Pat.

So John from the Merry Harriers versus Pat from the Eggheads

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

So I'm going to ask each of you three questions on geography

and, John, you can choose the first or the second set.

I'll go with the tradition of our team. We're going to go first.

Here we go. Good luck to you.

Galway Bay is located on which coast of Ireland?

I went with my wife a few years ago on a touring holiday of Ireland

and I can remember eating Galway Bay mussels and soda bread

and I can be pretty certain, therefore,

it's on the west coast of Ireland.

Well done. That's a great reason to know. Thank you, John.

West Coast is right.

Pat, the Vale of White Horse is an area

in which administrative county of England?

I think it gets its name from a famous chalk carving on a hillside

of a horse

and I think it's linked to the Chiltern chalk hills.

I think it's in Oxfordshire.

Yes, Oxfordshire it is.

John, back to you.

Which Asian country has borders with China, Russia, Uzbekistan,

Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan?

I think... I don't think it's India.

And I'm not certain about Kazakhstan.

I think the answer is Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan is an interesting one because it's -

this came up the other day - it's the largest landlocked country in the world

so it's got a lot of countries abutting it

and it is the answer, here, John. Kazakhstan.

Pat, your question.

Lombok is an island of which country?

Lombok and Bali are famous because the Wallace Line passes between them.

It's the line that divides Asian-type animals

from Australasian type

and both Bali and Lombok are in Indonesia.

Indonesia is the right answer, so you take the lead.

John, you need to get this one right.

What is the largest lake in Central America?

I'm not certain it's Lake Titicaca

because I think that's in South America.

Erm...

Texcoco sounds like it could be Central American.

I've not heard of Lake Nicaragua.

I'm going to go with Lake Texcoco.

Lake Texcoco. Anyone...? Colin, I'm sensing you know the answer, here.

-Lake Nicaragua.

-John, I'm sorry, Lake Nicaragua is the right answer,

-which means you've been knocked out

-OK.

Pat, you're through to the final.

Please, both of you, come back to us.

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains, the Eggheads have lost one brain.

One more round before the final and it's music.

Who would like this? Julie or John?

-I'll take this round.

-Julie's playing.

-Julie?

-Yeah.

Against either Barry or Kevin.

Who do you think? Who do you think I should go against?

-I'd say Kevin.

-Why not Kevin?

-Kevin.

-See where we get.

-I'll challenge Kevin.

So Julie from the Merry Harriers versus Kevin from the Eggheads on music.

Please go to the question room.

-Julie, I love the story about how you met Colin.

-Thank you.

-It was on a plane flight.

-Yeah.

I was working in Milan and Colin had been to Milan for a meeting for a day

and I just happened to be late for my flight

and the last seat on the plane was actually next to Colin.

We chatted. I got up off the plane when we landed at Heathrow

and I said, "Bye, nice chatting to you,"

and went to the ladies in baggage reclaim in Terminal 1

and when I came out Colin was standing there.

It was quite strange, really.

So he said, "Can we see each other again?"

Yeah, he said, "Do you want to meet for a drink?" so I said OK.

It was March. I said, "I'm a bit busy for the next few months

"but I'll give you a call."

And I called him at the end of August.

And now you're running a pub and a llama farm and happy days.

-Yes, yes. Very much.

-Great stuff.

OK, so music now, with Kevin. Three questions, multiple choice.

Julie, you can choose the first or the second set.

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck.

Which British composer born in 1933

provided the scores for 11 Bond films?

Now, this is very interesting

because one of the regulars at our pub

went to a very special memorial concert, I think,

for the composer of all of these Bond films

and I'm pretty certain it was John Barry.

Very good. It was John Barry. It was.

-And he died just relatively recently.

-Yes, yes.

Kevin, what was the title of the debut single of the girl band Little Mix?

Ah, right, OK.

Well, I know they did Cannonball and I think it got to number one.

The Climb was Joe McElderry.

And When We Collide...

was somebody else, so Cannonball.

Cannonball is right. Well done.

Julie, Gareth Malone, born in Bournemouth in 1975,

is mostly commonly associated with which type of music?

Wow. I've never heard of him, Jeremy.

Erm...

I think I'm going to...

take out choral music.

And I think I'm going to go down the middle here and go for rap music.

The answer, I'm afraid, is choral music.

-He was the one who did the military wives choir...

-Ah, yes!

-..and all of that on TV

and then in the charts.

Kevin, to take the lead,

Stacee Jaxx is a character in which stage musical

featuring rock songs from the 1980s?

OK.

I don't know this

because there were a whole range over the last few years

of these rock musicals recycling old hits.

Erm... I don't recognise Long Live Rock as a title

but that doesn't mean that it's not that.

Rock Of Ages sounds perfectly reasonable, doesn't it?

I... I'm inclined, without any...

I'm sure there is one called Rock On, so I'll try Rock On.

-Rock On is the wrong answer. It's Rock Of Ages, actually.

-Yeah.

Julie, your question.

Which singer released an album of Yuletide classics

entitled Christmas In The Heart in 2009?

Ooh!

It's not in my collection.

Erm, the title would lead you to Captain Beefheart,

the title of the album, but I'm not sure.

Erm...

No. I would have to take a guess at this one, I think.

And I'm going to go with...

Bob Dylan.

-Yes!

-Your team love that answer.

And it's a very difficult one to guess, isn't it, team?

You've got the album, have you? Well done, Julie, you're right.

Bob Dylan it is. Well done.

So, Kevin under pressure now.

Porcupine, Ocean Rain and Songs To Learn And Sing

were 1980s albums by which band, Kevin?

Mm. Not at all sure.

I've certainly heard of Ocean Rain

but I can't remember, unfortunately, who it was.

Ah...

I don't think it's A Flock Of Seagulls

but I can't really even entirely rule them out.

I think it's them. I think it's one of the other two.

And it's a fifty-fifty, I'm afraid.

I shall go for

Simple Minds.

-Simple Minds is wrong.

-Mm.

-Echo & The Bunnymen is the answer.

How about that, Julie? You've knocked out Kevin.

-You've knocked out Kevin on music.

-Oh, my goodness.

Well done. You will be in the final round and, Kevin, you will not be.

Do, both of you, come back, rejoin your teams

and we'll play the final.

-Great play, Julie.

-Thank you.

It's a bit exciting, now. It's time for the final round

which, as always, is general knowledge.

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

So Colin and John from the Merry Harriers

and Judith and Kevin from the Eggheads

would you please leave the studio?

So, Julie, Judith and John, the three Js,

you're playing to win the Merry Harriers £9,000.

Chris, Barry and Pat, you're playing for something that money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Merry Harriers, the question is are your three brains

better than the Eggheads' three brains?

Would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first. Keep the tradition.

So here we go. Good luck to you in this final round.

What is the surname of the male component

of the celebrity couple known as Brangelina?

-It's Brad Pitt, isn't it?

-Brad Pitt.

-And Angelina Jolie.

So it's Brad Pitt.

-Brad Pitt.

-Brad Pitt is the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, what is the literal meaning of the word "nous"

when translated from the Greek?

-Ooh. Nous.

-Mm.

-My first thought would be mind.

-Same here, yeah.

-Yeah.

Mind, brain, intelligence.

We're not totally sure on this one but Chris and I think it's mind,

so we'll go for mind.

And mind is right. Well done.

Your second question.

What name is traditionally given to a measure of rolled fabric?

-It's a bolt.

-It's a bolt of fabric.

-Bolt.

-Wow. No doubt at all?

-No.

-No.

Bolt is the right answer. Well done. Bolt it is.

OK, Eggheads, what is the name of the type of shoe

that has no laces but a broad strap fastened with a distinctive side buckle?

Mm.

Pope shoe...

Well, my first guess would be Pope shoe.

Yeah. Papal slippers.

Yes. I seem to think the Pope wears that sort of shoe.

Monks tend to go barefoot.

-Or wear sandals.

-Or wear sandals, yeah.

I can't think of a vicar shoe. It just doesn't ring right.

-It's got to be Pope Shoe.

-Are you happy with that?

-I don't know. Yeah.

Again, we're not 100% certain on this one

but the consensus is Pope shoe, so Pope shoe's our answer.

-OK. Do you know, by any chance?

-I think it's a monk shoe.

I think you're right. Ooh! You got it wrong, guys.

OK. If you get this right, you've won.

Who is the author of the Lovejoy novels,

famously adapted into a TV series starring Ian McShane?

Peter Dickinson was Dr Who, wasn't he?

I think he was an actor in Dr Who. I don't think he wrote it.

No, no, he was an actor. That's what I mean.

-Crumbs.

-Lovejoy novels.

Lovejoy.

-You can't tell anything from that.

-You can't tell anything.

Oh. I don't know.

No. I think, it's a guess, I would go with Dickinson.

-We'll go with Dickinson?

-But I don't know why.

-I don't know.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Complete guess. Peter Dickinson.

Let's see if the Eggheads know this one. Eggheads?

-Jonathan Gash.

-They all say together.

Jonathan Gash is the answer.

The Dr Who reference - that's somebody else, isn't it?

-Peter Davidson.

-Peter Davidson, that was.

OK, it's not the end of the world. If they get this wrong, you've won.

If they get it right, we go to Sudden Death.

Eggheads, who was commissioned to arrange the flowers at Westminster Abbey

for the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II?

I think it was Constance Spry.

I think Constance Spry was famous for Coronation flower-arranging.

-I'm not sure whether she did this particular...

-She's of that vintage.

-I'm sure it's Constance Spry.

-Yeah, yeah.

OK, well, again, we're not totally certain

but we're a bit more certain than we were on the last one

and we're going to go for Constance Spry.

Constance Spry is your answer.

You're correct.

So, hey, what about this? You were so nearly there. We go to Sudden Death.

Which US State Department official and suspected spy

was accused before the House Committee of Un-American Activities

and convicted of perjury in 1950?

Was at Arthur something Hiss?

-Hiss?

-Not Hesse. And it's a funny name.

-Alvin?

-Alda?

-Alda?

-Aldous?

-Hmmm...

Aldiss? Alder?

Algernon?

Archibald.

-Well, does anyone know?

-I've no idea.

-I've no idea.

I think it's Alda Hiss.

I can't accept that.

-It's Alger.

-THEY GROAN

And funnily enough, in your technique, Julie, of going through name after name,

you hit on Algernon and I thought Alger is maybe short for Algernon.

OK, so we go to the Eggheads now.

If you get this right, you've taken the contest.

Who wrote and directed the 2010 film Neds?

-I think this was a Glasgow-set film.

-It is.

About delinquency and people on their uppers.

Definitely.

Is it Peter Mullan? He's either an actor or a director or both.

-Peter Mullan rings a bell.

-It rings a vague bell, yeah.

I don't know at all on that one.

-It's the only name we've got.

-It's probably an evens chance.

-Yeah.

-All right.

Well, neither Chris nor I know but Pat has a name, Peter Mullan,

so we'll go with Pat's answer and that's Peter Mullan.

The writer and director of the 2010 film Neds was Peter Mullan.

Eggheads, congratulations. You have taken the contest.

I hope the name Alger Hiss doesn't come into your eye-line any time soon.

-That was painful for me as well, I can tell you.

-Ah!

-I was willing you on, there.

-Thank you.

Commiserations to the challengers.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

although they squeaked through a bit this time.

The winning streak does continue.

You won't be going home with the £9,000,

so 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.

£10,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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