Episode 90 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 the team of five quiz challengers

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

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are The Procrastinators.

After spending most of their first pub quiz missing the questions

whilst they argued over their all-important team name,

the perfect moniker suddenly struck them and The Procrastinators

were born. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Jen, I'm 33 and I'm a currency dealer.

Hello, I'm Ricky, I'm 39 and I'm a currency dealer.

Hi, I'm Dan, I'm 33,

and I'm a project manager in the construction industry.

Hi, I'm Matt, I'm 37 and I'm an insurance broker.

Hi, I'm Ben, I'm 38 and

I'm a technology director for a media company.

-So, Jen and team, welcome.

-Thanks for having us.

The first quiz was not really about the questions,

it was about the team name?

It was almost the whole quiz, I think, we spent discussing the name,

to the point where the quizmaster was waiting for our sheet

-at the end before we decided on the final name.

-OK.

-And Procrastinators, at that moment, were born.

-They were, yes.

Good luck today.

Every day there is £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, Procrastinators, I can tell you the challengers won the last game,

proving it can be done.

And that means £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

-Do you want to start?

-Yes.

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of Sport.

Who would like Sport?

-I think Ricky or Ben.

-Yeah, I'll go for Sport.

-Ricky?

-Ricky, this is for you, I think. Definitely.

-Ricky on Sport, OK.

Against which Egghead?

-Who do you think, guys?

-Who do we think?

-I'm not sure.

-Not Dave.

-Do you have any gut feel?

-I don't, really.

-Maybe Pat or maybe Dave.

-I think Pat.

-No, I think, maybe Pat.

-OK, Pat. I don't mind.

-Pat sounds good.

OK. So it is... I now realise, The Procrastinators...

LAUGHTER

..why you chose the name. Yeah, yeah, I've got it.

We've got an hour for this programme, OK?

So it is Ricky from The Procrastinators versus

Pat from the Eggheads on Sport.

To ensure there's no conferring, would you please take positions

in the Question Room?

Here we go. Three questions, multiple choice, on sport.

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

I'll go first, please.

Whoever wins the round goes through to the final.

He's your question, Ricky.

Which tennis player was defeated by Roger Federer in the final

of the men's singles competition at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009?

Was it...?

I don't think that Tim Henman was still playing in 2009.

I'm fairly certain that Pete Sampras wasn't playing 2009, also.

So I'd have to go with Andy Roddick.

Andy Roddick is the right answer.

OK, Pat, over to you. Your first question.

Which football team did Thierry Henry rejoin on loan

in January 2012? Was it...

He had a spell with the New York Cosmos, I think.

But he came back for a short loan spell at Arsenal.

Arsenal is the right answer. Did he score in his first game back?

Dave, do you know who he was playing?

-They were playing Leeds, weren't they?

-Leeds, was it?

Leeds in the cup when he came back and came off the bench and scored.

Yeah. One each. Over to you, Ricky.

In which country did the England cricket team play a test series

against Pakistan in early 2012? Was it...?

OK, well, I don't think that Pakistan would choose to

play their test in India.

I think it's unlikely to be Kenya.

So I'd go with the United Arab Emirates.

And you got it quite right. Ricky, well done. United Arab Emirates.

OK, Pat.

Inhich year did Jack Brabham win his first Formula 1 world title?

I think of Jack Brabham as being an early name in motor racing.

So I don't like 1979, I think that's a bit too late.

So it's '59 versus '69. I could be wrong here.

I do have a feeling that he is from the very early days of Formula 1,

so I'm going to go with '59, but it's a bit dodgy.

-I'm going to check with Judith. Is he right?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Judith says you're right.

And you are. '59.

She knows a lot about sport.

OK, Ricky, your question. Third question.

If you get them all right, put a bit of pressure on Pat,

see if he tumbles over.

What was the world record time set by the athlete

Kenenisa Bekele in the 10,000 metres in August 2005?

Was it...?

OK. 10,000 metres, 10 K.

I've run a few of those myself.

I know that under 30 minutes is acceptable.

But for a world record,

I would have to go for something slightly better than that.

I'd go for 20 minutes, 17.53 seconds.

20 minutes would be very, very fast.

It's actually 26.

-Damn.

-So it's the middle one.

Still, an incredible time.

Pat, here's your question, you get this right, you're in the final.

The four-time world champion skier, Pirmin Zurbriggen,

was born in which country?

My first instinct in Switzerland, but... He definitely isn't German.

He's either Austrian or Swiss.

I think he's Swiss.

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

Ricky, I'm sorry, he's knocked you out.

The answer's right, it is Switzerland. Pirmin Zurbriggen.

And with that identification, correct answer,

you go through to the final, Pat.

Ricky, you've been knocked out after three questions.

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

Bad luck. But we're just starting out.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost no brains so far.

The next subject is Film & Television.

So who would like this?

-It's going to be me.

-You happy with that?

-Who should I take on?

-Who's that, Jen?

-It's going to be me.

-OK.

-For Film & Television.

Anyone but Pat.

-Should I take on Judith?

-Yeah. Go on, Jen, go for it.

-Well, it's not sport. I'm going to take on Judith, please.

-Right.

So it's going to be Jen from The Procrastinators versus Judith.

-How about that? Not sport.

-Not sport. Yes.

-That's all that matters.

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

Three questions on this subject, in turn.

Jen, whoever answers the most goes through to the final

and would you like the first or the second set?

The first set, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

Which celebrity won the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing? Was it...?

Well, I love Strictly Come Dancing, my mum got me into this.

So I enjoyed the 2011 series,

so I know it's not Alex Jones, I think she went out first.

It's not Jason Donovan, I think he came third.

And the correct answer, I think, is Harry Judd.

Harry Judd is the right answer, well done.

From McFly, or is that my imagination?

He is from McFly, yeah, good knowledge.

Yeah, I remember, they all jumped on stage afterwards.

OK, Judith.

What is the profession of George Valentin,

the main character of the 2011 film, The Artist?

Well, he's an actor in silent movies.

Actor is fine, you're right.

-You've seen it?

-Yes, I have.

-You like it?

-Adored it, yeah.

-Really?

People love it, yeah.

Jen, which EastEnders character is the son of Kathy and Phil Mitchell?

Is it...?

I'm not sure about this.

I used to watch EastEnders but I don't any more.

I don't think...or maybe I do know. I don't think it's Thomas.

And I'm leaning towards Ben.

Although haven't watched it in years, I think I remember him

being born, so I think it's Ben.

-OK, I'm going to go to Judith, cos you love your EastEnders.

-I do.

-Is she right?

-It is Ben.

-It is Ben.

Well done. OK, your question.

Judith, which actor played the teenage Pip in the BBC's 2011

TV miniseries, Great Expectations?

Was it...?

Can you say that again?

Which actor played the teenage Pip in the BBC's 2011 miniseries,

Great Expectations?

well, Dan Stevens, as far as I know, is the heir in Downton Abbey,

isn't he? And Ben Whishaw is grown-up.

So I think it must... I'm not sure who Douglas Booth is,

but I think it must be him.

You're quite right, it is Douglas Booth.

So, you're level. And it's the third question.

Jen, and if you get this right, maybe a bit of pressure on Judith.

Charles Brackett won three Oscars during the 1940s and '50s,

in which category?

Charles Brackett...

I think that perhaps I'd know if he'd won any acting Oscars,

because I've not heard of his name.

Would I have heard of him if he was a director? Possibly.

It's a guess, really, I haven't heard of him, I think maybe I would

have done if it was directing or acting

so I'm going to go with writing.

Excellent work, it is writing. Brilliant logic, Jen.

So you've got three out of three.

Judith, this to stay in.

Reverend Jim Ignatowski, played by Christopher Lloyd,

was a regular character in which sitcom? Was it...?

I really don't know because I haven't watched any of those.

I don't know. Oh, dear. It's a guess.

Soap.

-Any Eggheads know?

-ALL: Taxi.

Taxi, it is, Judith,

I'm sorry, you've been knocked out in this round.

Jen, well done, through to the final.

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

-Well done, Jen, you're through to the final.

-Thank you.

OK, it's turned around here.

You've lost one brain, your team.

Eggheads have lost one brain, as well.

And the next subject for you is Arts & Books. So who would like this?

Is there a plan?

-There is a plan.

-Ben, I think that's going to have to be you.

-OK.

-Ben, OK. Against?

-I think we should go maybe, try Dave. The unknown.

I think we'll choose Dave.

All right, so, Ben from The Procrastinators versus

Tremendous Knowledge Dave, our newest Egghead.

Please go to the Question Room now.

So, Ben, tell us what you do for a living.

I work for a media company as a technologist.

Meaning that you do all the digital stuff and all that?

Yes, I get to play with websites and applications

and that kind of thing, yeah, it's great fun.

It's moving so fast, isn't it?

You can hardly keep up at times, yeah, there's a lot going on.

OK, good luck to you both.

Three questions on Arts & Books and, Ben,

you can choose the first or the second set.

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go.

What is the title of Jennifer Worth's bestselling trilogy

set in the East End of London in the 1950s? Is it...?

Right...

I think it's Call The Midwife.

I think that cos I haven't heard of the other two.

But I may be wrong, it's not something I know about.

But I'm going to go for Call The Midwife.

Call The Midwife is correct,

and it's become a very successful TV programme, as well.

Well done.

Dave, your question.

The novel, The War Of The Worlds,

by H.G. Wells, was first published in which year?

I think I'll have to go with 1898.

Very good, it was 1898. What made you do that?

I just remember the big,

well, not remember,

I wasn't around at the time, but in the '30s it was

broadcast on the radio, I think, with Orson Welles, wasn't it?

So...that's the only reason I thought it must be a bit

later in the century with those options.

OK. Ben, your question.

Who wrote the novel Maurice, which was not published

until after the author's death in 1970? Was it...?

OK, so...

I haven't heard of J.G. Ballard, again,

unfortunately, I'm going to guess this, because I haven't read that.

But I'm going to guess that it was E.M. Forster.

Based on almost nothing at all.

That's very honest of you.

E.M. Forster is the right answer.

-Oh.

-Oh. Well done. Two points to you.

Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

In the Shakespeare play, Macbeth, Donalbain and Malcolm

are the sons of which character? Is it...?

I don't know the play, at all, which is terrible of me.

I'm going to go for Macduff, but I've got no...

I know people will be shouting out all over the country at me.

But I'll go Macduff.

Let me ask the challengers, anyone know here?

We thought it might be Duncan.

Yeah, it is Duncan, well done.

-Duncan is the answer.

-Fair enough.

-So, you're ahead, Ben.

If you get this one right, you're in the final round,

along with Jen.

What are the approximate dimensions of da Vinci's painting

the Mona Lisa? Is it...?

Right. I always think when I go to galleries,

art's always much smaller than I expect.

So I'm probably thinking, it's smaller

than I initially might think.

So I'll rule out the 107 times 73 centimetres.

So it's probably the 47 or the 77 centimetre.

I may have seen it in a film being stolen and it looked quite big.

So now I'm second-guessing myself a little bit.

Based on films, as well, which is probably not a good thing.

I'm going to stick with what I initially thought,

and say it's smaller than I think and it's 47 times 23 centimetres.

-No, you should have gone down the middle.

-Oh!

-And you were about to, as well.

-Yeah.

-Bad luck.

It is small, even 77 is small.

OK, Dave, your chance to get back into it.

Which sculptor won the 2011 Turner Prize for the installation

Do Words Have Voices?

Turner Prize, I didn't revise it.

I'm going to go for Martin Boyce.

Martin Boyce is the right answer, how did you get that?

It must have been something just in the back of my head,

but I'm a bit annoyed with myself that I didn't know that straightaway.

So, we go to Sudden Death, Ben.

Cos you both got two out of three right.

It's a bit harder, I don't give you alternative answers, OK?

Here is your first question.

Espedair Street and Walking On Glass are novels by which writer?

Unfortunately, back on books, which is really not my strong suit,

I really have no idea, I'm afraid.

-No, I don't have an answer, I'm afraid.

-Worth a guess?

-No, I don't know the answer.

-Dave, do you know?

-I don't know, I wouldn't want to hazard a guess, myself.

-Eggheads?

It's either McEwan or Banks. Is it Banks?

It's Banks, Iain Banks. Iain Banks.

Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Which noted adventurer published a book in 2007

called Mad, Bad, And Dangerous To Know?

Noted adventurer.

I don't really associate him with an adventurer,

but when I think of somebody who's diversified through other things,

I think of Bill Bryson, but I don't really...

Think, or could it be Bear Grylls? Could I just go for that?

Yeah, because Bill Bryson's more of a traveller.

I'll go for Bear Grylls.

-No, it's Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

-Sir Ranulph.

Back to you, Ben, you're still in it.

From 1947 to 1974, Anthony Blunt was director of which art institute?

Trying to think of the names of a few of them.

I'm going to say Royal College of Arts.

No, the Courtauld Institute.

Later exposed as a spy, of course, wasn't he?

OK, Dave, your question.

How is Ivan Petrovitch Voynitsky

referred to in the title of a Chekhov play?

I do hope...

..against hope that it's Uncle Vanya.

Uncle Vanya is the right answer, Dave, well done.

You've got it right, you've got it on Sudden Death.

Sorry, Ben, you've been knocked out

on Arts & Books. What a round.

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

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains,

the Eggheads have lost a brain from the final round

and the last subject before that final is Science.

Where's the scientist?

-I think that's you, Dan, isn't it?

-Dan, OK.

Who are you going to choose?

Against which Egghead?

We should probably take on Daphne.

Yes, I'd like to take on Daphne, please, Jeremy.

Dan from The Procrastinators versus Daphne from the Eggheads.

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

Dan, tell us what you do.

I'm a project manager in the construction industry.

We specialise in glass facades, curtain walling, that kind of thing.

If you imagine the recent extension to King's Cross,

the big curved roof, that's the kind of thing we do.

Wow, big scale.

It is, yeah. Some impressive projects.

OK, so three questions on Science and, Dan,

you can choose the first or the second set.

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go with your first question.

Brine is a solution of water and what? Is it...?

OK, so, oil doesn't really dissolve in water. It separates.

I know it's not sugar. It's salt.

Salt is the correct answer, well done. Daphne, over to you.

Which mammals belong to the genus Capra? Is it...?

Capra. Goats.

No hesitation at all.

No. Like Capricorn and...

Goats is the correct answer. Dan, here's your next question.

Gibbons are native to which continent? Is it...?

Gibbons.

A type of ape or monkey,

I'm not sure the exact distinction.

But I associate them with Africa more than Asia or South America.

OK. Dan,

-Asia is the answer.

-OK.

Gibbons and Asia.

Daphne.

What is the approximate equatorial radius of the Earth?

I can feel the shouting. I just hate figures. And they're in kilometres.

I mean, if it was miles I might have had a...

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, the middle one, 63,800.

I should so this one over to you, Dan, is she right?

You said radius?

-Yes.

-Then the diameter is somewhere just over 10,000, so it's 6,000.

Yeah, it's the smaller one. It's the smaller one, Daphne.

It's a bit like the question on the Mona Lisa, isn't it?

Once you start looking at these

figures, you just go crazy.

So you're equal, she's let you off the hook slightly, Dan.

The Leonids meteor shower, visible in November each year,

is caused by dust in the orbit of which comet?

Is it...?

OK.

I certainly remember Hale-Bopp quite a few years ago.

And same with Shoemaker-Holt.

But I think they are infrequent visitors.

So I think it could well be Tempel-Tuttle, cos I think

the others pass the Earth much more infrequently.

Temepl-Tuttle is your answer and it's correct. Nice play.

Would have been easy to get that wrong.

OK, Daphne. It's the big moment for you.

What had the British chemist

Sir William Henry Perkin initially set out to synthesise

when he accidentally discovered the aniline dye mauveine?

Yes, he was trying to find a cure for malaria, so it's quinine.

Quinine is the right answer. Well done.

We go to Sudden Death, Dan. So, it gets a bit harder,

-I don't give you alternatives. Are you ready?

-Yes.

What type of creatures were Belka and Strelka

who were sent into space by Russia in 1960?

I think, certainly, the first creatures sent into space,

one of the creatures, Laika, was a dog.

But were they also dogs?

I think I will answer dog.

And dog is the correct answer.

Well done on Sudden Death.

So, Daphne, this to stay in.

Gregor Mendel, the Austrian biologist who laid the foundations

for the science of modern genetics, was born in which century?

Oh, dear.

Don't know.

SHE SIGHS

18th?

-No, it's the 19th.

-Oh!

-1822.

So, well done, Dan,

you've triumphed on science.

You've knocked out Daphne. You will be in the final.

Come back to us and we will play that final round.

This is what we've been playing towards, it's time for

the final round, which 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, Ricky and Ben from The Procrastinators,

and Judith and Daphne from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

So, Jen, Dan and Matt,

you're playing to win The Procrastinators £1,000.

Pat, Kevin and Dave, you're playing for something that money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

You can confer.

So, Procrastinators, the question is,

are you three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And would you like to go first or second?

Well, it's worked OK so far,

so we'll continue going first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck to you.

Singe is the French word for which creature?

Monkey. The Eddie Izzard sketch.

Very inappropriate Eddie Izzard sketch, yeah.

We're pretty sure singe is monkey.

Singe is indeed monkey, well done.

Eggheads,

approximately how tall was the English king, Henry VIII?

-He was big, wasn't he?

-Yes, he was a big guy.

Yes, very big, think he was six feet two.

Six foot two is correct. I wonder how they worked that out.

Coffin or from the pictures?

Probably a combination of descriptions, records, yeah,

coffin would come into it.

Suit of armour? >

Suit of armour, yeah. OK, your question.

Who designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge?

I always associate Brunel with that kind of steelwork.

Robert Stephenson, I'm pretty sure is more to do with trains,

early trains.

I think Abraham Darby was Iron Bridge up in the Midlands.

So who do you think?

-Was it a Brunel Bridge?

-Clifton.

I think that's the safe option.

I think we should go for that,

-Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

-We think it's Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

And you're quite right. It is Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Eggheads, to keep up,

which of the Bronte sisters wrote in 1849 novel entitled Shirley?

Is it...?

-Charlotte.

-Charlotte. Yeah.

The other two were actually already dead by then. It was Charlotte.

Charlotte is the right answer.

They know their stuff, don't they? Straight there, as well.

Here's your third question.

Try and get this right, get the pressure on them.

In Wagner's Ring Cycle, what is the name of the dwarf who steals

the gold from the Rhinemaidens?

Is it...?

My Wagner's not up to much, I have to say, unfortunately.

Really don't know, it's going to be a complete guess.

-Do you have any ideas?

-No, no. Unfortunately.

Does anything sound similar to something else?

Do you think they're all from that?

Or do we think they might be from different things?

If anything, I've got a slight leaning to Biterolf, but

I just like the look of the word.

IT sounds like...

I really, really don't know. But I'm happy to go with Biterolf,

just because you've got an inkling for it.

It could be the "F" at the end of the word.

-We're definitely unsure.

-It's one in three, isn't it?

-So we might as well take a guess, do you think that one?

-Yeah.

Now I like the look of Alberich, so...

We're going to go with Biterolf, Jeremy.

Biterolf, cos you like the sound of it. OK, let's see if you're right.

-Do you know?

-Alberich.

Alberich is the answer. No way of guessing that really, is there?

No. No.

OK, so you have a chance to take not just the round, but the contest.

Eggheads, with your third question.

At over 6,700 metres high,

Mount Huascaran is the highest mountain in which country? Is it...?

I don't know, Peru?

It's Peru, isn't it?

Ecuador is Chimborazo, and Colombia's Pico Cristobal Colon.

-Yes. Mount Huascaran's in Peru.

-OK.

-OK, we think that is Peru.

-If you're right, you've taken the contest.

Mount Huascaran is in Peru.

Congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

-It's so often that third question, challengers.

-Yes.

And Alberich, well, you'll go and see the Ring Cycle now.

Certainly. Hours and hours of it.

Commiserations, challengers.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they reign supreme over quizland once again.

I'm afraid that means you won't be going home with the £1,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done, back on track.

I wonder who'll beat you next.

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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