Episode 10 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.

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 taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Spare Ribs from Wales.

This friends and family team can often be found testing their

brain cells at the Sunday night quiz at the Fisherman's Rest in Bedwas in Caerphilly.

Let's meet them.

Sut mae, I am Lydia,, I'm 32 and I am a call centre worker.

Sut mae, my name's Kath, I'm 54 and I am a nurse.

Sut mae, I am Laura, I'm 32 and a full-time mum.

Sut mae, I'm Sheila, I'm 58 and a primary school teacher.

Sut mae, I am Anne, I am 67, I am retired postmistress.

Welcome to you, Spare Ribs.

-And named after Adam's rib in the biblical story?

-That is idea, yes.

Tell me about the quizzing, that is what we are most interested in.

Most of us quiz on Sunday in different teams.

I am on one team and mum is on another so we have a bit of rivalry there.

They usually beat us but that is because that is more of them.

Weight of numbers. We don't want to start a family conflict with you.

You have joined forces today,

why did you decide to take on the Eggheads?

Did you feel that the Fishermen's Rest was too small platform?

-Yeah, we need to move on now.

-On to the network stage.

Let me tell you what has been happening.

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

however, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads the prize-money rolls over to the next show.

So, Spare Ribs, the Eggheads have won the last 13 games

and that means that £14,000 says you cant beat them.

OK, let's play. Let's see what comes up. Our first head-to-head is a sport.

Oh, no. Nancy.

That's you as the sacrificial lamb!

-She's our secret weapon.

-OK, sport it is!

You get to choose any Egghead you like because it is the opening round.

Who looks really delighted at the sound of sport?

Judith? Judith, then.

OK, Let's have Anne and Judith into the question room, please,

to make sure you can't confer.

So, Anne, are you a sporty type? Do you participate or watch or what?

I used to play a lot of hockey.

I do like watching sport

but I am afraid I forget as much as I remember.

Certain sports are not going to be too bad.

Sounds a bit like what Judith would have said

if I'd asked her that. Anne, would you like to go first second?

I think I would like to go first, please, Dermot.

Right, let's get the first question under way. It is coming to you, Anne.

Which former Newcastle United player became a regular pundit

on Match Of The Day following his retirement in 2006?

Well now, football is a bit like hockey, 11 players on the field.

I think...

it wasn't Peter Beardsley and I am fairly sure it wasn't Kieron Dyer,

-and I think that I am right in saying it is Alan Shearer.

-Alan Shearer.

You're right. Well done, yes. Good start.

Judith. Which cyclist has the nickname the Manx Missile?

-I think that is Mark Cavendish.

-Why?

I'm just hoping for the best!

You're meant to say, "He is from the Isle of Mann!"

Yes, he is from the Isle of Man.

That is the right answer, Mark Cavendish. You got it.

Well done.

Anne, In 2010, Danny Cipriani signed for which Australian rugby union team?

This is a difficult one because although I am from Wales

and I do like my rugby... I don't follow it in Australia.

It is going to be a bit of a guess this time.

I suppose coming from New South Wales I ought to say that.

But I'm going to say the Melbourne Rebels.

You mean coming from old South Wales. The have the new one.

New South Wales. You thought you should have said that

but instead you went for the Melbourne rebels

and you got the right answer. Well done!

You have two. Can Judith match it?

Which golfer made history in 2012

when, aged 14, he became the youngest player in the U.S Open history?

Goodness me. I have no idea. I'm going to say Andy Zhang.

Right. OK.

-Eggheads, do we think she's right?

-Yes, I think she is.

It is the right answer, well done. You have two.

Anne, there's a very good start.

Let's see if you can get this and put the pressure on Judith.

Dana Zatopkove, wife of the runner Emil Zatopek, won a gold medal

at the 1952 Olympics in which athletics event?

1952 is just a little bit

early for my memories of Olympics, I remember Zatopek.

He was a runner, would she have run with him?

Would she have jumped away from him? Would she have thrown a javelin at him?

-That is a good series of questions.

-Maybe all three.

I'm going to go for the javelin.

OK, you have an unerring eye, Anne. It is the right answer. Well done.

Are you Daphne in disguise? I can hear the football fans singing.

Well done. The pressure is on Judith.

In 2012, the street previously known as Stick Strasse in the German town

of Halle was renamed in honour of which tennis player?

Oh... Halle. why would they name it after Roger Federer?

Martina Hingis, I'm not sure what nationality she is.

And Stanislas Wawrink sounds Polish. Why would they name...

-Martina Hingis.

-OK, Martina Hingis.

It is not the right answer, it is Roger Federer.

Judith did not provide Roger Federer there.

Anne, that means we provide you with a place in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

After that, the Spare Ribs, no one spare there.

The Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

Our next subject is film and television. Who wants to play this?

That is you, Sheila. Go on. It'll have to be Sheila.

Is it going to be you, Sheila? OK, Sheila. And choose an Egghead, it can't be Judith, she's just played.

Who do you fancy? Chris, do you think?

Go on. You're picking on Chris.

I would say Chris, till he's gone!

Let's be crystal clear about this, we have Sheila and Chris

playing the film and television round,

could you both please go to the question room?

Film and television, do you want to go first or second?

I will go first, please.

OK, Sheila, good luck.

In which TV programme first seen in 1977 were contestants

required to tackle an army assault course?

I know this because I used to watch this religiously every week,

and it was The Krypton Factor.

-Surely it was Mastermind, Chris?

-Oh yes.

They used to put us through it something cruel.

The mental assault course. Of course it was The Krypton Factor.

Well done, Sheila.

Chris, which comedian played a pop quiz champion called

Jeff Maltby in the sitcom Benidorm?

I don't think Bill Bailey or Vic Reeves have ever been in Benidorm

so it is Johnny Vegas.

It is, correct.

Sheila, who co-write and starred in the comedies Pulling and Dead Boss?

I have no idea about this whatsoever.

I don't think it was Sarah Millican. I don't know.

I think I'm going to go with Sandi Toksvig.

Sandi Toksvig for Pulling and Dead Boss?

No, it isn't Sarah Millican, it's Sharon Horgan.

She's multitalented, co-wrote and starred in them both.

Chris, how many Oscars were won by the 2010 film the King's Speech?

Yes, it was rather badly done by, wasn't it?

I think it only got one, much to everyone's annoyance. One.

-One, Eggheads are very annoyed about that, what is it, Eggheads?

-Four.

It is four. All square then.

Right, it's all square then. Still, Sheila, no harm done

with both of you not getting your second question correct.

And this for you - who starred as Christopher Ewing

in the 2012 comeback series of Dallas?

Oh, I've been meaning to watch this. And I haven't yet. Um...

I think I'm going to go with Jesse Metcalf.

OK, Jesse Metcalf for another tick on the board.

You've got it. It's correct.

Chris, well, you need this.

The singer Deborah Harry starred in which science fiction film

directed by David Cronenberg?

Oh, yes, a very raunchy dream type sequence, wasn't it? In Videodrome.

Yes, Debbie Harry in Videodrome, it's the right answer, Chris.

OK, Sheila. Well, both done pretty well here.

You've got two each out of three,

so it means we have to go to sudden death to sort out a winner,

so no more options are going to be shown to you. Here is your question.

Which 1975 film has Tina Turner, Jack Nicholson, Elton John,

Eric Clapton and Roger Daltrey amongst its cast members?

I went to see this, and I think it's Tommy.

It's the right answer - you went to see it, you've got it.

Tommy is correct.

OK, Chris needs this again.

The Oscar-nominated song Baby Mine

featured in which Walt Disney animated film?

Hmm, that's from Dumbo.

It is, yes. Dumbo. Well identified, Chris.

OK, more work to do, Sheila.

Which British actor appeared in the films Thor, War Horse

and Archipelago?

I have only seen War Horse out of all those three. Erm... Oh...

-No, I can't think.

-OK.

-Do you know, Chris?

-No. I don't.

-Bit too contemporary for you, isn't it?

-Mm.

Other Eggheads, I'm sure one of you will know.

-Benedict Cumberbatch?

-No, not Benedict Cumberbatch.

Jeremy Irvine?

No, it's Tom Hiddleston.

He plays a baddie in Thor. Loki.

OK, Tom Hiddleston, no-one got it.

It means you've got a chance to win it this time, Chris.

Which Canadian-born US film actress for the United Artists Corporation

in 1919 with Charlie Chaplin, DW Griffith and Douglas Fairbanks?

That was American Sweetheart, Mary Pickford.

That's more your era. Mary Pickford is the correct answer.

Chris, you've squeaked through.

you took him to the wire, but it wasn't to be.

Thank you for playing the round, but you won't be in the final.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, bad luck there, Sheila.

As it stands, the Spare Ribs have lost one brain from the final round

and the Eggheads have lost one. It's all square

as we head into our third head-to-head.

This subject is Science.

-That's me.

-That's definitely you.

-That's Laura.

-Is that you, Laura?

-We're working our way along the line!

-I can see that.

Creeping up, creeping barrage.

Laura, who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Chris and Judith have played, so you have Pat, Barry or Daphne.

-Go on, I'll try Daphne.

-I would.

She looks kind of kindly and nice but I think it's a bit deceptive.

-Yeah, I'll give her a go.

-You might be disabused of that

when you get into the Question Room. Sadly disappointed.

OK, let's have Laura and Daphne into the Question Room, please.

Laura, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

OK, good luck, Laura. Here you go.

In chemistry,

what name is given to an element which is present in tiny amounts?

Erm...

I'm not 100% sure, but I think trace element sounds familiar

and it sounds a bit more scientific, so I'll go for trace element.

Yeah, sounds scientific - it is the right answer, well done.

Daphne, the koala is native to which continent?

Been there, seen one - Australia.

Been there, seen one? Seen plenty, I would suspect.

Australia will do for that answer.

Laura, second question,

what is the name of the instrument based on a quarter of a circle

formerly used to measure the altitude of astronomical bodies?

I am not sure about this one.

Quadrangle is a square, they seem to have those in old universities.

Ooh... A quadrille sounds a bit like some kind of dance.

-I am going to go quadrant, that was my first thought...

-OK.

Quadrant is correct, yes.

Well done. And...

Daphne, what name is given to natural gas which is

corrosive due to a high hydrogen sulphide content?

Oh...

No, not heard of it.

I mean, they all sound plausible.

Sour gas?

Guess, is that?

-Corrosive - sour?

-Oh, I see.

-That's all you've based it on?

-Yes.

It's the right answer, yes.

In they go, time after time, Daphne and her guessing!

Always something there, though.

She's always got a bit of an inkling.

Well, you're going well, Laura. Let's see if you can keep it up.

ALICE, a substance whose name comes from its main

ingredients of aluminium powder and ice, was developed as what?

They all sound slightly plausible.

I suppose the food preservative thing could be, like, keeping it cold

and same with local anaesthetic, although...

..I'm not sure how effective that will be if it was just...

You'd have to give someone frostbite, I think, to...

I'm going to rule out local anaesthetic.

I don't know how reactive aluminium is,

so I'm going to go food preservative.

OK, food preservative with aluminium powder and ice.

It's not a local anaesthetic,

but it's not a food preservative. It's a rocket propellant.

OK, well, you didn't get that. Let's see how Daphne does here.

The Exploratorium, founded by Frank Oppenheimer in 1969,

is a science museum in which US city?

-Wow.

-Wow.

-No, not one I have heard of.

-Good.

-Good.

-So now we're into a guess, which is usually bad.

Chicago.

Other Eggheads, do you think she's right?

-None of us have any idea.

-They're baffled too.

Another baffling question.

Normally one of the Eggheads knows it, but it's San Francisco.

-Oh!

-The Exploratorium.

Which means

you live to fight another day, Laura. Great news.

And not so great news is, it's sudden death.

So, as you saw before, you won't be getting any choices. Here you are.

In 1929, the inaugural Max Planck Medal was shared by Max Planck

and which other scientist?

I really don't know

so I'm just going to have to go for a pure guess and say Isaac Einstein.

-Is that your answer?

-Yeah, that's my answer.

Oh, dear.

Laura, we have to take first names and surnames.

-It's

-Albert

-Einstein.

-Oh, gosh.

Oh, no...

You're obviously thinking of the right guy.

Sorry, I don't know what's come over me.

-I've obviously had a bit of a panic.

-I feel bad. Albert Einstein.

But it is a hard and fast rule in Eggheads,

we need a correct first name and surname.

Daphne, the Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star City, Moscow

is named after whom?

-Yuri Gagarin.

-You're saying Yuri Gagarin.

-Yeah.

-And you got his first name right.

It's the right answer, yes, Yuri Gagarin.

Laura, that was so, so close. I'm so sorry.

It means you won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

Well, Laura, one thing is for sure,

-you'll never get Albert Einstein's name wrong again.

-Definitely not!

Bad luck there.

But, as it stands, the Spare Ribs have lost two brains

from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one

and it could still be all square in that final round because

we've got one last head-to-head to play and this one is Politics.

And you have come up the line and it's Kath or Lydia.

Yeah, we were coming up the line but that's my subject, I'm afraid!

We shared them out and I'm on that one.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Daphne just played there so you have, in the middle there,

Barry and Pat.

I think they're both brilliant.

They both know loads.

Shall we go for Pat? Because I think he's younger,

so he might have missed some things that were ages ago.

-We'll go for Pat, I think.

-Very diplomatic there.

You see, it's the designer beard now that makes him look a lot younger.

Let's have Lydia and Pat into the Question Room, please.

OK, Lydia, let's see if you can dispatch Pat

and make it all square in the final round.

Would you like to go first or second?

Well, everyone else has gone first so I'll go first as well.

Good luck, Lydia. First question on politics. In 2011,

who was appointed by Boris Johnson as Ambassador for Street Parties?

OK, I didn't hear this on the news. I can't see it being Ann Widdecombe.

She doesn't really seem like the street party type, I don't think.

And maybe Helen Mirren is too busy doing proper acting things,

but Barbara Windsor is a sort of woman of the people,

as sort of party-ish type person.

So as an educated-ish guess, I'll say Barbara Windsor.

Seems logical. It is the right answer. Well done.

Pat, which political spouse contested the seat of North Thanet

at the 1983 general election?

I don't think Miriam Clegg has ever contested a seat.

I think it is Cherie Blair. I think it was her first outing.

OK, first and unsuccessful outing in 1983. It's the right answer.

Well done.

Lydia,

which term is used to refer to countries that avoid

alliances and political relations with other countries?

OK, we did a bit of this in school at A-level history.

Like the United States. I think it is isolationist.

And isolationist policy is the right answer. Well done, Lydia.

You have two.

And Pat, the 2011 agreement between the British government and several

major banks was named after which character from Arthurian legend?

I'm not sure that there is any deep significance in the name,

but I think they called it Merlin.

Project Merlin is the right answer, so, all square

and Lydia, this is the point where some of your colleagues failed,

let's get you past the third question

and put some real pressure on Pat.

In 2004, Nicolas Sarkozy became leader of which political party?

-OK, let me think about it for a minute.

-Of course!

And establish if he is left-wing or right-wing, make sure I don't panic.

And do a Laura.

For no particular reason other than it maybe sounds right

and because of the time, people moving towards the centre, like

New Labour, although that was a bit earlier, I will try the New Centre.

The New Centre for a man who went on to become President of France.

It is not the right answer, no. Do you know, Pat, from the other two?

-I think it's in the middle. I think it's the UMP.

-Yes.

Pat, this is your question, the controversial politician

Earl Butz was created Agriculture Secretary by which US President?

This was a very colourful man,

whose most famous quotes can't be repeated at this time of the day.

Scarcely credible. But I think he was linked with Nixon.

It's the right answer, Pat.

Bad luck, Lydia, you just didn't get that third question.

Means you won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

So this is what we have been playing towards, time for the final round,

which as always, is general knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head to heads,

won't be able to take part in this round.

So, Lydia, Laura and Sheila from the Spare Ribs

and Judith from the Eggheads, would you all leave the studio, please?

So, Kath and Anne, you are playing to win the Spare Ribs £14,000.

Daphne, Chris, Barry and Pat, you are playing for something

which money cannot buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

but this time the questions are all general knowledge.

And you are allowed to confer.

So the question is, are your two brains

better than the Eggheads' four?

And Kath and Anne, would you like to go first or second?

I think we'll go first...

I think we'll go first, Dermot, please.

Lovely stuff. OK, playing for £14,000, here is your first question.

Dreich and mizzle are terms referring to which type of weather?

I think we can rule out sunny, they don't sound sunny words.

We don't have much sunny anyway.

And they sound Scottish, so that makes sense.

-Shall we go for rainy?

-Yes.

-We'll go for rainy, Dermot.

-Rainy, based on the general climate.

Yes, it's the right answer.

-Mizzle is such a wonderful word. Not wonderful weather.

-That's right.

Mist and drizzle.

OK, Eggheads, what was the name of the investment bank whose

bankruptcy in 2008 was the biggest in US history?

-Yes, it is Lehman Bros, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

-It was Lehman Bros.

The right answer.

So, all square and back to the Spare Ribs.

Arch, arch gravity and gravity are types of what type of structure?

-It doesn't sound like a dam to me.

-It doesn't sound like a tower to me.

-I think we're both leaning towards bridge.

-I'm not sure about dam.

-I don't know, we are ruling out tower, aren't we?

-I think we are.

It's between bridge and dam.

-OK, shall we go for a bridge?

-Yes.

-OK.

I think, it's a bit of a guess, but we're going to go for bridge, please.

Bridge with those arches there, clearly.

But it's not the right answer. Eggheads.

-They're dams.

-They are dams.

As we heard discussed there, dams were thought of.

Where'd you get gravity? What's the arch gravity and gravity?

A gravity dam is one which does not rely on the structural

strength of the dam, but its sheer mass is just so enormously huge

and heavy that that acts as the mechanism.

Thanks for clearing that up. Your second question.

Nina Conti became best known in which field of entertainment?

-She's the daughter of Tom Conti. She's a ventriloquist, I think.

-Yes?

Nina Conti. I think she's Tom Conti's daughter.

And I think she is a gifted ventriloquist.

All right.

Pat believes she is the daughter of Tom Conti

and that she is a gifted ventriloquist.

If I could throw my voice, I'd have answered this question properly.

But we'll go for ventriloquist.

It is lucky I can see Pat's hands or I would think he was operating you.

He knew the answer and you didn't. It is the right answer, yes.

Nina Conti, daughter of Tom Conti, a ventriloquist.

OK, means you need to get this, then and best of luck with it. Kath and Anne.

The Benue is the main tributary of which river?

-Any ideas?

-No, but I know the Nile

has the White Nile and the Blue Nile.

-I don't think it's the Nile.

-Niger and the Congo.

It's a 50/50 guess, if we're ruling out the Nile. Shall we go for Congo?

It's certainly a very big basin, the Congo.

It would probably have lots of tributaries.

-It could be one we haven't hear of.

-Yes.

-OK.

-We'll try the Congo, Dermot.

OK, the Congo. What do you think, Eggheads, is it Congo?

-I would have gone for the Niger myself.

-It is the Niger.

Oh, bad luck. Both those last two answers,

which you haven't got have been so plausible.

So plausible, but I'm afraid it is incorrect, which means,

Eggheads, you have won.

Well, you really did have some bad luck, I think, Spare Ribs,

both in terms of the categories that came up,

but I think you probably didn't really want some of them

and might have preferred some of the ones that didn't come up,

but also the questions you got and how you dealt with them,

in particular, thinking of Laura's fantastic effort.

So near, but so far. The main thing is, did you enjoy yourselves?

-Oh, yes, we have.

-That's what we came for.

-We weren't interested in the money.

-No!

-No!

Much(!)

-LAUGHTER

-Well, that's the right attitude.

Thank you very much indeed for bringing it into the studio

here with the Eggheads.

The Eggheads today have done what comes increasingly naturally

to them and their winning streak goes on.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £14,000.

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.

£15,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd