Episode 21 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 taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are On Yer Hike from Cardiff. This team all know one another

through their involvement with the Tiger Bay Ramblers club.

Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Julian. I'm 44 and I'm a local government officer.

Hi. I'm Sue. I'm 43 and I'm a researcher.

Hi. I'm Sean. I'm 47. I'm a communications officer.

Hi. I'm Richard. I'm 42 and I'm a librarian.

Hi. I'm David. I'm 33 and I'm an administrative assistant.

Welcome to you. On Your Hike - yes!

A self-explanatory name there.

Rambling... Tell me, how exerting is it?

-Is it a gentle wander, or are there some pretty long ones?

-It can be gentle.

It can be a little more strenuous.

-It can be pretty damn hard at times as well.

-Especially when Julian's leading us!

It's a great variety of walks. You try to have... We walk every week.

There's a large group - about 200 people.

You don't get everybody out every single time,

but there's a selection of walks.

Sometimes we have a nice easy four-mile stroll in the evening.

Sometimes more moderate - eight, nine, ten miles.

Sometimes much harder than that - 15 miles.

-There's a choice for all levels.

-I see, yes.

With so many different abilities there. What about the 15 miles, then?

At quite a good pace, I suspect?

Um...depends what the weather's like.

Yeah, depends what the weather... And how low the sun is getting.

But it depends on the ability, depends on the group.

If there are people who might be struggling, you slow it down a little bit.

-If they're new. So it varies from walk to walk.

-OK.

Well, we're looking forward to a Geography round if it comes up.

See if you've walked any of the routes. Don't know if it will come up or not.

Let's tell you how things have been going up to the point you've arrived here.

Every day, there's £1,000 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, On Yer Hike, the Eggheads have won the last 24 games.

That means £25,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

That would buy quite a few pairs of boots, wouldn't it?

So, our first head-to-head battle is going to be on Music.

Ah! We were talking about this on the train.

I'm willing to go for it. Shall I go for it?

That will leave...

Were we not going to save you for Arts & Books?

-Do you want to go for it, Sean?

-I'll sacrifice myself.

-You'll do Music?

-We've got to choose an Egghead.

Oh, yes. That's right. So it's going to be Sean and...

They all look very, very good on Music. Daphne?

Well, she knew Guns And Roses' latest album, so...

That was quite impressive.

It impressed me, anyway.

Right!

-Daphne?

-OK.

-OK. We're going for Daphne.

OK. Your plan is to have Sean against Daphne.

OK. Let's have you both in to the Question Room, please.

Right, Sean,

you've found your way to the Question Room, I'm glad to see. You didn't get lost.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Dermot.

OK. First question, Sean. Here it comes.

The 2000 UK hit single Kids

was a collaboration between Robbie Williams

and which female singer?

Now then, when you said Kids,

I thought it was going to be an MGMT single.

Um...

I'm going to guess -

and it is a guess -

I'm going to guess for Kylie.

OK. Guess at Kylie.

Robbie and...

Kylie. Yep, right answer.

Well done.

And Daphne...

According to the song made popular by Rolf Harris,

the ladies of the court of which king were "just passing by"?

# The ladies of the court of... #

King Caractacus.

Yes, that's right. Caractacus.

Correct. And Sean,

under what name did the rapper Snoop Dogg

release reggae music in 2012?

I'm not familiar with all of his stuff,

but I do know this one, actually. It's Snoop Lion.

Snoop Lion is correct, yes.

Daphne,

which group had a UK hit single in 1973

with Part Of The Union?

I was otherwise occupied with five teenagers in the '70s.

Um...

Oh, Lord, doesn't ring a bell.

Status Quo.

Status Quo.

Did your teenagers ever gang up on you?

And sing "You don't get me, I'm part of the union"?

By...The Strawbs.

-Strawbs.

-Oh!

Well, good news, Sean.

You are straight through to the final round with a correct answer here.

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 14

was given the nickname "Moonlight Sonata"

because it was compared to the moonlight shining on which body of water?

I'm going to rule out Lake Superior...

because...

that's Canada, so obviously,

um...it's...

..between Lucerne and Lake Como.

I'm going to go...

..with Lake Lucerne.

Lake Lucerne.

Have you ever walked round it, or near it?

It's one that's on my list. I haven't been there yet,

but there's certainly some good mountains behind it.

Well, it's the right answer as well - even better!

It's booked you that place in the final round.

As I said, we don't put another question to Daphne. She's out of the game.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

Well, at the first time of asking, On Yer Hike

have knocked an Egghead out.

Of course, they're all still there.

And our second subject today is Film & Television.

Who'd like to play this?

-Got to be me, unless you want to do it?

-You go ahead if you want.

-It's the captain doing this one.

-OK, Julian, and choose an Egghead.

Let's have a look.

Kevin?

-Um...

-Judith?

-I think Judith, yes.

I think I'll take Judith on Film & TV, please.

OK. Sounds like you've done meticulous research on the Eggheads' strengths and weaknesses.

It's Julian and Judith, then, playing this one.

Both of you, head to the Question Room, please.

Well, Julian, you get to choose. Do you want to go first or second?

I think I'll go first, please.

This is your first question, then, Julian.

Which English actor played Batman's enemy, Bane,

in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises?

I think I'm one of the few people in the country who hasn't seen this yet,

but I do know it was Tom Hardy.

And the answer is...yes, Tom Hardy.

Well done.

Judith, which character in a British sitcom

fakes his own death by leaving his clothes on a beach?

I think... Definitely not Captain Mainwaring.

I think it was Reginald Perrin.

Reggie Perrin is correct, yes.

Back to you, Julian. What was the name of the character played by Will Mellor in Hollyoaks?

Curly, Lofty or Jambo...

I was looking at the list of characters of Hollyoaks.

I thought I'd never remember any of them.

So let me just have a... See if I can...

bring something back from my memory now.

I'm going to go for Curly.

OK. You looked at the list.

OK, well, you didn't remember it!

-It's Jambo.

-Jambo.

Not Curly.

OK, well, a chance for Judith to take the lead.

Judith, the 1970s television drama Follyfoot

centred around a young girl's passion for which animals?

When I was young, I had a pony called Folly.

Um, so I hope it's horses.

Horses at Follyfoot Farm, wasn't it? It's the right answer.

Yep, horses, so you have that lead.

Julian needs this, then.

Woody, Lol, Shaun and Smell

are characters in which TV series?

Right, I've seen a couple of episodes of Shameless.

And I think I've seen one of Being Human.

None of them ring a bell. I've never seen anything of This Is England '88.

So, on that very vague process of elimination,

I'm going to go for the middle one - This Is England '88.

OK. Back on track. The compass went a bit awry with that second one,

but you've got it - This Is England '88.

And Judith

has a chance, though, to take the round.

Who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal

of country star Loretta Lynn in the film Coal Miner's Daughter?

Um, I didn't see it.

But I don't know. Something is...

..calling me to Sissy Spacek.

So that's what I'm going to say.

-Sissy Spacek.

-Yes.

It's the right answer, Judith.

Oh, it was a good inkle.

A very good inkle. That Hollyoaks question

has cost Julian a place in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

Well, the Eggheads have just caught up.

It's all square at the moment. Both teams have lost one brain from the final round.

Let's get our next subject out.

This one is Science.

-Who wants to play this?

-That'll be me!

-We have one candidate for Science.

-I'm a scientist.

OK, Sue, who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

-Dave?

-Any votes?

I'm leaning towards Dave.

-Dave?

-Dave, OK.

-Is this democratic or do I get to choose?

-You get to choose.

-Go on.

-I'll go Dave, then.

-OK. Well, you have to play him, exactly.

Let's have Sue, then, and Dave into the Question Room, please.

So, Sue, what particular kind of scientist are you?

Well, I'm a researcher at the moment.

I did my first degree in physics

and then I decided that I wanted to do something

in the medical field,

so I trained as a medical physicist

and now I do work for NICE,

the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

and we help to assess medical technology for them.

OK. Right, well, a lot of expertise to bring to bear on the subject.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first for a change.

I always was going to go second, but I'll go first.

OK, electing to kick off, Sue. Best of luck.

Often found on marine creatures,

the organ known as a photophore emits what?

Well, "photo" means light, so I'm going to go straight for light.

It's the right answer, yes. As you well know.

And Dave,

the orang-utan is native to which continent?

It's Asia.

Yes, it is.

Neither of you beating around the bush there with your first two.

Straight in. And back to Sue straight away

for your second question.

What was the name of the space capsule

in which John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth?

Um, there's nothing there to help me in the names.

Nothing seems to apply to orbit...

I don't know why it would be called Goddard.

Maybe Friendship, because it's...circling the globe.

And I can't think what Enos might mean,

unless it was an acronym for something.

I'm going to...

I think I'm going to plump for Friendship, I think.

First man orbiting the Earth.

-Well, the first American, remember.

-Yes, sorry.

They were rather beaten to it.

Um...it is the right answer, yes.

Friendship 7.

Well worked out.

And Dave, Woods Hole is the largest independent oceanographic institution in which country?

Never heard of it.

I'm going to rule out South Africa.

So USA or Canada.

Er...Woods Hole.

Canada.

No, Dave, it is the USA.

USA, yes, fair enough.

Woods Hole is in the USA.

-Any other Egghead tell me precisely where?

-Massachusetts.

Oh! For some reason, I thought it would be on the Pacific.

-I don't know why.

-No, it's on the other side.

OK. Woods Hole in Massachusetts.

Well, that's good news for you, Sue.

This, as you saw with Sean,

if you get it right... He was in a similar position. If you get this right,

you guarantee your place in the final round.

Which creatures are the natural hosts

of the Nipah virus,

which particularly attacks the respiratory systems of humans and pigs?

Um...

I don't know. I thought I might know the answer

when you asked the question, but I don't recognise any of those.

Options...

Um...salamanders are...

Is it salamanders that are highly poisonous

if they bite you or something?

Fruit bats...

Pretty sure it's not armadillos.

Um...I think probably...

they don't come close enough to humans.

Salamanders... Am I getting salamanders wrong?

Salamanders are...

..fire lizards, aren't they?

Which are the ones that are very poisonous if they bite you,

cos they're really dirty or something? Is that salamanders?

And can you get something from bat guano?

Oh, this isn't really... I could go round in circles for hours.

So, I'm going to have to guess with...

..salamanders.

OK. Salamanders. I just wondered, listening to that...

Let me ask the Eggheads in the studio. Do you think Sue

was getting mixed up between her salamanders and her Komodo dragons?

-That's it!

-Was it Komodo dragons? You were saying "fire".

-I would think it's fruit bats.

-It's fruit bats.

-Oh!

-Fruit bats.

So...

Well, a let-off for Dave.

But not out of the woods - get it?

Yeah, oh, yeah. Still in a hole. Yeah.

-That's right!

-Carry on.

You need to get this.

Which British company was behind the Leo series -

and that's Leo as in the lion...

Which British company was behind the Leo series of computers in the 1950s,

the first computers to be used for personal business applications?

I can't see why it would be J Lyons.

Um...

or Trusthouse Forte.

I'm going to go ICI, but...

with no... I've not heard about this.

But I'd go ICI.

OK. ICI, and I can see why.

Um...

but Daphne's saying no. Why not?

It's Lyons, and I actually worked for them

for about a month,

and I put everybody on the wrong tax week in the pay office,

and everybody got a tax refund!

Well, good for you!

It stands for Lyons Electronic Office.

Well, well, well.

Well, Dave, Daphne's saying

she actually worked for J Lyons,

-which is the answer we were looking for.

-OK.

J Lyons, at the time,

-and LEO is an acronym, standing for Lyons...

-Electronic Office.

Lyons Electronic Office.

Yep. So J Lyons is what we wanted here.

Daphne's given us that explanation. Sue, no harm done with your salamanders.

-Yay!

-You're through to the final round.

Will you both please come back and join your teams.

Well, forged back into the lead, On Yer Hike.

You've now knocked two Eggheads out, and they've only knocked out one of you.

So, we reach our last head-to-head.

Who's going to lose out in this?

It's History.

Who wants to play? We've got Richard or David.

-Yeah, I'm happy to...

-It's going to be David, I think.

I guess.

Who do you want? Chris or Kevin?

You've got Kevin or Chris.

Kevin's very strong on History.

Not that Chris is at all weak on History!

LAUGHTER

Just not as strong as Kevin, perhaps.

But it's up to you.

-Terrifyingly strong Kevin!

-Are you sure?

Like you say, I don't think there's much to choose.

Chris. Chris it is.

OK, we're going to have David and Chris contesting our last head-to-head.

Could I ask you both, please, to go to the Question Room.

And so, David, do you want to go first or second in this round?

First, please.

OK, it's History. First question for you, David.

What name is given to the type of enclosed seat carried on poles by two or more bearers

that became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries?

Is it sedan chair?

OK, sedan chair,

which, funnily enough, is the right answer.

Yeah, sedan chair,

identified by David.

And Chris, your first question.

Which queen was executed after being implicated in the Babington Plot of 1586?

Which queen was executed

after being implicated in the Babington Plot of 1586?

After being imprisoned in Fotheringhay,

it was Mary Queen of Scots.

Yes, it was. That's correct.

And David, in American history,

what nickname, taken from the name of a work by Mark Twain,

was given to the period after the Civil War?

I've no idea.

I'm going to say...

..Gilded Age.

Gilded Age...

is correct. Well done, David.

You have two.

And Chris, who famously called the Seven Years' War of the 18th century

"a world war, the first in history"?

Well, it wouldn't have been Napoleon Bonaparte.

And I don't think George Washington would have referred to it

as a world war either.

He got his own fish to fry.

But since he was a historian as well as all the other things he was,

I'll have to go with Winston Churchill.

And that's correct, Chris. Well done.

2-2.

Onto your third questions. David,

which Roman emperor was murdered in 350AD

on behalf of the usurper Magnus Magnentius?

I've got nothing on this one either, so...

I'll just say Marcus Aurelius.

OK, Marcus Aurelius - not really got a handle on that.

And you haven't got it - it's incorrect.

Chris, do you know, of the other two?

It wasn't Tiberius. It was Constans I.

Yes, it was Constans I.

Only out of interest, of course - not your question.

We don't pass them over.

Chris. In 1897,

the Swedish adventurer, SA Andree,

made an ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole,

using which form of transport?

Yes, he disappeared for years and years

and they found the wreck with the...

with photographs preserved in it of the crash of the hydrogen balloon.

Called the Ornen, if I remember right.

Swedish for "eagle".

OK, well, you really know about it,

so no toying with you. I will confirm straight away

it's the correct answer - hydrogen balloon.

And gets you floating

into the final round, and no place for you, David.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

So this is what we've been playing towards. Time now for the final round,

which, as always, 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 Julian and David from On Yer Hike

and Dave and Daphne from the Eggheads,

time to leave the studio, please.

So, Sue, Sean and Richard, you're playing to win On Yer Hike £25,000,

as you probably know.

And Judith, Kevin and Chris,

you're playing for something which money can't buy - your reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

And so, On Yer Hike, the question is...

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And, On Yer Hike, do you want to go first or second?

We'll go first, please.

Well, a lot of money riding on what could be

two or three questions.

And off we go.

What is the occupation of Mikael Blomkvist,

the central male character in Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo?

What is the occupation of Mikael Blomkvist,

the central male character

in Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo?

-I knew that before the answers came up. It's journalist.

-Are you sure?

-Absolutely certain.

-OK.

We feel quite confident on this one. We think it's a journalist.

Sue knows. Have you read them all?

No, I saw the film.

That'll do. It's 007, isn't it?

Daniel Craig.

-No, the original one.

-Oh, the Swedish one.

OK. And the answer is journalist, yes. Well done.

And Eggheads, lomi lomi is a traditional massage,

most often associated with where?

Lomi lomi - L-O-M-I repeated -

is a traditional massage, most often associated with where?

-Not Ireland.

-No.

-The repetition suggest Hawaii.

-It does to me.

But...

Don't think it would be South Africa.

No.

-It sounds Hawaiian.

-Sounds Hawaiian, doesn't it?

-Yep.

It sounds Hawaiian to us, so we'll try Hawaii.

-Hawaii?

-Yes.

It's the right answer, yes.

OK. On Yer Hike...

here's your next question.

In Norse mythology, what type of item was Brisingamen,

made by the dwarves for the goddess Freyja?

In Norse mythology, what type of item was Brisingamen,

made by the dwarves for the goddess Freyja?

Dwarves aren't going to make a cloak.

I suspect...

-I'd say a chalice.

-Really?

What's Freyja the goddess of?

There was a book, wasn't there?

The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen or something.

-Right.

-I don't know if that's the same word exactly.

How do you spell the word?

B-R-I-S-I-N-G-A-M-E-N.

Does that help?

-It's similar.

-We're saying probably...

-Necklace or chalice?

A necklace - obviously, a goddess would wear a necklace.

But could she potentially have a chalice as well?

Norse dwarves. What would Norse dwarves do?

-Mine gems or...?

-They drink a lot.

They drink a lot, don't they?

-In their halls.

-Yes.

Freyja. Freyja was, um...

the consort of Odin, wasn't she?

Does that help?

So your first instinct is chalice?

That was an instinct, but...

We don't know.

Nobody knows. My first instinct would be for necklace.

But...maybe it could be a cloak.

Oh! Shall we go down the middle? I don't know. You say chalice.

One answer each.

Then I'll decide.

Um...

Cloak!

Chalice.

OK. After great deliberation,

we still haven't got a clue.

Um...we'll go for a cloak.

Oh! OK.

A lot of debate about necklace or chalice, and then

suddenly cloak's come back into it all.

And what do you think, Eggheads? Do you know?

Dwarves tended to be metalworkers.

-OK.

-But it could very easily be that.

I'm trying to think - there's a story, a novel

by our children's writer, Alan Garner,

which is called The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.

I've been trying to remember

what the item was.

At some point, there was a cloak of invisibility

that was involved in something.

So, basically, we don't know.

Yes. Well, thank you for that, Kevin. Brisingamen. And, er...

well, kind of confirming several of those -

chalice and cloak, I suppose.

But it's necklace.

It's necklace.

That's where I went first.

That was your first instinct, wasn't it?

But really, bounced around there and landed on cloak.

So, Eggheads, your second question.

As worn by Eskimos, what are mukluks?

As worn by Eskimos, what are mukluks?

-A pair of boots?

-I don't know.

-Boots.

-You're absolutely sure on boots?

-Yes.

Because there are gloves.

Er, OK.

We're going to go with boots.

Boots.

Daphne urging you on there.

It's the right answer, yes. Boots.

She can't help, though.

And it means you need to get this, On Yer Hike.

Which sports stadium in California

was the venue for the Beatles' last official concert in 1966?

Which sports stadium in California

was the venue for the Beatles' last official concert in 1966?

Is the Rose Bowl in California?

Any of those springing out at you?

The only one I know is Candlestick Park.

You know where that is?

I think it's in San Francisco.

But I...you know...

The others are probably all in California as well.

None of them ring any bells with me.

If the Candlestick Park IS in California...

Shall we go...?

We've got no better things to go with, really, have we?

I'm afraid we're guessing again.

But purely because we think it's in California,

we'll go with Candlestick Park.

Candlestick Park, which you actually

said was in San Francisco.

-I think so.

-It's the...

right answer!

It's correct.

It is in San Francisco, isn't it? Isn't it the home of the 49ers?

That's right. It was, yes.

Well, well done there, On Yer Hike.

But the Eggheads still have a chance to win it here.

Buckfast Abbey in Devon

is run by monks of which order?

Buckfast Abbey in Devon

is run by monks of which order?

They're definitely not Carmelite, because they're enclosed.

-Definitely not Carmelite.

-I'm sure it's Benedictine.

I think it's Benedictine.

I'm not 100% certain.

I'm not 100%.

But we all said Benedictine first off.

OK, yes. Fair enough.

We're not 100% on this one -

it's between Benedictine and Augustinian -

but our first instinct from all of us was Benedictine.

So sticking with that.

OK. Going for Benedictine.

It's correct.

It's won you the game. Well done, Eggheads.

Oh, bad luck, On Yer Hike.

You did really well in those head-to-heads. It was all square in those head-to-heads.

-Should have gone with necklace!

-Yes, should have gone with necklace.

We wouldn't have got the next one anyway. Can you tell us the next question?

Tell you what, though, this lot look like they need a bit of God's clean air in their lungs.

We'll send them down to you. You can take them for a nice 15-mile ramble up the hills!

That'll sort 'em out.

OK. Well, thank you very much indeed for taking on the Eggheads today. Not to be, though.

It means the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £25,000,

which means, of course, 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.

£26,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd