Episode 34 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, where five quiz challengers pit their wits

against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain - they are the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz champions today

are The Understudied, who know one another

through the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Ruth, I'm 35 and I'm a PA.

Hi, I'm Scott, I'm 37 and I work in marketing.

Hi, I'm Sarah, I'm 32 and I work on the box office.

Hi, I'm Vince, I'm 52 and I'm a trustee of the Everyman.

Hi, I'm Deborah, I'm 48 and I'm the Executive Director.

Welcome, Understudied. I'm liking this team name. I see several ways it can go.

With the theatre connection, understudies, but is it a reference to the learning you've done?

-Possibly, yes!

-Under studied.

You've just got to have life experience. Tell me about the Everyman. Famous theatre.

You all work there. Vince, you're a trustee.

-Are you trying to raise money to help it along?

-Yes, we're rebuilding the theatre from scratch

-on a bigger site.

-What's it got now and what's it going to have?

It's had a wonderful three-sided auditorium and that will be recreated, as will the bistro,

but it will have wonderful new front of house spaces, be very green, have rehearsal space, workshops

and with space for our youth and community work. Really vibrant.

Best of luck with that. Let's play.

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

but if they fail to win it rolls over to the next show.

So, Understudied, the challengers won the last game,

so £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

And our first Head to Head battle is going to be on History.

Who'd like to lead off with this?

-History.

-I think that'll be me, Dermot.

All right, Sarah. Choose an Egghead.

- What do you think? - They're all too good!

We'll try Dave? Give Dave a try.

You're right. It is a subject that all the Eggheads do enjoy.

Let's see if you enjoy it, Dave. You've been selected.

Let's have Sarah and Dave into the Question Room.

-Sarah, first or second?

-I'll go second, please, Dermot.

OK, putting Dave in first. Which city was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in 597BC?

I think that's Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is the right answer, Dave.

Sarah, your first question.

During WWII,

members of the WAAF made up the female auxiliary of which service?

OK, well, I'm hoping that the clue is in the question.

Women's Auxiliary.

Judging by the letters, Air Force.

Right, yes. Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

And, Dave, the Battle of Bramham Moor was part of a rebellion against Henry IV

led by which family?

I'm not too sure. I'll go Percy.

Percy is the right answer. And Sarah,

from the 14th century to the 18th, the Bucentaur was a barge used by whom?

I know there's the Doge's Palace in Venice, so the Doge would have been a very important dignitary.

And obviously Venice would be a good place to have a barge!

He would need some way of getting around. So I'll go for the Doge of Venice.

Well worked out. That's the right answer.

And Dave, the Battle of Sharpsburg is another name for which battle of the American Civil War?

Sharpsburg.

Em, I don't know,

so it's going to have to be a guess. I'll go for Mile Hill.

Mile Hill, the Battle of Sharpsburg. It's not. Other Eggheads?

-Antietam.

-It's Antietam.

-OK.

-Bloodiest single day in the war.

Bloodiest single day? Roughly how many killed?

Many thousands. 17,000 or something.

-And where is it?

-Maryland.

OK, a real chance here, Sarah.

You did really well with that second one. Do well with this and you're through.

A mass burial ground under which London market provided evidence of a volcanic eruption of 1258?

OK.

I'm leaning towards Spitalfields. I'm not entirely sure why.

I have been to Spitalfields Market. It's a very nice market now,

but it was... I think, was it the fruit and veg market?

At one stage?

Again, that doesn't really help me with the answer to the question,

but I think I am going to go with my instinct and that is Spitalfields.

Instinct leading you to Spitalfields. And leading you into the final round. It's correct!

Well, an unblemished record there. Well done. You're in the final round. Dave, you're not.

Both please come back.

The Eggheads have lost one brain, the Understudied are all there.

Our next subject is Arts and Books.

Well, I would suspect

-plenty of you would like to play this.

-Yes, I'll take it, Dermot.

Now which Egghead will you take? It can't be Dave.

-I think we'll try Pat, please.

-OK, Ruth and Pat. Please, into the Question Room.

OK, Ruth, do you want to go first or second against Pat?

I think I'll go first, please.

Ruth, first question. Which of these is the name of a school of fine art in London, founded in 1871?

Ooh. I'm not actually sure about this one.

It is going to have to be a guess.

And I will go with...Slade.

Slade. The school of fine arts in London, founded in 1871.

Yes, it's the right answer.

And, Pat,

Fili, Kili, Oin and Gloin are characters in which children's book?

I think they're dwarves in The Hobbit.

They go off, I think, to the Black Mountain after Smaug's gold.

-So I think it's The Hobbit.

-Right answer, yes.

All square. Back to you, Ruth.

Which Shakespeare play features the line, "Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises"?

I'm going to rule out Hamlet.

I'm going to rule out Twelfth Night.

And I'm going to go with The Tempest.

Do you put on much Shakespeare?

-We do, yeah.

-OK. You've got the right answer.

Pat, along with the Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museums,

what completes the Golden Triangle of art?

Well, my immediate thought is it's the Prado

seeing as all three are in Madrid.

So if the Golden Triangle is a tight triangle within one city,

that would be the Prado. So I'll go for Prado.

Right answer. Well worked out, Pat. Ruth,

Zack Busner appears several times in the books of which author?

Now I've not heard of him,

and a lot of people have told me to read the David Mitchell books.

I wish I had now because I might have known whether it was or wasn't David Mitchell,

but just because of that I'm going to go with David Mitchell.

It's not. You won't find Zack Busner in David Mitchell's works. Do you know, Pat?

-I'd have gone for Will Self.

-It is Will Self.

Pat needs to get his own question.

In traditional Maori arts,

what is a whakairo?

They're all fairly plausible artistic endeavours by the Maori.

All fairly plausible.

I think I'll go for carving. They did quite a bit of wood carving.

Whakairo you think is carving. It is the right answer, Pat!

You've pinched the round.

Bad luck, Ruth. Going well there, but Pat is in the final round and you will not be appearing.

Both please come back and join your teams.

It's all square after that. Both teams have lost one brain.

Our next subject is Sport.

Who'd like to play this one?

-Scott?

-I think I'll take Sport.

-Yes, I saw you react there when it came up. Which Egghead?

Dave and Pat have already gone. It's Judith, Daphne or Kevin.

-I think I'll take...

-Judith.

-Er, Judith.

OK. Let's have you both into the Question Room, please, Scott and Judith.

Scott, the game finely balanced at the moment. First or second?

I think I'll go second, please.

Judith, in 2012, Roger Federer's 287th week at number one on the ATP List

broke the record of which tennis player?

I think that is Pete Sampras.

Yes, got to be, hasn't it? Well done. Judith very comfortable with a tennis question there.

Scott, in sports such as cycling and rowing,

what is the heat in which runners-up get a second chance to qualify for the final?

Em, I wouldn't have known the answer before the Olympics, but I think from watching the Olympics

dressage is obviously an event within equestrian.

I'm not quite sure what equipage is, but I think it is the repechage.

It is, yes. The repechage.

And so a second question each. What is the emblem of the Welsh national rugby union team?

Oh, goodness. I'm sure it's not a leek.

My immediate thought was Green Dragon until the feathers came up.

-I think it's a Green Dragon.

-OK.

-Dragon. No, it's the feathers.

-The Prince of Wales's Feathers!

OK, well,

a chance for Scott. Was your choice to put Judith in first very wise? Let's see.

The medal ceremony for which event traditionally takes place during the Olympic Games closing ceremony?

I don't know this for a fact, but I believe the heptathlon is quite early on in the Olympics.

I've no real idea when the women's basketball is. I'm pretty sure the Men's Marathon is on the last day.

-I'll guess at that.

-All those hours you spent watching those Olympics stood you in good stead. It's right.

Two questions out of two.

There you are. You have a lead and you might not have to answer another question

if Judith doesn't get this. From 2011-2012, John Toshack was the manager of which football team?

I can't believe... I mean, Malta's so tiny.

It's only got about enough people to make a football team in it!

Moldova... Oh, golly. I don't know.

-Macedonia.

-Is that a guess?

-Of course it's a guess!

-Macedonia is the team in question. It's right.

-Oh, how lucky!

All right.

You do have to answer another one, but a correct answer guarantees you a place in the final round, Scott.

In 2012, Rory McIlroy won the USPGA Championship at which venue?

I don't really know the answer to this, so I will guess.

I'll go with Kiawah Island.

For a place in the final round.

It's in the hole! Right answer.

-Well...

-Thank you.

-It means Judith won't be there. Both please join your teams.

The Eggheads behind again. They've now lost two brains, the challengers have lost one.

Our next subject is Film and TV.

Who wants to play this?

-It'll be me.

-I think we've probably lost!

-OK, that's me.

-OK, Vince. Dave, Judith and Pat have played,

so you have got Kevin or Daphne.

I think I'm going to be brave and go for Kevin.

OK, right. Should be a good fight. Let's have Vince and Kevin into the Question Room, please.

OK, Vince, do you want to go first or second?

Scott and Sarah have both gone through coming second, so I'll follow their strategy.

Kevin, what was the name of the 1995 spin-off from Baywatch?

Baywatch wasn't something I actually watched as such.

There was a spin-off from Dallas called Knots Landing, so I assume that's a trap.

I think there was something called Baywatch Nights. Baywatch and Son doesn't sound terribly likely.

Baywatch Nights, right answer.

Right, Vince. Which TV show was introduced with the words, "From Norwich, it's the quiz of the week"?

I think I'm old enough to remember this one.

Nicholas Parsons and Sale of the Century, I think.

You might have seen an edition - it's right - with you on it, Daphne?

Yes, I won the Mini.

-A Mini. That's pretty good for Sale of the Century!

-I know!

The other prizes were empty boxes.

And I had 12 bottles of malt whisky, a TV and a picnic hamper as well.

-You cleaned up!

-Yeah.

Sale of the Century is a successful answer there. It's all square.

Kevin, how is Duane "Dog" Chapman known in the title of an American TV series?

The name certainly doesn't ring any bells. I might be on the wrong track,

and thinking of the wrong show, but I'm sure there was The Bounty Hunter, so The Bounty Hunter.

Bounty Hunter. I wonder if that Dog nickname is a clue. It's the right answer, yes.

OK, Vince,

which novelist contributed to the screenplays for The Great Escape and To Sir With Love?

Well, I haven't got a clue

about the answer to that so just as a complete guess

I'm going for Sidney Sheldon.

-No, it's incorrect. Kevin?

-It's James Clavell.

-James Clavell.

So you have to sit and hope here, Vince.

Kevin, who played the sinister newspaperman Kevin McMaxford

in the 1997 film Spice World?

Strangely enough, I didn't see this.

Much as I tried to force myself.

Could Barry... Was Barry Humphries in it?

My first thought was it sounded as though it could well have been Ken Campbell,

but Kevin McMaxford?

I'm going to try Barry Humphries.

Barry Humphries. Tossing that up very carefully

and getting the right answer!

Barry Humphries is right.

And you have a place in the final round. Bad luck, Vince.

Both please come back and join your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards - the final round on General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost

won't be allowed to take part, so Ruth and Vince

and Judith and Dave, would you all leave the studio, please?

So Scott, Sarah and Deborah, you're playing to win £1,000.

Pat, Kevin and Daphne are playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions, all General Knowledge, and you are allowed to confer.

So, The Understudied, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-Guys, do you want first or second?

-We'll go second.

In 2012, who was replaced as presenter of a BBC radio morning show by Nick Grimshaw?

-Chris Moyles.

-Chris Moyles?

That's Chris Moyles.

-And the show in question?

-Radio One Breakfast Show.

Yep, it's the right answer. OK, Understudied.

Which word is used to refer to topics which are particularly current on Twitter?

-Em...

-This is your area of expertise, isn't it?

-It is.

It would be awful if I was wrong. I would say it's trending, Dermot.

If you beat the Eggheads, it may well happen to you.

It's the right answer, yes. Eggheads,

the flag of which Mediterranean island consists of the heads of four Moorish men and a red cross

on a white background?

-It's definitely not Rhodes.

-It's one of the other two.

I think it's Sardinia.

-I think they may both have a black head on their flag.

-They have.

Which one's got the red cross?

My slight preference is for Corsica, but I am uneasy.

-I don't have a confident view.

-No, I don't.

-OK, which one?

-All I know is I saw a picture

and it was Sardinia,

but I didn't take any notice of the middle bit.

-You think Corsica's also got four?

-Yeah. Or has one of them only got one?

One's got four and the other one's got one?

If you have a preference for Sardinia, you think you've seen it.

Yeah.

As you can see, we're torn

between Sardinia and Corsica.

-We're going for Sardinia.

-OK.

You've gone for Sardinia and it is...

the right answer!

-I think the Corsican one is a single head.

-Yeah.

-A black head on a white background.

-It's the same design, wearing a bandana, but it's only one.

-Yeah, only the one.

-You finally worked that out - unfortunately!

That nearly worked for you again, putting them in first.

They've been at sixes and sevens with that tactic.

But you have to catch up here with your second question.

The New Vaudeville Band had a UK Top Ten hit in 1966 singing about which cathedral?

-Well...

-Hmm.

-You're looking at me because I'm the person who was alive in 1966.

-Yes.

I was toddling in 1966.

Winchester Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral.

-Hereford is where the Mappa Mundi is because we read that on the train!

-Of course.

-That doesn't help.

If you wanted to write a song about a cathedral, which would you choose?

-I'd go for Winchester unless you knew something interesting about Hereford.

-Like Mappa Mundi...

-Yes!

Hereford Cathedral...

-Shall we just go for the one we both had a bit of an instinct for?

-Yes.

Which is...gulp... we'll say Winchester Cathedral.

Winchester Cathedral.

-Ask Kevin. He knows it very well. Is it Winchester Cathedral?

-Yes.

The right answer - well done! It's all square

as we head into a third question. The college known as Central St Martins is a leading institution

for students of what subjects?

-Arts and design?

-Yeah.

I'm reliably informed it's arts and design.

-You wouldn't have had any idea.

-I didn't.

-But you'd have guessed it!

It's the right answer. I'm sure the Understudied would have got it, too.

This is your question. The most westerly point of Ireland is in which county?

-It's a long way to Tipperary!

-It is!

-You're quite right.

Now I lived in Ireland for five years so this will be really embarrassing if I don't know this. And I don't.

-So it is going to be deduction.

-OK.

-Embarrassingly, I can't visualise

where Tipperary is. Cork is furthest south on the west.

Then you've got Kerry down the west coast

and the Dingle Peninsula.

I'm leaning in the direction of Kerry, but I can't picture Tipperary.

-It could be in to throw you.

-Because it's such a long way.

-If that's what you've deducted...

-OK.

It could be goodbye. We're going to say Kerry.

OK, well, it is goodbye if it's wrong... Stay there!

-It's not wrong. It's the right answer.

-Fantastic!

It's into sudden death, then.

We remove those choices. The Eggheads' first question.

The Pintupi people are indigenous to which country?

The Pintupi... P-I-N-T-U-P-I.

-The Pintupi people are indigenous to which country?

-Any thoughts? Australia?

-They sound South American.

-Oh, that's true. Brazil.

-Yeah, could be.

-A tribe in Brazil.

-That sounds good.

-What?

-Being South American, Amazonian.

Tribal varieties and numbers, Indonesia is tremendous for that.

-In Brazil...

-Papua New Guinea. Could be an Australian Aboriginal tribe.

I mean, there are Tupi Indians,

so... Maybe there could be Pintupi. I don't know. I mean, it's slightly worrying.

-But we'll try it.

-OK.

-Dermot, we're going to try Brazil.

-Brazil for the Pintupi people.

They're indigenous to...Australia.

Really?

A chance to beat the Eggheads.

This is your question. The Pataca - P-A-T-A-C-A -

is the unit of currency of which Chinese administrative region?

We talked about these on the train, but the only three we'd heard of.

And they were...

Guangxi, Guangdong

-and Sichuan.

-Yes.

-I guess we have to go with one of the three.

-We haven't got the foggiest idea, have we?

-We've got no inkling towards any of them.

-Shall we just go Sichuan?

-Yes, yes.

OK, we're going to guess Sichuan.

OK.

It's not correct. Eggheads?

-Macau.

-Macau.

-It wasn't one of our three!

-Former Portuguese colony.

OK, another pair of questions.

Eggheads, the WWII Lancaster bomber was built by which company,

co-founded in 1910 by Alliott Verdon Roe?

AV Roe. Avro.

Yeah.

That was the Avro Lancaster.

It is the right answer, Eggheads. Avro. On surer ground there

with your WWII aircraft.

You need to get this, Understudied.

The Julie and Robert Breckman Gallery of Prints and Drawings

opened in 2005 in which London museum?

-I worked with a Robert Breckman. He was an accountant.

-Was it him?

I can't remember if his wife was called Julie. He worked for the Fringe and didn't charge high fees.

If it is that Robert Breckman, the Theatre Museum was still open then.

Mm, it was. I think the Theatre Museum Archive is now with the V&A.

It is. But if it would have opened in 2005 at the Theatre Museum...

If it is that Robert Breckman, he wasn't ridiculously wealthy.

It's between that and the V&A.

-Would it be the Theatre Museum?

-The only hunch we've got is that it's Robert Breckman who was accountant

to the Theatre Fringe.

He loved the theatre. The Theatre Museum was still open in 2005 I'm relatively sure.

-If we say V&A and it's the Theatre Museum, we've made fools of ourselves!

-Yes, we have.

-If it's the Theatre Museum, we need to get it.

-Go on, then.

-OK, Dermot.

We will go for the Theatre Museum.

OK, the Theatre Museum.

It opened in 2005 in...

the Victoria and Albert Museum.

-Oh!

-Which is what you were thinking of! Eggheads, you've won.

Bad luck. What a great game!

Even through those Head to Heads, the Eggheads really had to fight.

And let me say, in that final round, wow!

You were vulnerable, but just managed to claw, hang on to the very end. Bad luck.

Thank you very much indeed for giving them a run for their money,

but the Eggheads have done what comes naturally and reign supreme.

You won't go home with the money, so it rolls over.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers can defeat the Eggheads. £2,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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