Episode 50 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 hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today

are the Gippeswyk Girls from Suffolk.

This team of old friends have called themselves after the historical name of their home town of Ipswich.

-Let's meet them.

-Hello. I'm Annie.

I'm 50, and I'm a midwife.

Hello. I'm Jan. I'm 55, and I'm a retired law clerk.

Hi. I'm Carrie, I'm 54, and I'm a teaching assistant.

Hello. My name is Lynda. I'm 55, and I'm a maternity care assistant.

Hello. I'm Sally. I'm 46 years old, and I'm a drama teacher and puppeteer.

Welcome to you, Gippeswyk Girls.

I can hear that now - Gippeswyk. Ipswich.

-I mean, is it an Old English word?

-It is. It's the Old English name for Ipswich.

I think it's...wyk is for town, and Gippe refers to the river Gipping.

I think so.

I'm just about to check with the Eggheads.

It's always a bit difficult, saying things like that in front of this lot.

I'm sure they know a bit about it too. Gippeswyk.

HE SPELLS IT

Now, be honest with me, Eggheads. Did you know that, if a question had come up about Ipswich?

-No.

-No?

One could have guessed, I would have thought.

Probably yeah. You might have done.

OK, well, Gippeswyk Girls, let's see if you know more than the Eggheads on a lot of other things

during the course of the game.

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

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

So, Gippeswyk Girls, the challengers actually won the last game,

proving it can be done, but it means

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

Our first head-to-head battle - a chance to knock an Egghead out -

is on Arts and Books.

Who's been pre-selected for this? Have you thought it through?

Who wants to play?

It's going to be me, isn't it?

-I think so.

-Sal.

-Sally.

OK.

-I think Sally will play that one.

-It's gonna be me.

-You seem rather reluctant, Sally.

-Not my favourite subject, but I'll give it a go.

Choose an Egghead. Any of those.

-Who would you like, Annie?

-Go for Barry, I think.

-Barry?

-Yes.

-OK, I'll go for Barry.

-All right.

Let's have Sally and Barry into the Question Room for our opening round.

Now, Sally, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

OK, good luck, Sally. It's Arts and Books, and the first question for you is this.

Which 20th Century artist was known for his collection of white wigs?

Oh, right, OK.

Well, um...

They could all possibly have worn a wig at some point.

Pablo Picasso...

Well, I know that Andy Warhol used to do a lot of pop artistry...

..with a lot of pop stars and film stars,

and Salvador Dali, mm, he was quite eccentric.

But...um...

I'm drawn towards Andy Warhol.

I really don't know, so that will be my educated guess.

OK. Educated guess, and it is the right answer.

Oh, great.

You did have that mental image of him, but he always did have...

I never knew it was a wig, actually.

OK, Barry, the US novelist Jeffery Deaver is best-known for his work in which genre?

Jeffery Deaver is right up Daphne's street. He's a crime novelist.

Crime is correct.

All square, and back to Sally.

Joseph Anton, published in 2012,

is a memoir by which writer?

Julian Barnes... I have read some books of Julian Barnes.

Martin Amis...

I don't think it's Salman Rushdie.

Oh dear, I'm torn between Julian Barnes and Martin Amis.

I'm going to go for...

..Julian Barnes.

Julian Barnes... Joseph Anton, you think.

-It's not. Barry, do you know?

-I'm not sure.

-I would have gone for Martin Amis.

-Oh, dear. No, no.

-Salman Rushdie.

-It's Salman Rushdie.

-No way!

-Salman Rushdie.

-Oh, my goodness!

-I think that was last on both your lists then.

Maybe I'll get the Eggheads to tell me - why Joseph Anton?

Why that for a title?

It's his favourite writers.

He named it after Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekov.

-Yes.

-I see. OK...

Interesting. OK, well, Barry, you have a chance for the lead here.

Barry, Christopher Marlowe's line - "Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?" -

also appears in which Shakespeare play?

Whoever loved but loved not at first sight...

Whoever loved THAT loved not at first sight?

Ah - "Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?"

Hm...

I don't think it's As You Like It.

It could be A Midsummer Night's Dream, talking about Bottom.

And it could be Romeo and Juliet,

because Romeo had a first love before Juliet.

Whoever loved, but not at first sight...

It sounds more like it's talking about Bottom,

so I'll go for A Midsummer Night's Dream.

OK, A midsummer Night's Dream. I see how that could work.

But it's not the right answer. Other Eggheads.

-I think it's Romeo and Juliet.

-No!

Kevin saying Romeo and Juliet. It's As You Like It.

Oh, dear!

Well, everyone all over the place at the moment.

All of you.

Which is pretty good news for you, Sally, because it means it stays all square.

You never know what might happen. This answer could put you through.

Artichoke Hearts is an award-winning children's book by which author?

I don't know. I knew the Shakespeare one.

Oh, no.

Arti... Arti...

Artichoke Hearts.

Oh, my goodness.

I really don't know, and I really can't...

..work out any linear line to any of these authors.

So I'm going to have to do a complete guess,

and just go for...

Sita.

It is a lovely name, and a lovely book...that she wrote.

No way!

Right, well done. OK.

You have that lead, and let's see if Barry can prevent you getting into the final round.

Barry, which 15th Century Renaissance painter

eloped with a nun whilst serving as the rector of a church?

Oh, some of my favourite painters of all time there.

But the one who eloped with a nun was Fra Filippo Lippi.

Fra. I suppose that gives us the answer.

Filippo Lippi is the right answer from Barry,

which takes us straightaway, first round, first Sudden Death.

Just to re-explain that to you, Sally - I'm sure you're familiar with it -

we remove the options, and it gets a lot harder.

So, Sudden Death question.

Which art award was presented by Richard Attenborough in 1985,

Yoko Ono in 2006,

and Dennis Hopper in 2007?

Which art award?

Well, Yoko Ono was quite into performance art.

Um...

I don't... Oh, dear.

I really don't know. I might...I might say...

I might go for something like the Performance Art Award.

Because I really don't know any art awards at all!

OK. Performance Art Award...

-No, that's incorrect.

-No.

-I think you will know this award.

It's Sudden Death.

I think you will know this award if you'd seen it in a list.

-But Sudden Death means you have to conjure it up yourself.

-Yeah.

So that's an incorrect answer. Barry, do you know?

-I think it must be the Turner Prize.

-Oh no!

-It is the Turner Prize.

You see? I knew you'd know it.

Shows how difficult Sudden Death is.

Let's hope Barry finds this equally difficult.

Barry, Pat Barker's Booker Prize-winning novel The Ghost Road is set during which war?

Now, this is one of those Bookers I've not read, and I've been meaning to read for ages.

So I have to think about this.

I think it's a World War, but I'm just toying whether it's World War I or II.

I think it's World War I, so that's my answer.

Is that your answer? First World War?

(SIGHS) It's the correct answer, Barry.

-I bet you knew that, Sally.

-Yes, I did!

Oh, dear me.

You got a bit of bad luck with the way the questions fell as well.

You won't be in the final round. Barry will be.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, after the first round, the Gippeswyk Girls have lost one brain.

The Eggheads are all there. Let's play our second round, then.

This one is science.

Who'd like to take this one from the remaining four?

-I think I'll take that one.

-OK.

Annie, who would you like to play from the Eggheads, just remembering it can't be Barry?

Any of the other four.

Yes. Dave, please.

OK, let's have Annie and Dave into the Question Room now, please.

Annie, would you like to go first or second?

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

Best of luck, Annie. First question is this, then.

Which type of bird contains groups commonly known as dabbling and diving?

I don't think I can think of any parrot that dive.

I think I'm just going to go with duck, Dermot.

Yeah, seems obvious. Might as well go for it. It's the right answer.

Yes. Dabbling and diving ducks.

OK, Dave, what is 30 per cent of 400?

I always have to take my time on these,

because these could be the questions I fear.

Just...

Let me just compute it all in my head.

400...

I've got to go 120.

Yeah, OK. Yes.

-Early in the morning for the mental maths, is it?

-Absolutely.

No, it's just as I said, it's the one

that everybody'll tweet about -

whatever Egghead doesn't know arithmetic.

You get these wrong, so they're danger. Danger questions.

OK, well, no danger there. It's 120 of course.

Dave, you got it.

Annie, your question is this.

What name is given to dead organic matter in soil such as leaves that has not yet decomposed?

I don't think it's scrap.

I think I'm going to go with garbage, Dermot.

OK. Garbage in the soil. Dead organic matter.

It isn't scrap, but it is litter.

Litter.

So, Dave, the sinoatrial node is located in which part of the human body?

Right. I'm not sure at all.

Um...

All I've got to go on is atrial,

which would lead me to the heart, so that's got to be my answer.

-Heart.

-Lead you to the right place.

It's correct.

I suspect Annie would have liked that one.

Yes, that should have been my question.

Oh, dear. It happened Sally as well. OK, Annie, let's hope you like this one.

Who would be most likely to test you with a non-contact tonometer?

I've never heard of it.

Well, most things dentists do are with contact, aren't they?

I think I'll go with optician, Dermot.

Working on that non-contact.

That was the key phrase in the question for you.

You got the right answer. Well done.

Dave, chance here to win the round.

Antonio Meucci has been credited in some quarters as the true inventor of which of these?

All I can go off again, and it might be somebody else who did this,

but I believe that Alexander Graham Bell had a patent for the telephone,

and wasn't the first person to invent it,

but had the patent at the time, so...

I've not really heard of it in connection,

that kind of incident with the light bulb or film projector,

so I'm going to go telephone.

Telephone... So, what?

Alexander Graham Bell had the patent, but didn't actually -

Well, that's supposedly. Allegedly.

Well, it is the right answer, so well done, Dave.

Bad luck, Annie.

Just slipped up there in the middle, but a good performance, but no place in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Two exchanges so far, and two members of the Gippeswyk Girls will be missing from the final round.

The Eggheads haven't lost any brains, so we move on to our third category.

It's not yours, is it, Carrie?

No.

Well, that leaves one of these two for sport.

Are you all right to do that?

I'll have a go.

And who shall we choose?

I think we'll choose Chris. Chris.

Chris, please.

Better just confirm that. So it's going to be Lynda playing Chris from the Eggheads.

Would you both please go to the Question Room?

Lynda, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

OK. First question, then, is this -

which item of clothing enjoyed a revival after being worn by the Doctor

as played by Matt Smith in the TV series Dr Who?

OK. I think it was Tom Baker that had the scarf.

I don't think Matt wore a tank top, so I'm going to go for bow tie.

That's the one, yeah. Bow tie.

OK. Bow tie.

Chris, who became a new regular judge for the 2012 series of the X Factor?

You never miss one, do you?

Well, for "never" read "always" throughout.

Well, it's not Adele.

Lady Gaga's too busy, so it must be Nicole Skirt-zinger.

-Skert-zinger!

-Skert-zinger, yeah.

It is the right answer

by elimination there rather than viewing, I suspect.

OK, it's all square.

And Lynda, the films Back to the Future Part II

Sex Lies and Videotape

and Heathers were first released in the UK in which year?

OK. I really have no idea about this one, but I THINK...

my first daughter was born, and I'm sure she watched this later on.

I'm going to go straight down the middle for 1997.

OK, 1997, Back to the Future II, Sex Lies and Videotape and Heathers...

first released.

It's the earliest. 1989.

-Oh, I nearly went for that.

-Playing tricks, your memory there.

OK, and Chris, what is the occupation of Jeff Bridges' character

in 2009 film Crazy Heart?

I think he plays a washed-up country singer.

He does. Didn't he get an Oscar for it, or a nomination?

-Best Actor.

-Got Best Actor for it. OK.

It's the right answer.

Which means you need this as you know, Lynda.

The Amazing Mumford is a regular character in which children's television programme?

Ooh, dear me.

Sesame Street I just about remember.

Tweenies...

Amazing Mumford...

I think I'm going to go for Rastamouse.

OK, Rastamouse for the Amazing Mumford.

It's not. It is Sesame Street.

Oh!

OK, well, that means the round is over.

If we have a look at the scores... I'm sorry about that.

Chris has already achieved two, which you can't match,

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

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, as it stands now the Gippeswyk Girls have lost three brains in the final round.

The Eggheads are all still there.

Let's see if you can turn it all round in our last head-to-head before the final round.

This one is Sport, and you've got two players left.

Jan or Carrie?

That'll be you, then.

-It's going to have to be you, Carrie.

-It's better than being on your own at the end.

That is true. That's going to be me, then!

OK. Better than being left on your own at the end!

That's confidence for you. Carrie, who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Chris, Barry and Dave have played, so you can have Daphne or Kevin.

Who's it going to be?

-Daphne?

-Mm.

Daphne, you and me.

It's you and me... OK, yeah. Carrie and Daphne into the Question Room.

OK, right, sport. How are you at sport?

-Terrible.

-Oh, dear.

Right, well, let's hope Daphne has a bad day as well.

And I hope you have a good day. You never know.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-Oh, I'll go first, get it over and done with.

OK, well, try this one, Carrie.

In which sport can you legally execute an ankle tap tackle?

Oh, my goodness.

Well, I don't think you tackle in cricket.

My husband plays cricket, and I've never heard him mention tackles.

Rugby Union seems a bit more...physical than ankle tap,

so I'm going to have to say football.

OK, football, for a LEGALLY executed ankle tap tackle.

It's the legal there.

Plenty of it in football, you're right, but technically a foul.

In Rugby Union it is allowed.

You were looking for tackling there. Rugby Union.

So, Daphne,

which of these is the name of a chicane

on the Marina Bay Formula One circuit?

Um...

The only one that sounds slightly familiar is a Singapore Sling.

I think that's where the Singapore Grand Prix is, isn't it?

So Singapore Sling.

OK. I love the way you're asking me like I'm going to help you out.

Isn't it? Don't know. Not until you answer.

Marina Bay Formula One circuit in Singapore.

Singapore Sling, yeah. You've got it.

OK, right, we need to get you underway here, Carrie.

The national cricket team of which of these countries was formed in 2001?

Right, OK.

Bangladesh...

Cricket... Well, I think they're cricket-mad...

in that part of the world with India and Pakistan.

I would have thought they'd have a team before that.

The Netherlands?

I suppose it's nice and flat there, so they could get a good wicket.

Afghanistan... It's quite hilly there, isn't it, so...

I'm struggling with this one, Dermot.

I know my husband will be sitting at home screaming this answer.

He's cricket-mad.

I don't know. Guess - Afghanistan.

OK. In spite of the hills. It's the right answer!

Yes, so Bangladesh has a long time had a team.

-The Netherlands - very keen on cricket there, aren't they?

-Yes.

Afghanistan have been doing very well.

OK, well, well done, Carrie.

You're on the board and need Daphne to slip up fairly soon.

Try it now, Daphne. What nickname is most associated with the Australian darts player Simon Whitlock?

It's not the Warrior.

Um...

The Wizard.

The Wizard? Barry, you're shaking your head.

-No, no, no. It's the Warlock.

-No, no, no, it's the Wizard!

Is it?!

He's Gandalfian, isn't he? He's got the long beard and the long hair.

The Wizard. Well done, Daphne.

It'd have been interesting if it had been the final round with Barry and Daphne.

I'd like to have seen that.

Pity though for you that it was the Wizard, Carrie.

It means you need to get this just to survive.

How many yellow cards did referee Howard Webb issue in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final?

That must have been a really dirty match.

SIGHS

Um, I've got absolutely no idea.

10. No idea.

OK, 10.

So, of those numbers, going for not quite as dirty as 14.

And that's what it was - 14. It was a very dirty match.

14 yellow cards issued by Howard Webb,

which means no offence taken, Carrie, but we issue you with a red card.

You're not playing in the final round. Would you both please come back and join your teams?

And so this is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for the final round which as always is general knowledge.

I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

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

Annie, Carrie, Lynda and Sally from the Gippeswyk Girls,

would you leave the studio, please?

So, Jan, you're playing to win the Gippeswyk Girls £1,000.

Kevin, Dave, Daphne, Chris and Barry,

you're playing for something which money cannot buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time the questions are all general knowledge, and you are allowed to confer.

So Jan, the question is, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

Jan, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

OK, best of luck, Jan. Here you go.

Which city's German name roughly translates as home of the monks?

I don't think it's Munich. I'm going to dismiss Munich.

It's the burg that makes me think it's the home angle.

But I'm not at all sure.

I'm going to go for Magdeburg.

OK, Magdeburg. Burg might be a home for those monks we're looking for.

But no, it's not. Eggheads?

-Munich.

-Munchen.

Munchen.

OK, so we get monks from the German name there.

OK. Munich. Well, see how the Eggheads do with their first one.

The computer game character Mario of the Super Mario Bros is depicted as having what occupation?

ALL: Plumber.

He's a plumber.

He is indeed a plumber, which takes us straight back to Jan.

Paddington Fair was a nickname for what type of public event in the 19th Century?

I'm going to...

..rule out execution.

Almsgiving or voting day...

It feels to me more like almsgiving than voting day,

so I'll go with almsgiving.

Almsgiving. OK. For Paddington Fair. A nickname for...

Jan, you've done it again. You've ruled out the correct answer first off.

It's execution.

So, Eggheads, according to Aristophanes,

what type of person had a horrible voice, bad breathing,

and a vulgar manner?

I'd have gone for actor in that lot.

I agree. I'd have gone actor, but...

I don't know. It could be a politician, couldn't it?

It could be a politician.

I mean, I don't think... We eliminate soldier?

Soldier, yeah.

They were sort of revered in Greece, weren't they?

You associate Aristophanes with plays.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

How did the Greeks view actors?

Lowest of the low, weren't they?

Yeah, but it could be politician.

-It could be either.

-It could be either of them.

-So the consensus is in favour of...

-Actor.

Yeah.

Haven't come across this quote before, so don't think it's solider.

It could be either of the others, but we're going to try actor.

OK. Actor...

For victory, it's not. It is a politician.

Fair enough.

Politician. Well, this would be a comeback. This would be a comeback.

Right, first step is to get this one, Jan.

As what did Diana Vreeland achieve fame in the 20th Century?

I don't know.

It's going to have to be a total guess.

I'm not going to rule anything out this time!

I'm not saying I am, anyway.

Eventually you will have to, but give them all due consideration.

I don't know the name, that's the problem.

Ah.

I'll go down the middle. Fashion editor.

OK. Plain guess, then.

Well, you deserve one, and you've got one. It's the right answer.

Well, as I say, that's step one.

Step two is the Eggheads failing here.

What term is used to refer to the subtle swelling on most columns in classical architecture?

-It's definitely entasis.

-Entay-sis, yeah.

The Parthenon is a classic example of it.

Yeah, yeah.

It's called entay-sis, or entasis.

OK. Entay-sis. It's the correct answer, Eggheads.

You've won.

As I always say, Jan, it's tough on your own.

But you got one on the board in the end there, and just gave the Eggheads pause for thought.

We've had great fun having you. Thank you very much indeed for playing the Eggheads today.

But the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them, and they reign supreme over quizland once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with £1,000, which means the money rolls over to the next show.

And 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.

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

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd