Episode 8 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 - the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths today

are Gentlemen of Castle. These friends are all students

at Durham's University College, affectionately known as Castle.

Hi, I'm Ben, I'm 21 and studying Physics.

Hi, I'm Ben, I'm 21 and I read Modern Languages.

Hi, I'm Kit, I'm 20 and I study Theoretical Physics.

I'm Simon, I'm 21 and I study Geography.

Hi, I'm Alec, I'm 20 and I'm studying Geography.

Welcome, Gentlemen of Castle. What a team title!

-Are you all gentlemen, then?

-We try!

-It depends on the circumstances.

Tell me. It's about a song, is it?

Our college is based in Durham Castle and our college song's first line is, "Gentlemen of Castle,"

set to Land of Hope and Glory. We're not going to sing it now!

So it's like a Bullingdon Club?

No! No, we don't want to be compared to that at all.

-You sing it in the bar, though?

-We sing it at sports matches

and sometimes after that you might sing it in the bar.

Let's hope you're singing it after you beat the Eggheads today. We'll have it if you win.

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

but if they fail, that rolls over to the next show. So, the Eggheads have won the last 11 games,

so £12,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Let's have a go then, shall we? Worth turning up for, is it?

First category, first Head to Head, first chance to knock an Egghead out

is on Arts and Books. Who'd like to play this?

-Kit, you'll have to dive on this one.

-Kit enjoys his Arts and Books.

-OK, that'll be me, then.

-OK, choose any of those five Eggheads.

- Who do we think? - Who do you want?

-I'll take Dave.

-OK, your choice, Kit. You've decided for Dave.

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

Kit, you're a Physics student?

Yeah, I do Theoretical Physics. Basically, lots of maths and physics. It's all pretty boring.

But you have an arts side, then?

I read a lot as a child. That's what we're basing this on.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-First, please.

Good luck, Kit.

What name is commonly given to the literary or artistic style where fantastical elements

are blended with reality?

Em, well...

I know this one. It's Magic Realism.

OK, Magic Realism. It's the right answer.

Sometimes I feel that sitting in the Eggheads studio.

Fantastical elements blended with reality. I don't know which is which. Good start for Kit.

Which writer read an excerpt from Peter Pan as part of the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Olympic Games?

-I switched off when this was on!

-Well, there was so much going on, wasn't there?

Too much going on.

It's going to have to be a guess. I can't remember.

I'll go for JK Rowling, but I haven't got a clue, really.

I wasn't paying attention.

But you did pick that up. That's the right answer - JK Rowling.

Kit, back to you.

What collective name was given to the early 20th century poets

who were based in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire and included Robert Frost and Rupert Brooke?

I was really hoping more for the literature side.

Poetry is a complete blank on my part.

So, unfortunately, it has to be a complete guess.

I will go for...

the Flaxley Poets.

OK, Flaxley Poets. Among them Robert Frost and Rupert Brooke.

It's not, Kit, no. Poetry not your strong suit.

-Do you know, Dave?

-I wouldn't know. I would guess the Dymock Poets.

-Not with any certainty.

-Your guess would have been correct.

This is your question, Dave.

Marcel Proust's novel Remembrance of Things Past comprises how many volumes?

I don't know. Everybody, my four other colleagues, will.

How many volumes?

I'm going to go seven, down the left, but...

-OK. Is it seven as Dave thinks?

-Yeah.

-Have you read them all?

-No!

It is correct. Well done, Dave.

So you do have a lead. It means this is very important for Kit. Here you go.

Who directed the groundbreaking 1936 New York theatre production

commonly known as The Voodoo Macbeth?

Right.

Laurence Olivier, obviously a very famous actor.

Not sure if he got into directing until later.

I've not heard of John Barrymore.

I do have a funny feeling it might be Orson Welles. He did direct, so Orson Welles. If it's wrong, sorry, guys!

Getting your apology out in advance. No need. It's the right answer. Well identified, Kit.

Keeping your flame flickering,

but it can be snuffed out if Dave gives me a correct answer here.

Which English actor won a Tony award for Best Actor in 1973 for his performance

in the play Butley and again in 2002 for the play Fortune's Fool?

This is going to be embarrassing because if it's one of those answers...

I'm just trying to think about when Alan Bates died.

2002...

I'm going to go Tom Conti,

-but...all three of them are feasible.

-Yep, yep, on the dates you're right.

Tom Conti you're going for. An embarrassment if it's Derek Jacobi

after his appearance on Celebrity Eggheads. It's neither of those.

It's the one you were pondering. It's Alan Bates.

I was trying to think whether he'd died by then. Obviously later.

That's good news for you, Kit. Your flame is beginning to burn a little brighter.

Let's get it up to an inferno. Playing in sudden death now to knock Dave out.

This is your question. Oh, dear. Whose 1803 poem, Auguries of Innocence,

includes the line, "A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all heaven in a rage"?

Right. Just about the only poets I know are Allen Ginsberg and John Donne and Wordsworth.

So, and Shakespeare, I suppose.

So...I'm almost 100% sure it's not any of them.

There's a name coming to my head. It's probably completely wrong, but Matthew Fowler.

It's not the right answer, Kit. Do you know, Dave?

-I'd have gone...

-1803.

-..William Blake.

You would have been right. There you are. Very modest there.

William Blake.

Your question, Dave. Which English author, who died in 2012, won the Booker Prize

for his 1992 novel Sacred Hunger?

I'll go Graham Swift, but it isn't. Graham Swift, but I know it isn't.

It's not Graham Swift. Eggheads?

-Barry Unsworth.

-Barry Unsworth.

-Right, fine.

Locked away for future reference.

On we go.

Kit, another question. The late 1970s comedy play Ten Times Table is by which writer?

Around that period, Mike Leigh was a playwright.

So he did... I know he did Abigail's Party.

Mike Leigh.

-OK, Mike Leigh. Good guess. Not right. Eggheads?

-Alan Ayckbourn.

Ten Times Table by Alan Ayckbourn.

Dave, Stephen Dedalus is a character who appears in works by which writer?

Probably way off mark,

but I'll go for James Joyce. But I don't have a real clue. James Joyce.

Dave, you almost look like you're not enjoying yourself there.

James Joyce. It's the right answer!

Congratulations to Kit,

you got deep into sudden death, but too many poetry questions.

-Definitely!

-Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, one round gone and one gentleman gone,

but very early days. Our next Head to Head is Science.

Who'd like to play this? Kit, you'd have been a contender.

-Who would like to take this on?

-I'll take that one.

-You're also a Physics student.

-Yes.

So we've got you, Ben. Who would you like to take on from the Eggheads? It can't be Dave.

-I'd like to play Daphne.

-Play Daphne.

-I'll take Daphne.

-Why not? Go for it.

Ben and Daphne into the Question Room, please.

Ben eager to take Daphne on. Do you want first or second, Ben?

I'll follow Kit and go first, please.

Good luck. Which common household liquid is often used to clean birds affected by oil spills?

Right. Em... I wouldn't think it was bleach

because that seems quite cruel to the birds.

And I can't see a reason that you'd cover a bird in milk.

But washing up liquid helps dissolve oils and fats.

So I don't know this one, but based on that I'm going to go down the middle. Washing up liquid.

OK. Thinks it's the most plausible. Right answer, well done.

Good start, Ben.

Daphne, the cosmetic surgery procedure called an abdominoplasty is also known by which name?

-Well, I assume it's a Tummy Tuck.

-Because of the "abdomino" bit.

-Yes.

Right answer. Back to you, Ben.

What type of object was Echo One,

the communications satellite, launched to an altitude of 1,000 miles by NASA in 1960?

Right, I have got absolutely no idea.

This is maybe a silly way of working it out, but a parachute slows your descent

as you're falling. Balloons take you up,

but kites tend to stay where they are. For a satellite, that's good.

That's all I've got, so kite.

OK, kite. At a thousand miles.

It's a balloon.

Not a parachute, but a balloon.

OK, Daphne,

an important cultural item in some Pacific cultures,

a tabua is a tooth from which creature?

Well, if it's Pacific, I would think it is probably a whale.

It's the right answer, Daphne. Ben, you need this.

Which creatures are most likely to be affected by the affliction scaly leg?

Um...I don't know this one straight off the bat, either.

Still reeling from the last one!

OK, well, put that behind you. This is very important.

-Scaly leg

-Scaly leg. Well, they all have legs.

We can confirm that.

Birds... Do birds legs tend to be a bit scaly anyway?

I don't own dogs, never kept horses.

Scaly leg...

I'm going to go down the middle and go for dogs.

OK, dogs with scaly leg. Not a lot to work on there.

We didn't expect you to keep a horse in the old digs at university.

But it's birds.

Birds.

And we close the round down there.

Sorry, Ben. It's all over. Daphne's already got two

so no place in the final round for you. Both please come back and join your teams.

Gentlemen of Castle have lost two brains from the final round. The Eggheads haven't lost any.

We move on to our third Head to Head. Music. Who'd like to play it?

-It's other Ben or Simon or Alec.

-I'll take a crack at Music.

-It's got to be Simon.

-I think I'll have a go.

-All right.

Pick your Egghead. Dave and Daphne have played.

-I'd really like to play Kevin.

-Go for it.

-I'll take on Kevin.

Wow. OK. You're all fired up, you lot.

Simon and Kevin, into the Question Room, please.

Right, Simon, let's see if we can get you into that final round.

-Fingers crossed.

-First or second?

-I'll follow the previous two and go first, please.

Good luck, Simon. What was the title of the Maroon 5 single that went to the UK Number One spot

in June, 2012?

OK, I'm pretty confident that it's Payphone.

There's a nightclub in Durham and we've partied away to that.

-Yeah, Payphone.

-At least you remembered it! It's the right answer. Payphone.

Kevin,

in 1989, Hand On Your Heart became the second solo UK number one single for which singer?

Hand On Your Heart. I think that was... I think Kylie.

-Yeah, Kylie Minogue.

-Checking your own mental notes? Kylie is correct, yes.

Back to you, Simon.

In cities such as Boston, Cincinnati and Minneapolis,

what name is given to orchestras that play famous show tunes as well as popular classics?

Em, to be candid, I don't really know.

Chambers reminds me of choirs, quartets sounds...I don't know.

I'm not really sure.

-I'm going to go down the middle and say Pops.

-Pops.

We said popular classics and Pops is right. Well done.

You have two.

Strong so far. Kevin, which 2003 UK hit single included the line, "Shake it like a Polaroid picture"?

Needless to say...

I'm going to have to go for the one that I know is from 2003,

which is Hey Ya! Outkast.

You sly dog, you've got it. I'm sure you have been shaking it like a Polaroid picture.

Hey Ya! is correct. Two all. Simon,

which former NME journalist was co-founder of the ZTT record label in the 1980s,

which had success with bands such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood?

I have no idea. None of those names mean anything to me at all. Sorry.

Julie Burchill... Not one I recognise at all.

-I'll take a complete punt and say Tony Parsons.

-Tony Parsons.

All a blank to you, so going for the guess. It's not. You don't have it.

-Kevin?

-I think Julie Burchill was with NME so I'd go for her.

-Ah!

-So that's wrong as well, is it?

-That's the beauty of the question.

NME journalists all at some time.

-It's Paul Morley.

-OK.

-It wasn't your question. This is.

In 1963, who recorded the first version of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach song

They Long To Be Close To You, which later became a Carpenters hit?

I'm just trying to think about when Dr Kildare was. Richard Chamberlain achieved great TV fame

with Dr Kildare. Could it have been on the back of that? But they were all active

around that time, so it's...

-I really have no idea. I'll go for Richard Chamberlain, but it could be any of them.

-OK.

Because of Dr Kildare?

He did try a bit of a singing career on the back of his fame.

-But George Hamilton tried singing and so did Peter Lawford, so...

-OK.

Richard Chamberlain on that slim piece of information is the right answer, Kevin!

You've won the round. Egghead excellence in action, demonstrated there.

It's cost you your place in the final round, Simon. Bad luck. Both please rejoin your teams.

As it stands, Gentlemen of Castle have rather seen the ramparts come down.

Three members missing from the final round, no Eggheads gone. Your last chance now

to get rid of one of them or one of you will be there all on his own.

One of you has to play this. Politics. Our last Head to Head.

-It's got to be me.

-OK.

-We've worked it out.

-Other Ben.

Right. And, Ben, from the Eggheads, who would you like to play? You have Chris or Barry.

Let's go for Barry.

I think they're all beyond nerves by now.

Let's have Ben and Barry into the Question Room, please.

Ben eagerly opting for Politics. Do you see yourself in Parliament?

Oh, that's a difficult question. I'm going to say no!

-All right. First or second?

-First, please.

Here you go. In 2007, who or what did Tony Blair refer to as "a feral beast"?

I'm going to imagine it wasn't the House of Lords or John Prescott, so I'm going to say the Media.

Isn't that a lovely question? It is the Media. Well identified.

A reference to his treatment as Prime Minister.

Barry, until it was superseded in 2010, what was the name of the publication

that outlined financial allowances for MPs?

I think my first thought was it should have been the Red Book! But which of those three?

I really don't know. I'm going to take a punt on the Green Book.

Because red isn't there! It's the right answer. Well done.

OK, Ben.

What is the first name of the husband of the former Conservative MP Virginia Bottomley,

who himself first became an MP in 1975?

Em, this is one I'm afraid I just don't know.

I'm trying to think which name sounds like something I've heard of.

-I'm going to guess Philip.

-OK, Philip Bottomley.

It's not. It had to be a guess. I'm sure you will know, Barry.

-Peter.

-On the timescale there. Peter Bottomley.

OK, your second question.

The Cactus Curtain is a nickname for a political border on which island nation?

This is an interesting question. I wasn't aware there were borders in any of those three nations.

Cactus tends to suggest places like Mexico and Cuba's not too far.

I don't believe there's any cacti in Sri Lanka. That's more rainforest.

And I don't think they're in Jamaica.

I think it must be a term distinguishing between Cuba and America. I'll go for Cuba.

OK, Cuba. It's the right answer. You need to get this, Ben.

Who was forced to stand down as the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in 1972

after revelations that he had previously undergone electro-shock therapy?

My knowledge of American politics pre this decade is pretty thin on the ground, I'm afraid.

-I'm going to guess at Edmund Muskie.

-OK.

-Edmund Muskie. Barry, shaking your head.

-No, I'm afraid it was Thomas Eagleton.

Thomas Eagleton. You've lost the round, Ben.

No place for you in the final round. Both please come back and join your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards. Time for the final round.

But those of you who lost

will not be allowed to take part in this round, as I swivel one way only,

so it's the two Bens, Kit and Simon from Gentlemen of Castle who all have to leave the studio now.

Alec, you're playing to win Gentlemen of Castle £12,000.

Kevin, Dave, Daphne, Chris and Barry play for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions and they're all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer. Alec, is your brain better than the Eggheads' five?

-Alec, do you want to go first or second?

-It's not been particularly successful so far,

but I'll stick with it and we'll go first.

OK, first question. General Knowledge, of course.

In finance, what informal name is given to a reduction in the value of assets used as collateral?

I don't particularly know the answer, but I don't think it's Close Shave.

And Warm Bath doesn't sound right.

So Haircut, trimming something off.

Haircut. Much discussed during the Greek euro crisis. It's the right answer, yes.

OK, Eggheads,

the phrase, "Down to the wire," meaning until the last possible moment originated in which sport?

-Horse racing?

-Cos it's a wire.

In America, they still use wire to wire.

-They had a wire.

-Yeah.

-That's horse racing, Dermot.

Horse racing is correct, Eggheads. OK, Alec,

popular on French television, Les Guignols are characters similar to those from which British programme

of the 1980s and '90s?

I don't particularly know the answer, but will take an educated guess

that a parody-type show like Spitting Image would go down well in France, so I'll go for Spitting Image.

Spitting Image. You're not wasting any time and getting it right!

Spitting Image. Well done, Alec.

Two for two. Eggheads,

where is Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the UK?

-I think it's over to you.

-I've driven past many times.

You can see it from every part of West Yorkshire.

That's West Yorkshire, Dermot.

It's the right answer, yes.

Alec, a storming start. Just get this and you have a very good chance.

Well, a chance of winning £12,000. The Ancient Roman drink

of mulsum was a combination of wine and what?

I'm not particularly sure.

I can't imagine wine and salt is appetising.

Of the other two, I can see Romans enjoying a honey-based drink, so I'll go for honey.

It's the right answer!

Three out of three. We'll savour that for a moment.

If it stays 3-2, you've got twelve grand,

but it could be some way off. Let's see what the Eggheads do.

What was the first name of Fred Astaire's elder sister,

who was his original dancing partner in vaudeville and theatre for over 25 years?

It's Adele, Dermot.

You all knew that, didn't you? It's the right answer, Eggheads!

We go to sudden death. I'll remind you, Alec,

it gets a lot harder now as we remove the options you've had some educated guesses at.

Here you are. Chateau Grimaldi in Antibes on France's Mediterranean coast

is now an important museum

dedicated to the work of which artist who stayed there in 1946?

Well, art's not particularly my strongest point, but I'll just put a name to a French painter

that I'm aware of and say Cezanne.

OK, Cezanne.

It's not, no. Do you know, Eggheads?

-Picasso.

-It's Picasso, Alec. Pablo Picasso.

Stayed in Chateau Grimaldi. Here's your question, Eggheads.

Which Indian film director who spent the early part of his career as an accountant

directed Elizabeth and its sequel, Elizabeth - The Golden Age?

Shekhar Kapur. Shall I...?

-Yeah. Shekhar Kapur?

-Shekhar Kapur, yeah.

Shekhar Kapur.

It's the right answer, Eggheads. You've won.

Well, that was a gallant and a bit more effort to get your hands on the money, Alec.

Well done with those first three questions. Sailed through those.

Didn't have any of your team-mates there to help you out.

-I hope you've had a good day.

-Yes.

-We've enjoyed having you.

Those Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

You won't be going home with £12,000, so the money rolls over.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team can defeat the Eggheads.

£13,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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