Episode 23 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 awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Fighting Kravistas from London.

Now this team is made up of instructors

and pupils of the martial art of Urban Krav Maga.

Let's meet them.

I'm Stewart, 53, I'm an Urban Krav Maga instructor.

Hi, I'm Nick, I'm 43, and I'm a magazine deputy editor.

Hi, I'm Jamie, I'm 32, and I'm a media relations specialist.

Hey, I'm Didier, I'm 43 and I am an Urban Krav Maga instructor.

Hi, my name's Dave, I'm 33, and I'm and Urban Krav Maga instructor.

Welcome to you, Fighting Kravistas.

Wow, tell me about Urban Krav Maga and how...

and what's its difference from ordinary Krav Maga.

Well, regular Krav Maga is originally an Israeli system.

We don't work with them for a variety of reasons,

so we went off and formed our own style

which is based more on good old-fashioned

British martial art principals.

OK. I mean, and is it related to any of the other martial arts?

It's a little bit of Muay Thai, little bit of boxing,

little bit of jujitsu, a bit of wrestling,

and just some good straight practical stuff

that you pick up over the years.

OK, and the urban bit of it, what does that mean? You do it in the street?

We just wanted a name which was kind of energetic and sort of,

kind of young and youthful, so urban kind of filled the bill there.

We liked that one.

Yeah, it fits then. OK.

If you lose your head-to-heads,

of course you can try a bit of it on your opponent there.

Terrify the Eggheads.

All right, then, let's play the game, shall we?

Every day there's ?1,000 worth of 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, Fighting Kravistas,

the Challengers actually won the last game.

That proves it can be done,

and it means that ?1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

So, we start the game with our opening round which is Arts Books.

And who from the Fighting Kravistas would like to play this?

Nick. All right, Nick, who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Choose your opponent.

We'll take on Barry. Barry, OK.

It's Nick and Barry, then, contesting the opening bout.

Black belt in quizzing is Barry.

OK, let's have you both into the Question Room, please.

So, Nick, how did you get hooked on Urban Krav Maga?

Um, I went to Iraq with my job a few years ago,

about six or seven years ago,

I wanted to basically have some

skills in case something went wrong, basically.

Nothing did, thankfully,

but that was the thing that initially led me to the class

and then once I discovered it, I kind of...

fell in love with it, really.

Stewart's a great teacher

and over the years I've formed a great friendship with him and just...

It keeps me fit. It's something that inspires me

and keeps me disciplined, and keeps me in good shape. Yep.

Nick, we'll play the round. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first.

OK, Arts Books. First question to Nick.

What name is given to the horizontal handrail

at which a ballet dancer performs exercises?

You know, I haven't got a clue.

Uh...

They're all French words, clearly.

Ballet is obviously a French art form.

I think barre. It's a guess, but I think barre.

OK, barre sounds most likely to you.

Eggheads, Barry?

It's correct. Absolutely.

Nearly your name.

Barre. It is the right answer, yes.

Well done.

OK, Barry, Jan van Eyck's painting, The Arnolfini Portrait,

was acquired in 1842 by which institution?

Oh, this is one of my all-time favourite paintings.

It's such a beautiful piece of work...

piece of art and it's absolutely redolent

with all sorts of hidden meaning.

It's currently proudly owned by the National Gallery.

Is the correct answer. Yes, well done.

Just describe it a little for us, then, Barry.

It's a Flemish gentleman and his wife

supposedly just about to get married.

She's wearing a luxurious green gown.

They have a very cute little dog which represents fidelity,

which is always a good thing in marriage, right at their feet.

OK, thank you very much, Barry.

OK, one all, and back to you, Nick. Second question.

Who won the Whitbread Prize for a first novel for her 1985 work,

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit?

I actually know this because I read it when I was a student.

It's Jeanette Winterson.

And the answer is, as Nick identified,

Jeanette Winterson so you've got two.

And Barry, the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf

is attributed to which storyteller?

Goodness. Hm.

I should know this instantly.

I don't think it's the Brothers Grimm,

who were compilers of German fairy tales.

I'm reasonably certain it dates...it's much older

than Hans Christian Andersen

which would lead me to Aesop, so I shall go for Aesop.

It is. Yes, you are right.

OK, Nick, going well there.

Let's see if you can get three on the board.

Which of these Russian writers died in 2008?

Well, it wouldn't be Tolstoy

because he's obviously a 19th century novelist.

I don't it's Pushkin... I think Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Solzhenitsyn... Yes, you've got three.

He must've lived to a ripe, old age.

I thought he would've died a long time ago.

He did, I think.

He went back to Russia, didn't he? OK.

Right, Barry, you've got to get this then.

Which English sculptor won the 1992 Turner Prize

with works that included the six-foot-tall piece

entitled Gold Table?

Erm...

Sadly, I don't know the answer to this one.

I'm just trying to rack my mind to see if any of those names

come to the fore.

I really don't know, so I shall try Richard Deacon.

1992 Turner Prize.

That answer doesn't win you any prizes, it's incorrect.

Other Eggheads, do you know from the other two?

Probably Grenville Davey, then. Grenville Davey. Oh.

Grenville Davey. Great news, Nick, you're in the final round.

First round and first Kravista through.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Barry floored by Nick there from the Fighting Kravistas.

They are all there.

The Eggheads, then, have lost one brain from the final round.

Our next subject is Geography.

Which of the Fighting Kravistas would like to play this? Geography.

THEY MUMBLE

It looks like it's going to be me

cos nobody else is putting their hand up.

Captain's role there, Stewart.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

It just can't be Barry, you've got any of the other four.

Just leave CJ for me, please.

THEY MUMBLE

I have to leave CJ for Didier, apparently.

He wants to take you on directly.

So I'll go for... I'll go for Kevin.

Kevin, OK.

Let's have the two closest to me, then, from each team,

Stewart and Kevin, into the Question Room, please.

Right, well, let's play it then.

Stewart, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Best of luck, Stewart. Here's your first question.

Which of these is a city on the Arno River?

A-R-N-O, the Arno.

Right, it's Arno, so it sounds vaguely Italian.

I'm pretty sure it's not Limoges.

I'm pretty sure, again, it's not Barcelona

so I'm going to go for Florence.

Yes, indeed, you're right. Florence on the Arno.

So, your first question, Kevin.

In Asia, what is the Karakoram?

So, that's all one word? K-A-R-A-K-O-R-A-M. Yes.

Karakoram. Cos there's a very...

There's one of the other alternatives

has a very similar name.

Right, no, but it's how you spelled it. Karakoram.

Yeah, as opposed to Kara-Kum, two words, which would be a desert.

But Karakoram is a mountain range.

OK, look how careful you are. It is the right answer, Kevin.

Yes, Karakoram is a mountain range.

And Stewart, your second question.

Anmer Hall, a ten bedroom Georgian house

lies in the grounds of which royal residence?

Right, royal family... Definitely not an area I know too much about it all.

I saw a programme about Balmoral not too long ago,

so I'm going to go for Balmoral.

It's not in Balmoral. That's incorrect, Stewart.

Do you know, Kevin? I think it's Sandringham.

It is Sandringham.

OK, well, Stewart didn't get that

so Kevin's got a chance for the lead here.

Which of these seaside towns lies at the mouth of the River Clwyd?

Clwyd is North Wales.

Fishguard is right down in West Wales, Southwest Wales.

Abersoch, I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with.

But, um... Rhyl is obviously a seaside resort.

And it's in the right area,

so don't think I can take a chance on Abersoch.

I'll have to go for Rhyl.

CJ?

That's the one I would've gone for cos it's in the right place.

That's all I know about it.

It is the right answer. Yes, Kevin, Rhyl.

On the mouth of the River Clwyd.

Bad luck there. He did get it, Stewart.

He had to think about it though. It means you need to get this, Stewart.

How many red stripes are there on the flag of Puerto Rico?

Right, in all honesty, I wasn't sure Puerto Rico had any stripes on there.

So, again, this is going to be a bit of a guess.

I'm going to go for seven.

Now, Stewart, it's not bad luck without Kevin.

I think we're probably not that good with flags, the Eggheads.

Yeah, I think it's kind of a reverse of a Cuban flag

in terms of there's a triangle and the stripes.

I think it's actually three.

It is three.

Three, not seven, so I don't need to put another question to Kevin there.

He's already done enough to get through. Stewart, bad luck.

You won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, as it stands now it's all square.

The Fighting Kravistas have lost that one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost one. So it's evenly matched.

Well poised, let's play our third head-to-head.

This one's Film Television.

So who wants to take this on from the Fighting Kravistas?

I think Didier, you go for this one. Film and TV. Yeah. OK, OK.

So yeah, go with that one. Film and TV. OK.

OK, it's going to be you, Didier?

Well, we kind of know cos you said in the last big blaze.

You said, "Save CJ for me." Is that who it's going to be?

Please.

OK, well, what do you want to do to CJ?

Some wrestling.

Oh, good.

CJ will win. He's very tough, you know.

OK, it's going to be Didier and CJ

playing this Film Television round.

Would you both please go to the Question Room?

All right, Didier,

would you like to go first or second on Film Television?

I'll be happy to go first, please.

Good luck, Didier. First question.

Ruth Jones played a character called Nessa in which TV comedy series?

Um, I haven't watched the series, but I know the actress.

And um...

I think that might be Gavin And Stacey.

Gavin And Stacey is the right answer. Well done, Didier.

Well, CJ, which of these characters appears

in the 2013 animated film Monsters University?

Voiced by Billy Crystal, it's Mike Wazowski.

It is indeed Mike Wazowski.

We swiftly move on to your second question. This one for Didier.

Who directed the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary?

I don't think it's Jane Campion.

I associate her with more historical movies.

It's going to be a guess between Debbie or Sharon.

I will go for...

..Sharon Maguire.

OK, a guess. Narrowed it down to two.

You've got it, Didier. It's the right answer.

Sharon Maguire...

directed Bridget Jones's Diary, the original one.

And CJ...

Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchan played husband and wife,

Beth and Mark Latimer, in which TV drama series?

I have not seen any of them.

Well, Luther was very...

..transient, wasn't it? There wasn't that much concentrating on...

..families or relationships. It was just a crime drama.

I suppose to some degree the same with Broadchurch.

I really don't know this. I will guess at The Village. Incorrect.

It's not the right answer, CJ. Other Eggheads? I think it's Broadchurch.

It is Broadchurch.

Broadchurch, so nothing there and great news for you, Didier.

Right, well, if you get this right

you're guaranteed a place in the final round, and even if you don't,

CJ still has to get his right to prevent that happening.

So, what is the name of the scarecrow in the TV series

Bob The Builder?

Just out of...

Well, if I was to write it,

Mangelwurzel sounds like a cool name for a scarecrow.

Actually, no. I'm drawn to Spud for some reason.

Well, scarecrow is called...

Spud! Ey! Fantastic.

Good guess, Didier.

Well, you'll be playing in the final round, then, and CJ won't be.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

And good for the Fighting Kravistas, they have knocked two Eggheads out

now and only lost one of their brains from the final round.

And we come to our concluding head-to-head - it's Politics.

And who would like to play this?

It's Jamie or Dave. Jamie.

It's going to be Jamie. Definitely Jamie.

OK, Jamie. And which Egghead would you like to play?

Kevin, Barry and CJ have played, so you can have Chris or Judith,

from the end there.

Um... I'll take Chris. All right.

Jamie and Chris playing Politics.

Into the Question Room, please.

OK, Jamie. You get to choose,

do you want the first set or the second set of questions?

I'll go first, please.

OK, first question for you, Jamie.

For what does the C stands in the name of the British political

protest movement CND?

Well, um, I don't think it would be crown,

because it is a protest movement and they are not generally royalists.

Um...

I don't think it is catalogue.

I think CND, it was N,

was the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,

so I am going to go for campaign.

Yes, course. You knew that very well. It is the right answer.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Chris, Kim Jong Un became the leader of which country in December, 2011?

He is going his own way still,

I'm recalling, but North Korea.

North Korea, yes. Leader of North Korea. Identified that, Chris.

Well done.

Jamie,

who did Anthony Eden immediately

succeed as British Prime Minister?

Right. Um...

I should know this. I am going to have to guess, though.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Harold Wilson.

I'm going to go for Winston Churchill.

I'm not sure, it's a guess, but I'm going for Churchill.

It is Winston Churchill, well done.

Chris can tell us about the line of succession, so to speak.

So you had Churchill, Eden and then he, of course,

got embroiled and heavily damaged by the Suez Crisis.

That's right, yeah.

Then it was Harold Macmillan

and Alec Douglas-Home,

then Harold Wilson. OK.

All right, we will stop there. I know you know the whole list

all the way up. But there we are, that was it, Winston Churchill

handed over, well, stood down and Anthony Eden took over.

So, you've got two. Well done, Jamie. Chris.

The Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman served

as leader of which political party for over five years?

He wasn't Labour. Um...

Was he a liberal or was he a conservative?

Uh... He was a conservative. So, the conservatives.

Conservative Henry Campbell-Bannerman.

Well, you knew your prime ministers on their way up, but earlier on, no.

A liberal.

As you said, wasn't Labour. Henry Campbell-Bannerman was a liberal.

So, that's great news. You are in a similar position to Didier.

Facing insurance here. If you get this question,

you're definitely into the final round, so here you go.

Nancy Astor, the first female to sit as an MP in the House of Commons,

lived in which of these buildings with her husband, Waldorf Astor?

I really don't know. Um...

I haven't heard of Avebury Manner.

I believe Dorneywood could be wrong.

I believe Dorneywood is

the residence of the Deputy Prime Minister these days.

Um...

I'm not sure why, I'm drawn to Dorneywood. Could be wrong.

I'm going to go for Dorneywood.

It's not. Bad luck.

Chris will know, because it's back to that era we were discussing.

And as it went on, particularly Macmillan,

that's when it came to real public attention. It is, Chris?

The Profumo scandal, yeah. Cliveden.

Cliveden, yes.

Profumo and all that involved.

Cliveden.

So, Chris, a chance to save yourself.

Jamie, you still might get in the final round

if Chris doesn't get this.

But if not, if he does, we go to Sudden Death.

Chris, what was the first name of Mr Chernenko who was briefly

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

in the 1980s?

It was Konstantin Chernenko.

Yes, he was.

Konstantin Chernenko.

OK, as I said there, Jamie takes us to Sudden Death,

and you know what that entails.

We are taking away the options

to make it a lot harder to sort out a winner.

Jamie, what is the name of the US presidential retreat located

approximately 60 miles northwest of Washington DC?

I have no idea.

Um, the only place I've heard of, other than the White House,

is Camp David.

So I am going to say Camp David.

That'll do very nicely, it's the right answer.

When you prefaced it with all that, "Don't know anything about it,"

I thought, "Oh, my goodness me."

But you had heard of Camp David, thank goodness.

So you have that score.

Chris, Philip Hammond, who was appointed Defence Secretary

in 2011, became MP in 1997

for the constituency of Runnymede and what?

Oh, what is it? It's... It's in Surrey, isn't it?

Must be Runnymede and Staines.

It's incorrect. Other Eggheads?

Weybridge.

Weybridge, from Kevin. Runnymede and Weybridge.

Which means you are through, you made it, Jamie.

You are into the final round as well.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

So, this is what we have 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.

So, Stewart, from the Fighting Kravistas, and CJ, Barry

and Chris, from the Eggheads, would you leave the studio, please?

So, Nick, Jamie, Didier and Dave,

you are fighting to win the Fighting Kravistas ?1,000.

Kevin and Judith,

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

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

This time, the questions are all general knowledge.

Anything can come up. And you are allowed to confer.

So, Fighting Kravistas, the question is,

are your four brains better than the Eggheads' two?

And how do you want to play the final round?

You want to go first again or second?

We will go first, please, Dermot.

Best of luck to you, guys. First question, then, in the final round.

For what does the letter B usually stand in the abbreviation AOB,

as often seen on the agenda of meetings?

For what does the B usually stand in the abbreviation AOB that is

often seen on the agenda of meetings?

Yeah, absolutely.

It is business, Dermot.

Business. And you know what the AO is?

Any other. Any other business. Any other business, the right answer.

Well done.

A good start for the Fighting Kravistas.

And, Eggheads, then, in the TV series Thunderbirds,

what was the number plate on the car in which Lady Penelope travelled?

In the TV series Thunderbirds,

what was the number plate on the car in which Lady Penelope travelled?

That was Fab1. OK.

It's Fab1.

Did you buy it? Is that on your car now? Your pink roller.

You know, funnily enough, by sheer coincidence,

I have got my initials on my car.

Oh, what? You didn't have to go out and buy it? It just arrived.

It's JWK. Unfortunately, my initial don't include a W.

But I have got JWK on my car. Fantastic.

Fab1, anyway, on Lady Penelope's car.

OK, all square after the opening exchange.

Second question for you, Fighting Kravistas.

In 2010, who became the regular newsreader on the Chris Evans

Breakfast Show on Radio 2?

I have absolutely no idea. Nick, where are you going on this one?

Angela Rippon... It's not Moira Stuart.

Really? It's not Angela Rippon.

It's not Angela Rippon.

Yeah, because she does a daytime. It's not Moira Stuart.

Definitely? It's definitely not Moira Stuart,

because I've heard her on other radio shows, other news.

I can't be 100% sure. So I would go with the middle one.

Go with the middle one. Me too.

I'd be inclined to go with Jan Leeming.

I have no idea. OK, we'll go with the middle one, please.

OK, Jan Leeming. That's right.

Reading the news with Chris Evans there on the Breakfast Show.

That's incorrect, it is not Jan Leeming.

No. Eggheads, what do you think of the other two,

Angela Rippon or Moira Stuart?

Moira Stuart, I think. It is Moira Stuart.

But it was all to do with the fuss about...she was retired, wasn't she?

And there was a great fuss about it.

And I think this is one of the ways they have reinstated her.

Yeah, and a fantastic asset she is.

I used to work with her on BBC Breakfast. Yeah.

Moira Stuart, wonderful woman. Yes.

And now working with Chris Evans on the Breakfast Show on Radio 2,

Moira Stewart. So, a chance

for the Eggheads to take the lead here.

Eggheads, the Muckle Spate of 1829 was a catastrophic flood

which occurred in which country of the United Kingdom?

Many a mickle makes a muckle. Well, you would assume.

Can we have muckle spelled, Dermot, please?

M-U-C-K-L-E.

I assumed it was, but, you know. Yeah, no, absolutely.

The Muckle Spate. Spate, that is very Scottish, too.

Yeah, that seems to imply a flood, doesn't it? It is got to be Scotland.

Yeah, it has got to be Scotland.

Well, both muckle and spate

are words...are Scottish words.

So we think it must be Scotland.

Scotland, for the Muckle Spate of 1829.

It is the right answer, Eggheads, you have that lead.

Right, so work to do.

You've got to get this, Fighting Kravistas, to have a chance.

The song Broadway Baby comes from which Stephen Sondheim musical?

Broadway Baby.

I'm drawn to the middle. Follies, so am I.

I have no idea. Just instinctively. I don't know.

But if you have the same guess as me, we should go for Follies.

Go on, then. Go on. Dermot, we're going for Follies, please.

OK, Follies. It is a must-get question, as I told you.

You know that. And Didier there, I heard saying it was his instinct.

And boy how his instinct served him in that head-to-head against CJ.

Spud the Scarecrow.

You've got it again, it's the right answer. Follies.

All right, well, you have got to cross your fingers here.

Your fate is out of your hands.

Got to hope the Eggheads don't get this.

Two full-size bronze Greek warriors, discovered in the sea in 1972,

are named after which Italian town?

Two full-size bronze Greek warriors, discovered in the sea in 1972,

are named after which Italian town?

I don't know why, I don't think it's San Luca. But, I... OK.

Um... Was there a date in the question?

'72. Yeah, 1972.

There is something that involves Palizzi,

but I'm not sure it's this.

Why would you have heard it otherwise?

Could be loads of things.

It's bad, actually, because in a way,

that was my first instinct,

but I'm actually edging towards Riace.

The more I think about it.

Why? I don't know. I don't know.

What should we do?

Palizzi...

I need an answer, Eggheads. Yeah, I'm going to go for Riace.

You think Riace? Yeah. OK.

The answer is we actually don't know. Go for Riace.

I think we worked that out.

Kevin had a first inkling that it might be Palizzi,

but he has come around to Riace.

And I trust him implicitly, and so

I am... We're going to say Riace.

Riace.

Discovered in the sea and they are named after...

Riace. Which means, Eggheads, you have won.

Very decent of you to give them applause there,

Fighting Kravistas, but I think the applause goes two ways.

You played really, really well today.

That was urban quizzing, I suppose.

That was a really tight game.

And in a way, in spite of the fact that the overall outcome is that

they've won, you beat them, of course, three-one

in the head-to-heads. Really did well there.

And it has just come down to the odd question in the final round.

So congratulations to you, thank you very much for coming on to

play Eggheads today and telling us all about Urban Krav Maga.

I'm sure you will be signing up the Eggheads for some classes very soon.

Yeah, sure. More than welcome to come down. Afterwards, yeah?

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

they reign supreme over Quizland once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with ?1,000.

That means the money rolls over to our next show.

And do 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.