Episode 42 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 our awesome quiz champions today

are Sword Sandwich from Kent.

Now, this team are all members of the same fencing club,

based in the historic Cinque Port of Sandwich.

Let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Kate. I'm 46 and I'm a fencing coach.

Hello, my name's Patrick.

I'm 74 and I'm a company director, retired.

Hello, my name's Amber, I'm 19, and I work in an animal park.

Hello, my name's John, I'm 61 and I'm a retired anaesthetist.

Hello, my name's Nick, I'm 42 and I'm a solicitor.

Well, welcome to you, Sword Sandwich.

I like that team name.

Of course, fitting it together with where you're from and what you do.

-Keen fencer, are you, Kate?

-Absolutely.

Yes, absolutely, I've fenced since I was 10, so, yeah.

My absolute love.

OK, and are you all involved in the fencing club, or..?

We are in various forms, yes.

I've been watching her since I've been...

since she's been doing it, aged ten. DERMOT LAUGHS

Gets a bit boring, sometimes, but it's pretty good most of the time.

And I hear she's pretty good at it.

-What about the quizzing side of it, Kate?

-Um...

-Remains to be seen, really.

-OK.

-KATE LAUGHS

Well, let's put it to the test now, 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, Sword Sandwich, the Eggheads have won the last ten games,

and that means £11,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

OK, well, let's give it a go, shall we?

The first head-to-head battle is going to be on Film & Television.

So who'd like to take this one on to start us off?

Not me.

-Not me.

-Mm...

-You were doing best on the train.

-You did best with Oscars...

I don't mind doing it.

-..except you might be nice to have at the end.

-Up to you, your call.

I think your Mr and Mrs, and, you know, who's married to who

and, yeah, no, it's all good.

-Oh, you want me to do it?

-Yeah.

-OK, fine.

-NICK LAUGHS

-You didn't get one wrong.

-On the train.

-On the train.

-On the train. Yes, well,

this is in the studio and in the Question Room.

-Is it going to be you, Nick?

-It is.

-All right, choose an Egghead,

any of those five are available.

-Yeah, I don't know.

-I think...

Which would be good to... Dave. Dave, we'll take Dave.

All right, let's have Nick and Dave to play

this opening clash, Film & Television.

Into the Question Room, both of you, please.

So, Nick, you've got to carry through your 100% record

from the train on the way up on this right into the Question Room.

This is where it counts. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first.

Best of luck, Nick, Film & TV, first question is this -

the historian Neil Oliver

became the presenter of which television series in 2005?

I don't know either Bargain Hunt or Tribe.

Um... HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

Historian. I've seen Coast a few times.

And it's a generally historical programme, so I'll go with Coast.

Coast, yes, Neil Oliver's been around that Coast

-and many others a few times now, it's the right answer.

-Thank you.

OK, Dave.

The 2003 film Cold Mountain,

starring Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger,

is set during which war?

Right, I know of the film.

It's got Jude Law in as well. Um...

My instinct is towards the American Civil War,

but I haven't really got a clue about this film at all,

but I'll go for the American Civil War.

-Yes, it is.

-Yeah.

-Now you know, American Civil War.

OK, second question for you, Nick.

Which actress joined the cast of New Tricks in 2013

as the new head of the Unsolved Crimes Unit, DCI Sasha Miller?

Er, Tamzin Outhwaite.

Is the right answer, yes.

Are you a viewer of New Tricks? You just know that?

No, I read an article on it, that's how I clocked it, I was lucky.

Yep, well done.

And, Dave, the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley

was created and co-written by which screenwriter?

I believe Andy Hamilton...

No, it's not him.

It's Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin for Drop The Dead Donkey, I think.

John Sullivan wrote Citizen Smith and Only Fools And Horses.

But I'm fairly certain that Richard Curtis wrote The Vicar Of Dibley.

He did. That is the right answer.

You two are good.

Who's going to win this? Nick.

What was the title of the 1976 film

for which Arnold Schwarzenegger

won a Golden Globe in the New Star Of The Year category?

I don't know the answer.

Um...

I certainly haven't seen a film with any of them.

I don't think it's Stay Lucky.

Stay Hungry, Stay Sharp?

I'll say Stay Sharp. I don't know, but that's a guess.

OK, a guess at Stay Sharp.

Well, it's not Stay Lucky,

but not Stay Sharp, it's Stay Hungry.

Stay Hungry for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

OK, well, didn't get that, so a chance for Dave.

Which character was played in the James Bond film by Britt Ekland?

Right. Um...

I think I know which film it is,

I think it's The Man With The Golden Gun.

Mary Goodnight is the only one that I've heard of in connection

with a James Bond film so I'll go Mary Goodnight.

Mary Goodnight for Britt Ekland in, you think,

The Man With The Golden Gun?

It's the right answer. Yes, Dave. Well done.

So, just getting into the final round, it's 3-2, the score,

which means no place for you in the final round, Nick.

Would you both come back and join your teams.

Very close there for Nick,

but just didn't quite make it into the final round.

So let's tell you the scores.

You're missing one brain from the final round, Sword Sandwich,

the Eggheads are all there. Only played one, let's play another one.

And our next subject is Politics.

-So who'd like to play this?

-Oh, no!

-Patrick, you've got to do that.

-I think John.

-I haven't got a clue.

-No, Patrick, you do it.

-If we lose him in the final, we're...

-No, he's pretty strong.

-He is pretty strong.

-Yes, I'll do it.

-We'll keep John back.

-What if science comes up next?

Take it, Patrick. Take it.

Patrick, yes.

OK, Patrick, choose your Egghead, any of the four after Dave.

-CJ?

-CJ?

-Yeah.

-We all say CJ?

-Yeah.

-CJ.

OK, Patrick and CJ, playing Politics,

both of you go to the Question Room now, please.

So, Patrick, Politics. Would you like to go first or second?

I think first.

Right, Patrick. Good luck.

In March 2013, which politician resigned as an MP

to take up a post in New York

as CEO of the International Rescue Committee?

Well...

I don't, it wouldn't be Andrew Mitchell.

He was the chief whip, I think.

Louise Mensch, I don't think it's her.

So I think it's David Miliband.

It is David Miliband, that is the correct answer, good start.

CJ, which term is normally used to describe an economy

that functions with the involvement

of both the state and private sector?

Oh! Um... I was expecting to know this immediately

when the options came up and I don't.

Er... Not intertwined, surely.

Combined economy, mixed economy?

Must be combined economy, surely.

It's going to be one of those phrases I've heard hundreds of times

and for some reason I can't actually place that I've heard it.

-HE LAUGHS

-It must be combined, surely.

-Combined.

-No! No!

You should hear the Eggheads here, and see them! It's not, CJ! No, no.

-It is, other Eggheads?

-Mixed economy.

Mixed economy, a mixed economy.

Now that makes sense, yes, I've heard that.

-Now I'm saying it!

-LAUGHTER

Bad luck, CJ.

It shows even the Eggheads can have one of those moments

in the Question Room.

But it's potentially good news, Patrick.

A lead after those first questions, here's your second one.

Stephen Harper was elected as Prime Minister of Canada in 2006,

representing which party?

Well, we did discuss coming up on the train the situation

with regard to the Canadian Prime Minister,

but we didn't discuss which party he represented.

-Which is rather a pity.

-It is.

I don't think it's the Conservative Party.

I'll go for the Liberal Party.

OK, Liberal Party, with Stephen Harper.

No, it's wrong.

-It's not the Liberal Party, it is the Conservative Party.

-OK.

So, CJ, chance to get back in.

Which of these Asian countries

is a member of the G20 group of leading economies?

Hm. I don't know it, but surely out of those three the only, um....

..real...

..candidate is Indonesia, in terms of what it produces,

it's the only major exporter or powerhouse. Um...

Can't be Pakistan, not for the G20, not for economies.

And I wouldn't have thought it was Vietnam.

So, it's got a massive industry, it's got a massive population

-so I'll try Indonesia.

-Indonesia.

I wonder if it has a combined economy?

No, it hasn't got one of those, Dermot,

you really should check up on your politics!

It is, yes, Indonesia, that is correct.

So it's all square. Patrick.

In 1979, Michael Heseltine was appointed to his first Cabinet post

as Secretary of State for which department?

Well, there was a problem, wasn't there, over the helicopters

and that sort of thing down at Yeovil.

-I think it was defence.

-No!

-OK, defence.

It is a tricky one, this.

It's not defence. Do you know, CJ?

I knew defence was his last one when he resigned over Westland.

That's what Patrick was alluding to.

But I don't know between the other two.

That was later, '79, his first Cabinet post is environment.

Environment. So, well, CJ, this will be a turnaround.

You get through if you give me a correct answer here.

At the 2010 UK general election,

which high-profile MP was re-elected with a majority of just 42 votes?

Glenda Jackson.

Is the right answer, CJ. You have got it.

Glenda Jackson and there, you turned it round after a bad start,

and it means you will be in the final round, CJ.

No place you, Patrick. Would you both come back and join your teams.

Sword Sandwich have lost two brains now from the final round,

the Eggheads haven't lost any yet. And round three is Arts & Books.

-Who'd like to play this?

-Arts & Books.

-Amber, you do it.

-Yes.

-Yes?

-Yes.

-Amber, very keen for it, I see.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

CJ and Dave have played so you can play Barry, Kevin or Pat.

Pat?

You'd go for Pat? You think Pat's the strongest.

Well, in the little Eggheads book that we bought...

Which one would you say, Neil?

-They're all strong.

-Ip dip?

-Eeny meeny miney mo, Pat. Pat, please.

-Pat.

OK, it's going to be Amber and Pat playing Arts & Books.

Into the Question Room, both of you, please.

So, Amber, how often do you get to fence?

I fence once a week on a Wednesday, for...

-Two till about ten o'clock at night.

-Wow.

That's a long stint.

-What's your weapon of choice, what's your favourite discipline?

-Sabre.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my goodness me!

-It's definitely the better one out of all three.

-Sounds a bit fierce.

-All right. Do you want to go first or second, Amber?

-First, please.

Good luck, Amber, here's your question.

In 2004, Edvard Munch's painting, The Scream,

was stolen from a museum in which city

before being recovered two years later?

The only name that sounds like it should go with

a painting like The Scream is Oslo.

But then again, Copenhagen's in quite a creepy country.

Um...

Go from gut instinct. Oslo, please.

So you think the Norwegians are a bit more creepy than the Danes?

Yeah! DERMOT LAUGHS

It's the right answer, well done.

Right, Pat.

The works of which British artist were once described

by Victoria Wood as "Rubens with jokes"?

Well, the abstracts of Bridget Riley and the bronzes of Hepworth

would be very hard to square with that quote.

But Beryl Cook, based in Plymouth,

produced loads of paintings of larger-than-life townspeople

getting...enjoying themselves and relaxing. So it's Beryl Cook.

It is Beryl Cook, that's correct.

OK, Amber. Second question.

"A little learning is a dangerous thing"

is a line from a poem by which writer?

John Keats is the only person that I ever had to look at at A level,

so I'll go for John Keats.

OK, "A little learning is a dangerous thing"

is a line from a poem by...

not John Keats. No, Pat?

-Alexander Pope.

-Pope. Alexander Pope.

OK. Well, Pat, your second question.

The 2012 book Superworm was written by which children's author?

-Spell the title, please?

-Superworm. S-U-P-E-R-W-O-R-M.

-Superworm.

-Well, um...

I think Lauren Child is best known for Charlie and Lola.

Francesca Simon writes the Horrid Henry books, very successful books.

Julia Donaldson wrote The Gruffalo, which is a hugely successful book.

I haven't heard of Superworm.

But at first glance, the writer of The Gruffalo might be

more likely to write a book called Superworm.

Yes, I've got nothing else to go on. I'll go for Julia Donaldson.

Julia Donaldson.

It's correct, Pat. Yes, worked that one out.

OK, means you must get this, Amber.

In which city is Michelangelo thought to have witnessed

the famous classical statue known as the Laocoon

being excavated in 1506?

-Can you spell it, please?

-Yeah, good idea.

It's not pronounced like it's spelt.

It's L-A-O-C-O-O-N.

Well, I think Florence is in France

and that doesn't really sound very French.

Or look very French. Um, Venice...

Don't really know.

Um, change of plan, I think I'm going to go for Florence, please.

OK, Florence. No, it's not Florence.

-Whoops.

-Pat?

-I'd have gone for Rome.

It is in Rome, yes. Rome.

And it means, Amber, sorry, the round is over.

Pat's got those two on the board already

which you can't match or beat, which means no place in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

So, Eggheads, can you tell me anything more about the Laocoon

that caught Amber out there?

I think it's a sculpture of a man wrestling with a giant snake.

And it's Greek. Ancient Greek.

So, I don't know why it was buried in the ground,

but they obviously had to excavate it.

-He was a priest of Apollo at Troy.

-Laocoon was?

Yeah, he warned against bringing the Trojan Horse in,

he didn't trust it.

This supposed parting gift from the Greeks.

So snakes were sent to kill him.

He was down by the waterside, they came out of the water

and killed by strangling himself and his two sons.

Right, well, we've got all the background there to the Laocoon.

And as it stands now, Sword Sandwich have lost three brains

from the final round, the Eggheads haven't lost any.

But a chance still to knock an Egghead out,

coming up now on the Sport category. Our last head-to-head.

That'll be your question!

-Kate.

-OK, thought it might.

And, Kate, you've got Kevin or Barry to choose from.

Well, I think possibly...

-(Kevin?)

-Mm.

Kevin, cos he's got thinner-rimmed glasses.

Right, good reason!

Good reason, yeah!

Kate and Kevin, then, playing the Sport round,

into the Question Room, both of you, please.

So, Kate, let's tap in a little bit

to your extensive knowledge of fencing.

Just how many swords are used, different sorts?

-All three. Three, epee, foil and a sabre.

-OK.

And is the scoring system the same in all the contests,

or how does that differ?

The scoring is the same but the target is different.

For epee, you can hit anywhere from head to foot

with the end of the weapon.

With sabre, you hit from the waist upwards, excluding the hands.

With the side of the blade as well as the point.

-And the foil, you hit just the torso.

-OK. And how does the scoring go?

First, best of nine.

So, first to five in your first rounds,

-and then as the condition progresses, it goes up to 15.

-OK.

Thank you for talking us through that.

I'm sure the Eggheads, if they didn't know that,

-have stored that away to use at a later date.

-I'm sure they did.

Right, we'll play the Sport round now.

Kate, would you like to go first or second?

I think since my colleagues have all gone first, I'll go second.

And so I turn the Eggheads' way to put the first question to Kevin.

Kevin, in which Winter Olympic sport

do participants wear hooded, skintight Lycra suits?

Trying to cut down the wind resistance, it's speed skating.

Speed skating, hooded, skintight Lycra suits, yes.

Speed skating, well done. OK, Kate, your first question.

To the nearest 1,000,

what was the attendance for the 2013 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium?

Well, I think 46 would be too little,

I have a feeling that the old Wembley may have held something like that.

And I would think since they've, if I think I've got it right,

rebuilt it, I want to go with 86 but I think maybe it's 126.

But think I might stick with my gut.

86.

Oh, thank goodness! It's the right answer.

I was holding my breath there. Yes, 86,000.

Right, Kevin.

Your second question.

Which driver won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in June 2013?

Ah, yes, how soon we forget.

They all go by in a bit of a... They come along about twice a month

and just go by in a bit of a blur, don't they, literally.

I don't think it was Vettel. I'm really not sure.

As I say, I don't think it was Vettel, it could turn out to be.

He won a lot of races in the 2013 season.

Um...

I've got an idea that Lewis Hamilton won his home Grand Prix

so I'll say Lewis Hamilton.

Ai!

Lewis Hamilton.

A squeak coming from the Eggheads there.

It's not. It is, other Eggheads, you now know it is Nico Rosberg.

-OK, yeah.

-You were right about Sebastian Vettel not winning it. OK.

Well, this is good news, Kate.

A chance here.

Which team finished runner-up in the ICC Cricket World Cup

in both 2007 and 2011?

Wouldn't say that cricket is one of my strong points.

Ah.

But I really don't think it's Sri Lanka.

So I'm kind of...

Yeah, definitely not Sri Lanka.

Now.

West Indies or South Africa? The question is, who won it.

Er, I want to say the West Indies.

Yes, West Indies.

-OK, West Indies, what do you think, Kevin?

-I think that might be right.

-No, other Eggheads?

-Sri Lanka.

-It is Sri Lanka.

-It is Sri Lanka!

So ruled out there.

-Dear, dear, dear.

-Not going to get that. But it's level pegging.

Still very much in the race.

And that's what my next question is about.

Which of these Grand National winning horses won the race

at the longest odds, Kevin?

Again, not sure at all. Well, I'm not sure at all.

I think, oh, I think the...

..2013 winner, Auroras Encore, was a bit of a long shot.

-So I'll say Auroras Encore.

-Auroras Encore.

-What do you think, Eggheads?

-I think he might be right.

Cos it was Ryan Mania.

I think it was 60s, 66 to 1. Around those odds.

Cos Silver Birch was quite long as well.

OK, well, they're all long odds,

two of the horses were 33 to 1, one was 66 to 1.

And Dave identified it as did you, Kevin, it's the right answer,

Auroras Encore. At 66 to 1.

Well, Kate,

it means you need to get this right to keep the round alive.

-No pressure.

-Not at all.

In South Korea, in 2012, which Australian tennis player

set a record for the fastest recorded serve at 163.4 mph?

Well, I thought I was up on tennis

but I actually obviously am not because I don't know any of these.

Tomic and Bernard doesn't sound Australian, but I may well be wrong.

Neither does Groth. But...

It's really a guess. And hopefully an educated one.

Um...

My gut wants to go with Matthew Ebdon.

And I think, something is telling me it's Samuel Groth.

I'm going to go with Matthew Ebdon.

OK, Matthew Ebdon. Going with your gut.

Your feeling.

-Do you know it, Kevin, is it Matthew Ebdon?

-I thought it was Tomic.

No! Don't tell me this!

-Bernard Tomic.

-No!

It's actually Samuel Groth.

Oh, no!

Which is interesting.

But, of course, Kate's question and it means

in a very, very tough round - that really was tough -

Kevin has just squeezed through.

So no place for you in the final round, Kate.

Would you both come back and join your teams.

Now we've reached the point we've been playing towards,

it's time 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 Kate, Patrick, Amber and Nick from Sword Sandwich,

would you leave the studio, please.

And so, John, you're playing to win Sword Sandwich £11,000.

Pat, Dave, Kevin, CJ and Barry, you are all playing for something

which money cannot buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

And, as usual, I'm going to ask each team three questions in turn,

this time the questions are all General Knowledge.

And you are allowed to confer. So, John, the question is,

is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

-John, would you like to go first or second?

-Second, please.

OK, that means the Eggheads start. The first question is to you.

Which of these capital cities is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea?

-ALL:

-Beirut.

-Yeah.

The capital city that's on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea

is Beirut. In Lebanon.

It is indeed, that's the right answer, Eggheads. So, John.

The events of the first Boer War

took place in what is now which country?

Presumably South Africa.

It is South Africa, yes. Good start for you.

Eggheads.

In 2012, which comedian embarked on a world tour

entitled Qualmpeddler?

-I think that's Bill Bailey.

-I think it's Bill Bailey.

-Bill Bailey, I think so.

-OK.

We're all agreed, we're going for Bill Bailey.

Bill Bailey, Qualmpeddling.

It's the right answer, yes. You got it, Eggheads.

So, John, second question.

Which commercially important crop

is a member of the plant genus Gossypium?

Gossypium. G-O-S-S-Y-P-I-U-M.

G-O-S-S-Y-P-I-U-M, Gossypium.

I don't think it's cotton.

And I don't think it's barley.

There is a condition, a medical condition you can get

from sugarcane which I think is called bagassosis.

Which is not that closely related to the question, but...

If I thought about it for a long time,

-I wouldn't get any nearer the answer so I'm going to guess sugarcane.

-OK.

Sugarcane, and of course,

no-one to discuss it with from the other members of the team.

Sugarcane for Gossypium. Eggheads, is it?

-Cotton.

-Cotton, I think.

It's cotton, John. It is cotton.

So it means the Eggheads have a chance to win the game.

Eggheads, the death of Johann Sebastian Bach

occurred in the same year as the birth of which other composer?

-It's Salieri.

-Salieri?

-1750.

-1715?

-50, 5-0.

All right, well, I'm very fortunate on this team to have a man

who knows every single date that's worth knowing.

And he assures me that Salieri was born in 1750,

which was the year that Bach died. So it's Salieri.

And the answer is Salieri. Eggheads, you've won.

Well, John, great effort there but not to be.

Always so tricky on your own against those five Eggheads

and they're building up this head of steam as the money goes up.

The head-to-heads didn't work out for your other players.

Thank you very much for coming along

and telling us all about the world of fencing,

we've learnt a lot more about that, and had a good old day's quizzing.

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 £11,000,

that means the money rolls over to our next show.

So, 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.

£12,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.