Episode 100 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. Are you feeling quizzy today?

-Yes, very.

As always.

Taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today are Radiola.

Now, this team of friends all know

one another through the same

Glasgow-based band called, yes, Radiola. So let's meet them.

Hi, I am Colin and I'm an IT consultant.

Hi, I'm James and I'm a sales assistant.

Hi, I'm David and I'm a controls engineer.

Hello, I'm David and I'm a mechanical design engineer.

Hi, I'm Dave and I'm a software developer.

-So, Colin, team, welcome. Good to see you. TEAM:

-Hi, Jeremy.

Colin, tell us about Radiola. What's in the name?

Radiola is an old kind of radio set.

So we love old music, so it's an old kind of radio set, like Victrola.

You've heard of that, it's maybe more famous. So we thought that

was a good name and it's kind of cool word as well.

Cos the band harks back to some old music, does it?

Yeah, we prefer a kind of music to be an older kind of style, yeah.

And country-based, is it?

Yeah, we struggle to know what to call it but, yeah,

alternative country rock or something like that.

All right. Well, good luck here.

Every day, there is £1,000 worth of cash up for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls

over to the next show.

So, Challengers, the Eggheads have won the last eight games.

I think they are on... What do we call it? It's a roll,

-it's more than a roll.

-Streak.

-They're on a streak.

So that means £9,000 is here for you to win today.

-Would you like to give it a go?

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Politics.

Which one of you would like Politics?

-Politics.

-What are we thinking?

-Who did we decide?

-I'm not sure about that.

-Is it lamb to the slaughter time?

THEY LAUGH

-Are you ready?

-Surely not.

-Will I go for it?

-James?

-OK, who am I going to go against?

-James.

-OK, James from Radiola.

-Which Egghead? You can have anyone of the five.

-Take on Chris?

-Yeah, fine.

-OK, Chris.

-I hear you.

All right, James from Radiola versus Chris the Shunter,

as he's known, because of his train background. Chris from the Eggheads.

Please, both of you, to ensure there's no conferring,

take your positions in our Question Room.

Politics, James, your choice. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck against Chris.

Which of these was a nickname of Abraham Lincoln?

Oh, that's quite good, I was slightly worried, but we're into

the first question with one that I know the answer to.

It was Honest Abe.

Honest Abe is quite right, well done.

Over to Chris.

Which of these politicians was born first, Chris?

Well, Ed Balls and Harriet Harman

are much the same generation, aren't they? But Vince Cable,

he's the Lib Dem business guy and he's...

He can't be far off my age, so it's Vince Cable.

Vince Cable is the right answer, well done. So one each.

Back to you, James.

In 2010, Andrew Cuomo was elected governor of which US state?

-Andrew Cuomo?

-Cuomo. C-U-O-M-O.

That is not a name that I am

familiar with in any way, shape or form but...

For no good reason, I am going to go with Georgia.

OK, it's the wrong answer, I'm afraid.

I think, and I'll check with the Eggheads, the way to this is

through Mario Cuomo, who was his dad, who was New York.

-Is that correct?

-Yes.

Who famously weighed up maybe trying to become president and would he,

wouldn't he? Seemed to go on for ever. Had a famous phrase, didn't he?

Something very famous about politics.

"Campaign in poetry and you govern in prose."

-That's what he said.

-That's rather good.

-And he died recently.

-He was the Hamlet of the Hudson.

-The Hamlet, exactly.

Because he was a man who couldn't make up his mind whether

-to run or not.

-Exactly. That's right, the Hamlet of the Hudson.

"To be or not to be?"

OK, Chris,

your question to take the lead.

The American marine Colonel Oliver North was at

the centre of a political scandal known as the Iran-Contra affair

in which decade?

It was when Ronny Reagan was president. It was the 1980s.

It was indeed the 1980s.

OK, so he's in the lead,

James.

-You need to get this one right or you are out.

-OK.

Which Prime Minister of the UK had a wife named Clarissa?

It's another one I'm not...not massively familiar with.

I'll go for Harold Wilson.

-Chris, do you know this?

-I think it was Anthony Eden.

Anthony Eden is the correct answer. James, sorry.

So no way back for you in this round. Chris has taken it.

Chris will be in the final and you've been knocked out.

But it's early days. Please come back, rejoin your teams.

We'll play on.

As it stands, Radiola have lost a brain,

but there is no cause to panic.

If it was an onstage moment, this would be like,

just the guitars cut out for a few seconds.

Don't worry, keep playing. That's the crucial thing.

The Eggheads have lost none.

And the next subject for you is Arts & Books.

-Who would like this?

-Arts & Books.

Arts & Books.

-Dave?

-Dave.

-Are you sure? I thought we decided Colin but...

Everyone is called Dave, so I'm struggling to work out which one.

-What were we thinking? One of the Daves, Dave S.

-I'll...take it?

-You want to go for it? Yeah, OK. Dave S.

-Dave S.

-Who would you like to play?

-Barry.

-Barry.

We're going to go for Barry.

OK. So it is Dave S from Radiola versus Barry from the Eggheads,

who definitely does read a lot. How many books have you got at home?

-Oh, thousands.

-Didn't you say 7,000?

-Something like that.

He hasn't read them all, don't worry. It's mainly just interior design.

So to ensure there is no conferring, please take your positions.

Arts & Books, Dave S. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, thank you.

Here is your question, good luck.

In which type of institution is the Stephen King story

Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption set?

That is set in a prison.

Prison is quite right, yes. And the film was set there too.

Barry, your question.

The Entertainer is a 1957 play by which author?

Yes, an excellent play, and I believe it is by John Osborne.

That's the correct answer. OK, back to you, Dave S.

Which of these is a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet?

Um...

I'm fairly sure "A plague on both your houses" is

Romeo and Juliet.

And I think "Let slip the dogs of war"

is from one of the Richards.

So I'm going to go with "The lady doth protest too much."

"The lady doth protest too much" is indeed from Hamlet.

Well done, Dave S. Good. Very good indeed. Two out of two.

Back to Barry.

Which of these is the title of a famous ode by John Keats?

I'm just trying to remember how it goes.

"Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness."

I think it's to autumn.

To autumn is correct.

So, two each. It's tight.

Get this one right, put him under some pressure, Dave.

In which year was the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat born?

Um, I think I may have been reading about him recently.

If it's the same person I'm thinking of,

it will probably be 1960.

Well, you're bang on with the date, well done. 1960. Very impressive.

Barry,

your question to stay in.

Get this wrong and you are toast.

The fraudster Augustus Melmotte

is a central character in which novel by Anthony Trollope?

I have heard the name Augustus Melmotte.

And because I've heard of the name, I'll associate it with probably

the most famous of those, and I'll go for Barchester Towers.

Barchester Towers. If you have got this wrong, you're out.

Let's see. Any Challengers know this?

-Dave S, you've been playing well. Do you know this?

-I don't.

-What about Eggs? Pat knows it.

-The Way We Live Now.

Very close to my heart. It was the answer which made me an Egghead.

Oh, tell me why. What happened?

My final question was to do with the book The Way We Live Now

and Augustus Melmotte.

OK. And, Judith, you said it as well. In fact, you all said it.

-Barry, they all said it here.

-They all said what?

-David Suchet.

-They all said The Way We Live Now.

-In the television thing.

Hang on, Judith is telling us something. Wait a second.

In the television, it was David Suchet who played him.

In the TV adaptation, it was David Suchet, if that helps,

who played Augustus Melmotte.

But I am sorry, Barry, you've been knocked out by Dave S.

You played a good game there, Dave, well done.

You can... You can look pleased, if you want.

-It's not against the rules.

-Relieved.

Please come back to us, both of you. We'll play on.

All right. Well done, Dave S.

And you took him apart like a surgeon there.

I mean, you were totally impassive. So they've lost a brain.

The Eggheads have lost a brain too.

They lost Barry, who's in some kind of personal crisis now.

And the next subject is Food & Drink.

Who would like this?

Food & Drink.

Who's good with food and drink?

-I'll take it?

-I think you'd probably be better at it than I am.

-I'll give it a go.

-You love your food and drink.

You're more of a foodie, I would say.

-Going with Dave.

-All right with that? Yes.

Another David, you don't say?

Dave M against which Egghead?

-Leave it up to you. What do you think? CJ?

-CJ.

-He's a vegetarian.

I think CJ may have forgotten what food is.

I was hoping to before you said that.

So it is Dave M from Radiola and CJ from the Eggheads on Food & Drink.

-And on this famous diet you're on at the moment. It's no secret.

-Yes.

And to ensure there's no conferring, would you please take your positions?

So would you like to go first or second on Food & Drink, Dave?

I think I'll stick with the programme and go first.

Your first question on Food & Drink, Dave, here it is. Good luck.

What type of food is celeriac?

I think I remember seeing that in the vegetable aisle in supermarket.

Yeah I think I might go with vegetable.

Vegetable is correct.

CJ,

the classic recipe for the confectionery nougat contains

egg whites, honey and which of these ingredients?

Certainly be an interesting recipe

if it had carrots or bread in it, wouldn't it? I think that's nuts.

It is nuts. Nuts are in nougat. Well done. OK, back to you, Dave.

The large black and the large white are breeds of which animal

raised for meat?

Uh, so...

It looks as if it should probably be sheep.

So I think I'll go with sheep.

-Eggs, is he right?

-I think it's pig.

-Pig.

It's a large black pig and a large white pig. Sorry, you got it wrong.

So CJ has the chance to take the lead now.

Which TV cook, CJ, had a husband called Johnny

who would often feature in her shows?

I always thought she looked like a drag queen whenever I've seen

clips of her, but it's Fanny Cradock.

It is but way before your time. How do you know that?

The Battle of Hastings was way before my time

and I know about that. Saying it's before my time is not an excuse.

OK, he's got it right. Dave, this is awkward now.

You need to get this right to stay in.

What shape is a traditional Bundt cake?

And Bundt Is B-U-N-D-T.

Sounds like a German word.

Or Dutch.

Ring?

Yeah, you got it right. Well done.

OK, CJ,

equal but you have a question in hand. Here it is.

Get this right, you're in the final round.

Get it wrong, we go to Sudden Death.

Which of these is a type of cheese used in Indian cookery?

I'm not a great fan of Indian food, but I do actually like this.

It's a lovely soft cheese usually mixed with lots of spices,

and it's paneer.

-I thought you'd given up cheese.

-For the moment, unfortunately, yes.

I'm looking forward to really getting back into it.

Well, you've got it. Absolutely right, CJ.

Paneer is the right answer.

Three out of three for you. Sorry, Dave. That can happen,

I'm afraid. That expensive wrong answer.

Let's see what happens next.

Return to us, please, and we'll play the next round.

So you've lost two.

The Eggheads have still just lost the one.

-Are you over that now, Barry, or still...?

-No, it'll take months.

I'm into deep therapy when I go home.

The next subject is Music.

Ah, Music, that's good.

So who wants this?

Well, I think that would have to be...

Dave S.

-David?

-Yeah.

-Aye, OK.

-It's not going to be Dave, by any chance, is it?

-Person called David.

-OK, right.

-Shock.

-Go for a David.

-I could've guessed that.

And against which Egghead?

You can have... Only two left, actually.

Pat on one end, known as the Torpedo, because he operates silently.

And Judith on this end.

-Judith.

-What do you think? Judith?

We think Judith.

-David from Radiola versus Judith. Music.

-Not good for me.

-Really?

-No.

I think it has been good recently.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

-So, Dave, another member of the band, I'm guessing.

-Yes.

-And let me see, guitarist?

-No.

-Drummer.

-Keyboard?

-Drummer?

-Drummer.

-Oh, right.

Well, good luck making a noise here against Judith.

-And would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

Here we go. Good luck, Dave.

Your band should be called Dave, really, shouldn't it?

Master Of The House, sung by Thenardier and his wife, is a song

in which musical?

Master Of The House. I can't be too sure on this one,

but there's something that's telling me to pick

Les Miserables.

So I'll go for Les Mis.

Les Mis it is. Well done. Les Miserables.

Judith.

-Oh, you'll love this.

-Oh, no.

I couldn't have written this better for you.

Which of these was a hit single for the band Motorhead?

I haven't the first idea.

I've really no idea.

Ace Of Spades.

I reckon you are secretly listening to them every night.

Ace Of Spades is the right answer.

-Oh, thank goodness for that.

-Well done.

OK, David,

which of these composers had 20 children?

-20 kids?

-Yeah.

I'm going to go with Tchaikovsky.

-Let's see. Eggheads?

-Johann Sebastian Bach.

-Yes.

Bach had the 20, David, so you got it wrong.

Actually, these rounds are all playing out the same way here because

now, Judith, if you get this question right, you go into the lead.

The Oscar-winning song Glory by John Legend and the rapper Common

featured on the soundtrack to which film?

-Glory?

-Yes.

-I wonder if that's Birdman.

I mean, if the words mean something, it sort of should be Birdman.

So I'm going to go for Birdman because I don't know.

I mean, I don't know at all.

Just take me through it.

The word glory associates itself with the film Birdman?

Well, I think it does because Birdman is all about the character

-who had a moment of huge glory in his past...

-Oh, I see.

-..when he was Birdman.

-Yes. But Selma is about Martin Luther King.

-Yes.

-And Selma is the answer.

-Oh, Selma is the answer, right.

I'm sorry to say.

OK, David, that's quite handy.

Judith has slipped up.

It's one point each, third question and it's yours.

What was the UK's bestselling single of the year in 2014?

Well, I'm pretty sure that Happy was a big seller,

so I'm going to go with happy by Pharrell Williams.

Yes, and you got it completely right. Happy it is, by Pharrell.

Judith, you need to get this right.

Which composer had to flee Germany after an arrest warrant was issued

for his part in the Dresden uprising of 1849?

Well... I don't know what the Dresden uprising was. Uh...

I think the dates would be Wagner, funnily enough.

So Wagner.

So your answer is Wagner. OK, let's just ask the Eggheads here.

What do the dates tell us here? 1849. Were any of them not alive then?

-Beethoven was dead.

-Strauss would be far too young.

-Strauss was how old?

-When and more as he born?

-He might not have even been born.

Strauss was still alive during World War II.

Strauss was alive in World War II?

Famously, the US troops came into his house and as he came

down the stairs and said,

"I am Richard Strauss, composer of Rosenkavalier."

-So he was alive in 1945.

-Wow.

-Beethoven died in 1827.

Beethoven died in 1827,

Strauss was alive in the Second World War, Judith, so you've

-gone for the right one, it is Richard Wagner.

-Oh, good.

So two each after three questions.

Sorry about that, David. It gets a bit more complicated now.

It goes to Sudden Death.

And I don't give you alternatives, so here is your question.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a famous song by which British band

formed in the '60s?

Luckily enough, I know this one. It's Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd is correct. Often said to be a tribute to their former

band mate Syd Barrett.

Judith, to stay in.

In 2012, which Irish singer became the first artist to have a

different album in the British charts every year for 25 consecutive years?

-Which Irishman?

-Irish singer.

Cliff Richard's not Irish, is he?

It's probably Val Doonican or something. Um...

I don't know. Val Doonican.

-Val Doonican?

-Yes.

-Anyone know here?

-I'd guess at Daniel O'Donnell.

-Daniel O'Donnell...

-Never heard of him.

-..is the answer.

-Every year for 25 consecutive years, Judith.

-Good for him.

Well done, David, you're in the final round. How about that?

Really levelled things up at the end there. And Judith...

You'll have to listen to...

We're getting a number things you've

-got to listen to on your days off, Judith.

-I know.

-The Jam, Daniel O'Donnell, Motorhead.

-Yeah.

-No!

-It fills me with gloom.

Please come back to us and we will play the final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is 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 James and Dave M

from Radiola and also Judith - the Daniel O'Donnell fan -

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

So here we are in the final round. Colin, David, Dave S, you are

playing to win Radiola £9,000,

cos this lot have been on such a good run.

Chris, CJ and Pat, you're playing for something money can't buy,

which is the Eggheads' precious reputation.

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

This time the questions are all general knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

OK, Radiola, the question is, can your three brains defeat these three

over here? And, Colin, David, Dave S, do want to go first or second?

First, please.

General Knowledge, here we go. Good luck, guys.

Which famous cricketer was nicknamed The Doctor or The Champion?

-The only name that sticks out is WG Grace.

-That's what I'm thinking.

But easily, it's just a hunch.

WG Grace is, like, the legendary English cricketer.

Don Bradman's, like, the brittle Australian.

I've never heard of Jack Hobbs, but I don't know nicknames.

We go for WG Grace because... Well, he's from so far in the past

he might've been a doctor as well as a sportsman.

Maybe?

-Don't you think, just go for it?

-Go for it, why not?

We don't know really, but we'll go for WG Grace.

WG Grace. And he used to rock a beard rather like yours, I think.

That's a WG Grace beard there, but is it the right answer?

-Let's find out. Eggheads, do you know this?

-Yes, he's right.

-And was a doctor.

-He was a doctor, there we go.

So if someone got hit with the cricket ball, he was right there.

WG Grace is the right answer. Well done, Challengers.

What name is given, Eggheads, to the young of a skunk?

-Oh, my.

-It's not a calf.

Skunk.

I mean, there are lots of cubs. There are kits of other animals,

but they tend to be a lot rarer, so I wonder if this is one of the kits.

-Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It's not calf.

-It's not calf.

-We can safely bin that.

-Yeah.

Cub of a skunk? Kit of a skunk?

-Skunk kit, yeah.

-Skunk cub?

Skunk cub doesn't really work, does it?

My instinct...my leaning is kit.

-Yeah, a very faint leaning towards kit. Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Is that as good as we're going to do?

-Yeah, we don't know it, so...

We don't know this.

We have a faint, we have a hope,

in fact a strong hope, that it's a kit.

Wow, when you unravel on the first question, it's calamitous.

But have you? Let's see, Judith will know this. Judith?

-I don't know, but I'd have said kit, I must say.

-Kit is the answer.

Kit is the young of a skunk. Oh, I could feel...

I could smell the £9,000 when they were struggling there.

OK, Challengers, which of these authors wrote a series of books

about the Cornish Poldark family?

-I'm fairly certain it's not du Maurier.

-It was on TV.

-So that gives us the two on each side.

-I suspect it's...

If I was to guess it...

My thought is leaning towards Thorndike,

but I'm really... I'm not sure.

I'd probably take a guess on Thorndike cos I don't know.

Winston Graham is kind of speaking to me slightly.

COLIN CHUCKLES

Oh, what do we do? What do you think?

-You've got no thoughts whatsoever?

-No, I don't know it.

-Let's go with Russell.

-Are you sure?

No, but...

Again, we're not sure, but we'll go for Russell Thorndike.

Russell Thorndike is your answer. OK.

-Eggs?

-Winston Graham?

-No!

-Winston Graham is the answer.

-Sorry, Dave.

Sorry, Challengers, Winston Graham it is.

Gives the Eggheads the chance to go into the lead with this question.

Which of these is often said to be the largest city in the world

not to be built on or around a navigable body of water?

Well, Johannesburg isn't navigable.

I think it's known for that.

Moscow is certainly on a navigable river.

-Vancouver is on the River Fraser.

-And near the sea.

And Moscow is on the Moskva and has loads of giant canals.

-So it's Joburg.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

We think that's Johannesburg.

On the basis that what, Vancouver is on the sea and Moscow's on a...?

-The Moskva.

-The Moskva.

And I have lived in Johannesburg

and I didn't see a river there, that's for sure.

You're right, Johannesburg it is.

So they have two and you have one.

And we are at that point again where you need to get this right to stay

alive in the contest. Get it wrong, the contest is over.

£9,000 we are paying for here. Your question.

Vic Armstrong, born in 1946 in Buckinghamshire, is famous for

performing what role in the film industry?

I have absolutely no idea.

-Vic Armstrong.

-Stuntman...

I've got a bell ringing saying stuntman, but whether it's right

-or not, I don't know.

-That's got to be the one.

Thatt's two small, distant bells.

We'll take that over what I'm thinking.

-Yeah, why not?

-If you get an inkling.

-Let's go for the inkling which is stuntman.

-Your inkling is stuntman?

I wonder if that's caused by the name being Armstrong.

Vic sounds like someone with biceps, you know?

Shall I ask them?

Or is that too painful?

-Do you know?

-He's probably the world's most famous stuntman.

He is the world's most famous stuntman.

-So you're right.

-Good inkling.

-That was brilliant.

The inkling was amazing.

Don't even try. As soon as you question it, it disappears.

That's the trouble with those inklings. So you are still in it.

Two each, you have a question in hand.

If they get this right, it's over. But they may not.

There's only three of them there.

And they can... Look at the way CJ is blinking. He looks nervous.

Here's your question, Eggheads. This for the contest.

The athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson competed in which athletics event

at the 2012 Olympics?

She's the heptathlete.

In 2015, she became European Indoor Champion

at the pentathlon, just missing the world record.

-But she's a heptathlete.

-She is. She's a heptathlete. Heptathlon.

Heptathlon is your answer. You didn't really break a sweat there.

The answer is heptathlon, so we say congratulations, Eggheads,

you have won.

Commiserations, Radiola. That beastly single question. That was the one.

-So very bad luck to you. I hope you've enjoyed playing.

-Yes.

The band goes from strength to strength as well.

Go for Radiola. Brilliant.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

They are really on almost more of a streak now.

They are doing very, very well.

And it does mean the Challengers don't go home with the £9,000,

so we will take that money and roll it over to our next show.

Eggheads, all three of you, well done.

Who, I wonder, will ever beat you.

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers have the brains

to defeat the Eggheads.

£10,000 says they don't. Yep, we're into five-figure jackpots now.

Until then, goodbye.