Episode 94 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.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today

are the Best Eds.

Now, this team of colleagues all work together

at St Bede's Primary School in Rotherham.

Their team name is an anagram of not only the school's name

but also because they believe they are the best educators, of course.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Chris and I'm a deputy head teacher.

Hi, I'm Pauline and I'm a primary school teacher.

Hi, I'm Lizzie and I'm a primary school teacher.

Hi, I'm Tom and I'm a newly qualified teacher.

Hi, I'm Gavin, I'm an IT coordinator and a high-level teaching assistant.

-So Chris, team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Thank you, hi.

-So, all the teachers at the same school?

-We are, yes.

You had to look around to check that. OTHERS LAUGH

Yes, we've got a newly qualified teacher

-who is with us at the moment.

-And that's Tom?

-That's Tom, yes.

-That's me.

So, it's always terrifying for teachers

cos if you're, let's say, a science teacher,

and you do science and you get knocked out,

I know that can be very stressful.

-So, keep the stress...

-That's me.

-That's you, is it?

I run a science club and the children believe I know everything,

so I don't want that illusion shattered.

All right, well, we'll see what we can do then.

Maybe just switch away from your own subject,

maybe that's the solution.

-Do you quiz?

-We do, we do around Kimberworth.

It's been a recent thing as a team building

but we're getting there slowly but surely.

OK, well, I'm sure you're at a level where you can take on these Eggheads.

Every day, there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

as you know, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Best Eds, the Eggheads have won the last two games

which means £3,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Worth cracking on?

-Woohoo!

-Definitely, please.

All right, the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of History.

So, who would like to do this?

-Ooh!

-Right.

-Have we got a history teacher?

-I think...

-Tom.

Tom is our clear strength at this one.

-Yeah. Go on, Tom.

-I'll go for it.

-All right.

-I've been forced into it.

The newest teacher and the History man against which Egghead, Tom?

Um, I would like to take on...

-Lisa.

-Yeah.

-I'll take on Lisa.

-Good idea.

-Tom from Best Eds. Lisa did history at University.

-Sometimes.

-Although it was a while ago.

-Yeah!

Thanks for pointing that out, Jeremy. Yeah.

-I mean it wasn't last week, is what I mean.

-Yes, that's entirely fair.

So, please, to ensure there's no conferring, go to our Question Room.

Lisa, we were thinking to get Eggheads to the next stage.

You all have to have a nickname and yours can be related to your singing,

so you could be the Voice. SHE LAUGHS

As long as I'm not the X Factor, I don't mind.

And then, well, Barry is the Brain.

Obviously, we've got Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Pat will be known as Silent But Deadly.

I think that's terribly cruel cos there are other things, obviously,

that are known as silent but deadly and Pat is a deeply fragrant man.

OTHERS LAUGH I hadn't thought of that.

CJ, we're still working on,

so we might come back to that later in the game.

I don't think there's one we can actually say

at this hour on television, is there?

Well, maybe we could get viewers to make some suggestions.

OTHERS LAUGH

How big are the post bags at the BBC these days?

OK, so Tom, you can choose whether you go first or second on History.

Um, I think I might as well go offensive and I'll go first.

So, here is your question, Tom.

Manfred von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron,

famously performed what role in World War I?

Um, I was a little bit thrown when you first said that name,

but now the options have come up,

I believe he was a fighter pilot, it rings a bell in my head.

Yeah, he was doing lots of loop-the-loops and everything else.

Fighter pilot is quite right.

OK, over to the Voice.

The Act of Succession in 1534 was passed during the reign

of which English king?

-1534, you say?

-1534.

Well, Edward II and Richard III had both snuffed it

quite heavily before 1534.

It must be Henry VIII.

Henry VIII is the right answer, Lisa. Well done.

OK, Tom.

The historical period known as the Dark Ages is often said

to roughly correspond to which years?

Um, I believe it would have been after Christ,

so I'll rule that one out.

1AD to 200AD seems a little bit early, so I will go for,

and I hope it's right, 500AD to 1000AD.

Yeah, that's right, five centuries, half a millennium.

500 to 1000AD. Well done.

OK, back to the Voice.

The Indian Mutiny, often referred to as the First War of Independence,

occurred during the reign of which monarch?

Right.

The Indian Mutiny, let's get some dates sorted out in my head.

George III is what? 1700s.

Victoria was 1837 to 1901.

I was getting sort of 1800s when you said Indian Mutiny,

-so I'll go for Victoria.

-Yes, you're right, 1857.

So, just 20 years into her reign. It all started kicking off.

OK, back to you, Tom.

The people of which island led by Knights Hospitaller

successfully resisted an Ottoman siege in 1565?

Um, well, thinking about this,

I would just go for the one that is closest to Turkey,

obviously, the home of the Ottoman Empire.

I'm not 100% sure but purely by the geography of it,

I'm going to go for Cyprus.

Gotcha. Wrong answer, though, I'm afraid. Malta.

Like the logic, though. Just lead you astray.

Lisa, your question.

Sir Richard Sharples, who was assassinated in 1973,

was the governor of which British overseas territory?

-Sharples.

-Sir Richard Sharples.

-Yeah.

No, I've read this and it's not going to come back.

I've sort of got vague stirrings for Bermuda so I'll go for Bermuda.

If you are right, you are in the final round. The answer is Bermuda.

Well done, Lisa. You've done it.

Sorry, Tom. Just one small error.

Costly, but that's how it goes. Don't worry, early days.

Your team can still very much win.

Please come back, rejoin your team-mates.

As it stands, Best Eds have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost none.

I know the school pupils will be cheering you on here.

The next subject for you is Film & TV.

-Who would like this?

-What do you think?

-Film & TV?

-Yeah, go for it, Gav.

-I think you should go for it.

-Go on.

I will take that one, Jeremy.

-OK, Gavin. Who would you like? Can't be Lisa.

-Shall we go for Barry?

-He's too clever on his science...

-Barry looks like he fancies it.

-Go on, Barry!

-Go on, Barry!

He does, he's been up for it all through the game

and we've only just started.

So, Gavin from Best Eds versus Barry from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

It's Film & TV, Gavin. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go, good luck. Who directed the 2014 film American Sniper?

Oh! Um... I didn't see the film. I saw all the hype around it. Uh...

Only for the fact that I know that he does a lot of

really good work in directing, I'll say Clint Eastwood.

-It is Clint Eastwood, yes. Excellent.

-Yay!

Barry, your question.

The short-lived TV series The Lone Gunmen,

which was broadcast in 2001, was a spin-off from which other show?

Certainly not The Sopranos. I remember now.

-I believe it was The X-Files.

-It was The X-Files, well done.

Gavin, your question.

Which country music star was nominated for an Oscar

in 2015 for the track I'm Not Gonna Miss You?

I'm Not Gonna Miss You.

Um, I'm not going to miss this question either because...

I've just not heard of it. Um...

Well, I mean, they're all huge stars.

Uh, I'll say Garth Brooks.

Without any certainty, though.

Yeah, it's not him and it's interesting, this one,

because I must say, I didn't know this guy was still operating.

-You know, Eggheads?

-Yeah, Glen Campbell.

-Glen Campbell is the answer, Gavin.

-OK.

OK, Barry, your question to take the lead.

Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi and Tony Hale

all play siblings in which US TV comedy?

I don't think there's any siblings in Veep.

I've never watched Transparent

but I'll have a go for Arrested Development.

Arrested Development is correct. Have you watched that, Barry?

I've read about one episode but that was about it.

-Arrested Development must be quite funny.

-It's very funny, yeah.

-So much around, isn't there?

-Yeah.

-Amazing!

Not enough hours in the day, Jeremy.

Well, it's the whole catch-up thing, it's the fact you don't have to

sit around and wait for it to come on now. OK, Gavin.

-So, crucial moment for you and your team.

-Yes.

You need to get this right. Otherwise, there will be no way back.

Which English actress won a Golden Globe Award in 2014

for her performance in the Stephen Poliakoff television drama

Dancing On The Edge?

Uh, I can't picture it.

I'm just trying to think of who actually...

Just trying to go through the...

Again, without any certainty, I'm going to say Sarah Miles.

-Do you know this one, Barry?

-I do.

I rather hope it's Julie Christie because I found her

the most luminous actress I've ever watched on the screen.

She absolutely glowed whenever she gave a screen performance.

-It's not her either.

-Oh, what a shame.

-Jacqueline Bisset is the answer.

-Wow.

Veteran actress. So sorry about that, Gavin.

You've been knocked out by Barry the Brain.

Certainly one of the cleverest Eggheads there has ever been,

-so no disgrace at all.

-Oh, God!

-Well, there aren't that many, Barry!

-One of the top eight.

In the top eight, as CJ says. BARRY LAUGHS

Please come back and rejoin your teams.

So, Best Eds have lost two brains from the final round.

You will know, if you watch at home a lot, it's not over by any means.

The next subject is Science.

-Ooh!

-Who would like this?

-Pauline!

OK, science teacher on Science, right.

Pauline, against which Egghead?

And you can have Pat or CJ or Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

I've already decided, I'm having Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Tremendous Knowledge, OK.

So, Pauline from Best Eds versus TKD from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

I bet you love science and teaching it, Pauline.

Yes, I used to teach science in secondary school.

Now I work in a primary school

and I run a science club for children from...

Well, the small ones, aged three, right up to age 11.

They love science at a young age, don't they?

Well, the enthusiasm for the younger children,

if you could bottle it and give it to older children,

they're absolutely fantastic, especially Key Stage 1 children.

The questions they ask you, you know,

why doesn't the moon fall out of the sky

or how come the sun turns into the moon.

Brilliant, they're really enthusiastic.

-It's great, it's great.

-Yeah.

And Dave, they're questions that we want the answers to as well.

Absolutely, yes.

-Yeah, well, we might have to ask Pauline later about that.

-Yes.

So Science, would you like to go first or second, Pauline?

First, please.

And here we go, good luck.

What is the approximate weight of an adult human brain?

Right.

60lbs sounds very heavy.

So does 30. I shall say 3lbs.

-Yes, 3lbs is quite right.

-Well done.

Dave, your question.

How many legs does the creature known as a mite have? That's M-I-T-E.

Well, it's an insect, I presume. Um...

Hmm.

Don't really know, I've not really thought about it.

Well, I don't think it's two. Um... Can't be four, can it?

I'm going to go eight but I really haven't got a clue.

-Pauline, is he right?

-I have to say, I don't know.

An insect has six legs and arachnids have eight legs.

I'm not sure.

It's an arachnid, it's got eight legs, Dave. You're right.

I've never thought about that at all. Sorry about that.

-Well, they're very small.

-Yeah.

OTHERS LAUGH

That's another of those excuses, like, "It was before I was born."

Yes!

There's a reason not to know.

OK, Pauline, your question.

Argentina, Chile and which other South American country

make up the so-called Lithium Triangle,

as they hold the world's largest reserves of the metal?

Right. Well...

I don't know.

Now, if they're all in the same vicinity...

My son recently visited South America and he...

He went to Argentina and Peru and Bolivia.

And Chile, actually.

I don't know. I'll say Bolivia.

-Eggheads, is she right?

-She is.

-Yes, it is Bolivia!

There's a huge flat area in Bolivia

called Salar de Uyuni,

which is an old salt flat

and it's absolutely chock-a-block

with lithium underneath the salt.

Wow. So Bolivia is the answer, well done.

OK, Dave. The vermilion border is located in which part of the body?

-Vermilion?

-Vermilion.

-Well, I think it's a...

Border, well, I've got to...

..eliminate knees and ears and in this case, go for lips.

Lips is correct. Well done. Back to you, Pauline.

Xiphias gladius is the scientific name of which fish?

Right.

Xiphias... Well, I have no idea.

I should say, by the way, it's spelt X-I-P-H-I-A-S and then G-L-A-D-I-U-S.

-Oh, right.

-It starts with an X. Sorry, I should say that.

Right, right. Well, doesn't really help me. Um...

No idea. Gladius, gladiator.

That would lead you to, I don't know, swordfish or barracuda.

-Don't know. Um, might be a red herring.

-Just have a red herring!

OTHERS LAUGH

-It's not a red herring. The answer is not that.

-Right, um...

-I'll say barracuda.

-Oh!

-You've been guessing brilliantly so far.

But on this occasion, Eggheads?

-Swordfish.

-Swordfish.

Because you got... You were right on the...

It's fencing, it's fighting,

it's almost the most obvious gladiatorial-shaped fish.

So, that leaves a chance for Dave.

According to a Royal Society report published in 2015,

the teeth of which creature are made

of the strongest biological material ever tested?

I've got no idea, really.

Um, nothing really to go on.

Not getting limpets or beavers with this so I'll go whales, please.

-Whales?

-No.

Whales have got strong teeth but they are not that strong,

-they are not as strong as the teeth of limpets.

-Right, OK.

Limpets is the answer. So we go to Sudden Death.

-How about that, Pauline?

-Oh! Nightmare.

You've been saved from the final whistle there by Dave's wrong answer.

So it gets a bit more tricky now. I don't give you alternatives.

In 1928, which Scottish inventor was responsible

for the first transatlantic television transmission

from England to Hartsdale in New York?

Alexander Graham Bell.

-No. John Logie Baird.

-Oh.

Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Which ingredient often used in perfumery

is named for the family of deer from which it can be obtained?

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

-Don't know, musk.

Musk is the correct answer, from the male musk deer.

Sorry, Pauline, you've been knocked out by Dave there.

Sudden Death and it can be quick. And Dave will be in the final round.

Both of you please return to us. We'll play round four.

So, as it stands,

our teachers here have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost a brain yet

and the next subject for you is Sport.

-So which Best Ed would like this?

-Chris.

-Chris.

-You sure?

-Yeah, leave Lizzie.

-Chris?

-I'll take it, please.

So, Lizzie stays for the final round. OK, against which Egghead?

-Chris, it can be... Let's see, Pat or CJ in the middle.

-CJ.

It's got to be CJ. You've got to take CJ.

You've been after that all the time.

-I will try my luck against CJ, please.

-You want to take on CJ?

-Please.

-OK, so Chris from Best...

-It's gone very quiet.

-It has, hasn't it?

Chris from Best Eds versus CJ from the Eggheads.

And just to make sure there's no conferring,

please go to our Question Room.

So Chris, would you like to go first or second on Sports?

I'll go first, please.

-So, here we go. Good luck against CJ.

-Thank you.

Which of these former England test match cricket captains

was born in the UK?

I don't think it's Kevin Pietersen.

Between Tony Greig and Ian Botham

and out of two of them, I would say...

-..Ian Botham.

-Ian Botham is the right answer.

CJ, we're still working on your nickname, CJ.

I'm not going to give you anything on this.

Chess related, we think you should be the Bishop.

OK, Formula One races typically take place on which day of the week?

I think you get practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday

and the race is on a Sunday.

Sunday is the right answer.

Chris, over to you.

The Road Hole is the nickname of the 17th hole

of which famous golf course?

Road Hole. I think it's one of those that just jumps out at you.

Augusta is famous for Amen Corner, don't know enough about Winged Foot

but I think the answer is St Andrews.

St Andrews is the right answer, well done. And golf is your sport, right?

-I do play it occasionally, yes.

-And watch it as well?

-I love watching it, yes. I prefer to watch.

-CJ, your question.

Which of these athletics events was a male-only sport

at the Olympics until 2008?

Hmm, that's interesting. Not the hurdles.

But the 3,000 metres steeplechase was traditionally always

associated with the men.

And simply because you've got...

..great pole vaulters like Feofanova and Isinbayeva,

who must have been competing for the Olympics before then,

-I'll go for the 3,000 metres steeplechase.

-Good logic.

So you mentioned some pole vaulters there who were women, were they?

Yeah, Feofanova and Isinbayeva.

3,000 metres steeplechase is the right answer. OK.

So, over to you, Chris.

Now, this is where your fellow players fell by the wayside,

this crucial third question, this gritty question.

For which NFL team did quarterback Troy Aikman play from 1989 to 2000?

That's a...really tough question.

Um, the name rings a bell.

And if that's the case, I don't know much about Washington

or San Francisco, so I'll go for the Dallas Cowboys.

You've got three out of three, well done. That's good.

And they're even clapping you in quite a restrained way here.

-Very restrained.

-OK, over to the Bishop.

Which tennis player born in 1898

won the Wimbledon men's singles title twice

and was known as the Bounding Basque?

Oh, dear, you've chosen three of the Four Musketeers. It's not Lacoste.

Uh, my instinct is Borotra.

Yeah, I'll have to go with my instinct which is Jean Borotra.

Jean Borotra.

It is Borotra the Bounding Basque, you're quite right, CJ.

So you've got three out of three as well.

Well played on Sport, both of you. And we go to Sudden Death, Chris.

-So I don't give you alternative answers. Are you ready?

-OK.

Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall were the only two men to defeat

which London-born boxer in his professional career?

London born...

-Uh, Lennox Lewis.

-Lennox Lewis is the right answer.

Sudden Death, so CJ under pressure now. Get this wrong, you're out.

In 2000, which British cyclist

broke Eddy Merckx's 1972 world hour record using a traditional bike?

Oh, dear. Two names have come to mind

and I don't know which one to pick.

Chris Broadman or Graham Obree. Of course, now I've got...

Is it Chris Boardman or Chris Broad...?

No, it's Boardman, isn't it? There's no R, Chris Boardman.

I'm assuming it's one of these two.

Um, but I'll go with my first instinct and say Chris Boardman.

You are right and you've even spelt it right. Chris Boardman.

I thought you were going to go Broadman,

I was going to have two discount it but you got it absolutely right, CJ.

Well done. So, Sudden Death continues. Chris, your question.

Which female athlete won a silver medal for Great Britain

in the 400 metres of the 1968 Olympics?

I don't even have an athlete to hazard a guess at, Jeremy.

I'll have a shot in the dark at Mary Peters.

-No, it's Lillian Board.

-OK.

-Who tragically died two years later.

So CJ, you have a chance to take the round.

The South Korean YE Yang is a professional in which sport?

-Spell this name, please.

-YE is initials, OK?

-Oh, fine.

-And then Yang, Y-A-N-G.

-Fine, good job I asked you to spell it.

Yeah, he's won the... Is it US PGA, he won?

One of the grand slams.

-But he's a golfer.

-He is a golfer. Well done, CJ.

You've taken the round on Sudden Death.

Sorry, Chris, you've been knocked out. I sense you know that one.

Yeah, unfortunate question.

It's a golf question, was going to come up at some point.

So, CJ is through to the final. If you come back to us, we'll play it.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round. As always, it's 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.

It has been a bit of a rout on this side.

So Chris, Pauline, Tom and Gavin from Best Eds,

would you please leave the studio?

All right, Lizzie, I know you've been left on your own here

-but it can be done. It can be done.

-Fingers crossed.

Three questions away from the jackpot and you're expecting a baby?

-I am, yeah. That's right.

-Boy or girl?

-A little boy.

Due to arrive in three months' time, so yeah,

really looking forward to that.

So you can, you can certainly confer with the boy.

SHE LAUGHS

Lizzie, you're playing to win Best Eds £3,000.

Barry, CJ, Pat, Lisa and Dave, you're playing for something

that money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, they're all General Knowledge.

I was going to say you can confer

-but I know that doesn't help too much.

-Aw!

So Best Eds, the question is, is your brain able to take down these five?

As I say, it can be done, Lizzie. Would you like to go first or second?

Second, please.

So, first question now for the Eggs, all five of you.

What relation is the actor Casey Affleck to the actor

and director Ben Affleck?

-Brother.

-Brothers, brothers.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Um, they are talented brothers.

They are indeed brothers, well done.

Lizzie, your question.

The Last Battle is the final instalment in a series of books

by which author?

Um, it's CS Lewis.

-Is that a guess or do you know?

-Bit of a guess.

-It's right.

-Oh, thank you!

-Well done. What do you teach, by the way?

Everything, because I'm a primary school teacher.

So, year five and six, ten and 11-year-olds.

-So they will be cheering you on right now.

-They will be.

Well done, you got CS Lewis. And are we talking Narnia here, Eggheads?

-Yes, it's the last of the Narnia books.

-The whole Narnia thing, yes.

OK, over to you, Eggs.

Robin Hood's Bay and Goathland are tourist spots in which

English National Park?

-We'll claim those, shall we? Yeah.

-Go on, Barry.

-We're absolutely certain on that one.

-Oh, yeah.

They are in the North York Moors.

North York Moors is correct.

OK, so your second question, Lizzie.

Chippy Minton the carpenter was a character

in which children's TV series?

They don't sound like something when I were born.

Were I born at this point? Don't know.

Um, oh, let's have a look.

Don't think it's Trumpton, never heard of it.

So, I will go for The Clangers.

-Eggheads, help us out with the answer here.

-It's Trumpton.

-Trumpton is the answer.

-Oh!

OK, so the Eggheads have a chance to win with their third question.

In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was the daughter of Clytemnestra

and which other figure?

-Agamemnon. She knocked him off, didn't she?

-Yes, she did.

-Agamemnon?

-Definitely.

-Yes, Odysseus, Menelaus, Agamemnon.

-Yeah, everybody agreed?

-Yeah, definitely.

We think that's Agamemnon, Jeremy.

Agamemnon is the right answer.

So we have to say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

You've done St Bede's proud and did you enjoy it?

I did, it's been fantastic. Thanks for having us.

Not at all and this, when there are five of them,

it has been done before, as we said, but it is hard against five

because it only takes one brain cell in amongst the five

to know the answer and...

Sometimes we've relied very heavily on that one brain cell!

OTHERS LAUGH

So, well done for going it alone and all the best in the coming months.

Thank you very much.

Well done and thank you to team as well in the back there,

all the teachers!

So it means you won't be going home with the £3,000.

We now roll the money over to the next show. Eggheads, congratulations.

Rather a relaxed performance in some ways today.

Didn't break a sweat but I know underneath the table,

you're all pedalling like crazy.

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£4,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.