Episode 95 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 are you on form?

-Yes!

-We're happy.

-You just went like that, Lisa, meaning...?

-Well, yeah.

-Yeah. OK.

A bit uncertain, I think.

Well, let's see if that's good news for our Challengers.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths today are the Maytons from London.

Now, this team of friends all used to live together in a shared

house on Mayton Street in Islington.

They all enjoy quizzing and they like to organise quiz

nights against each other, where they play for rather unique prizes.

Let's meet them and find out more.

Hiya. I'm Joe, I'm a digital operations manager.

Hi, I'm Kat, and I'm a nurse.

Hi, I'm Rhys, and I'm a marketing analyst.

Hi, I'm Joseph, I'm a procurement consultant.

Hi. I'm Ross, I'm a Parliamentary researcher.

-So, Joe and team, welcome. ALL:

-Hi.

I've got to ask about the unique prizes. What's going on there?

So, we play against our friends' houses, and whichever team

loses has to give an item of up to £50 to the winning team.

So we have won a house plant, a block of knives...

Those kind of weird prizes.

So you don't live in the same house now, you go round

-to your friend's house and then you take something away if you win.

-Yeah.

-That's pretty much it.

-Right.

-And have they been cleared out yet?

-We're getting close.

JEREMY LAUGHS

-But you obviously love quizzing.

-Yep.

We quiz at least once a week, and then

we have a big quiz-off against our friends once every six months.

And are you still in the Mayton Street house or not? No?

-Unfortunately not.

-Oh, dear! You've moved out.

-Yeah.

-End of an era.

-So, was that the kind of student place, was it, or...?

Yeah. There was eight of us living there. There's only five of us here.

I think at some stage you have to move on from that arrangement,

or it gets very inconvenient.

Well, these Eggheads, they all live together,

in a little flat in Glasgow.

I tell you what, though,

Kevin and I are in the process of getting new houses.

This sounds like a really good wheeze for furnishing.

-It does!

-Kevin could probably furnish a whole street like that.

He could go round, challenge the neighbours

and take all their knife blocks away.

Every day, there's £1,000 worth of cash up for

grabs for our Challengers, but if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, Maytons, the Eggheads had a problem

and they've recovered very swiftly.

They've won the last three games now,

so there's £4,000 on the table for you to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes!

-As you're here!

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Film & TV.

Who would like this?

-So, what do we think?

-Rhys, I think.

-Between me and you, isn't it, Joe?

-Yeah. But you're the film buff, so I think we'll go with Rhys.

-OK.

Rhys is the film man. Against which Egghead?

You can have any one of the five.

-Lisa's smiling like she knows a lot.

-She does know a lot!

I'm smiling out of pure fear.

-Dave?

-Should we go Dave?

-We'll go Dave.

-Dave!

All right, so Rhys from the Maytons versus Dave from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our special Question Room?

Rhys, you're from Islington, but I gather you are an Arsenal fan.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, we used to live at Mayton Street

and used to be very close to there,

so we could hear when Arsenal scored.

Like in Fever Pitch, where the guy's trying to move close to the stadium

and claiming that he ought to pay less for the house

-because he's going to be really annoyed by the cheering.

-Yeah. Yeah.

Dave, you're about as close to an Arsenal fan as you've ever

-been in your life, I think.

-Something like that!

Yes!

OK, so, top-of-the-table fixture here, Film & TV.

-And, Rhys, would you like to go first or second?

-Can I go first, please?

Here we go. "Choose life, choose a job, choose a career"

are the first words heard in which film?

Erm... It sounds familiar.

I've not seen Twilight or Four Weddings And A Funeral,

but I have seen Trainspotting.

And, yeah, it sounds familiar, so I'd say it was from Trainspotting.

-Trainspotting is the right answer.

-Excellent.

Yes, that great scene.

Aren't they all running, and the guy jumps over a car bonnet and all that?

It's just complete chaos. Yeah.

OK, over to you, Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Which of these characters made a surprise reappearance on the TV

soap EastEnders in February 2015?

HE CHUCKLES

I don't know how these EastEnders scriptwriters get away with it.

Pretty surprised they've not managed to dig up Den Watts and Mark Fowler,

but they managed to dig up Kathy Beale, who apparently hadn't died.

I need help here. Kathy Beale had died?

She died in a car crash, and Ian, remember, who's her son,

just believed... Well, just left it at that. "Me mum's dead."

And then suddenly she reappeared after her granddaughter's murder.

-Good, you've obviously been watching it.

-No, I just read it. Pat told me.

Pat told me that. I was listening to that in the dressing room.

JEREMY CHUCKLES

OK, Rhys, who was the first African-American woman to win

the Academy Award for best actress in a leading role?

Erm, again not one I'm 100% sure on.

I'm not even sure I know who Dorothy Dandridge is, unfortunately.

But I know Halle Berry's famously won an Oscar,

because I can picture her speech.

And I feel like Oprah Winfrey might have won an Oscar,

but I think that might be supporting actress.

So I'll probably go for Halle Berry.

Yes, you are right with Halle Berry.

Dave, which British actor played Jimmy McNulty

in the US TV series The Wire?

Only one of those actors I associate with The Wire.

I've got to box-binge one day.

Not Damian Lewis or Andrew Lincoln, in my opinion. It's Dominic West.

It is Dominic West. You're quite right.

Did a brilliant American accent. Fantastic series.

So, Rhys, get this right and you will put Dave under some pressure.

Which American fashion designer directed the 2009 film

A Single Man, starring Colin Firth?

Erm, that's not a film I've heard of, unfortunately.

Erm, so it was probably going to be a stab in the dark with this one.

Tommy Hilfiger seems like the obvious answer,

so I'll go for Tom Ford.

Ah! You did a swerve there.

Tommy Hilfiger takes us, of course, into Ali G territory.

-Tom Ford is the correct answer.

-Excellent.

-Well done!

-So, Dave, pressure on.

-Mm-hm.

What is the actual first name of the actor Charles Dance?

I've never heard of this at all.

I can't make a case for any of 'em.

Dirk Dance? Walter Dance? Nelson Dance?

Hm...

No, I've never heard this.

I'll go for Nelson, but I've got no idea at all!

Nelson does sound the best. Nelson Dance.

-But I don't know if it's right. CJ?

-None of us know.

-Nobody knows?

-Anyone know here?

-No.

-I'd guess Walter.

-You think Walter? Walter's the right answer.

-Oh, right!

-So, Dave, you've been knocked out. Well done, Rhys.

First round to our Challengers.

How about that? Well done. You took on an Egghead, emerged triumphant.

Good news for your team, because you will play in the final round.

Both of you, please return.

So, as it stands, the Maytons have not lost a brain from the final.

The Eggheads have lost Dave. It's already exciting.

We've only just started! The next subject for you is Geography.

So, who would like Geography?

-So, what do we think for Geography?

-You weren't that confident.

No, I was not keen on geography.

-I could probably go for it.

-Joe or Kat. You're the best travelled.

I was going to say, yeah, well travelled! Shall I go?

-Yeah.

-OK. I will go.

Against which Egghead? Joe against anyone but Dave.

I think we should go against Lisa. Shall we try Lisa?

-Try Lisa.

-OK, we'll go for Lisa.

-OK.

Joe from the Maytons versus Lisa from the Eggheads.

Or The Voice, as we know her.

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

There's a bit of a coincidence there, Joe,

because we just had an answer of Nelson in a question,

-and that is the name of your pet tortoise.

-Yep!

It's named after Nelson Mandela because he's wise

and named after Usain Bolt because of his speed.

-Oh, so it's Nelsain, is it?

-Yeah, Nelsain.

And tell us more about the tortoise. How old is it?

He's five years old. He's a Horsfield tortoise.

I got him when he was a baby, but he hasn't grown at all,

he's still about this size.

Just bigger than a fist.

Let's hope you overtake young Lisa here on Geography.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

Joe, good luck. Here's your first question.

Which of these attractions in London is on the banks of the River Thames?

I work near the British Museum, so I know it's not that.

I'm not entirely sure where the National Gallery is,

but I know it's the London Eye, so I'm going to go for the London Eye.

Yeah, the National Gallery is on Trafalgar Square.

London Eye is the right answer.

Visible for miles and miles and miles.

OK, Lisa,

Costa Rica has a coastline on which of these seas?

OK. Erm...

Right, well, I think the Sargasso Sea is just sort of a patch

in the middle of the Atlantic and not a sort of coast of anything.

I think that's right.

Erm, and I don't actually know where the White Sea is. Erm...

I'll have to go with the Caribbean Sea.

-Caribbean Sea is the right answer.

-All right!

CJ, you were rolling your eyes there. The White Sea is where?

-North of Russia.

-North of Russia.

-And Sargasso Sea is in the Atlantic?

-Just a patch in the Atlantic.

-Yeah.

-Caribbean Sea is the right answer, Lisa. Well done.

-Back at you, CJ.

A lot of eye rolling there! I was telling on him!

Joe, your question: the Mediterranean island of Delos

is a part of which country?

OK...

Erm, I've never heard of Delos, but based on its name,

it sounds very Greek to me rather than Italian or Spanish,

so I would have to go for Greece.

Spot-on! Greece it is.

Lisa, the Devon town

of Honiton is traditionally famous for which product?

A fashion question! Now we're talking.

Honiton lace, I believe, so it's lace.

It is. It's a beautiful place, still, Honiton,

and lace is the right answer.

We're cracking on here. My goodness! Two out of two for you both.

Joe, get this right and Lisa may quake.

In which English county is the Vale of Pewsey?

Erm, pretty stumped here.

Erm... I went to Derbyshire on a school trip,

so fingers crossed it's Derbyshire!

-It's Wiltshire.

-Ah!

-Wiltshire.

So Lisa has a chance to take the round. Here we go.

The Ural mountains, U-R-A-L, extend through Russia

and into which other country, Lisa?

See, you've got a few mountain ranges across Russia that

extend into different bits.

I don't think they're as far over as China...

which would probably mean they're not as far over as Mongolia, either,

and I'd have to go for Kazakhstan. But let me think for a second.

SHE SIGHS

I don't know. OK, let's not reproach myself. First instinct, Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is the right answer, Lisa. Well done,

you are in the final round. Sorry, Joe.

-It's that third question, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It can often trip people up.

So you have been knocked out. Lisa is still in.

Please come back, rejoin your teams and we'll play round three.

So it's levelled up now.

The Maytons have lost one brain from the final round.

I want to call you "may-tonnes". Sounds more exotic, somehow.

The "Maytonnes" have lost a brain. The Eggheads have also lost a brain.

And the next subject, round three, is Politics.

-Now, who wants this? We've got a political person here.

-No pressure!

-Ross!

-I feel that's our easiest decision to make.

Our Parliamentary researcher. OK. The stakes are high here, Ross.

Who would you like to go against?

-Any preferences?

-No.

-Probably go CJ.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

We'll go CJ.

-CJ on Politics?

-Quite like Politics.

-Yeah.

-Mm-hm.

You're very good on presidents, that's true.

OK, so it is Ross from the Maytons, the Maytonnes,

versus CJ from the Eggheads on Politics.

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

So, tell us a bit more about your job, Ross. Parliamentary researcher?

Er, yes. I work in the House of Commons.

I focus on doing Treasury-related matters, so MPs and their staff

can come to me with queries and I'm supposed to be an expert

-in helping them... er, yeah, understand issues.

-OK.

So you don't work for any particular MP,

you sort of are part of the Civil Service in the House of Commons.

Yeah, we're kind of a research group that work for a number of MPs.

And are you working in the actual beautiful building itself?

I am indeed working in the beautiful building.

How lucky is that? So, whereabouts? In the library, or what?

No, it's just off Westminster Hall in the Cloisters, which is

one of the oldest parts of the building, which is really nice.

An amazing hall. They said that when they rebuilt the roof,

they found tennis balls from Henry VIII's time.

-Henry VIII, yeah, I believe so, yeah.

-The stakes are high now,

because you're answering questions on the subject in which you work.

I know that's particularly stressful,

and against CJ, who has his moments.

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

-I'd like to go first, please.

So, here we go.

In which decade, Ross, of the 20th century

did the Russian intelligence agency called the KGB cease to exist?

Right... Erm...

I'm definitely not sure on this.

I don't think it's the 1950s. I think that...

is too early, so I think it's between 1970s and 1990s. Erm...

I'm going to go for 1990s.

Absolutely right, because it's after the fall of the Berlin Wall

and all that in '89. So, yes, you're right, 1990s it is.

CJ, over to you. An MP who's suspended

from their political party is said to lose the party what?

I think they are said to lose the party whip.

They are indeed said to lose the party whip. You're quite right.

OK, Ross, back to you.

The London Assembly was established in 2000 with how many elected

members, not including the Mayor of London?

Er, OK, right... The Assembly... Erm...

Again, I'm not 100% sure on this.

I think, if I'm picturing it right...

the London Assembly doesn't have that many members.

So I would...

Yeah, I think I'll go with 25.

Absolutely right. Well done. 25.

CJ...

Mariano Rajoy became Prime Minister of which country in 2011?

And Rajoy is R-A-J-O-Y.

-Er, and Rajoy is spelt with a J? Is that right?

-R-A-J-O-Y.

I think he's the Prime Minister of Spain.

Spain is the right answer. Well done.

All right, two each. So, we know from the experience that Joe had,

Ross, that this can be a crucial question, your third question.

In 2008, which African nation became the first country in the world

with more women in Parliament than men?

Ah. I...vaguely remember hearing this on the news at the time. Erm...

I think it was...

I think it was Rwanda.

-Is he right, CJ?

-He is indeed.

-Yeah, it is beautiful Rwanda.

Well done.

Getting over their troubles, very slowly.

OK, CJ, here's your third question.

Who did Winston Churchill describe as having "the gift of compressing

"the largest amount of words into the smallest amount of thought"?

I don't think it sounds like

something he'd say about Chamberlain.

I mean, he wasn't a reticent person, Churchill, but...

maybe that would have been slightly impolite to say about de Gaulle.

I don't know.

You're generally ruder about your home politicians, and you're

generally ruder about those in different parties,

so I'll try Ramsay MacDonald.

Yes, you're there. Well done. Ramsay MacDonald it is.

Three out of three for you both, so we go to Sudden Death now, Ross.

It becomes harder, because I don't give you alternative answers.

You're playing well. Here we go.

Which nation was suspended from the G8 forum in March 2014?

Erm, I'm going to go with Russia.

Russia is the right answer.

CJ...

October 24th, the day on which the Wall Street Crash of 1929 began,

became known as Black what?

I think the stock market in the '80s, in '87, maybe,

was October 25th, and I think that was Black Thursday.

I think...

'29 is Black Monday.

The day we were looking for in 1929

-was Black Thursday.

-Wrong way round.

Yep, so you have gone, I'm afraid. Ross, well done.

You've knocked out CJ on Politics.

And that's good from your point of view

and bad from the Eggheads' point of view.

Come back to us. We'll play the next round.

Well, this is looking good from the Challengers.

The Maytons have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost two. CJ's gone as well!

The next subject is Music.

Which Mayton wants this?

-Got to be you, Kat.

-I think I'll take this one, shall I?

-Definitely!

-I think that's a no-brainer.

-OK. Right.

Kat, I know you love your music. Against which Egghead?

It can be Pat or Kevin.

-Any preferences, guys?

-Whoever you feel like.

-Your choice.

-I would go with Kevin.

-Yeah? I'd like to take on Kevin, please.

I hope they're all rock questions.

-Yeah, so what's the ideal area?

-Rock and roll!

-Contemporary rock music.

-OK.

-Quite niche!

-All right.

So Kat from the Maytons versus Kevin from the Eggheads,

and please go to the Question Room.

So, Kat, you like pretty heavy rock music.

Yeah, erm, I've been into my music for about ten years or so now.

Quite a fan of rock music.

-Best band ever?

-Funeral for a Friend.

-OK...

-That's good...

-Pretty niche!

Kevin, have you dabbled with heavy rock? Have you been in the mosh pit?

"No, I haven't" is the simple answer to that one. No.

Not really my sort of genre.

And of course the test of civilisation is how many AC/DC

-albums you own.

-It's probably about one in my case.

-Oh, one's not bad!

-Which one is that?

-I think it was Back In Black.

OK. So, Kat, good luck.

You're up against somebody who maybe is not as passionate as you are

about some music. Would you like to go first or second?

Can I go second, please?

Good luck, Kevin. Good luck, Kat.

The clarinet is a member

of which of these families of musical instruments, Kevin?

Clarinet is a wind instrument, and it's woodwind.

Woodwind is correct.

Kat, which artist released the albums Erotica

and Bedtime Stories in the 1990s?

So, I don't think it's Gary Barlow,

cos I was a big fan of Take That in the '90s.

But between the other two I'm not entirely sure.

Erm, I think I'm going to go for Madonna.

Spot-on. Yeah, a bit more edgy than Celine Dion, I think!

Madonna's right. Right... LAUGHS

Kevin, the singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen was born in which country?

I think it was Montreal. Anyway, it's Canada.

Yes, it is Canada. Well done. OK, back to you, Kat.

The guitarist Chris Stein was a founder member of which

chart-topping new-wave group from New York?

Chris Stein...

The name rings a bell, but...

I don't entirely know.

None of those bands I'm particularly into.

I think...

..I'm going to go for Beastie Boys.

It's not, actually, it's Blondie. So, Chris Stein is Blondie.

That means Kevin is in the lead, and if you get this right, Kevin,

the round is over.

Strangeways, Here We Come is the title of a 1987 album by which group?

I think that's your mates the Smiths.

Oh, I wish they were my mates.

I don't think he'd give me the time of day. I saw - who was it? -

Paul Morley interview Morrissey and said, "Nice to see you,"

to Morrissey, and Morrissey just said, "Why?"

See, even he doesn't like himself!

The Smiths is the answer, Kevin. Well done. Three out of three. Sorry, Kat.

A bit of '80s there, a bit of '90s

and Kevin has won through, and he will be in the final and you won't.

If you come back to us, both of you, we will play the crucial final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

Time for our final round, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't be

allowed to take part in this round. It leaves us well balanced.

Joe and Kat from the Maytons and CJ and Dave from the Eggheads,

you have to leave the studio.

So, Rhys, Joseph and Ross, you are playing to win the Maytons £4,000.

Pat, Lisa and Kevin, you are playing for something that money can't

buy, which is the whole Eggheads thing - reputation, everything.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

Gentlemen, you can confer.

So, Maytons, the really big question is can your three brains

overwhelm these three and come away with the money?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-Second?

-We agreed to go second.

We'll go second, because we last a bit longer then.

And here is your first question, Eggheads.

In which city did the venue known as the Arms Park hold its first

rugby international match in 1884?

Cardiff Arms Park, isn't it?

Don't think there are Arms Parks in either of the others, so Cardiff.

-Cardiff?

-Cardiff.

We think that's Cardiff, Jeremy.

Cardiff is the right answer. Cardiff it is.

Over to you, Challengers.

On which part of the body does a Scottish soldier wear a glengarry?

-Ringing any bells?

-I don't actually know that.

I'm not sure about this at all.

The glengarry.

-Is it glengarry?

-Yeah, one word, G-L-E-N-G-A-R-R-Y, as you'd expect.

So potentially waist could be something to do with the kilt...

at a guess.

-Or...some kind of headwear?

-I'd say it's definitely not...

Let's move away from your feet.

It's either waist or head, but I'm not sure on either.

I'd be more inclined for waist.

-Yeah. That was my initial thought.

-OK, yeah.

We don't really know, but we're going to go for waist.

-The waist. So, what, like a kind of a belt thing?

-Yes, potentially.

Maybe a tartan belt. Is it a tartan belt?

-It's a little cap.

-Yeah. It's that slightly tilted...

-Usually with a little...

-..pillbox type of thing.

-..thing on top.

-Yeah.

-Can you visualise that?

-No.

Head is the answer.

-Good start(!)

-OK, Eggheads,

noctule and serotine are two of the larger

types of which creature, found in the UK?

-Bats.

-Yeah, I think so.

-Noctule bat, serotine bat.

-Nothing to do with deer or foxes. So, no.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, bat.

We're fairly confident that that's bat.

It is bat.

-They've got two, you've got none. You must get this one right.

-OK.

Scheelite and wolframite are the main ores of which metal?

-I can spell them, if you wish.

-That'd be great.

OK, scheelite is S-C-H-E-E-L-I-T-E

and wolframite is W-O-L-F-R-A-M-I-T-E.

-Got any idea?

-Does that help? Doesn't help me!

-Anyone got any inkling?

-So, I know silver doesn't really mix much.

Wolfralite?

-And the association with silver for wolves.

-Ah, yeah.

The only inkling that I've got.

That sounds believable.

Looking at the other two, I don't think it's lead.

And I wouldn't know the tungsten ores.

I think wolf's a good hunch to go along, I think.

-Shall we go with silver?

-Again, this is as tenuous

a connection as possible, but we're going to go for silver.

OK, silver. Just explain the wolf thing. I didn't quite get it.

Wolfralite...just the association with silver bullets

-and shooting wolves. Werewolves.

-OK, yeah, yeah, I've got you.

It's quite a niche clue.

Yeah. I'm just trying to think how...

whether you can work from those words to the answer.

Can you get from scheelite to something?

-Wolframite you can, I think.

-Wolframite, go on. Why?

I think wolfram was actually

an early name for tungsten, because

the chemical symbol in the periodic table for tungsten is W.

So I think it might be tungsten.

Oh, it's that beastly periodic table again.

She's right.

The answer is tungsten, and so we have to say congratulations,

Eggheads, you have won.

So, the deal was the Eggheads can go round to your house

and take a couple of knife blocks, is that right?

They get to go to ONE of our houses. As I'm the only one in

this group that didn't win a round, I think it probably should be mine.

OK! Well, you can get something, as long as it's under 50 quid.

-A couple of CDs for Lisa?

-I've got some Smiths.

-Got any maps?

-Some Smiths for Lisa.

-Ohhh!

-That sounds fair to me. Commiserations.

-I hope you've enjoyed playing.

-Yes.

Come a long way, from Islington to Glasgow, but great to see you all.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally.

They're back in the swing, big time. They reign supreme over Quizland.

They are very clever.

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £4,000.

The money now rolls over to our next show,

and we'll see what happens than. Eggheads, congratulations.

You lost two today but, honestly, you look unbeatable.

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

have any chance of defeating this lot.

£5,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.