Episode 11 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. On fire today?

-Yes.

-Incendiary.

-"Incendiary", says Pat.

All right. Taking on our quiz champions

today are the International Gasbags, from Leicester.

Now, most of this team know each other through

working for the same major energy supplier, and they regularly

quiz together on Wednesdays at a local pub, The Tudor.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi, I'm Steve, and I'm a retired schoolteacher.

Hi, I'm Max, and I'm a call management centre manager.

Hello, I'm Steven, and I'm a shop steward.

Hi, I'm Barry, and I'm a sales administrator.

Hi, I'm Matt, and I'm a call management analyst.

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

-Thank you.

-So, you worked in, basically in gas together?

-All of them except myself.

-OK.

-OK, I hear some American in your accent.

-Yes, yes.

I have lived here for over 20 years,

but I've retired as a schoolteacher,

and we just happened to be at the same pub, that's where we started out together,

and so we decided "international",

we had to have something with my name. We thought probably

Steve And The Gasbags would be a little bit too pompous on my part.

JEREMY LAUGHS

So, International Gasbags. OK, I've got it completely.

-And you quiz together, crucially.

-Yeah.

-What is it about...

You'll have a good insight into this, Steve, having come from the USA.

What is it about quizzing that's very, very British?

Why do we love quizzing so much?

So much more than Americans, I think it is just that sense

of community, where in America, it always seems to be, when you go

to any sort of pub or bar that has a quiz, it is always individuals.

And I think that's what I like a great deal about it,

-much more than the way it is done in America.

-All right, so we are teams here.

So, good look against this fearsome team over here.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

we take the prize money, we roll it over to the next show.

Now, International Gasbags,

I can tell you the Eggheads have done rather well.

They've won the last 19,

so they haven't been beaten for quite some time.

It does mean they are looking a little bit cocky,

but the upside is that it is £20,000 you're playing for.

-Wow.

-Would you like to crack on?

-Absolutely.

-I thought so.

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

-So, who would like this?

-What do you think, guys?

-What do you think?

-Me?

-I think you'd probably have a good go.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-OK.

-I'm going to go.

-Max, OK.

Against which Egghead? You can have anyone of them?

I'll take Kevin, please.

Max from the International Gasbags trying to take out

the King of the Eggheads over there, Kevin, on Film & TV.

And to ensure there is no conferring,

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

OK, so we are on Film & TV against Kevin. And big jackpot today.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I shall go first, please.

Max, your first question.

Which actress earned Oscar nominations for her roles

in The Devil Wears Prada, Music Of The Heart and A Cry In The Dark?

Is that...

Um, I don't know.

I know Meryl Streep quite well, I've seen a few of her films,

they don't ring a bell. Amy Adams, not sure.

-I'm going to go for Kate Winslet.

-Kate Winslet.

-Let's see, your team-mates, do you know the answer here?

-Meryl Streep.

It is Meryl. Yes, Meryl Streep is the answer. A Cry In The Dark.

-Is that the dingo baby case?

-Yes, Lindy Chamberlain.

-Right.

And then, Devil Wears Prada, she was what, the advertising person,

-or the fashion person?

-Fashion editor.

-OK.

The answer is Meryl Streep. Kevin, your question.

In which TV sitcom did David Jason play a character named Blanco?

Is that...

I think that is still one of his best performances, because he

was playing a character much older than he was himself at the time.

It was back in the '70s, of course. It was Porridge.

Porridge is the right answer, Kevin. Max, back to you.

In which TV comedy drama does Jack Whitehall play JP,

and Zawe Ashton play Vod?

Is this...

Um...

Again, I don't know. I've seen The Inbetweeners.

I don't know the other two. I don't know the character names at all.

I'm going to go for Campus.

-It's Fresh Meat.

-OK.

OK, Kevin, your question. You can take the round with this one.

In a June 2015 episode of Top Gear,

Jeremy Clarkson's place was taken by which type of giant fake animal?

Ah...

Top Gear is a closed book to me, I've never watched it.

Know very little about it.

For some reason, I think moose is ringing a tiny bell.

So I shall say moose.

-Moose. OK. Anyone know here?

-Elephant.

Elephant is the answer. This is after he was let go.

So, Hammond and May,

the gag was they were not talking about the elephant in the room,

which they had brought in and referred to as Jeremy throughout.

And it was not a real elephant, it was a...

It was a giant, yes, a plush replica,

rather than actually stuffed real thing.

-Yes, elephant in the room, Kevin, that's the clue.

-Oh, OK.

-He was not referred to, sort of.

-I don't know what I was thinking of,

but I actually thought I remembered something about a moose

from somewhere, but that's obviously something completely different.

Clarkson will be watching and thinking, "Moose!"

He will be shouting at the TV.

Max, your question, you're still in it.

The Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico,

that starred Stanley Holloway, was released in which year?

Er...

I have seen this, but...

Yes, I think '49 is too early,

but then I think '69 is too late, but I don't think...

-I don't know. I am going to plump down the middle at '59.

-'59.

-Let me check with the Eggs here. Eggs?

-'49.

'49, they say, and they are right.

It was a very, very early film in British cinema.

So, 1949, so that means that Kevin has knocked you out, Max.

And, Kevin, you are in the final round.

But it is early days for our Challengers. Don't be put off.

You can fight back from here.

Please return to your teams and we'll play on.

So, the International Gasbags have lost a brain,

they've lost Max from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still there. We play on.

The next subject is Science. Who would like science?

-That's a no-brainer.

-I think this is my moment. I'll take this one.

-OK, Stephen. Against which Egghead? Can't be Kevin.

-I think Lisa.

I'm going to take Lisa, please.

So, it is Stephen from International Gasbags taking

Lisa from the Eggheads.

Please go to our Question Room.

-I sensed that you jumped at Science there, Stephen.

-Indeed, Jeremy.

It is certainly my favourite subject.

I studied it at university, and hoping to do well.

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

I will go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go, let's see if you can pull one back for the Gasbags.

Which scientist presented the BBC programmes

Wonders Of The Solar System and Wonders Of The Universe?

Was that...

OK, well, Colin Pillinger was the man, I believe,

who was responsible for the Beagle mission.

Richard Dawkins is a scientist,

but is not the right scientists. I think it is Brian Cox.

It is Brian Cox, well done. All right.

Challengers off the blocks. Lisa, your question.

The genus Loxodonta, that includes African elephants,

has a name taken from the Greek for which physical feature?

Is it...

-Did you say Loxodonta, Jeremy?

-I said Loxodonta.

-How very rude.

I would imagine that that's "donta", teeth. Tooth, then.

Tooth is the right answer.

Obviously we've got a spate of elephants on the programme.

-Yes, it always nice to have lots of elephants.

-Back to you, Stephen.

Where in the human body is the pineal gland?

And that's spelt P-I-N-E-A-L.

Is it...

Well...I'm just going to be honest, I know this one, it is in the brain.

Yeah, you are absolutely right. And do you know what it does?

It's to do with the psychopathy, of how the brain works, I believe.

I can't remember the exact details,

but it releases some sort of chemical into the brain.

I wonder if the Eggheads have got extra large pineal glands.

STEPHEN LAUGHS

Lisa, your question.

The mandarin is a type of which bird found in Britain?

Is it...

I was about to say, "Did you say manda-RIN, Jeremy?"

but I did that last question, so let's not be boring. Mandarin.

Mandarin.

I'm pretty sure that's a duck, but I'll just have a little

think about that.

Mandarin swan sounds like a naff advertising agency in Soho.

No, I think mandarin is a duck.

Duck is the right answer.

You've got it right. This is a tight round now. Third question.

Stephen, which country was the world's largest

producer of uranium in 2012?

I don't know the answer to this one

but I'm going to have a think about it.

I don't believe it's Albania.

So, for me, it's between Niger and Kazakhstan.

Something in my strange memory makes me think it's Kazakhstan.

-Kazakhstan is right.

-Well done!

Now, was that one of the things in the national anthem

-as sung by Borat?

-Possibly.

The world's largest producer of uranium.

That might be where it's come from.

I don't know, I wonder if it was there.

I was watching that film recently.

OK, Lisa, if you get this wrong, you're out.

Which planet in our solar system has 27 known moons?

Right, well we can safely discount Venus

because I don't think it's got any moons.

And this is me trying to remember how many Jupiter has

and if it's more than 27 or not.

And if Uranus has as many as 27.

Now, I thought Jupiter had 29.

Is that a reason to go for Uranus? Or has it got less?

Now, Neptune I think is in single figures.

Is Uranus in single figures as well,

or is it in the teens or am I going completely mad?

I will go for Jupiter

because I really can't remember how many moons Uranus has got.

Every second of the way there, Barry was with you, and at the end,

he's just, I'm afraid, fallen forwards. Why?

It never was going to be my round.

Was the logic wrong there?

Yes, Jupiter has got well over 60 moons.

-Jupiter's got well over 60 moons, he says.

-There we go.

-Not 29.

-Yes, maybe they're just the biggest ones.

-So Uranus is the answer.

That does mean, Stephen, well done, you're in the final round.

You've knocked out an Egghead.

So, a bit of a sticky period for Lisa at the moment, eh?

Moons and Jupiter and I have never ever been friends.

Yeah, so, it's just pulling it back, these challengers.

They can just suddenly ambush you, Eggheads, I think.

Stephen and Lisa, do come back to us and we'll play the next round.

OK, the Eggheads might have thought

this was going to be easy but it's not.

The International Gasbags have lost a brain

but they have now lost a brain over here as well.

Very, very tight competition today. £20,000, we're playing for.

Geography, the next subject. Who would like this?

-Are you ready? We're going to have Matt.

-It's going to be Matt? OK.

And which Egghead, Matt? Anyone but Lisa or Kevin.

I think I'll go against Dave.

OK, so Matt from the Gasbags versus Dave from the Eggheads.

Go for it in the Question Room.

So, geography, Matt,

-would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go second place.

Dave, your first question. Pamplona is a city in which country?

I think it's famous for the running of the bulls. I think it's in Spain.

Spain is the right answer, well done.

Over to you, Matt.

Spaghetti Junction, otherwise known as Gravelly Hill Interchange,

is in which city?

Well, I know it's definitely not Leicester.

I can say it is Birmingham.

And you're from Leicester, aren't you?

-You definitely would know if you'd been caught in that?

-Yeah.

Birmingham is the right answer, well done.

Dave, your question.

The Village of St Briavels in Gloucestershire

is a traditional centre of which ancient forest?

Well, the New Forest is in Hampshire,

Sherwood Forest is in Nottinghamshire.

I believe the Forest of Dean is in Gloucestershire

so the Forest of Dean is my answer.

The Forest of Dean is the right answer.

Matt, Punta Parinas, the most westerly point

on the South American mainland, is in which country?

Punta Parinas.

I'm not 100% sure on this one.

I believe Peru is on the West Coast so I'm going to go for Brazil.

The answer is Peru, Matt. Sorry about that.

So, you've got one point and because you let Dave go first,

if he gets this one right, he will be in the final round.

The French River called the Charente, Dave,

flows into which body of water?

Can you spell it for me, please?

C-H-A-R-E-N-T-E, the French river called the Charente.

I don't... I've not heard of it at all.

I'm thinking of the Seine with the English Channel.

I'll go for the Bay of Biscay.

If you've got this right, you're in the final round.

Anyone know over here?

Is he right?

Anyone know their French rivers? Matt, what do you think?

I'm not sure either, to be honest. I would have gone with Mediterranean.

OK, good quizzing by you, Dave. The Bay of Biscay is right.

You got three out of three. Knocked out Matt, sorry,

You won't be in the final round, Matt.

If you come back to us, we'll see what happens next.

So, as it stands, International Gasbags have lost two brains

from the crucial final round.

The Eggheads have only lost the one

and the last subject before the final is sport.

Who would like this?

-Well, what do you think?

-Have you got a plan?

I think it'll have to be me.

-It's going to have to be me, Jeremy.

-OK, Barry.

Which Egghead would you like to take on? It can be Pat for Barry.

-We could have a Barry Barry!

-I think I will have a Barry Barry.

-Two barrels.

-Careful, it sounds like a disease!

I've got a dreadful case of the double Barrys!

So, Barry from the International Gasbags versus Barry, the Egghead,

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

So, here we are, we have Barry versus Barry and Barry,

-the Gasbag, I gather you're a big Bowie fan?

-Absolutely, yes.

I have been for many years. I've got lots of his albums and singles.

But you're only 39 so let's think, you were born mid-70s

which is arguably after he had done his very best stuff?

Some would argue that, yes,

but I've liked everything from the start until nowadays

but I think my dad used to play the music when I was very little

and I think that's the influence I've had, really.

So, one Barry likes the Bowie.

The other Barry, are you a Bowie Barry as well?

I like some of his stuff but I'm more into classical and opera,

-as you know.

-You've got to give us a B. Is it Bach or Beethoven?

-We're on the Bs today.

-Oh, Beethoven, definitely.

OK, so Barry for Bowie and Barry for Beethoven...

OK, Beethoven Barry and Bowie Barry, that's how we do it.

Bowie Barry, you're on sport, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second place.

Here we go, Beethoven Barry.

In cricket, what does the cricket umpire signal

by raising an index finger above his head?

I think if you raise an index finger, the batsman is out.

It is indeed and on this game as well, we do that.

The batsman is out is the right answer.

Bowie Barry, what time did Usain Bolt run for the 200 metres

when he set a new world record in Berlin in 2009?

Well, athletics is not one of my key areas.

So, I mean he's quite a quick guy,

so I think I'm going to go for 14.33 seconds.

Oh, that would be very fast

because I think the 100 metres is roughly 9 seconds?

Sub 10, you're world-class.

If you think of the 100 metres as being 10 seconds, the second

100 metres is unlikely to be faster so we're looking at around 20.

The answer is indeed 19.19.

Barry, your question.

Who became the manager of the England football team in 2001?

2001. That's going back a while.

I think Sven was a little later than that.

I'm going to go the Terry Venables.

Oh!

-Lisa is groaning. Lisa?

-It was more Dave but I was inhaling sharply.

No, she doesn't like that. Sven-Goran Ericsson... Oh, dear.

Is the answer. So he's let you back in slightly, Bowie Barry.

Here we go. Get this one right.

In 1990, who was the first British player to top the official

world golf rankings?

The annoying thing is that they were all very

popular around the same time.

I don't think it was Ian Woosnam at that point.

I think Sandy Lyle is probably...

No, I'm swaying towards Nick Faldo

because I think that was around the time he won the US Open,

so I think I think I'm going to go for Nick Faldo.

Yes, you got it right. Well done. Nick Faldo. So, you've drawn level.

That's useful.

OK, a bit of a stuttering performance by Barry here.

Let us see if you can get your third question, Barry.

Frank Bruno's first attempt to win a world heavyweight boxing title

took place in 1986 against which boxer?

I'll discount Jumbo Cummings.

It could have been James Smith or Tim Witherspoon.

-1980?

-1986.

-1986.

I'm sure he did fight against James Smith

but somehow or other Tim Witherspoon is coming into my mind.

I'm going to go for Tim Witherspoon.

Dave loves his boxing. Dave?

Yeah, Barry is absolutely right,

because he did fight James Bonecrusher Smith

but it was a non-title fight and then the first one, I think

it was at Wembley but it was Tim Witherspoon.

Tim Witherspoon is correct, Barry. Well done. You got two out of three.

So, Bowie Barry, you need to come level with Beethoven Barry here.

If you get this one wrong, you will be out.

Naomi and Liam Brodie are both professionals in which sport?

I don't think it's tennis because I'm kind of up with tennis.

They don't ring a bell necessarily.

Triathlon, I don't know anything about.

I think Brodie probably is more of a show jumping thing

so I'm going to go with show jumping.

It's not actually show jumping. It is tennis.

I was just thinking, sports where men

and women compete together, maybe mixed doubles, I don't know.

But Naomi and Liam are tennis players.

So Beethoven Barry has won the round. He will be in the final.

If you both return to us, we will play that final round.

OK, just before we play,

-I should say Nick Faldo didn't win the US Open, by the way.

-Didn't he?

No.

You got the answer right but just in case people start writing letters.

We know that it was wrong.

But actually, right answer, wrong reasoning.

Perfect for this game, they do it all the time!

So, we have been playing towards this moment, haven't we?

It is time for the final round. It's getting bigger and bigger and more exciting every day now.

It is General Knowledge, but, of course, those of you

who lost your head-to-heads are not allowed to take

part, so that is Max, Barry and Matt from the International Gasbags.

And also Lisa from the Eggheads.

Please, I'm sorry to say this, leave the studio.

OK, Steve and Stephen,

you are playing to win International Gasbags £20,000.

We don't say that very often here.

Eggheads, you're playing for something that money can't buy,

which is your 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.

So, International Gasbags, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-And would you like to go first or second?

-I think we'll go first.

OK, good luck to you.

The common indoor plant called a peace lily has

a flower that is usually which colour?

Is it...

I know the answer to this.

It is quite a nice bushy green plant with a white flower.

I think we'll say white, then.

No messing, white it is.

-And you are right.

-Well done, young man.

JEREMY LAUGHS

And I guess "peace", "white" is the association there, yeah. OK.

Eggheads, which woman inspired half of the famous 1956 headline

"Egghead weds hourglass"?

THEY LAUGH

I didn't know this.

-Marilyn Monroe.

-Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.

That was caused by her marriage to the playwright Arthur Miller,

-so it is Marilyn Monroe.

-Marilyn Monroe is quite right.

Arthur Miller, who was the... A brainbox, basically.

OK, it wasn't one of you who married Marilyn Monroe.

I think you would have known about that.

I was going to say, you can keep bits of your CV from me.

OK, one each.

Andy Millman is a central character in which TV sitcom, Challengers.

Is it...

I'm so thrilled with this question, I don't even have to confer.

It is one of my favourites. It is Extras.

Extras it is. All right.

-So you liked The Office as well and all that?

-Yes.

-OK.

I haven't seen the American version of The Office. Is it any good?

-It's rubbish compared to the other one.

-Is it?

-I think so.

All right, Eggheads.

In 1922, which prime minister was accused of bestowing honours

and peerages in return for donations to Liberal Party funds?

Is it...

-Lloyd George.

-Lloyd George. Big scandal. Yeah. Lloyd George.

That was Lloyd George.

Yes, a definition of a big scandal,

as we still know about it 100 years later. Lloyd George is the answer.

Back to you, Challengers. Keep the pressure on.

Get this one right, and then you are a question away from £20,000.

Pons Aelius, meaning "Aelian Bridge",

was the Roman name of a settlement on the site of which city?

And do take your time.

-I think we will.

-I don't know the answer.

What would be logic, do you think, on this?

Well, obviously, all three cities are sited at rivers.

It would have been nice to have had one which would have been a clear...

Do you think the tendency that the one that's furthest north would be

least likely?

I feel it would either be Hull or Newcastle,

-but I don't know the answer.

-You don't?

Well, what do you think about...

I'm just going to use this as poor logic, then.

Hull is, in terms of that, further south than Newcastle?

No, it is further...

Oh, gosh, that's a good point. Um...

Because that would be the only way I'd eliminate between the two.

-Why? You would favour the further north?

-I would favour the one that

was further south, I would think.

I have a funny feeling it is Hull. I just don't know.

Well, you know what?

-In for a penny, in for a pound. Should we go with Hull?

-Yes.

OK, Jeremy. After much conferring,

we are going to say Hull.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know.

-Newcastle.

-Newcastle...

-Ah!

..is the answer. But can we get from the words Pons Aelius to Newcastle?

We can make some progress, insofar as the Mersey at Liverpool and the

Humber at Hull aren't bridgeable with Roman technology.

Whereas you could possibly argue that the Tyne at Newcastle is

-bridgeable. It is a bit far-fetched, it is not proof.

-No.

-That's very interesting.

-It's sort of an argument.

-The Mersey is what,

-half a mile wide?

-The Mersey is very wide, yes.

And you have a ferry cross it. Yeah. All right.

Well, maybe a glimmer of getting to it, but bad luck.

Two out of three, not out of it, though.

Eggheads, if you get this one right, the contest is over.

The broadcaster Mark Tully became famous for reporting

and writing about which country?

Was it...

-India.

-India.

-India, without any question.

He became synonymous with India.

Famously had a neon sign just saying "Tully" outside his office.

The answer is India.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

That's a tough one, that Newcastle one.

-What are you going to do?

-But then they got three out of three, so who knows what

would have happened in Sudden Death, but thank you so much for playing.

-It's a pleasure.

-International Gasbags put in a good fight at the end there.

My goodness, with £20,000...

So, you've done what comes naturally.

You are now above the £20,000 mark in terms of jackpot.

It does mean that our Challengers are not going home with the money,

so we roll it over to the next show. Eggheads, well done.

-What is the Roman word, the Latin word for unbeatable?

-Invictus.

-Invictus is unconquered, so...

-We know what we are saying here.

Eggheads Invictus.

Join us next time to see

if a new team of Challengers have the brains to finally defeat...

Somebody has got to win this money! Until then, goodbye.