Episode 12 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 they're right here, the legends in person.

-You feeling legendary?

-Yes.

-Mythological.

Never short of confidence, this lot.

Taking on the awesome might

of our quiz Goliaths are the...

..from Manchester.

Now, this team of old friends

and family have known one another for over 50 years

and they take their name from the 1960s TV safety campaign,

which featured Tufty the Squirrel.

Let's meet them.

Hi, my name is John and I'm a UK sales manager.

Hi, my name is Jarl. I'm head of operations for a leisure trust.

Hi, my name is James. I'm a chiropractor.

Hi, I'm Ged and I'm a service delivery manager.

Hello, my name is Tony and I'm wholesale greengrocer.

-John, team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Thank you.

And Tufty the Squirrel, then. Was it a close personal friend or...?

Not particularly. It was a royal safety campaign, as you know,

from the 1960s and I can't say we were avid supporters of it,

but it was actually bestowed on us

by another contemporary as a bit of a mickey take.

-But we take to it and we wear it as a badge of honour.

-Badge of honour.

And I noticed you're all exactly...

well, roughly the same age,

-58 years old.

-58, yeah. We all grew up together.

Three of us are cousins - myself, Jarl and Jim. We are three cousins.

-Yep.

-Also, the other two guys, Ged and Tony,

also grew up on the same street.

-We've known each other since we were...out of a cot.

-OK.

So, we've stuck together and firm friends.

Well, good stuff. And you watch Eggheads, I'm presuming,

-so you know what you are up against here. BOTH:

-We do indeed.

A bit of road safety going on here, I think,

this lot is swerving all over the place.

They can be a bit dangerous.

Every day, there is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our Challengers, however, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show. You know that.

Tufty Club, I can tell you what you don't know is that they have

won the last 20. So, they are playing really well.

That's not good. What is good is

that it's £21,000 you're playing for.

-That is good.

-That is good.

-So, shall we start?

-Let's get on with it.

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

Who would like this?

I think we will nominate Jarl for this.

-Are you all happy to have Jarl do it?

-I think Jarl.

-Jarl.

All right, now before you go, choose an Egghead.

Any one of the five.

Whoever looks like they are out for the count on Politics.

-Dave?

-Dave?

Yeah, we're going to nominate Dave.

OK, so it is Jarl from Tufty Club versus Dave,

Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads.

To ensure there is no conferring,

please take your positions in our Question Room.

So, Jarl, you've chosen to do Politics against Dave

and would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck.

The membership of the House of Lords includes 26 places

reserved for whom?

26...

Uh... it won't be members of the royal family.

I doubt it will be generals, so I will go for bishops.

Yeah, that's right. There were 26 bishops in the House of Lords.

Dave, Wim Kok served as prime minister of which

country from 1994 to 2002? Is it...

I believe it is the Netherlands.

Yes, it is the Netherlands.

Well done. A win.

Back to you, Jarl.

Who spent six months imprisoned in the Tower of London

but went on to be Britain's longest-serving prime minister?

Is it...

I doubt it would be the first two,

David Lloyd George or William Gladstone. Um...

I think Robert Walpole was a lot earlier than them.

I'll go for Robert Walpole.

You're absolutely right. It is Robert Walpole,

but I'm desperate here for the back story.

Any Eggheads here tell me?

I can't remember the exact

ins and outs of it, but he...

I mean, he came to prominence

at a time when there was really

vicious infighting between the two main political factions,

between the Tories and the Whigs.

They took no half measures with their opponents.

Whichever ones were currently in power,

they would do every dirty trick

in the book and I think that's what it's to do with.

He wound up in the Tower.

There was a little bit of financial

-impropriety in there, too.

-Right.

But then he was prime minister for...

-21 years.

-Amazing, OK.

Dave, your question.

The suffragette Emily Davison

died from injuries sustained at an incident at which sporting event?

Was it...

Yeah, she fell under a horse at the Epsom Derby.

You sure she didn't fall under a football, though?

Or motor racing. British Grand Prix would be very good in 1913,

wouldn't it? Yeah.

Epsom Derby is right. Well done.

OK, Jarl, back to you.

Very tight so far. Two each.

Which US president was the first to ride on a train?

Well, it won't be George Washington. That would've been too early.

Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, out of the two...

I'll go for Grover Cleveland.

I'm sorry, got it wrong. But your logic started off brilliantly.

Andrew Jackson is the answer.

OK, your chance to go into the final, Dave. Here's your question.

Apart from the prime minister, how many ministers can be

paid members of the cabinet according to

the Ministerial And Other Salaries Act 1975?

Right. Um...

I'd say that the Cabinet usually numbers around 20.

So with that, I would go for...

21.

21 is bang on. You got it. So, you got three out of three.

Sorry, Jarl. And I can see you're a good quizzer as well.

You have been knocked out by our Egghead, but it's early days.

Come back to us and we'll play on.

Jarl, bad luck there. These Eggheads are doughty fighters.

-Got beaten by the master.

-Yep. And no question.

Tremendous Knowledge Dave has been banned from, I think,

-every pub in Manchester.

-Every pub... Well, no.

Certain pubs. Certain pubs in Manchester.

-Well, that was for fighting, though, wasn't it?

-Fighting.

Fighting the quiz machine, yes. Yeah.

At as it stands, Tufty Club have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have still got all five.

See if you can change that now.

It is Music for you.

Who's the music fan?

James. It's got to be James.

-James will do the Music.

-James in the middle.

OK, and against which Egghead? It can't be David.

-Any preference, Jim?

-I'm not sure.

-What about Judith?

-Judith.

-Yeah, get rid of her.

-Yeah, James has chosen Judith.

-Yeah.

So, James from Tufty Club versus Judith on Music. She'll like that.

-You'll be glad to have that, Judith?

-Moderately.

Moderately. You never go above moderately.

To ensure there is no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our Question Room?

So, James, I gather we're lucky to have you

after an accident when you were four.

Well, I can't remember too much about it,

but apparently, I died and went to heaven.

My mother, who was in the ambulance at the same time,

told me once I awoken from unconsciousness

that I visited her mother, my grandmother.

And my grandmother says,

"You must go back down and go back to your mum."

Once I opened my eyes again in the ambulance...

-Wow.

-..I was in a coma for a week or two,

but, yes, apparently, I spoke to my grandmother in heaven

-and came back down again.

-What was it?

-A playground accident or something?

-It was, yes.

It was a quite high climbing frame

and I fell from the top and fractured my skull.

And of course, in those days, the tarmac was tarmac.

-It's not like the bouncy stuff they've got now.

-Exactly.

-It was hard stuff in those days.

-It didn't give.

-Yeah, well, OK, I'm glad you're here.

-So am I.

I got a return ticket.

Yeah, yeah. Good stuff. Well, you're playing Judith on Music.

She's pretending to know nothing about music.

Don't be fooled by that.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

Here is your question.

Who wrote the music for the 1965 song

What The World Needs Now Is Love?

Well, we know...

Paul McCartney didn't.

Everybody knows his famous Beatles songs, even though

he did write many more.

It doesn't remind me of any Carole King song.

And I do know it's a type of Burt Bacharach song,

so, yes, I'm going to go for Burt.

Burt Bacharach is quite right. Brilliant.

And what an artist he is. Amazing.

Judith, which Oasis song includes the line,

"Because maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me"?

I'm just trying to think which of those titles go best with the...

Maybe... The one to save me.

Uh...

Roll With It.

-No, no.

-LAUGHTER

-I'm going to roll with it.

-Yeah, because...

# Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me

# Roll with it! #

Yeah, that does fit.

But it's not the right one?

-It's not the right one. Brilliant song. Wonderwall, it is.

-Oh.

Right, on to you, James.

The UK hit single Gold Digger by Kanye West

featured vocals by which actor?

Was it...

I would say just because of the...

recent time that he had that single,

I'm going to rule out Eddie Murphy,

I'm going to rule out Will Smith,

and say Jamie Foxx.

Nicely done. Jamie Foxx, it is.

So, Judith, you need to get this one right to stay in.

Which of these Puccini's operas is set in Rome?

Well, Madama Butterfly was in Japan and La Boheme was in Paris,

so it's Tosca.

Tosca is the right answer. Well done.

James, for the round.

The virtuoso classical guitarist Andres Segovia

was a native of which country?

Purely going off of the surname, I'm going to rule out France,

so between Italy and Spain.

I'm going to plump for Italy.

I hope I didn't mispronounce it, but it's not Italy. It's Spain.

Andres Segovia.

A native of Spain. So, Judith, you have a chance to stay in

if you get this one right, OK?

Which American composer had a highly successful career

in the insurance industry for many years

and only found fame through music in later life?

Oh.

Gosh.

I think it might be Charles Ives.

Why do you say that?

Well, I just think the other two were in music all their lives.

Charles Ives is correct, Judith. Well done.

So, two points each after three questions.

-Difficult to shake her off, James, isn't it?

-Yeah.

We go to Sudden Death now.

Gets a bit harder because I don't give you alternative answers.

Paul Weller and the keyboardist Mick Talbot

formed which pop group in the 1980s?

It was after The Jam. They formed The Style Council.

It was indeed. And it was The Style Council. Well done.

Judith, your question.

Which three-act comic opera based on works by Shakespeare

was the last opera to be written by Giuseppe Verdi?

I don't know. Um...

Falstaff.

I thought you were going to get it.

-Falstaff is right.

-Oh.

That's the correct answer.

OK, James.

What was the name of the father of Sharon Osbourne

who was a successful manager of bands

such as ELO and Black Sabbath?

Ooh. I can't even guess a name here. I can't remember.

Um... Oh.

I'm sorry, I can't remember, Jeremy.

Really? No name?

Let's see if your team-mates know.

-We thought it was Ozzy, but it's not Ozzy.

-Ozzy, no, no.

No, don't know.

-Anyone here?

-Don Arden.

Don Arden, say the Eggheads.

Born Harry Levy.

So, James has given you a chance to take the round here, Judith.

Here's your question.

First staged in 1998,

the opera A Streetcar Named Desire

was written by which German-born American composer

who served as chief conductor of

both the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

and the London Symphony Orchestra?

I should really know that.

Um... Oh, dear, I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know.

-Nothing?

-I can kick myself, I'm sure.

You will. It is Andre Previn.

-Oh, for goodness' sake!

-And he was... I didn't realise he was

German, but he was born Andreas Ludwig Priwin.

All right, James.

You're just off the hook there.

Which British actor starred as J Pierpoint Finch in the 2011

Broadway revival of the musical

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying?

I...don't know, so I'll have to think of somebody.

Have a guess.

Michael Crawford.

No, Daniel Radcliffe is the answer.

Judith, your chance to take the round. Sudden Death, here we go.

Construction of the Baku Crystal Hall

was completed just in time to host

which major musical event in May 2012?

Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest is the right answer.

You've taken the round, Judith. Well done.

James, you've been knocked out,

sorry, on the Daniel Radcliffe question.

Please return to us and we'll see what happens next.

So as it stands, the Tufty Club are having a little bit of a time here.

Any change of plan?

Just going to give them a head start and then come from behind.

-I think that's the way to do it.

-Easier questions.

You've lost two brains, the Eggheads have not lost a brain so far

and the next subject for you is Food & Drink.

So, who would like this?

-That's you, mate.

-Tony?

-Let's have a go at that.

-You OK with that?

-Tony? OK. Good stuff.

Against which Egghead, Tony?

Who would you like? Can't be Dave or Judith.

-I think I'll take on Kevin.

-Kevin?

Because we don't really want him in the final.

-Yeah!

-Great tactic.

-Great tactic.

-Good man.

-Kevin.

-Kevin. OK, Tony from Tufty Club and Kevin

on Food & Drink. Please go to the Question Room.

So, Tony, greengrocer, lots of fruit and veg?

Yeah, we do it on a wholesale basis.

-We sell stuff from all over the world.

-Lovely.

And I'm guessing people have to come through your door

really early in the morning to get the goods.

Well, four o'clock is an average start time.

We have to do it at that time because it has to be

in the restaurants and shops early, so they can sell it on.

Yeah. All right, well, good luck in this round.

I hope there are lots of questions about fruit and vegetables.

You're up against Kevin. If you knock him out,

then you are starting to come back

and getting within sight of this very big jackpot we've got.

-Do you want to go first or second, Tony?

-I'd like to go second, please.

Here we go. Kevin, your question.

Farmhouse, bloomer and coburg are all types of which food?

Certainly both bloomer and farmhouse are types of bread loaf,

so yeah, bread loaf.

Bread loaf is the right answer. Well done.

OK, over to you, Tony.

What creature is sometimes referred to as the cardinal of the seas

due to the colour it turns when it's cooked? Is this...

Well, a mussel is black

and a scallop comes out of a shell,

but a lobster is black initially and turns pink,

cardinal pink, when it's cooked.

The lobster.

Lobster is correct. One point each.

Food and Drink.

Kevin, your question.

What is often said to have been invented by Louis Lassen

in 1900 in his eatery Louis' Lunch in New Haven Connecticut?

Kevin, was it the...

Not sure on this at all.

I don't think it's chilli con carne.

I mean, that's more of a Southwest, USA, Mexican borderland-type dish.

I think I've heard the name, but I can't remember whether it's...

If I've got any sort of slight instinct,

it's for hamburger, I think.

So, it could be hamburger or hot dog, but I'll go for hamburger.

Do you know this one, Tony?

I think it's the hot dog.

-Funnily enough, Kevin's got it right.

-Right.

-It's the hamburger.

-Right.

-So, Kevin is in the lead.

And you can pull back now with your second question.

Which of these terms, Tony,

describes fruit of that has been stewed or cooked in syrup? Is it...

I don't think it's madeleine.

Compote is the type of pudding.

I think it's millefeuille.

-It's actually compote.

-Right.

Not millefeuille. OK.

If you get this right, Kevin, you're in the final round

and you will have won through on Food & Drink.

-Have you got an oven yet?

-Yes.

That's not the question.

Oh, damn, I thought that was it.

No, that's not it. Yeah, that would be very odd.

Muscadet is a white wine made in the valley of which French river?

Muscadet comes from the Loire.

-Oh, you were straight there.

-Mm-hm.

Loire...is the correct answer.

Kevin, well done.

Tony, sorry, he's beaten you on Food & Drink, which can happen.

Kevin will be in the final.

Please return to us and we'll play the next round.

So as it stands right now,

the Tufty Club have lost another brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are still sitting pretty

and the Eggheads think they've got it in the bag.

So, now is the moment to pounce.

It's Arts & Books.

Who would like this?

That's the short straw and...

Yes, it is the short straw.

It was Jarl's bag, but Ged has kindly volunteered

to step up to the mark.

So, Ged, who would you like to take on?

Oh, um...

Lisa? I think Lisa.

Let's have Lisa.

OK, so Ged from Tufty Club versus Lisa from the Eggheads

on Arts & Books.

Last round before the final. Please go to our Question Room now.

So, Ged, I gather at the local pub where you quiz,

you all recreated an edition of Eggheads?

We did indeed, yes.

And even to the point where John, sitting here, was playing me.

-Yeah, he was indeed, yes.

-Did a better job, I should think.

And did you...? So, you were the Eggheads,

-so pressure was on for you guys to win.

-Yes, it was.

-And did you win?

-No.

-LAUGHTER

Well, without giving the answer,

tell me the question that floored you.

Yes, it was a collective noun for giraffes that floored us.

-OK, now, Lisa do you know that?

-I think it's a tower.

Ha-ha! She's right, it is a tower.

-Ged, what did you say?

-We said pillar.

-Pillar, OK. Well, good luck playing them today.

-Thank you.

You're up against Lisa.

And, Ged, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go with your first question. Arts & Books.

Ged, "Double, double toil and trouble,

"fire burn and cauldron bubble,"

are famous lines from which Shakespeare play?

I know this one cos it's probably one of the only plays

I did at school.

Macbeth.

Macbeth is correct. The three witches at the start.

Lisa, what was the nickname by which the artist Jackson Pollock

became known?

Jackson Pollock's, I think, famous for the sort of messy

canvases where the paint is not applied in strict brushstrokes.

Jack the Stripper and Jack the Gripper are interesting

possibilities, mind you.

I'll go for Jack the Dripper.

Yeah, Jack the Dripper is right.

Exactly right.

OK, Ged, back to you. Playing the Egghead.

Which word precedes arch in the name of an architectural feature

within a theatre?

Oh, gosh.

It'll be a pure guess, this, I think.

I think it's the first one, ingenium.

-Lisa, what do you think?

-Proscenium arch.

Proscenium arch, it is.

Meaning, Lisa?

I think it's the sort of arch that goes across the front

of the stage, so presumably in front of the scene.

Sort of framing the scene.

-Oh, I see, pro-scene.

-Yeah.

Interesting. Sorry, Ged, you got it wrong.

Back to Lisa. See if she can take the lead.

Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak are characters in which book?

I won't pretend for a second I'm a lover of Thomas Hardy

although I grew up in his country, down in Dorset,

but the book is Far From The Madding Crowd.

Far From The Madding Crowd is correct.

OK. So, Ged, you need this one to stay in.

The novelist Louis de Bernieres,

the author of the bestselling Captain Corelli's Mandolin,

was born in 1954 in which city?

Sorry, what was his name again?

Louis de Bernieres,

so it's D-E and then B-E-R-N-I-E-R-E-S

with an accent on the first E.

Doesn't sound Dutch, does it?

Definitely doesn't sound English.

It could be cosmopolitan.

New York.

It's not New York.

It's London.

Ged, I'm sorry to say,

so, you have been beaten by our Egghead

and as a result, will not be able to help your team in the final round.

Ged and Lisa, come back to us. We will play that final.

And a bit of a sob story here, Lisa, you are looking relieved because...

Because that is the first one I've won

after four defeats on the bounce.

And we don't count...we don't count these, you know that,

but you were counting for yourself.

It is a matter of professional pride to make sure that we don't

go further than four. Five is right out, as they said in Monty Python.

OK. So, this is what we've 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.

And Tufty the Squirrel is looking...

There's a little bit of a roadkill aspect to Tufty at the moment,

but you can still win. There's no question.

However, Jarl, James, Ged and Tony from Tufty Club,

I do need to ask you, please, to leave the studio.

So, John, you are playing to win Tufty Club £21,000

and they will be very grateful backstage.

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

the Eggheads' precious reputation

and to continue this really great run you're on.

We don't often get above 20, do we?

-No, not currently, no.

-Not often.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer...

Doesn't help much, does it? So, John, the question is -

can you, with your one brain, defeat these five?

And would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here's is your question.

Which of these trees is deciduous?

Deciduous.

I think deciduous means

it flowers every year.

Silver birch...

juniper or yew.

I'll go for yew.

Yew is not deciduous.

Silver birch is deciduous.

Meaning, what, that the branches are stripped in winter,

is that right?

The leaves fall off in winter.

OK, Eggheads, your question.

The town of Penrith is located

just outside which national park?

-ALL:

-Lake District.

-Yeah, Lake District.

-Oxenholme,

Lake District, Penrith, Carlisle.

I've passed through Penrith

on the train many times

and it is very close to

the Lake District.

It is indeed close to the Lake District.

You're right, Eggheads. First point to you.

Back to you, John.

Ice Station Zebra and When Eight Bells Toll

are 1960s novels by which author?

Um...

I'm pretty sure it is Alistair MacLean.

No messing about, you're right. Alistair MacLean it is.

Absolutely right. Eggheads, here's your question.

According to FIFA regulations

for international matches,

what is the maximum width of a football pitch?

-BOTH:

-Width.

-Rather than length.

-Hm.

-What's the maximum length?

Length is about 130 yards.

-Or something, isn't it?

-They ain't square, are they?

I'd have said 80. My instinct would be 80.

Yeah, mine too, I think.

Because I'm thinking 100 yards wide,

it's a long way on a pitch.

I don't recall seeing 105

in relation to any dimension at all.

I would like to...

I think we should hear the question

again just to clarify this.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

According to FIFA regulations

for international matches,

what is the maximum width of a football pitch?

You see, I...

There's a range. They allow some

-flexibility.

-Yeah, they do.

Cos there are teams which specialise

in really narrow pitches.

Narrow pitches and longer ones, yeah, cos they...

105 yards, 100 yards,

-it's quite a lot.

-Yeah, it would be.

100 yards is long, isn't it?

It's long. Yeah, it's a long way.

It's a long way.

I... My instinct is 80, but it's not...

-Yeah?

-80 is not...

-It makes sense.

I mean, it could be...

Sometimes these regulations are...

-Strange.

-Strange, yes.

-Yeah.

-Basically, yes.

-80.

They're not adhered to,

but I would, you know...

THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

The key word is maximum.

-For the width.

-Seems plausible,

-proportionally.

-Yeah, yeah. 80.

-We could talk about it all day.

-OK.

We're slightly uneasy here,

but we feel we should go

for 80 yards.

80 yards. A lot riding on these answers. John, what do you think?

105.

-You say 105?

-Yeah.

80 is the right answer.

So, Eggheads in the driving seat here.

-John, you need to get this one right to stay in.

-OK.

Take your time.

In Greek mythology, which nymph was turned hollow water reeds

to protect her from the god Pan. Is that...

I like the sound of Circe.

So, I'll go for Circe.

OK, Circe, you say.

If you've got this wrong, the contest is over.

Let's just have a little look with the Eggheads.

I think you like your mythology. Judith, do you know this one?

-I think it's Syrinx.

-Anybody else?

Yeah, Syrinx.

Syrinx is the answer.

Syrinx, it is.

And we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Hard to come back from the two wrong answers there,

but great to play your team.

Great to see your team at work, especially since you were...

Who were you performing as in this Eggheads' reconstruction?

-The main man.

-Oh, right.

Well, you'll know from my position, it's very easy, so...

Much harder where you're sitting.

Yeah, it's easier to have the questions.

-Thank you so much for coming in.

-Thank you.

And all your colleagues as well. Been great to see you playing.

Eggheads, you're doing really rather well. This is getting lively.

The winning streak continues.

It does mean our Challengers do not go home with the £21,000.

We will take that money, shall we, roll it over to the next show?

Eggheads, invictus was the word, wasn't it? Unbeatable.

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

can take them apart.

It's looking unlikely, though. £22,000 will be up for grabs.

Until then, goodbye.