Episode 14 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.

I say it with conviction cos you're playing so well at the moment.

-Hello. ALL:

-Hello.

Gosh, the force of that!

Taking on the might of our quiz goliaths today

are Quizee McRascal from Glasgow. Now, this friends

and family team regularly quiz together

in The Smiddy in the city's Southside.

Let's meet them.

Hi. My name is Eamonn, and I'm a retired publican.

Hi. I'm David. I'm a marine engineer.

Hi. I'm Paul. I'm a postgraduate student in translation studies.

Hi. I'm Joe, and I'm a maths teacher.

Hi. I'm Alex, and I'm a PhD student in management science.

-So, Eamonn, team, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Good to see you.

And tell us about The Smiddy. What kind of a place is it?

Oh, it's a very traditional Scottish bar.

We all meet and have a very good time,

and they run a very good quiz.

-But how good, we'll find out shortly, I think.

-Oh, indeed.

Now, you're all connected with each other in some mysterious way,

aren't you? Take me through it. Take me through the relationships.

-David is going out with my daughter.

-OK.

-So, he's on best behaviour tonight.

-Yeah.

And then the rest of the friends here,

they're all part of the quiz team.

That's Paul, Joe, his brother, and Alex, along at the end,

they're all part of The Smiddy quiz team

-that we all participate in.

-OK.

The name of the team is a play on Dizzee Rascal...

-Indeed.

-..I'm assuming.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-Is that because you are a fan, Eamonn, of Dizzee?

-No, the young people chose that one.

-THEY LAUGH

Why did I guess that?

Now, I mentioned the fact that they were doing very well,

and here's the story.

We have, as you know, £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers each day.

If you fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, this lot have won the last 22 games.

-Ooh.

-So, they're storming it, so you have to stop them.

And £23,000 says you can't.

-How about that for a challenge?

-Yeah, up for that.

-It would be an honour.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

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

Quizee McRascal, which one of you would like to play Science?

-I think me?

-The plan was for David to do it.

-I think that's you.

-Yeah, so, I'll be doing Science.

-OK, David.

Trying to impress the potential father-in-law?

-HE LAUGHS Or am I jumping the gun there?

-Er...

THEY LAUGH

"No comment" is the official line at the moment.

"No comment." OK, so, David against...?

-I'm trying to think back to the battle plan that we did.

-Yeah.

-Dave, do we think?

-OK.

-Do you want to go with David first?

-David versus Dave?

-Yeah.

-Dave versus Dave.

-Oh, lovely.

OK, so, David from Quizee McRascal chooses our David,

Tremendous Knowledge Dave from Eggheads.

Gentlemen, to avoid any conferring, please go to the Question Room.

So, OK, David the Challenger, Science against the man we call TKD.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck. The device called a defibrillator

is used to correct irregularities with which organ of the body?

That would be the heart.

Very good. The heart it is.

Dave, what is the main colour

of the plumage of the little egret?

I don't know.

Um, I've not really noticed much, but I'm going to go white,

but I haven't really...

Um, yeah, I'll go white.

And white is correct. Well done.

David, your question, Challenger.

In the computing abbreviation URL, what does the R stand for?

Erm...I'm going to say router.

I think Barry will know this.

-URL is Uniform Resource Locator.

-Uniform Resource Locator.

Sorry, David, it's resource. Back to you, Tremendous Knowledge.

Which medical condition

is known as podagra when it affects the feet?

I've not heard of this phrase at all, podagra.

It would be weird if it was gout, I tell you.

If it was that, with my conditions...

I'm going to go cramp, but I've not got an idea, really,

about this at all.

And you have a bit of gout yourself?

Yes, I do, and it's gout, obviously, then.

-And you haven't googled it or anything?

-No.

It is gout. HE LAUGHS

-That's funny.

-It is funny.

OK, back to you, David. That's good.

You've completely discombobulated Tremendous Knowledge David.

-I'm back in the game.

-Back in the game big time.

I'm hearing wedding bells. THEY LAUGH

-Don't give my girlfriend any ideas.

-THEY LAUGH

Which of these metals has the lowest melting point?

Well, it's not iron.

It's between tin or lead.

Erm, I'm going to say tin.

Really glad you did. You're right. Excellent.

And what is your job, David, while we're talking science?

I'm a marine engineer in the Merchant Navy.

So, you've got an eye for that kind of question?

If I'd got that wrong, I wouldn't have been welcome back in the boat,

I would imagine.

OK, Dave, this is your question now to stay in.

Which common electronic device typically uses a CCD or CMOS sensor?

CMOS is C-M-O-S.

Well...

..because you've said electronic rather than electrical...

Could be getting me totally the wrong way.

..I'm going to go for digital camera.

-Ooh, that's very smart. Yeah, digital camera it is.

-Yeah.

So, equal after three questions,

and, David, we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a bit harder cos I don't give you alternatives.

What name, the Latin for sea,

do astronomers give to any of the darkish, level areas on the moon?

No, I think I'm just going to have to have a shot in the dark here.

I'm thinking ocean, but then level spots, Latin...

-I've never done Latin in my life.

-HE LAUGHS

Trying to think of formulas with Latin.

No, erm...

Ocean.

Yeah, I see where you're going. Not that.

It's mare - M-A-R-E.

M-A-R-E. Or you could say "mayree", some people say.

I've never heard of it,

-so that makes me feel better.

-THEY LAUGH

Dave, for the round, how many sides

does a nonagon have?

Nonagon? Nine.

Nine is correct, Dave. You've taken the round.

David, you've been knocked out. Tremendous Knowledge

is in the final round, but it's very early days.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

So, Quizee McRascal have lost maybe one of their best players,

I'm thinking, David here.

So, a brain down. Eggheads, all five.

We've seen this before,

but they've lost from this position before as well.

The next subject is Geography.

Now, which one of you is the most geographical?

-I don't mind giving this a go.

-Would you be happy with that?

I used to enjoy some of the geographical stuff.

-Yeah, I'd be quite happy for you to volunteer.

-Yeah, that's fine.

OK, Alex down the end and against which Egghead?

Obviously, it can't be Dave.

If we're hoping Sport would come up, don't take Judith.

-Barry maybe?

-Barry? Barry?

Take Barry.

Alex from Quizee McRascal versus the Eggheads' very own rascal Barry.

Please go to our special Question Room now.

Alex, I'm interested in your hobby of keeping budgies.

HE LAUGHS You love the song or the look...?

-They're very bright sometimes, aren't they?

-They are, yes.

They're really quite just interesting animals, yeah.

-Yeah.

-You look at them and they're not the same.

You can tell they've got their own personalities.

Yeah, I often think that about the Eggheads, actually.

I would have phrased it exactly the same.

We keep them in little cages as well when they're not playing.

OK, so, we're on Geography, Alex.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I will go first, please.

And here is your first question.

Finland, Estonia and which other country

have coastlines on the Gulf of Finland?

OK, so, I'm trying to picture a map of Europe in my mind here.

Um, and I believe the Gulf of Finland

is what Estonia is on the southern edge of,

and Finland is to the north of it.

It's got the Baltic Sea to the west of it,

and Russia to the east of it, so I'm going to say Russia.

-That is an impressive bit of...

-Yeah.

..Google Maps going on in your head there.

Can we take you all round the world with that technique?

I'm not sure I'd want to push it too far, but...

-HE LAUGHS

-..Europe, I'm sort of

-a bit comfortable-ish with, yeah.

-OK.

We're learning something about budgie owners here. That's amazing.

So, Russia is the right answer. Well done. Good start.

Here we go, Barry. Your question. At its narrowest point,

roughly how wide is the English Channel?

Well...the Channel crossing is supposedly about 21 miles.

It's certainly not 63 miles,

and I can't believe it's as much as 42.

It must be 21 miles.

21 miles is right.

OK, your question, Alex.

Frying Pan Lake,

one of the largest hot springs in the world, is in which country?

Well, I've never heard of it.

Purely on that basis, I'm going to rule out Ireland.

I know New Zealand's got all sorts

of interesting geographical features.

I'm going to go for New Zealand.

You're playing well, Alex. New Zealand is correct. Well done.

And I say you're playing well. You also play the piano and violin.

That's right, yes. Not both at once.

Not both at the same time? OK. HE LAUGHS

I wasn't expecting that.

OK, Barry, your question.

Liberia and Barbados both have currencies with which name?

I believe Barbados has the dollar.

Yes, dollar is right.

And Liberia is using the American dollar, then, is it, or something?

Yes, well, Liberia was founded as a colony for ex-American slaves,

-which is why it has the dollar as a currency.

-I see. OK.

Alex, the easternmost point of

mainland Africa is in which country?

The easternmost point?

Well, again, I'm trying to picture a map in my head.

As far as I can think, Zimbabwe doesn't have any coastline,

so it would then be between the other two,

and I think Africa goes further east further north, which would...

..mean Somalia rather than Kenya, so I'll go for Somalia.

It's good quizzing, isn't it, Eggheads? Very, very good.

On maps, you're amazing. Somalia is the right answer.

OK, Barry, we're going to miss this guy

if you knock him out.

He's a good competitor. It's a pleasure to play him.

Well, you're on the edge yourself here.

Which of these Welsh towns

is roughly 13 miles from Chester by road?

Well, Cardigan must be on the west coast of Wales.

I'll discount that. And Brecon's in the south.

It must be Wrexham.

Wrexham is the right answer. Well done.

So, three out of three. Very well played by you both.

We go to Sudden Death, Alex.

Gets a tiny bit harder cos I don't give you alternatives.

Here is your first question.

The highest peak in which country is located on Mount Ararat?

Oh, I've heard of Mount Ararat.

I'm thinking it's either Turkey

or one of the countries to the east of there.

I'm going to go for Turkey.

Turkey is correct.

This is great. Great quizzing. Really enjoyable to watch.

OK, Barry, again, on the edge here.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

all share a border with which country?

I always get confused with the geography of the Stans.

It's either Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.

I'm going to go for the larger one. I'll try Kazakhstan.

-The answer is Afghanistan, Barry.

-Oh!

-You've been knocked out.

Wasn't any of your options. APPLAUSE

Well done, Alex. You're in the final round.

That's good for your team. Barry, you're a goner, I'm afraid.

Please come back, rejoin your teams.

So, we're pretty evenly matched so far.

£23,000 being played for, of course.

As it stands, Quizee McRascal have lost a brain.

The Eggheads have also lost one. The next subject is Film & TV.

Whose subject is this?

-Will I take it?

-Are you happy with it?

I'm happy with it. I'm happy with it.

Who do I want to take on?

So, it's Eamonn on Film & TV against which Egghead?

And it can't be Dave or Barry.

-I'll take the lovely Judith.

-All right. The lovely Judith.

-Me?

You're off the hook on Sport.

-I thought you were saving me up for Sport.

-No, no, no.

-I'm all geared up for Sport.

-Running out of opportunities.

So, Eamonn from Quizee McRascal

is going to play Judith from the Eggheads,

and please go to our Question Room now.

All right, Film & TV. Exciting contest. Big jackpot.

-Eamonn, first or second?

-Ladies first.

Here is your first question, Judith.

Which of these actors starred in both The Magnificent Seven

and The Dirty Dozen?

Oh, well, Michael Douglas and Cary Grant

were definitely not in The Magnificent Seven,

and Charles Bronson definitely was.

-So, Charles Bronson.

-Charles Bronson is the right answer. Well done.

Film & TV, Eamonn. Here's your first question.

Which James Bond film was released after The Living Daylights

and before GoldenEye?

Casino Royale was...

Both the first and the second

were much before that and much after it.

Moonraker had Roger Moore, which I think was before then,

so I think my answer will be Licence To Kill, Jeremy.

Yes, spot-on. Licence To Kill.

OK, your question, Judith.

In the 2015 feature film Chappie, what is the title character?

-How do you spell it?

-Chappie is C-H-A-P-P-I-E.

-Chappie.

-No idea.

I mean, a dog might be a red herring

because dogs are sometimes called Chappie, but...

Chappie. I think it might be a robot.

You're right, it is a robot.

OK, Eamonn, your question.

Eileen Grimshaw and her sons Jason and Todd

are characters in which TV soap?

Strangely for someone who chose TV & Film,

the only genre I don't follow is soap operas.

I don't think it's EastEnders,

and on that basis of, I'm afraid, a 50-50 choice,

I'm going to go for Emmerdale.

Now, let me check with Judith cos she loves her soaps. Judith?

Well, the only one I like is EastEnders,

and I'm sure they're not in that.

I'm sorry, Eamonn. It is Coronation Street.

Grimshaw maybe sounds a bit more Coronation Streety.

It's Eggheads two, Challengers one.

Judith, if you get this right,

because Eamonn let you go first, you will be in the final round.

Here's your question.

The long-running current affairs documentary series Dispatches

is broadcast on which channel?

Dispatches.

Oh, lordy. Um, I mean, I know it so well.

-I think it's Channel 4.

-It is Channel 4.

-It is Channel 4?

-It is Channel 4.

-Phew.

You have got the round with three questions correct.

Well done, Judith. Sorry, Eamonn.

You've been knocked out there by our classy Egghead here,

the millionaire.

Please come back to us and we'll play on.

So, as it stands, Quizee McRascal have lost two brains from the final,

the Eggheads have lost one.

Time to pull it back. It's Sport.

-Sport.

-Sport.

You got away with it, Judith. SHE LAUGHS

-I think it's going to be Paul.

-It's going to be me for Sport.

OK, Paul on Sport against either Kevin or Chris.

-Are we going to go with Chris?

-OK, yeah.

-Think so?

-We'll go with Chris, Jeremy.

-OK, good stuff.

Paul from Quizee McRascal versus Chris from the Eggheads,

looking not particularly approving about Sport.

I can't think of anything bad enough

that is equally disapprovable of as Sport.

-Non-alcoholic beer.

-Non-alcoholic beer.

That's good. Non-alcoholic beer.

Please go to the Question Room now.

-Paul, good luck here against Chris on Sport.

-Cheers, Jeremy.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd thought earlier I would go first,

so I'll stick with that and I'll go first, please.

Here is your first question.

The first 33 stagings of golf's Open championship

all took place in which country?

I'm not a massive golf fan at all,

so in terms of sports I'd have liked to have seen come up,

that's definitely not one of them.

Given the options, given golf's history,

-I would go with Scotland.

-Scotland is correct.

Chris, your question. Carl Fogarty

is a famous name in which sport?

He's surely a cross-country BMX rider, so it's motorcycling.

Motorcycling is quite right, Chris. Well done.

OK, back to you, Paul. The Welsh international

rugby players JPR Williams and Jamie Roberts

both achieved professional qualifications in which field?

Again, I'm not a massive rugby fan.

I know Alex is, and he'd possibly know this for certain,

but I do remember hearing about Jamie Roberts,

that he'd had a qualification,

and my original instinct was medicine,

so I'll go with medicine, Jeremy.

Medicine is the right answer.

Chris, here is your question, my friend.

Which of these famous racehorses

came to be known as Australia's wonder horse?

Well, the one of those that's sort of enshrined

in the Australian national psyche,

and has taken its place in Australian myth,

is a very misshapen-looking thing.

You'd think it was a right old nag, but it was Phar Lap.

Phar Lap is the right answer. Australia's wonder horse.

OK, level pegging. Back to you, Paul.

In 1887, which cricket team bowled England out for 45,

setting a record for their lowest innings score?

I don't think the West Indies were playing as early as that.

I know that England did tour the United States

in the early history of cricket.

Um, but they were playing Australia by that point,

and so I'll go with Australia.

Australia is the right answer. Great logic there.

I didn't know about the United States

tour of cricket in the 1800s. That's amazing.

OK, Chris. To stay in,

Chris, the Scotsman Gary Anderson became a world champion

in which sport in January 2015?

Well, the name doesn't ring any bells in connection with boxing.

Don't think there's many Scottish squash players, but...

Yes, darts.

How did you get that? You just did it, what, elimination or...?

Elimination, yeah.

Yeah, it's worked. It is darts. Well done, Chris.

So, perfect round so far for you both.

You've got all your multiple-choice questions correct,

all six of them. And we go now to Sudden Death, Paul, OK?

So, it gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternative answers.

-No problem.

-Are you ready?

-I'm ready.

In June 2013, who succeeded David Moyes

as the manager of Everton?

-Um, it's Roberto Martinez.

-Roberto Martinez is quite right.

You're playing really well, Paul.

As are you, Chris.

The sportswoman Charley Hull

has found fame for her achievements in which sport, Chris?

This to stay in.

-Figure skating.

-You know the answer or you've guessed it or...?

No, I've just plucked that out of the air.

-You're not expecting this to be right?

-No.

Would you be very surprised if I told you it was right?

-Yes, I would, actually.

-Yeah, it's not. It's golf.

THEY LAUGH You've been knocked out.

-Oh, that's cruel.

-Paul, well done.

Well done. And this is quite a comeback by our Challengers here.

This is now looking very lively.

Come back to us and we'll play the final round.

Now, before the final, a tiny point about Carl Fogarty.

We were talking...

He was BMX and motorcycling. Not BMX, is he, Dave?

-You know this.

-No. No, he isn't. He was MotoGP, or Superbikes.

-Superbikes.

-Superbikes.

-On a track, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Superbikes is Carl Fogarty.

-OK.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

So, Eamonn and David from Quizee McRascal,

and also Barry and Chris from the Eggheads,

would you please leave the studio?

Paul, Joe and Alex, you are playing to win Quizee McRascal £23,000.

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

which is your reputation,

and to continue this amazing roll that you're on.

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

This time, they're all General Knowledge.

You can confer with each other, OK? So, Quizee McRascal,

we're going to find out if your three brains can defeat these three,

and you just take all the money and run off with it.

Would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

The masthead of which national UK newspaper

includes a version of the Royal coat of arms?

When he first asked the question, my first thought was The Times.

-That was my thought as well.

-But I'm trying to picture...

-Does The Sun have any coat of arms on it?

-The Sun...

-Or any...?

-I can only think of the red top.

-Yeah.

-That's all I can think of.

The one that I was thinking that definitely had a symbol

-was The Times, black on white.

-So, we think...?

-Times?

Yeah, go with Times, yeah.

We think it's The Times, Jeremy.

The Times is the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, in July 2015,

Yanis Varoufakis resigned as the finance minister

of which European country?

-Greece.

-Greece.

-That's Greece, isn't it?

-Greece, yeah.

He was the Greek finance minister.

Yes. Basically, the most famous finance minister in the world.

-Yeah.

-For a while, yeah.

-Greece is right.

Your question, Quizee McRascal.

The writing material called vellum

is traditionally made from which material?

I wouldn't have thought it would have been bamboo

cos I thought vellum was used in Britain in medieval times.

My gut reaction was calfskin

-because vellum - you have veal, you have...

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Velvet.

-..veau in French, or velvet.

-Yeah.

-Which is a...?

-I'm not sure.

-We don't really care about that.

Yeah, but I think if we're going velvet,

we've got the link there to calfskin.

-So, I think... Happy to go with that?

-I think...

-It's logical enough.

-I'd be happy with that.

Calfskin, Jeremy.

Calfskin is the right answer. You are playing well.

HE CHUCKLES Little shiver of anticipation

for these Eggheads. They know when there's a good team in the house.

-Oh, definitely.

-They really do.

They see a lot of them. OK, Eggheads, your second question.

Get one of these wrong,

-we know what'll happen.

-Yeah.

-You won't get a second chance with this lot.

-No.

Here is your next question.

Which current assay office in the UK has a castle as its hallmark?

-Edinburgh, isn't it?

-Edinburgh.

-It's Edinburgh.

Birmingham's got an anchor

and London's got the leopard's head.

-Yeah.

-So, it's Edinburgh.

That is Edinburgh.

You seemed very certain. The answer is Edinburgh. Well done.

Two out of two for you as well. Back to our Challengers.

Which English model, born in 1978, is a keen racing driver

and also competed at the 2001 Women's World Polo Championships?

I have absolutely no idea.

There have been questions about English models before,

and the date of birth has come up.

I'm sure Naomi Campbell is older than that.

-Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

-So I don't think it's Naomi Campbell.

-My inclination is to go with Agyness Deyn.

-Yeah.

But it's not really based on much.

Do we think that name looks the sort of name

that's more likely to have competed in a polo world championship?

I have absolutely no idea. I...

-It could be any one of them.

-Yeah.

I think that might be logic enough to go on it - the name.

OK, we don't know this, Jeremy,

but we're going to go with Agyness Deyn.

Agyness Deyn is your answer. See if the Eggheads know.

-ALL:

-Jodie Kidd.

-Jodie Kidd, yeah.

Well, I said that they mustn't let you in, and you've let them in,

and this could be over all too quickly

if the Eggheads get this right.

So, it's all on the third question now.

Eggheads, which astronomer wrote the novel entitled Contact,

later made into a film starring Jodie Foster?

-I'm reasonably sure it's Sagan.

-Yeah, I thought it was Sagan.

-I don't know.

-I don't recall Hubble or Tombaugh

-ever having been noted for...

-Novel writing.

For novel writing.

Whereas Carl Sagan did occasionally turn his hand to fiction.

-Yeah, OK.

-So, go with that, yeah?

Yeah, no, go with that.

Not 100% certain, but we think the one there

who occasionally turned his hand to fiction,

unsurprisingly, science fiction,

was Carl Sagan.

So, we had a Jodie Kidd on this side

and we had a Jodie Foster on that side.

It's been pretty evenly matched, this amazing contest. Is it over?

The novel entitled Contact was indeed written by Carl Sagan.

We say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

Well played. That was brilliant.

THEY APPLAUD

Yeah, you started awkwardly, and then really powered through them

and they just held you off at the end there.

-Yeah.

-Oh, Jodie Kidd. Don't ever look at a photo of her.

Don't look at her name.

-We didn't know it, so I don't think we can really...

-No complaints.

-Difficult to guess from nothing, yeah.

-Yeah.

Thank you so much for playing.

Commiserations as well to Quizee McRascal.

Again, a great team name.

The Eggheads have done what is coming

increasingly naturally to them, but I won't use the word effortless.

-Certainly not today.

-No, not at all.

-The winning streak continues.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £23,000,

so the money now rolls over to our next show.

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

can win the money and defeat them.

£24,000 says they can't. Till then, goodbye.