Episode 22 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.

-Good to see you, Eggheads.

-Nice to see you.

-Good? Looking forward to this one?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-You always do.

Taking on our quiz champions today

are C3. Now, this team of friends are all members

of the Cardiff Chess Club.

They meet up every Tuesday and Wednesday. Let's meet them.

Hi, my name's David, and I'm a financial consultant.

Hi, I'm Charles, and I'm a sales consultant.

Hi, I'm Ed, and I'm a retail assistant.

Hi, I'm Dan, and I'm a play worker.

Hello, I'm Derek, and I'm a support worker.

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

-Thanks very much.

The Cardiff Chess Club. Tell us about the games you play.

Well, we all play in different teams within the Cardiff Chess Club,

-and we all play league chess to varying levels...

-OK.

..varying degrees of skill.

CJ will be tuning in very avidly to this

-cos you know he's a big chess man.

-We do know that, yeah.

He once came round and showed me a load of moves. Didn't you?

We were up till midnight drinking coffee and me failing,

-but trying, to teach you how to play chess properly.

-Yeah.

That's a sort of big night in my vocabulary.

But anyway, you learnt chess as kids, I'm reckoning,

because people always seem to if they're good.

Well, I'm a bit unusual in that regard.

I started playing when I was about 21.

I learnt the rules, but I started playing league chess when I was 21,

whereas the rest of these guys have been playing

-since they were nippers.

-How long does a game normally take?

Depends. Some games can take three hours,

but if it's a foreign nations chess league game,

you could be talking seven hours for the full thing.

A real marathon. See if you can make lighter work

-of this bunch over here today.

-We'll try.

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.

So, C3, the Eggheads have won just the last game,

which means £2,000 is here for you to win today. Shall we crack on?

-ALL:

-Yeah.

-All right.

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

Which one of you would like this?

I think... It's History, Derek. Is that...?

-Do you want to do it?

-Yeah, I'm pretty good at history.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Who do we want, though, from...?

Ah, let me think. They're all pretty good, aren't they?

A rock and a hard place, isn't it? They're all good.

Who's the chink in the armour? Don't know.

I'll go for Barry, I think,

because he's got the same shirt I would have worn

-had I...

-THEY LAUGH

I think that's a good rationale. Fair play.

When you said Barry, you said it in a very Welsh way.

-Did I?

-Yes. In a lovely, lovely way.

-Barry.

Rolled the Rs there.

-WELSH ACCENT: So, Barry.

-Barry.

Derek from C3 versus Barry...

You're not Welsh at all, Barry, are you?

I'm afraid I've no Welsh blood in me at all.

..Barry from the Eggheads. To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

-Derek, good luck here on History against Barry.

-Thank you.

"No man is an island except for Barry,"

I heard one of your team-mates say.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

OK, that is

probably the easiest question of the day.

-Good.

-They may get harder.

What type of World War I military vehicle was the Big Willie?

Oh, that's a difficult one.

Um, I don't think it was an aircraft because aircraft was in its infancy.

I don't really think it was a submarine,

so I'm going to go for tank.

Tank is quite right. Well done. Good stuff, Derek. Off the blocks.

Barry, in which year

did George Washington become the first president of the USA?

No messing. 1789.

No messing. 1789 it is. You're equal. Back to you, Derek.

Tombstone, the site of the 1881 gunfight at the OK Corral

is located in which US state?

I'm not entirely sure.

I don't think it's Texas.

My first thought was Arizona.

Could be Nevada, but I'm going to plump for Arizona.

Yeah, it's a toss up, isn't it, between Arizona and Nevada?

But you've gone the right way, Derek. Well done.

Arizona is the right answer. You've got two points.

Barry, Henry I, King of England from 1100 to 1135,

was a member of which royal house?

Henry I was a Norman, so it's Normandy.

Normandy is correct.

Not a crease so far.

Derek, the war of 1904 to 1905,

primarily due to aggressive imperialistic ambitions

over Manchuria and Korea,

was fought between Russia and which other country?

Now, I do know this one,

so no doubt at all - it's Japan.

No doubt at all, it is Japan.

Well done. Three out of three.

And you made light work of that, Derek.

Barry, to stay in,

a type of cross-shaped anti-tank obstacle

made from iron or steel and used during the Second World War

was known by what name?

Ooh, goodness me.

I'm not sure on this one,

but something in the back of my brain

is saying that they were hedgehogs, so I'll go for Czech hedgehog.

Czech hedgehog is absolutely right. How about that? Three-three.

Rapid, rapid fire here,

and we go to Sudden Death.

Derek, gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives, OK?

-OK.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

Which US president died at Warm Springs, Georgia,

a place he visited frequently for medical treatment?

Franklin D Roosevelt.

Franklin D Roosevelt is correct. Barry,

if you get this question wrong, then you've lost

the head-to-head.

The major dam across the Nile that officially opened in 1971

is located roughly eight miles south of which city in Egypt?

Well, I have been to this city, so I know the answer is Aswan.

Aswan is the right answer. Well done.

And over to you, Derek.

Which former prime minister retired from the House of Commons in 1964

at the age of 89?

That would be Sir Winston Churchill.

Winston Churchill is right.

Barry, the Balkan Entente,

formed in 1934,

was a mutual defence alliance formed by Yugoslavia, Romania,

Greece and which other country?

Oh.

Yugoslavia, Romania and Greece.

Now, let's see. The countries in the Balkans then...

It could, of course, have been Russia,

but I think not in this instance.

There is Bulgaria and Albania.

I don't think it would be Albania.

I'll go for Bulgaria.

The answer is Turkey, so you're out, Barry.

Sudden Death. Derek, you got him.

-Oh.

-Well done. First blood to our Challengers.

C3, that's a good start. Come back to us and we'll play on.

So, as it stands, C3 have not lost any brains

and the Eggheads have lost a brain. What a start.

What's going to happen next? Let's see.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

-Who would like this?

-Oh.

-Was that your second...?

-Yeah.

-It was your second one, wasn't it?

-Do you mind doing it, Ed?

-Not particularly, no.

-OK.

-OK. Ed, are you going to do it?

-Yeah, I'll do it.

-OK.

-OK, Ed.

Retail assistant from Cardiff against...

Against who, Ed? What do you think? Who looks a bit creaky?

-Who looks like they haven't been near a library?

-Could be Chris.

They all look quite cultured, so I don't know if...

-CJ? Why not CJ?

-We'll have a bit of CJ, please.

-OK.

-Which bit?

-The whole thing.

-THEY LAUGH

-Which bit are you offering?

-LAUGHTER

His brain is being donated to science,

but it's been refused at this stage.

Anyway, Ed from C3...

-C3 versus CJ - how about that?

-Very nice.

-..from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions.

So, Ed, I gather you've got a black belt in a martial art.

-In tae kwon do, yeah.

-Is that the one with a lot of swirling?

Yeah, yeah, quite a bit.

And do you compete in that or how does it work?

Um, well, you can do.

I wasn't very good at competing myself,

-so I just did the sparring with other people.

-Right.

So, if CJ starts to pull past you, just attack him.

I will try my best if it comes to that, yeah.

Good luck with this round, Ed. It is Arts & Books.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

The character Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout Finch,

features in a novel published in 2015 by which author?

Yeah, yeah, it was To Kill A Mockingbird

and Go Set A Watchman.

It's Harper Lee.

Excellent. Well done. Harper Lee is right.

CJ, what genre of play

is Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost?

Well, we know I'm not big on my Shakespeare,

but I don't think it's a tragedy, I don't think it's a history.

I think it's a comedy.

Comedy is correct.

Back to you, Ed.

John Keats's poem Ode To A Nightingale

was first published in which century?

I'm trying to think when Keats would have been.

I'm not really sure.

Um, there's something in the back of my mind

that's telling me it was the 1700s, so I'll go the 18th century.

-You're a century out, I'm afraid. It was the 19th century.

-Oh.

OK, over to you, CJ.

What is the title of the second book

in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy?

I don't know which order they came in.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is first.

There is something very, very faintly nagging me

that The Girl Who Played With Fire is the last one.

I hope this is not just a vague phantom of a thought,

but I thought Fire was the last one,

so I will try The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest.

You've said The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

is the first. You're right about that.

You then think The Girl Who Played With Fire

-is the third?

-Yes.

So, it's Hornets' Nest?

-But it's not.

-Oh.

The second one is The Girl Who Played With Fire.

It's almost the all-time classic multiple-choice question

for Eggheads. HE LAUGHS

So, one each. Third question

to you, Ed. Which artist was the first president

of the breakaway art movement known as the Vienna Secession?

To be honest, I've never really heard of any of those before,

um, or the Vienna Secession.

I mean, Klimt is a name I vaguely recognise,

so I'll go with Gustav Klimt.

The answer is indeed Gustav Klimt.

HE LAUGHS Well done.

So, Ed is in the lead. One chess player

beating another here, CJ. What is this equivalent in chess?

Is it your queen is being forked by a knight?

-You have no idea what that means.

-LAUGHTER

I play chess a bit. I know what I'm saying.

According to the title of Ben Jonson's 1616 comedy

The Devil Is what?

It's The Devil...

I'm just making sure I'm not mixing it up with another work.

I think it's The Devil In His Humour,

unless I'm mixing that up with something else.

No, I think it's The Devil In His Humour.

You think The Devil Is In His Humour?

Any Eggheads want to help us on this? What are we doing here?

Um, I'm not so sure now

because he did another one called Every Man In His Humour.

Well, the answer, actually, is that it is

-The Devil Is An Ass.

-Yeah.

-Oh!

-And In His Humour is...

-Is Every Man In His Humour.

Kevin thinks he did something called Every Man In His Humour,

but the devil in his humour may be a phrase from somewhere else.

Sorry, CJ, you've been knocked out. Well done, Ed.

Did a bit of tae kwon do on him

and he's gone. LAUGHTER

Your team are very definitely in the lead,

and if you come back, we will see what happens in the next round.

Well, this is exciting now.

C3 have not lost any brains from the final round.

And look at the Eggheads. They're down to three maximum in the final.

The next subject is Music.

-Who's the musician? ALL:

-Charles.

-Charles?

-Yeah, Charles is Music.

-Said with some confidence.

-Well, a little bit, yes.

-OK.

-Who do you want, Charles?

-So...

-I'd pick...

-Of the remaining contestants, I'd take Chris, please.

-OK.

So, it's going to be Chris on Music.

-And again, nice one for you.

-Yeah, OK. Yeah.

-Yeah, I think...

-Not thrilled, but...

Not thrilled, not ecstatic, not over the moon.

-That's your gently excited face?

-Not sick as a parrot either.

-No.

-That's your "I can take it" face.

-Yeah.

-OK.

So, Charles from C3 versus Chris from the Eggheads on Music.

Please go to the special room.

-And music is your love, I gather, Charles.

-It is, yes.

Any particular type? Any particular reason?

I especially like jazz - I've always liked jazz -

and just well-played music, generally, I suppose.

-You set up your own record label, I gather.

-I did, yeah.

And was that for rock musicians or jazz or...?

It was to facilitate, shall we say, releasing my own stuff,

-but I actually ended up producing some other stuff as well.

-Good.

-So, you're really immersed in it.

-I was, yes.

I mean, there's been some time away from that now,

but, yeah, back in the day, yes.

OK, well, the subject, as you know, ranges very widely, so good luck.

Chris is always furious if The Sugababes come up,

so we await that moment.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll have to follow the way the team's gone so far and go first.

And it is going very, very well indeed,

I must say. Here's your question, Charles.

Until it was moved to a Friday in 2015,

BBC Radio One's UK Top 40 Singles countdown

traditionally took place on which day of the week?

Um, if memory serves correctly, I think that's Sunday.

Sunday's right, and I can remember taping...

Are we allowed to say? Taping the songs.

-You did this, Charles, as well, did you?

-I'm afraid I did, yes.

Chris, your question. In which year

was Bryan Adams's hit single (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

released in the UK?

It was number one for weeks and weeks and weeks on end

in 1991.

Yeah, well done. 1991 is correct. One point each.

Back to you, Charles.

The Phantom is a main character in which of these musicals?

I'd say Love Never Dies.

Well done. Love Never Dies it is.

Chris, back to you.

The balalaika, a Russian musical instrument

which usually has a triangular body, typically has how many strings?

-Um...

-HE HUMS

Well, you can get some quite good melodies out of a balalaika,

so it's got to have at least three, so I'll say three.

Yeah, nicely done. Three. Three is the answer.

Now, at this point, it keeps getting unstuck

for the Eggheads, so let's see what happens now.

Charles, get this right and maybe just take another one off the edge.

The Heat Is On and Smuggler's Blues are 1980s solo UK singles

by which member of The Eagles?

I think that's Don Henley.

-No, it's Glenn Frey.

-Oh.

-Glenn Frey was the answer here.

So, Chris, your chance to somehow

just stem the tide for the Eggheads. Can you do it?

-Are you alert?

-I've always been a lert.

-Britain needs lerts.

-THEY CHUCKLE

Which American entertainer,

prominent in several show business fields

from the 1920s through to the 1950s, had the nickname Banjo Eyes?

Well, Jimmy Durante was Schnoz,

Al Bowlly was British,

and Eddie Cantor had those great, goggly eyes,

so it was Eddie Cantor.

As soon as I saw this question, I thought,

"That's got Chris all over it."

Yes, Eddie Cantor is correct. You didn't even have to pause,

so now you've won one back for the Eggheads.

Charles, you've been knocked out.

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

Now, they do do this, these Eggheads.

-They lull you and then, bang. Sorry, Charles.

-Not to worry.

-Chris will be in a good mood for the rest of the day.

-Perchance.

Maybe the next hour or so, anyway.

C3 have lost a brain

and the Eggheads have lost two from the final round.

One more round before the final. It's Sport.

I know nothing about Sport.

-Is that bad?

-Yeah.

-That's Dan.

-Rugby is my only thing.

-That's Dan.

-Yeah? OK.

-We're both really, really terrible at Sport.

-Yes.

-But Dan is...

-The sacrificial lamb.

-..the sacrificial lamb.

All right, so, which...?

-Can you see any lambs on this side, Dan?

-Oh, that's true.

-Who do you want? Judith?

-Judith. Yeah, Judith.

-Judith, please.

-All right, now, we've got a...

-Well, I'm a sacrificial lamb too.

THEY LAUGH We have said, this mug,

which has been here...

This Egghead mug is empty, but it will be filled with champagne

if you win on Sport.

-Well, I do occasionally win on Sport.

-Hang on.

It's quite dry in there. THEY LAUGH

Anyway, Dan from C3 versus Judith from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Dan, you weren't that keen to do Sport?

No, I wasn't that keen to do Sport at all.

I'm not very good at Sport.

I was the Science member of the team,

but Science didn't come up,

so I'm now the sacrificial lamb on Sports.

But you did a five-mile walk for charity while juggling knives?

That sounds like a sport.

Well, if you have any jugglers questions,

I might be able to answer about famous jugglers,

but I don't think that's going to come up.

Let's go for it, then, Dan.

Last round before the final and this can go one of two ways.

They can either even it up here, which will be bad,

or you can have a victory

and then it looks very good for you in the final,

which will be good. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go, Dan. Your first Sport question.

Who defeated Roger Federer

in the final of the men's singles competition at Wimbledon in 2015?

I'm going to go for Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic is the right answer. Well done.

You would have known that, Judith.

-I would have known that.

-So much.

What is the longest track event in an Olympic decathlon?

A decathlon? The one with ten? Um...

Oh, golly. I don't know.

Decathlon. Um, I think I'm going to say 1,500m.

-1,500m is correct.

-Phew.

-Playing well.

Dan, back to you. Sport, we're on.

The goalkeeper Petr Cech left Chelsea

to join which football club in June 2015?

I have absolutely no idea. Um, at a guess...

..Liverpool.

Arsenal's the answer.

So, Judith, over to you. Here is your next question.

Which role does Ben Stokes usually perform

for the England cricket team?

I really should know this cos...

Shouldn't I?

A little sort of thing is going off in my head saying spin bowler.

And the thing that's been going off in your head,

can you describe it more closely? Is it a pain or a twinge?

-Well, what's usually described as an inkle.

-An inkle, OK.

Cos I'm just wondering whether you need attention for that

cos it's wrong. All-rounder. SHE LAUGHS

-It's wrong?

-Whatever the thing going off in your head is...

You've got a new technique of delivering the bad news.

I just was worried for you,

that's all. SHE LAUGHS

Don't know what's going off in your head, but it's not helpful.

OK, Dan, this is now looking good.

Well, it's not really. LAUGHTER

-Sorry. It's one-all.

-Yeah.

I'm trying to be optimistic here, Dan.

-You've got to go with it, OK?

-Thanks. Cheers.

In which decade did Australian tennis star Lew Hoad

win the Australian Open,

the French Open and the Wimbledon singles titles?

It's an absolute, complete guess.

1950s.

-You've got it right. 1950s.

-Luck. 100% luck.

You're very, very good at luck, in that case.

-That is so annoying.

-Well done.

-Oh, Judith. Judith, Judith.

-He was my hero, too.

You're not out yet.

In which country is Pyeongchang,

the city that won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics?

-Can you say that again?

-Let me spell it.

It really does sound dramatic. It's not just me.

P-Y-E-O-N-G-C-H-A-N-G.

This... I really should know this, shouldn't I? Pyeongchang.

I think it's Japan.

OK, if you've got this wrong, Judith, you're out.

-Yes.

-You've said Japan.

I always go to Barry when people mention Japan

cos it's his favourite place outside Leeds.

-HE LAUGHS Barry?

-I'd love to say it was,

but, unfortunately, it's South Korea.

South Korea is the answer. You've been knocked out, Judith.

-Well done, Dan.

-Cheers. Thanks.

-What about that?

-I knew that one.

So, you will be in the final round

and Ms Keppel won't. The cup is still empty here on my desk.

Please come back. We'll play the final.

Well, what a contest.

Just when we thought you were unbeatable, Eggheads,

you get battered and bashed around.

And this is another of those games for our Eggs.

This is what we've been playing towards.

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

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

will not be allowed to take part.

So, that is Charles from C3... Sorry, Charles.

..but also CJ, Barry and Judith from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio?

David, Ed, Dan and Derek, you are playing to win C3 £2,000.

Chris and Kevin, you're playing for something that money can't buy,

which is the Eggheads' 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. OK?

So, C3, the question is, can you, with your four brains,

finish the job off now and defeat these two?

The only problem is they are Eggheads.

Would you like to go first or second, David?

We're going to go first.

OK, guys, good luck.

What is the French word for Thursday?

-Jeudi. Jeudi.

-Yeah, jeudi.

Jeudi is correct. Well done.

Eggheads,

what is the name of Prince Edward's eldest child?

Louise, isn't it?

-Louise?

-Louise, yeah.

-They've got a girl and a boy and the girl is...

-Eugenie is...

The girl is older.

Eugenie and Savannah aren't.

That is Louise.

Louise is correct. Well done.

The next question is for C3.

Which Labour Party politician

married the film director Jill Craigie in 1949?

-I know this.

-Do you?

-Michael Foot.

-Michael Foot?

Definitely.

Derek's fairly confident

it's Michael Foot.

Derek is right. I'm sensing you're a great quizzer, Derek, by the way.

Michael Foot is the right answer. Well done.

OK, Eggheads, which of these

is a 2015 animated film by the film studio Pixar?

-Inside Out?

-Inside Out. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, very good film. It's Inside Out.

Inside Out is quite right.

Back to you.

In the lyrics of The Beatles' hit Paperback Writer,

"the book is based on a novel by a man named what"?

-It's Lear.

-Yeah.

Again, Derek's saving us.

It's Lear.

Saving you the trouble of discussing it.

It is "based on a novel by a man named Lear".

Well done. Well done, Derek.

-Team Derek.

-That's three out of three just like that.

OK, Eggheads, get this wrong,

it's over.

Just putting yourselves back together as well.

In cycling, what is a bidon?

-Hmm.

-Is that B-I-D-O-N?

Sorry, B-I-D-O-N.

I don't know. Have you got any idea, Chris? Cos I...

-I'm slightly towards water bottle.

-Yeah, so am I, but I'm just...

Is it something to do with a race number?

Heard anybody refer to a race number as a bidon?

-I can't really see that.

-No.

And a safety helmet. A bidon?

I don't... That's possible, but...

Given how the French mind works,

it could be an upside-down bidet, couldn't it?

-Yeah, that's true.

-Um, still want to go for water bottle?

-Yeah, I think that's probably the best.

-Yeah.

-That was our first instinct.

-Bidon. Bouvoir.

-Yeah.

-Um...

-Shall we go for that?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Go for it?

-Yeah, yeah.

We're not sure on this. Don't think it's a race number.

We got a bit worried about safety helmet,

but we both seemed to have

a little first instinct

that it might be a water bottle.

I've heard the term, but can't remember what it relates to,

so we'll say water bottle.

They're willing you on backstage.

Water bottle is the right answer.

So, three each. Sorry it's not

quite as straightforward as we might have hoped.

We go to Sudden Death. Gets a bit more difficult.

I don't give you alternatives.

-Here we go. Are you ready?

-Yeah.

In which 1967 novel by Angela Carter

does the central character Melanie travel to London

to live with her sinister Uncle Philip?

The only book I know by Angela Carter

-is Nights At The Circus.

-What is that again, sorry?

Nights At The Circus is the only Angela Carter novel I know,

so that's the only contribution I can...

-Is there any other...?

-I don't know any other books.

-I have no idea, no.

-I don't know the answer.

Derek knows one book by Angela Carter,

which is Nights At The Circus...

Nights At The Circus.

-..so we're going to go with that.

-OK.

-Let's see if you're right. Are they?

-We don't know, to be honest.

I don't think it's Nights At The Circus,

but I may be entirely wrong about that.

It may be something like Company Of Wolves.

No, it's neither, actually. It's The Magic Toyshop.

That's the one, yeah.

-Never heard of it.

-The Magic Toyshop, 1967.

Eggheads, your question

for the contest.

Which US state, the fifth largest in area,

lies immediately east of Arizona?

-New Mexico.

-New Mexico.

-It's New Mexico, isn't it?

That would be about the fifth biggest.

-Yeah.

-Well, immediately east of Arizona is New Mexico.

If you've got this right, you've won.

Immediately east of Arizona is New Mexico.

We say congratulations, Eggheads.

You have won. APPLAUSE

Well, that was a stinker, The Magic Toyshop.

-Yeah.

-That was a stinker.

Very sorry. Hope you've enjoyed playing.

-It's been marvellous.

-It's been a good game.

-Been a great game.

Great quizzers. You were taking them apart.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally,

gained a bit of their bounce back.

They reign supreme again in quiz land.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £2,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations.

Just starting to look a little bit unbeatable again.

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£3,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.