Episode 32 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. Why do I even say "possibly"?

-Definitely.

-Definitely.

And challenging our resident quiz champions today

are the Palmy Army.

Now, this team of friends met through their tennis club

and quiz weekly in the Liverpool Quiz League.

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Paula and I'm a university lecturer.

Hello, I'm David and I'm a tennis coach.

Hello, I'm James, I'm a civil servant.

Hello, I'm Pete, I'm a retired chartered accountant.

Hello, I'm Roy, I'm a golf shop assistant.

-So team, Paula, welcome.

-Hello.

-Good to see you.

The Liverpool Quiz League sounds blooming serious.

Well, we do take it very seriously.

There's home and away games and it's every week

and there are quite a lot of attempts to go up the league.

And do you quiz together or against each other normally?

We're in a team, so we quiz against other teams.

One week we'll be hosting a match

and another week we'll go somewhere else.

Remind us why it's the Palmy Army.

-It's the Palmerston Tennis Club.

-That's where you quiz?

-Yes.

-OK.

So how many teams in the league, roughly?

About 30 teams in the league and there's different divisions.

We're in Division Two at the moment but we hope to do better.

If you beat this lot, you definitely move up to Division One.

We will sort that out for you.

What about that? Anyone played in the Liverpool Quiz League?

I play in the Ormskirk League, which is a sister league

underneath the umbrella of the Merseyside Quiz Leagues.

-Right.

-I go to Liverpool occasionally

and I play games in Liverpool pubs - cup games, things like that.

Yeah. So you've seen any of these lot?

We've seen Pat before a couple of times.

OK. Good luck.

Good luck to you. Ah, not good luck to you.

Good luck to the Challengers. The Eggheads will do what they do.

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

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

the prize money rolls over to our next show.

Palmy Army, the Eggheads have won the last two games,

so that means £3,000 is here for you to win today.

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

-Who would like this?

-We will quickly confer.

I think, James, will you?

-I'm happy to take it.

-We're nominating James.

OK, James on Music, and which of these Eggs would you like?

Any one of the five, James.

I'll take Chris, please.

OK, James from Palmy Army versus Chris from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring, would you please take your positions

in our special Question Room.

So we're going to do Music. James, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

The London-based season of orchestral concerts

known as The Proms was started in which year?

Well, I'm not really too sure of the answer.

I'd say 1975 was definitely too late for The Proms to have started.

I think 1715 may be too early.

I don't really know but I'll say 1895.

1895 is quite right. Good stuff.

OK, Chris, your question.

Which song, recorded by Elvis Presley, starts,

"Well, it's one for the money, two for the show,

"three to get ready, now go, cat, go?"

-AS ELVIS:

-Don't you step on my blue suede shoes, baby.

Blue Suede Shoes.

-AS ELVIS: Blue Suede Shoes is right.

-Thank you very much.

CHRIS CHUCKLES

OK, James, your question.

Rhythm Nation 1814 is the name

of a 1989 album by which singer?

OK, well, I'm not familiar with the album.

Erm, if it was 1989, I'm going to rule out Shania Twain

cos Shania Twain was a bit more of a '90s singer.

I think it's Madonna or Janet Jackson.

Because I've never heard of the album and I think if it was

a Madonna album, I'd probably know it, I'm going to say Janet Jackson.

Very good, Janet Jackson it is. Great process of elimination there.

So two to our Challenger. One to you, Chris.

Your question. Who had UK hit singles in 1967

and 1999 with Music To Watch Girls By?

Oh, was it Tony Bennett or was it Andy Williams?

It was Andy Williams.

It was Andy Williams. Another point to you.

Two each. Third question to you, James.

Which instrument takes the form of a box with one loop antenna

and one upright rod antenna?

Again, I've got absolutely no idea on this one.

Erm...

It's going to have to be a complete guess.

Erm...

I'll say gravikord.

Let's see if the Eggheads... What do you think?

-It's a theremin.

-It's a theremin.

It's one of the few musical instruments you play

-without actually touching it.

-Oh, really? What do you do?

You just move your hands up and down and that affects the signal

and makes this weird sound that appears on all

The Beach Boys records.

-Theremin is the answer, James.

-OK.

-Sorry, it was a tough one.

Chris, if you get this right you're in the final.

If not, we go to Sudden Death.

Equally Cursed And Blessed and Paper Scissors Stone

were the third and fourth albums by which band?

Oh, did Sleeper and Elastica actually make four albums?

On the basis that they had the larger output of the three,

I'll go for Catatonia.

-Is he right, James?

-He's right, yeah.

-Yeah, that's Cerys's band - Cerys Matthews.

-Cerys Matthews, yeah.

Catatonia is the right answer.

A little dart of genius from you there.

You've got three in a row and you've taken the round.

Sorry, James, you were beaten by our Egghead.

Please return to us and we'll play on.

OK, so a little bit of an early difficulty for Palmy Army

cos you've lost a brain from the final round

but it is still early days.

The Eggheads are there intact.

Let's see what you can do about that.

The next subject is Science. Who wants this?

Let's just discuss, who do we want to...?

-Put Pete?

-I'll have a go.

-OK.

-Yeah, I'm willing.

-Pete's going to do it for us.

OK, our retired chartered accountant on Science.

Against whom?

-Erm...

-Who looks lost in the lab?

I don't think any of the Eggheads is weak on Science, so...

it's a bit of a lottery, really.

Erm, so I'll, er, I'll choose...

-er, Pat.

-OK.

Pete from Palmy Army versus Pat from the Eggheads on Science.

To ensure there's no conferring,

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

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

I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

Which of these planets can be classified as a gas giant?

That's Jupiter.

Yes, straight there, well done.

First point to you. Pete, well done.

Pat, the capybara,

the largest living rodent, is native to which continent?

I think they're actually bred for meat, occasionally,

and it's in South America.

South America is quite right.

A storming start for you both.

Pete, your second question.

Which of these dinosaurs was a herbivore?

Now, I'm not positive...

..but I will go for Iguanodon.

Yes, it is.

My instinct took me there but I'm not sure why.

-No.

-I suppose Iguana.

-Instinct.

-Yes.

Lizardy thing. Eggheads, is that right?

It was a large thing. It generally walked on its hind legs

-and ate vegetation - trees.

-OK.

A little bit like you, CJ!

BARRY CHUCKLES

Pat, your question.

The Ferranti Mark 1, first introduced in 1951,

is often said to be the world's first commercially available device

of what kind?

Yeah, this was a trailblazing British company.

Basil Ferranti, I think, founded it. Erm...

You still meet people who worked in Ferranti

in various north-west locations and it was a computer.

Computer is correct.

How much progress have we made since then?

Pete, your question.

What was the first name of Mr Otis,

the inventor who developed a safety device for lifts?

Well, I've heard of Mr Otis and his safety device,

which made tall buildings possible,

but, as to his first name,

I haven't a clue.

So, I'll go to the left and say Elisha.

You're playing well!

That's it, your team-mates agree. Elisha it is. Well done.

Three out of three, Pete, well done.

Pat to stay in.

The coxal bone is a term used for bones found

in which part of the body?

Er...

I've a suspicion it's hip.

I think "coxa" has got something to do with the hip, or the pelvis.

The coccyx is the lower portion of the spine,

just below the pelvis.

I think I'll have to go for hip.

Yes, coccyx, I guess, takes you there.

Hip is the right answer.

So, after three questions, you are level.

-We go to Sudden Death. Pete. It gets a bit harder...

-Oh, dear.

..as I don't give you alternatives. PETE CHUCKLES

Here's your question.

In an alphabetical list of chemical elements,

which element comes last?

I guess yttrium. Y, double-T.

No, it's even later than that, actually. Pat, do you know?

-I think it's zirconium.

-Zirconium.

-Ah...

-It begins with a Z.

I'm afraid you're wrong, So, Pat,

if you get this right you've taken the round. If not, we play on.

Jonas Salk, who developed the first safe

and effective vaccine for polio, was born in which country?

Well...

I could go wrong here.

He's always spoken of as American.

But, of course, such an enormous movement of people from

Central Europe to America

occurred around the middle of the 20th century, early 20th century.

And so many people who you think of as American

were born in Vienna. It's untrue.

But I think I've always heard of him as being American

so I don't think I've any choice, I'll have to say...

I think he was born in the USA.

Mr Salk was born in the USA - you're right -

and therefore you have taken the round, Pat,

and knocked out Pete.

So, Pete, I'm sorry about that.

-They do quiz hard, don't they?

-Oh, aye.

-It's a tough proposition.

-Yeah.

Very tough, but you're still in the game here. You could still win.

Please come back to us and we'll see what happens in the next round.

So Palmy Army have lost two brains from the final round now.

The Eggheads are still standing, all five of them.

The next subject for you is Politics.

Now, who from the Palmy Army would like this?

-Paula, Politics.

-Yeah, I'll do it.

OK, Paula. Against which Egghead?

Who would you like? You can have Judith, Barry or CJ.

Right, we'll just have a quick confer. Who do you think?

-I think take Barry.

-OK, Barry, please.

So Paula from Palmy Army versus Barry from the Eggy army over here.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room.

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

I'll go first.

Here we go. In English,

what name is given to the lower house of the French Parliament?

Oh... Erm...

I'm not entirely sure about this one. Erm...

Now, I've heard of the French National Assembly.

So that's what I'm going to go with.

I'm glad you did - it's right.

National Assembly, Assemblee Nationale.

Barry, in 2015, who declared that they would build "a great, great

"wall on our southern border" as part of their US presidential bid?

Oh, this can only be the imitable Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is the right answer.

Paula, at the 2015 General Election,

how many seats were won by the Scottish National Party?

Well, it was a massive amount.

They won just about everything and I think it was 56.

Out of how many, do you know?

I think it was out of 58 or 60.

Yeah, 59 actually, yeah.

56 is right, well done.

Barry, on to you.

Who was the Labour Party leader when they fought a General Election

with a manifesto described as "the longest suicide note in history"?

Oh, I'm pretty certain that was Michael Foot.

Michael Foot is right, Barry, well done.

So, on to you, Paula. Which of these politicians was

36 when he became leader of the Conservative Party?

OK, well, Iain Duncan Smith was a bit older than that.

Erm...

William Hague was young when he became leader

but David Cameron was quite young too.

But I think I'm going to go with William Hague.

You're absolutely right. Well done -

you've got three out of three there. William Hague it is.

So let's see if Barry can catch up.

Which prime minister was quoted as saying,

"Everybody likes flattery and when you come to royalty

"you should lay it on with a trowel"?

Well, this prime minister certainly knew what he was talking about

because he really did lay it on with a trowel to Queen Victoria

and it was Disraeli.

It was, indeed, Disraeli.

So you're playing brilliantly here, both of you.

Not a flicker of uncertainty so far.

Three questions each correct and, Paula, we now go to Sudden Death.

I don't give you alternatives.

In which country was Terry Waite kidnapped in 1987?

Lebanon.

Lebanon is quite right.

Barry...

In the closely fought primaries, who was Barack Obama's main rival,

whom he beat in June 2008 to win the Democratic nomination?

Barack Obama is a Democrat, so it would be...

I'm looking for a Republican.

-Oh, so it's not the person I'm thinking of.

-HE CHUCKLES

That's awkward.

Ah...

I'm sure he was the Mormon candidate

and his name is just escaping me for the moment.

Let me think.

No, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass -

it just won't come. I'm sure he was the Mormon candidate.

-The Mormon candidate.

-OK.

So, are you passing?

-I'm passing, yes.

-OK, I know the name you're searching for.

-The name you're searching for is Mitt Romney.

-Ah, yes.

It's not the right answer. We were talking here about the Democratic nomination,

so it was Democrats against Democrats.

Oh, it wasn't Al Gore, was it?

-Paula, do you know?

-It's Hillary Clinton.

-Of course, it's Hillary.

-Oh, gosh!

It's even more obvious than...

Oh, Democrat!

I missed out on that completely!

-So, well done, Paula, you knew his answer, as well.

-Thank you.

You've won on Sudden Death. Congratulations, Paula.

Sorry, Barry, you're out of the contest.

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

As it stands, the Palmy Army are now pulling back.

It's getting quite dramatic.

Two brains they've lost

but the Eggheads have now lost a brain as well.

The next subject for you is Sport.

Do you want to take Sport, Roy?

-Yeah.

-So Roy will do Sport.

Roy on Sport and... HE CHUCKLES

..which Egghead?

So it's CJ or Judith, isn't it?

-Judith.

-Judith?

-Judith, yeah.

The upside is you're getting a lot of practice on Sport.

All right, so it's going to be Roy from the Challengers

versus Judith from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

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

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here is your question.

Which of these British sporting events

traditionally takes place earliest in the year?

Wimbledon is the middle of the year.

I suspect Henley is around about the same time.

The Grand National is run in April.

I'll say the Grand National.

Grand National is the right answer. That's not an easy question, either.

Well done.

Judith, on to you.

Which English Premier League football team plays their home

matches at the Etihad Stadium?

Etihad... Erm... Well, it's not Chelsea.

I can't remember whether it's Arsenal or Manchester City.

I think it's Manchester City.

It is Manchester City.

Dave would have loved it if you'd got that wrong.

As a Man U fan.

OK, Roy, your question.

At the start of his career, which Formula 1 driver

changed his surname from Souto Maior

so that his parents would not find out about his racing exploits?

Formula 1 is not a favourite of mine.

Erm...

I don't think it would be Alain Prost.

I'll say Nelson Piquet.

Nelson Piquet is the right answer.

Well done, Roy.

OK, Judith, your question.

Which country did Switzerland defeat in the final to win

the 2014 Davis Cup?

Erm...

Who's good at tennis at the moment?

USA is not that brilliant at tennis at the moment, is it?

Who plays for Argentina?

I don't know... France.

Well done, Judith, you're right. France it is.

Roy, which cycling term

refers to becoming exhausted as the body runs out of glycogen?

I've not heard this before, Jeremy.

Erm...

It'd have to be a guess, I'm afraid.

I'll go with bonk.

Bonk is correct.

Very good.

Judith, to stay in. You're playing well so far.

The winning car of the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours race

completed how many laps of the 8.5 mile circuit?

I'm trying to work out because you could work out...

But I'm so bad at mental arithmetic.

You could work out how many miles an hour they'd be doing.

Therefore, you'd know the laps.

But I can't do the maths in my head.

Erm...

I simply can't do the maths.

I think it's 195.

195. Now I was trying to work this out in my head, as well.

-Let's say he's going at 100 miles an hour...

-Yes.

In 24 hours he'd do 2,400 miles.

-And we're looking at an eight-mile circuit.

-Yes.

So divide 240 miles by eight and you get 300.

Oh, dash it. So you do.

I think, therefore, he's going more than 100 miles an hour.

-It is, unbelievably, 395.

-Yes.

-It doesn't even look right, does it?

-No, that makes sense.

But I just simply couldn't do the maths.

I was doing the same as you in my head.

395 is the right answer. Easy for me because it's in front of me.

Judith, sorry about that, really genuinely sorry.

You are out of the contest. Roy, you're in the final.

Well done, Roy.

Come back to us and we will play the final round!

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

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

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

So that's James and Pete from Palmy Army,

and Judith and Barry from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio.

Paula, David and Roy, you're playing to win Palmy Army £3,000.

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

which is your own reputations.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

You can confer. So, Palmy Army, the question is,

can your three brains defeat the Eggheads' three over here?

You don't need to answer that - just tell me

if you want to go first or second.

We've decided that we'd like to go first, please.

Here we go with your first question.

Grizzly bears are native to which continent?

It's North America. Yeah, we're pretty sure it's North America.

You get them round about Alaska and Canada

and they're quite horrible, big, dangerous things, aren't they?

North America is the right answer.

Over to you, Eggheads.

Denim is traditionally made from which fibre?

-It's cotton, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's a type of cotton.

-Happy with that?

We think denim is cotton.

Cotton is correct. Over to you, Challengers.

What is the age difference between the actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson

and his film director wife Sam Taylor-Johnson?

I'm struggling here, I've never heard of either of them.

Haven't got a clue cos I haven't heard of them.

On a question like this, you sort of expect it

to be the shocking answer, but maybe that's a trick.

-Let's do a Judith and go down the right.

-Yeah, OK.

-23?

-23.

We'll try 23, but I've never heard of either of them, unfortunately.

23 years is the right answer.

-Gosh!

-Eggheads, over to you for your second question.

Which city is capital of the Italian region of Campania?

-It's Naples. Rome is Lazio, Venice...

-Naples.

-Yeah, it has to be Naples.

-Campania is Naples, yeah.

After some consideration, we're going to plump for Naples, Jeremy.

Naples is correct so we're level-pegging here.

Third question -

good luck, Challengers. It can be crucial.

The foreign intelligence agency known as the ISI

was formed by which country in 1948?

-France is...

-The one I was expecting to come up hasn't come up.

-Which was?

-I was expecting it to be an Israeli one.

-Pakistan was formed in 1948.

-Pakistan was formed then, yeah.

Wasn't the People's Republic of China declared in 1948 as well?

-I don't know. But the I could stand for Islamic.

-Islamic?

-I think the I could be that.

-OK, Pakistan, please.

Pakistan is correct. Three out of three. We go to the Eggheads now.

Which actress was awarded her first Oscar in 1934 and her last in 1982?

Katharine Hepburn won for On Golden Pond. She won four.

-She's a promising candidate.

-Yeah, not Bette Davis.

-Not Bette Davis, no.

-Jessica Tandy only won one, I believe,

for Driving Miss Daisy. I don't think she's won more than one.

It's got to be Katharine Hepburn.

Let's see - Katharine Hepburn had Woman Of The Year

-or Lion In Winter.

-Yeah, she won four.

'34 and '82 - it's an enormous gap.

That sounds right for Hepburn, doesn't it,

-cos her last Oscar was On Golden Pond.

-Yeah, she was an old woman.

And I think the film was released in 1981

so '82 sounds right for the Oscars.

Jessica Tandy, I think, won for Driving Miss Daisy,

which was 1990, anyway, so it's too late.

And Bette Davis's career was in the '30s and '40s.

It was gone by then, yeah, so it has to be Katharine Hepburn.

We think that is Katharine Hepburn.

I'm interested, you say Bette Davis and I say "Betty" Davis.

-She told me it was Bette.

-She said it was Bette? OK.

It's not the right answer - Katharine Hepburn is correct.

Well done. So, three points each - we go to Sudden Death.

It's very tight here.

Three of you in each team and Sudden Death and it gets a bit harder -

-we don't give you alternative answers.

-OK.

In the periodic table,

which silvery metallic element has the chemical symbol Cs?

-Cs...

-Caesium, isn't it?

-Caesium, isn't it?

-OK.

We think it's caesium.

Caesium is quite right.

Sudden Death. You're playing well, Challengers. Back to the Eggheads.

The newspaper magnate Lord Beaverbrook

was born in 1879 in which country?

-Definitely Canada?

-Yeah, he was Canadian, yeah.

-Yeah, I think he's Canadian.

-OK, we think he was born in Canada.

Canada is right. We're Sudden Death,

we're back to you.

Which Scottish town has been nicknamed the Queen of the South,

a name that is carried on by the town's football team?

-It's Dumfries. I'm pretty sure it's Dumfries.

-Go with it.

-Dumfries.

Dumfries is right.

It was a local poet, David Dunbar,

who christened it Queen of the South.

OK, Eggheads, you're up against it here. They're cracking away at you.

The resort area known as the Borscht Belt,

where many American stand-up comics have learned their trade,

is a feature of which branch of the Appalachian Mountains?

Probably the Catskills.

It's the iconic thing, they all go up to the Catskills.

Do we want to have just a little mull on this? Any other options?

I think Dirty Dancing, Kellerman's is in the Catskills.

There are a whole set of these resorts favoured by New York...

Well, all sorts of New Yorkers, but certainly New York Jewish people.

Well, Borscht does seem to suggest Jewish people.

And that's, I think, central Europe.

-I can live with the Catskills.

-Catskills, yeah?

-Catskills.

Erm, not entirely sure on this, but we're going to go for the Catskills.

The Catskills is correct.

OK, Challengers,

Sudden Death - your question. In 1994,

who became the editor of the News Of The World at the age of 28?

-Piers Morgan?

-No. No, it wasn't.

It was either Rebekah Brooks or it was... So, more than ten years ago.

Rebekah Brooks is about mid-40s now.

What's the name of the one that used to work for Cameron that...

-Coulson. Andy Coulson.

-Andy Coulson. At the age of 28...

-Was Andy Coulson the editor?

-I'm not sure.

Didn't Andy Coulson take over from Rebekah Brooks?

Yeah, let's try Rebekah Brooks.

-Shall we try that?

-I'm not sure because of the timing.

-Shall we try Rebekah Brooks?

-It's up to you.

Rebekah Brooks.

OK, you actually said the right answer and then passed over.

It was Piers Morgan.

So, you've got that wrong

and we go to the Eggheads. Sudden Death -

if you get this right, the contest is over.

If you don't, we play on.

Which pop group helped launched Channel 5 on Sunday 30th March 1997?

Spice Girls, isn't it, launched Channel 5? Spice Girls?

Sounds promising, yeah.

-Yeah, I'm fairly sure they were involved in the launch.

-OK.

-Have we got anything else?

-They were involved in everything at that time.

I immediately associate Spice Girls with launching Channel 5.

-OK, that sounds good to me.

-We think it's the Spice Girls.

The correct answer is Spice Girls.

We say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

-Well played!

-Ah, well, such is life. Well done, chaps.

You played very, very well there. You played very well there,

but we say commiserations to Palmy Army.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they still reign supreme over Quizland. You had to fight there!

It does mean the Challengers won't be going home with the £3,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, well done.

You took a bit of a beating today, but you came through victorious.

Who will beat you?

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

have the brains to do what Palmy Army just failed to do.

£4,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.