Episode 33 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 how are we today?

-Feeling good.

-Bloodthirsty.

-Bloodthirsty? OK.

-Ooh.

Well, you've picked a fearsome team to take on,

because the opponents today are

the Caledonian Crushers from Glasgow.

Now, this team of friends are all

members of a wheelchair rugby team

and they train every Tuesday. Let us meet them.

Hi, I'm Donald and I'm a part-time maths student.

Hi, I'm David and I'm an IT recruitment consultant.

Hi, I'm Debra and I'm a digital artist.

Hi, I'm Johnny and I'm a quantity surveyor.

Hi, I'm Ciaran and I'm a neuroscience student.

So, team, Donald, welcome.

-Good to see you.

-Yeah, and you.

So, I gather that the wheelchair rugby has four people in a team,

-is that right?

-Yes, yes,

on the court at one time and substitutes, yeah.

So we've got two attackers, two defenders here?

We have got one...

Yes, yes. Two out of two defenders.

The slower members of the team, like myself, are the defenders,

and the pretty boys, the fast ones, they are the attackers, yes.

And one other, who is the team mechanic.

-Yes. I'm the team mechanic. Yup.

-OK.

-I get them on the courts.

-And how often do you play?

We play...

We train once a week, though we're up and down

all over the country, playing league and tournament games competitively,

which are so much fun.

That's just when it really comes out.

I just absolutely love it and all the guys do,

when the blood's up and you just get stuck right in there.

-You know?

-And is it an Olympic sport?

-I know it was going to be called murderball.

-Yes.

-Yeah, yeah, it's an Olympic sport, yeah.

-Yeah.

They were... It was in the 2012 games and...

Yeah, but they didn't like the name "murderball", did they?

No, it doesn't sit very well. No.

-Well, you can play murderball here, it's fine, against this lot.

-Yeah.

-Good luck, team.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

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, Caledonian Crushers,

the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means there is £4,000 for you to win today.

Shall we get cracking?

-Let's do it.

-Let's go for it.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-Good stuff.

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

Now, who would like this?

-Well, I think that's me.

-Yeah.

OK, Donald, team captain, and against which Egghead?

-Any one of the five, Donald.

-Well, I think Chris.

What do you think? Was that the plan? Chris, do you think?

-On you go.

-Yeah. Chris, it's you and me.

-OK, Donald.

-And we've got an Eggheads viewer down the end. OK.

So it is Donald from the Caledonian Crushers versus our own crusher,

-Crusher Chris.

-Yeah.

Steamroller. Steamroller.

Locomotive. Locomotive from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our Question Room?

So, Donald, Film & TV. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, thank you, Jeremy.

Here we go, Donald, with your first question.

Which of these '80s TV shows is set primarily in Hawaii?

Oh, a favourite of my childhood.

Yeah, yeah, Magnum PI.

In fact, they all were favourites, but, yes.

All great shows, and yes, you're right, Magnum PI. Well done.

It was because he had his commitments to doing Magnum PI

that Tom Selleck was forced to turn down the role of Indiana Jones.

-Is that right?

-Mm-hmm.

-Oh...

-He was offered it ahead of Harrison Ford.

-How painful is that?

Chris, what is the name of Hugh Grant's

character in the 1994 film Four Weddings And A Funeral?

Oh, another film I've never seen.

Erm...

Hugh Grant, eh?

Erm...

Straight down the middle - Charles.

"Straight down the middle - Charles" is the right answer. Well done.

-That's annoying, Donald, isn't it?

-Very. Yeah.

-How does he do that?

-I don't know how he does it.

-Yeah.

-Here's your question.

Anna Kendrick stars in which of these 2015 movie sequels?

Oh...

Not my kind of movies.

Hmm, I'll take...

..a wild guess at Magic Mike XXL.

Let's ask Debra. I can tell she knows.

Pitch Perfect 2.

-It's Pitch Perfect

-2. D'oh!

-Sorry, Donald.

-Ugh!

So we go to Chris.

Rylan Clark, Kimberly Wyatt and Sam Nixon were contestants

on which TV show in 2015?

Hmm.

Can I have the names again, please, Jeremy?

Rylan Clark, Kimberly Wyatt and Sam Nixon were contestants

on which TV show in 2015?

Hmm...

They sound like a bunch of cooks, so it's Celebrity MasterChef.

How does he do it?

-Is he right, Donald?

-Yeah, I reckon so.

Yeah, he is right, Celebrity MasterChef.

Just got these answers, just, batted away like that -

instinctive. Now, you need to get this one right, Donald, to stay in.

-Yeah.

-Here we go.

Graham Moore gave a memorable acceptance speech after

winning which Oscar for his work on the 2014 film The Imitation Game?

That's a toughie.

I've seen the movie...

A wild guess again...

Oh, man. They're just not falling for me.

I'll go for adapted screenplay, please.

Adapted screenplay is the right answer.

-Oh!

-Hey-hey!

-Oh...

-The force is with you.

-Yeah.

But if Chris gets this one right, he's in the final.

If not, we go to Sudden Death.

Which of these actresses, Chris, starred in the films

Murder By Numbers, Forces Of Nature and Hope Floats?

Cameron Diaz...

Well, I have an idea it's Sandra Bullock.

Let's see. Eggheads, is it?

-I think so.

-Tricky question.

-We think we're leaning that way, are we?

-Yeah.

-No, Pat?

I'd probably go for Bullock.

Sandra Bullock is the right answer.

Sorry, Donald. That's annoying.

Sorry, guys.

-No...

-There's some instinctive work by Chris, there.

It's the pink shirt, I think, Chris.

I hate this thing.

It's doing something for you today.

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

So, as it stands, the Caledonian Crushers have

lost their captain, Donald, from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any, but it's early days

and if we were playing the wheelchair rugby, it would be...

You'd be charging at them now.

-Oh, yeah.

-Yeah, definitely.

The next subject is Science, so who would like this?

-Crushing Science? Ciaran?

-Ciaran.

-I'll take that.

-Ciaran, that's you.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Ciaran, down the end?

OK, studying neuroscience.

Against which Egghead, Ciaran?

Erm...

-That's a toughie, isn't it?

-I think we were... CJ?

-Yeah.

-I'll try it.

-Lisa?

-I'll give it a shot.

-Or Lisa?

-No, let's try CJ.

-CJ.

-Yeah, CJ.

-CJ.

Good stuff. So, all the Cs -

Ciaran from the Caledonian Crushers versus CJ.

All the Cs. Please go to our Question Room now.

Ciaran, you've got a scientific brain, I know that.

We'll see.

So you're studying neuroscience.

Yes, yeah.

What made you go into that?

I'm interested in the brain.

It's apparently the most complex thing in the universe

-they've found so far, so it seemed like a good thing to study.

-Yeah.

You are also, I know, an expert in pi,

in that you know it to 100 digits.

-Yeah, that's a very sad fact, yeah.

-So, but I'm thinking...

I wondered, CJ, whether you did as well or have I misremembered that?

I'm about 20.

3.1415926 is all I know.

3.14159265358979323.

-OK.

-And so on.

-And how...

8462...

338327950...

288419716939...

937510582097.

I think that's right.

Yeah, you've won the round.

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

OK, Ciaran...

That was very good.

We're going to play Science,

so would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Don't think we've ever had pi done to 30, 40 places before.

Ciaran, here's your first question.

Which of these planets is the largest?

Saturn.

Saturn it is, yeah.

Straight there.

OK, CJ,

the voice box is another name for which

part of the human body?

Well, the coccyx is in the pelvis, the patella is the kneecap,

but the voice box is the larynx.

Larynx is the right answer.

Back to you, Ciaran.

Frank Whittle, born in England in 1907,

is credited with inventing which of these things?

1907, erm...

I don't think it was the computer.

Radar, they developed in one of the world wars,

but I don't remember which one,

and it might have been before that.

It could have been radar.

I think I'm going to go with jet engine.

Yeah, you're right, of course. Jet engine.

He's playing well, team-mates.

Over to CJ now.

Which creatures are usually kept in an apiary?

Erm...

Sometimes I just look at questions and think,

"What sort of mind comes up with these options?"

Well, Sherlock Holmes was a famous apiarist in his older age

and he was a beekeeper, so I'll assume an apiary is to use...

Is used to keep bees in.

Bees is the right answer.

Should have had apes in there - I think that might have confused you.

-I don't think so, to be honest.

-OK.

An apiary is a place where bees are kept. Ciaran, back to you.

Third question. Get this one right,

and put some pressure on our grandmaster, CJ.

In which category was the husband-and-wife team of

Edvard and May-Britt Moser awarded a Nobel prize in 2014?

Which is the category?

I did have a look at the list of Nobel prizewinners

for different things this morning

but there were a lot of people on it.

I don't think I've heard of either of them.

Erm...

I'm going to take, pretty much, a guess at Physics.

CJ, do you know this?

I would have gone for Physiology.

It is "Physiology or Medicine".

It's the third one there, yeah.

Any Eggs tell us any background here?

I think it's something strange to do with the brain's ability to

have a sense of place.

I can't express it accurately,

but it's to do with the brain and it's to do with the way

in which creatures establish where they are

or something very, very odd.

I think you're right.

So, third question to CJ.

If you get this wrong, we have Sudden Death.

Get this right, you're in the final.

Which astronaut accompanied Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert

on the near-disastrous Apollo 13 space mission?

This is one of those wonderful questions where,

without the options, I would have had no idea whatsoever,

but he's like Michael Collins was with Apollo 11 -

the slightly forgotten member of the team -

and I think it's Fred Haise.

If you've got this right, you're in the final and Ciaran is out.

If you've got it wrong, we play on with Sudden Death.

Do you know, Ciaran, this one?

No, I've no idea.

-Eggs?

-It's Haise.

It is indeed Fred Haise.

We say, well done, CJ, you've taken the round.

Sorry, Ciaran, you've been knocked out.

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

So, as it stands,

Caledonian Crushers have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost any and the next subject is Music.

So, which Crusher would like this?

Oh... Who's up for that?

-It's Johnny.

-That's me.

-Is that you, Johnny?

-Johnny.

-I think I'm being forced onto this, but OK.

-Into a corner.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

OK, Johnny on Music. Which Egghead, Johnny?

It could be Barry, Pat or Lisa.

Maybe Barry, what do you think?

-Barry.

-Barry?

-We'll go Barry.

-Barry on Music.

-Barry.

You get chosen a lot on Music, our Barry, in fact.

In the past I have, yes.

Not so much recently, so I'm looking forward to this one.

So, Johnny from Caledonian Crushers versus Barry the Brain

from the Eggheads,

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

-So, Johnny, you are the mechanic for the team...

-Yep, that's me.

..which means you have to change the tyres.

Yeah, yeah, get the guys on court.

And I mean, sometimes you have to change them pretty quickly,

-I'm thinking.

-Erm, in a game, yeah.

-Yeah?

-In a game.

So, what's your record for changing a wheelchair tyre?

I've done it in under 60 seconds before.

And they are special tyres for wheelchair rugby, are they?

Yeah, they're different from a normal wheelchair.

You get just a different...

They make you go quicker, essentially.

It must be a great event to watch.

-Oh, it's brilliant. It's brilliant.

-Yeah.

I've watched it...

Well, we went down to the Paralympics in 2012 to watch it

-and it was... It was brilliant, yeah.

-Have you ever seen it, Barry?

I have seen it, and Johnny's right,

it really is a thrilling event to watch.

So, we're on Music, Johnny. I guess you're...

Are you pop man or a rock man or an opera man?

-Erm, probably rocky sort of stuff.

-Rocky?

-Yeah.

-All right.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, please.

Here is your question, Barry.

Which of these musicians sang on the 2014 Band Aid 30 single

Do They Know It's Christmas? 30 years after featuring on

the original version?

Oh, gosh.

I should know this instantly.

I must admit, I was expecting some different names there.

Boy George, George Michael or Bono.

I think it might have been Boy George.

So let's just check with our Challengers. Are they right?

-Is he right?

-We think it's Bono.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it's Bono, Barry.

-Oh!

Slipped up on the first...

That's the first Eggheads question they've got wrong,

-am I right, in this contest?

-Yeah, I think so.

-OK.

OK, Johnny, it's started well.

That was inspired, going second. Here's your question.

Sally Bowles is a main character in which of these stage musicals?

Erm, stage shows isn't one of my best.

I don't really know much about them,

so it'll probably be a guess.

Erm...

I'll go with Cabaret.

-Cabaret is right.

-Yes!

Well done.

Barry, you're behind. Let's see if you can catch up.

Which country won the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest

with the song Heroes?

I'm afraid to say I actually watched some of this,

but who won it?

It certainly wasn't Italy and it was almost Russia,

but I think it was Sweden.

Sweden is right. You're a bit of a fan, are you?

Not in the least.

-That's what they all say.

-My wife watched it so I had no choice.

It's gripping, I think. OK, Johnny, your question, to take the lead.

Blank Space and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together are

hit singles by which singer?

It's not my type of music but I have to admit I know it.

I think it's Taylor Swift.

It is indeed Taylor Swift. Well done.

I know you're about to make a joke about that, you two,

Lisa and CJ, about my...

-You love her.

-..my Taylor Swift fandom.

Yeah, yeah. OK. We move on.

Barry, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane

found fame as members of which band?

Who's the...?

No, I'm afraid they don't mean anything to me, though I must

admit I do like Muse and I listen to their music quite often...

-HE SIGHS

-..so if it is going to be Muse,

I'm going to be very upset with myself.

I think the Kings Of Leon might be more family-related,

so I'll go for Mumford & Sons.

Yes, I think Kings Of Leon are...

-There's brothers in there.

-Mm-hmm.

Muse, I don't know whether they're Welsh, aren't they?

Whether there's Welsh names? Not so?

-Mumford & Sons is correct.

-Oh.

Am I going the wrong way with that?

Muse are from Devon.

Muse are from Devon, but where are Mumford & Sons from? American?

-No, they're British.

-No, they're British.

-They're British.

OK, so, but they sound so American, these names.

OK, so, it's 2-2,

and because you went second, Johnny,

you've got a little bit of an advantage here

cos you've got an extra question so, if you get this right,

-you're in the final round.

-Hopefully.

Which of these British composers was born first?

I don't think I've got any idea

so I'm just going to go straight down the middle

and go Edward "Edgar", please.

Edward Elgar, and that's just straight down the middle, bowl

-the ball straight down the middle of the lane.

-Yeah. Not got a clue.

You've knocked all the skittles over. You've got it right.

Well done, Johnny, Edward Elgar.

-Brilliant.

-Good. You're in the final.

Sorry, Barry, you're having a bit of bad luck recently, aren't you?

Yes, it's all, kind of, gone pear-shaped in the last few days.

Yeah, well, not to worry,

we know the standard is usually high with you.

Come back to us, join your teams and we'll play on.

So, maybe we're turning it around here.

As it stands, the Caledonian Crushers have lost two brains

but the Eggheads have lost Barry now, so they've lost one.

The next subject is Arts & Books,

the last before the final. Who'd like this?

-Definitely not me!

-Arts, since my one is away...

-It's going to have to be me.

-Yeah, looks like it, Debra.

-Good luck!

-Debra.

-I'll take it.

-OK, Debra.

Against which Egghead? Just choose either...

-On the end, on the left, Pat or Lisa?

-Pat or Lisa.

-I think you'd go for Lisa, aye.

-Lisa?

-Yeah.

-Could I have Lisa, please?

-Indeed.

So, Debra from the Caledonian Crushers versus

Lisa from the Eggheads - Arts & Books.

Please go to the special Question Room now.

-Well, Lisa, a little bit of a special moment for you.

-Oh, oh, oh.

Do you know why?

Let's think. Could it be my 100th game?

Yes, it is. How did you know that?

I can count, Jeremy.

Your 100th head-to-head.

Now, I can go no further, I won't give you any stats on...

I think you've mentioned the number -

that's probably enough to kill it right there.

That's... Yeah, so we're now in three figures, which is great.

So, Debra, welcome to the Question Room. You are up against Lisa.

Would you like to go first or second on Arts & Books?

I think I'll go second cos it worked out all right last time.

OK, Lisa. Number 100, here we go.

Which of these fictional bears is best known for wearing

a blue duffel coat?

Rupert and Winnie-the-Pooh were slightly more

towards the red end of the spectrum. That would be Paddington.

Paddington is quite right.

Over to you, Debra.

How many people are represented in Gustav Klimt's painting The Kiss?

I think it's two.

Yeah, they are kissing each other.

Two it is.

Lisa,

"He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance,"

is the last line of which 19th-century novel?

Oof.

It's not Wuthering Heights...

I think.

But I've never read the other two.

"Soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance."

It sounds marginally more like it would be Frankenstein

than Madame Bovary.

I will go for Frankenstein.

Frankenstein is correct.

Argh...

That's how she's got to the 100.

OK, Debra, which of these Salman Rushdie novels

has won the Booker prize?

Hmm...

I have no idea. Erm...

Just, at a guess, The Moor's Last Sigh.

Do you know this, Lisa?

Yeah, I actually think The Moor's Last Sigh is his best book

but it's Midnight's Children.

It won the Booker and the Booker of Bookers,

which was awarded after the first 25 years.

And it's all about children born as India became independent, isn't it?

Yeah, born in the hour where India became independent, which was the...

I forget the date in August 1947,

but no doubt the other Eggs can provide you with that.

-Go on, Eggs.

-August 15.

August 15, 1947, says Barry.

OK, over to you, Lisa.

Who painted No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red),

which was reported to have sold for 186 million in August 2014?

No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)...

I can't recall it happening. It sounds like a Rothko.

I shall say Mark Rothko.

Mark Rothko is correct. You've done it, Lisa.

Sorry, Debra, you've been knocked out.

If you come back to us, both of you,

we will see what happens in our final round.

OK, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our 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 that is Donald and Debra and Ciaran from the Caledonian Crushers,

and also Barry from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio?

David and Johnny,

you are playing to win the Caledonian Crushers £4,000.

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

which is your growing reputation.

Why do I say growing? It's there already.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer with each other, gentlemen.

So, Caledonian Crushers, the question is, can you,

with your two brains, take down these four?

-We'll try.

-All right.

-I'm pretty sure we won't.

-That's the spirit.

I think you might, I think you might.

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

We'll go second.

Eggheads, here we go with your first question.

The River Danube rises in which country

before flowing 1,770 miles east to its mouth on the Black Sea?

-Germany.

-The Black Forest area?

-Mm-hmm.

-Yep.

-Yep. Yep.

Are you happy with that?

It rises in the Black Forest in Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany.

Germany is the right answer.

Your question, Challengers.

In the UK, Remembrance Sunday is observed on

the second Sunday of which month?

November?

It's in November, isn't it?

-Is it?

-11/11.

-OK, yeah.

-In November, aye.

-November.

-You had a bit of doubt there for a second.

-Yeah.

I was pretty confident.

11/11, the Sunday closest...

November is right, well done.

OK, back to you.

Which of these people is a successful author

in the so-called "chick lit" genre,

with titles including Venus Envy and The Devil You Know?

-That would be Louise Mensch.

-It's Louise Mensch.

They're very good books.

Honestly, she is a good author

if nothing else, I promise you.

Yeah, we're happy with Louise Mensch?

We're going for Louise Mensch.

Louise Mensch,

who was a Conservative MP with another name, which was...?

Her maiden name was Bagshawe.

Bagshawe, but isn't she still

writing under Bagshawe?

-She writes under Bagshawe.

-OK.

So you did well to spot this one.

Louise Mensch is the right answer.

Back to you. They've got two.

It's... The pain of letting them go first is if they start streaking

ahead like this, so just pull them back, just get this one right.

Here's your question.

Mindanao is the second-largest island of which country?

It's spelt M-I-N-D-A-N-A-O. Mindanao.

I would say Philippines or Indonesia.

-They're both islands, aren't they?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Erm...

-Philippines?

I'm just trying to think...

I don't know. What's your... What was first instinct?

Let's go Indonesia.

OK.

You're tossing up between Philippines and Indonesia,

-is that right?

-Yeah.

-Japan, you ruled out.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, we thought the two had more islands.

-More islands, OK.

Eggheads, do you know this?

-ALL:

-Philippines.

Philippines is the answer.

I know... It was a real 50-50 for you, that.

So, the Eggheads are ahead,

and if they get this one right they will have won the contest.

Let's hope they don't.

Cannock Chase is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

in which county?

I'll just sit back.

-Staffordshire.

-Yeah, yeah.

Cannock is Staffordshire.

I had a weird idea it was

connected with somewhere else,

but you know my geography,

so carry on, gentlemen.

OK, we'll go for that.

It's in Staffordshire, Jeremy.

I notice CJ recused himself from the discussion

because you've got too much

knowledge of English geography,

-have you?

-I've never heard of those counties.

Cannock Chase, which is an interesting political seat

as well, by the way,

is in the County of Staffordshire,

so we say congratulations, Eggheads,

you have won.

Thanks, guys. The going second sometimes allows them

to streak off into the distance like that,

but thank you so much for playing.

-Yeah, it was good.

-It was good to play.

I think, with a rugby ball, you would have thrashed them.

-Yeah, definitely.

-No doubt about that.

-The invite's there.

It was great to see you and we wish you well.

Commiserations to Caledonian Crushers.

The Eggheads have done what comes fairly naturally to them

and they still reign supreme over Quizland.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £4,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations.

Who, I wonder, will beat them?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

There's going to be £5,000 to play for then.

I can't wait. Goodbye.