Episode 35 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.

Challenging the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are Vibrato. Now, this musically minded team are all members

of the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra,

so let us meet them.

Hello, I'm Howard.

I'm a former chemist.

Hi, I'm Anna and I'm a pharmacist.

Hello, I'm John.

I'm an accountant and I lecture in accountancy and finance.

Hello, I'm Wendy and I'm a musician.

Hello, I'm Liz and I'm a sexual health doctor.

So, Howard, team, welcome.

-Thanks, Jeremy.

-Good to see you. Let me check the instruments.

-Howard, you're the oboe.

-I am, I am one of the oboists.

-We've got a viola...

-Vee-ola, yes.

-Vee-ola! Next to you.

-Then the cello.

-Yes, that's me.

-Then violin and piano, Wendy?

-Yep.

-And, Liz, what's yours?

-Violin.

-Oh, blimey, we've got a lot of small stringed instruments there.

What instruments do we have on this side?

Just our brains.

I used to play oboe and violin, actually,

but I was so terrible at both of them,

I think there were various petitions got up to stop me.

It's why I became a singer.

It was the only instrument they couldn't take away.

Yeah, Lisa does have a great voice but, anyway,

I think you've outgunned them on the music.

Let's see how you do in the quizzing, Vibrato.

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 I can tell you that the last team,

having had a pretty terrible time,

then suddenly took them down in the final round.

It proves it can be done

and it means £1,000 is on the table for you to win today.

The first head-to-head

battle is on the subject of Sport.

-So who would like this?

-John?

-Let's say John.

-Go for it, John.

-I'll give it a go.

It's going to be John, and choose an Egghead, John.

Any one of the five. Who would you like to choose?

Well, as I've been thinking all along, I think I'll choose Pat.

All right. Great stuff.

So it's John, who plays the cello, against Pat, who plays...

-You play a bit on the computer, don't you?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Keyboard.

-OK.

To ensure there is no conferring, would you please

both take your positions in our famous Question Room.

John, here we are.

Sport, and would you like to go first or second against Pat?

I think I'll go first.

All right. Good luck. Here we go. Sport.

John, in international rugby union,

the Ireland team usually wears which colour shirts?

Is this blue, red or green?

-I would say green.

-And I would say you're right.

Well done.

OK, Pat, over to you.

Which of these is a badminton term

referring to a powerful attacking shot

hit downwards from above the head?

I think that's a smash.

Badminton, I think, holds the record for the fastest-moving...

What would you call it? ..implement in racket sports,

-so I think it's a smash.

-Of the shuttlecock...

-Speed record.

-Oh, really? It moves faster than a tennis ball?

-Oh, yes, much faster.

OK. Smash is right. Well done.

All right, John. Get the cello out.

The Australian Trevor Bayliss was appointed to coach England

at which sport in 2015?

I...

don't think it would be netball.

I think I would veer towards...

cricket.

Cricket is your answer. Let's see. Do you think, Eggheads, is he right?

-Yes.

-Yeah, they like that.

You're right. Two out of two.

Playing well. Pat, here's your question.

In 2015, the footballer Fabian Delph left Aston Villa

to join which other football club?

Where did he go?

Fabian Delph.

That's D-E-L-P-H.

Let me think about this.

I don't think he went to Liverpool.

I don't think he went to Newcastle United.

Did he go to Manchester City?

I think he went to Manchester City but I'm not... I'm not certain.

Manchester City is the right answer, Pat. Well done.

All right, two points each and, John, back to you we go.

When Michael Schumacher won the 1994 Formula One world championship

by one point, who came second?

1994 - that's a long, long time ago.

Yes, I'm not really highly into motorsports,

but I think I would go for

David Coulthard.

It was actually Damon Hill who came second in '94.

So Pat has the chance to take the round. Pat, your question.

The July Course is one of the two main courses

at which horse-racing venue?

I think Newmarket has two tracks,

the July Course and the Rowley Mile,

so that's Newmarket.

Yes, you are very good at this sort of thing.

Actually, at everything. Newmarket is the right answer.

Three out of three. Sorry, John, got knocked out there,

and Pat goes through to the final. Do rejoin us in the studio.

We'll play the next round.

Vibrato have lost a brain.

The Eggheads have not lost a brain,

so the next subject is Food and Drink.

-Who would like this?

-Can you take this?

-I'm happy to do it.

-You're happy to take that one, Anna?

-Yeah.

-Go on, Anna.

-Anna is going to take that.

-OK.

Anna on Food and Drink. Against which Egghead?

Anyone but Pat.

-It's a big subject.

-I'd go...Kevin?

-I'd go Kevin.

-Big subject.

-Kevin.

-I'm going to go for Kevin.

-OK.

Anna from Vibrato.

Kevin, are we still struggling with our Food and Drink or not?

-Er...

-Pretty much at the moment, actually, yeah.

Had some problems on it. OK.

Kevin from the Eggheads - let's see if you can knock out the master.

Please go to the Question Room now.

-Anna, good luck in this round...

-Thank you.

-..on Food and Drink

against the great Kevin, and would you like to go first or second?

Can I go first, please?

Anna, good luck. Here is your first question.

Roughly how many calories are there in a pint of bitter?

I don't think it's as much as 360

and I think probably 90 is being a bit optimistic,

so I would say probably 180 calories.

180 is the right answer.

OK. Good stuff.

Kevin, your question.

The bulgar wheat salad called tabbouleh

comes from which part of the world?

It's...in various countries.

I think Lebanon would be one of the main ones,

but it's the Middle East, anyway.

Middle East is correct.

Anna, back to you.

The name of which Chinese-style dish comes from the Cantonese

for "mixed bits"?

I don't think it's dim sum.

I think I'm going to go for chow mein.

It's funny because I would have said dim sum but I would have been wrong.

You're right to rule that out, but wrong to go for chow mein.

It's chop suey.

OK. So, Kevin, your question

to take the lead in Food and Drink.

Which common vegetable has varieties called Estima and Marfona?

I assume that's E-S-T-I-M-A?

Yes, sorry. E-S-T-I-M-A and then M-A-R-F-O-N-A.

Estima and Marfona.

Hmm.

I know a few varieties but I don't recognise those.

No, this is pretty much a one in three.

For no...

particular reason I'll rule out cabbage.

There are lots... Well, in fact,

all three of them have got lots of varieties.

I... I'll go for potato.

-Anna, do you know this one?

-Yeah, I would have said potato.

Yeah, he's got it right.

Potato it is.

Takes the lead, so you must get this one right to stay in, Anna.

Dock pudding, made from dock leaves,

is celebrated at the World Dock Pudding Championships

held in which part of England?

Erm...I'm not too sure on this one.

But I'm leaning towards Cumbria.

West Yorkshire is the right answer, Anna.

-Oh.

-Sorry, you've been knocked out by Kevin.

Kevin goes through on Food and Drink.

-Well done, Kevin.

-Mmm.

Sorry, Anna. Please return and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, Vibrato have lost two brains from the final round.

Vibrating a bit too much. The Eggheads have not lost any.

The next subject for you is Science.

I'm thinking musicians and science go together.

I don't know why I think that.

-Who would like this?

-That's me.

-Liz, our doctor.

Against which Egghead?

You can choose anyone but Pat or Kevin.

-Erm...

-Lisa?

-Lisa?

-OK. Lisa, please.

-OK. Liz from Vibrato.

Lisa from the Eggheads.

See if you can set up a vibration that cracks the egg.

-Sorry, I couldn't...

-Very good.

To ensure there is no conferring,

would you please go to the Question Room now.

So, Liz, you are a doctor who plays the violin.

-That's right, yes.

-And science - I know that's up your street.

-And would you like to go first or second, Liz?

-First, please.

All right. And here is your first question, Liz.

In astronomy, which term refers to a star system that has two members?

Oh, I could do with my daughter for this one -

she's keen on her astronomy. Erm...

I'm going to go with binary star.

Yes, binary star is right.

Well done.

Lisa, which name is given to the boundary of a black hole

from which nothing can escape?

I seem to be getting a lot of questions recently

that are also the names of films. This was a terrible one, mind you.

I think that's event horizon.

You're right. Event horizon it is. Well done.

OK. Back to you, Liz.

What sort of creature is a jerboa?

That's spelt J-E-R-B-O-A.

Well, I know what it looks like,

and I would say, from what it looks like,

that it's a rodent, but I may be wrong.

Rodent is your answer and it is correct.

Not many people would know what a jerboa looks like!

Can you describe it?

It's like a large gerbil that hops, I think!

A desert animal.

OK. A hopping gerbil.

Good. That's correct. Lisa,

your question. Which of these materials

vibrates at a precise frequency in an electronic circuit

and is often used to regulate clocks and watches?

I've never yet looked at my watch mechanism

and had it say amber or tin on it,

so I'd better go for quartz.

Yes, and I didn't know the reason for quartz being so popular,

but quartz is right. Well done.

OK. Liz, your third question now.

Get this one right and put some pressure on Lisa.

Otalgia is a technical term for an ache in which part of the body?

Ear.

Says the doctor.

-Hope it's right!

-It is right!

Well done.

OK. Lisa, on the ropes a bit here.

Get this one wrong and you are out of the contest, Egghead.

What was the name of the UK rocket

that successfully launched a satellite into orbit in 1971?

All the Marvel superheroes that never made it to comic.

Erm... I like the sound of Silver Streak best,

so we'll go with Silver Streak.

Black Arrow is the right answer, Lisa, so you are out.

Well done to our doctor!

All right. Maybe things are on the turn now for Vibrato.

You are in the final round, Liz, and Lisa is not.

Come back to us and we'll play on.

Well done, Liz. Brilliant.

-How does it feel to beat an Egghead?

-Oh, nice. Yeah, good.

All right. Well, you're playing well and you're playing better than

the last team at this stage, and they won, so there we are.

Vibrato have lost two brains.

Eggheads have also lost a brain - they've lost Lisa.

Let's see where we go from here. It's Politics.

-So who wants this?

-Is that me?

-I think that's me.

-OK, Wendy. And against which Egghead?

You can have either Dave or CJ.

Erm... I will go for...

-CJ, please.

-Is that an ambition fulfilled?

-Well, he was just looking at me so nicely.

-He looks really pleased!

He does that sort of pleading expression.

OK, Wendy from Vibrato has succumbed to CJ here with his...

Psychotic puppy-dog eyes.

Yes, that's exactly it. The puppy-dog expression.

-What can I say?

-Please go to our Question Room now.

So Politics. Would you like to go first or second, Wendy?

I will go first, please.

Here's your question. Who was the first US president

to be assassinated whilst in office?

Well, I don't know the answer to this,

but I instinctively feel I'm going for William McKinley,

so I will trust that that's my instinct

and I shall say William McKinley.

Lincoln was before that. Lincoln is the answer, Wendy.

-Sorry.

-OK.

CJ, the Schloss Bellevue

is the official residence of the president of which country?

Well, "schloss" is the German word for "castle",

so I'm going to assume it's Germany.

Germany is correct.

So he's got one.

-Wendy, you can come back.

-Yep.

-Here's your second question.

What name is given to emergency meetings held in Downing Street

in response to crisis situations?

I believe that that is Cobra.

Always sounds like something out of a spy novel to me,

-but I think it is.

-That is exactly right.

Cobra is correct.

OK, CJ, your second question.

Mhairi Black, who was elected an MP in 2015 at the age of 20,

represents which party?

I believe she's the youngest British MP since the 17th century

and she's with the SNP.

Yes, you're right.

OK. Good stuff. Wendy, here we go.

This is the situation - you need to get this one right.

-There's no easy way to say it.

-Yep.

-In 2015,

the G7 leading industrial nations

agreed to phase out the use of what by the end

of the 21st century?

Well, I know they are trying to reduce carbon emissions,

so I'm going to say that they're going to...

rule out fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels is quite right. Nicely done. Two out of three.

Now we have to hope that CJ comes a cropper.

Which you can, CJ, can't you, sometimes?

-Frequently.

-Occasionally.

In which decade was the Remploy Organisation established

by Act of Parliament to help disabled people into work?

I knew what it was, but when did it come in? Oh, my.

I don't THINK it was as early as the '40s.

I'm wondering if it is as late as the '80s.

I don't know this,

but I'm going to hope I just remember it from my youth

and it was new then so I'll try the 1980s.

So you were kind of veering '60s to '80s there.

-Is it the '40s?

-It is the '40s, yeah.

You were some way off - 40 years.

Potentially 49 years off! CJ.

Two out of three to you both.

We go to Sudden Death.

-Wendy, it gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives, OK?

-OK.

In 2014, Baroness Stowell was made leader of the House of Lords

and also became which of the Great Officers of State?

I'm afraid I don't know.

Was she...

made the Privy Seal?

Yeah, I can accept that. Lord Privy Seal, yeah.

Ooh-hoo-hoo!

You're playing so well.

Honestly, that's brilliant play.

All right. CJ.

Sudden Death!

Jeremy Corbyn first became an MP in the general election of which year?

Oh, Lord.

You get this wrong, you're gone.

I'm guessing at some point in the '80s.

So I'm going to guess '83 or '87.

1983...42 years ago?

'83 he would have been young.

I'll guess...

And it's no more than a guess at 1987.

OK. Because '83 is 42 years ago?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. That's... That's the fatal error.

It's not, it's 32 years ago.

So '83 is the right answer.

'87 is wrong. Well done, Wendy!

-You've done it.

-Whoo!

Little bit of a mathematical slip from dear old CJ there.

-Very bad luck.

-No, not at all.

You played really well and he slipped out of the contest.

You'll be in the final round. And if you come back to us,

we will play that final round.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It's time for the final, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

I'm afraid those people who lost their head to heads are not allowed

to take part in this round. So we say goodbye

to Anna and John from Vibrato,

but also to Lisa and CJ from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio.

Howard, Wendy and Liz,

you are playing to win Vibrato £1,000.

Kevin, Dave and Pat, you're playing for something money can't buy,

which is the Eggheads' reputation,

and to try and rebuild after, you know,

the incident in the last game.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Vibrato, the question is,

can your three brains defeat these three?

And would you like to go first or second?

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

And here is your first question.

Which actor did the Friends actress Courteney Cox divorce in 2013?

-Definitely David Arquette.

-Definitely David Arquette.

-Very sadly so.

-Yes, David Arquette.

David Arquette, please, Jeremy.

David Arquette is the right answer. Well done. One to you.

Eggheads, what term is used for a sentence

that uses every letter in the alphabet,

such as, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"?

-Pangram?

-Pangram.

-Pangram.

Yeah, we're happy with that? Pangram.

We're going for pangram, please, Jeremy.

Pangram is right! I'd never heard of this term.

OK.

Here we go with your question.

Which of these British military decorations

was first awarded in 1995?

It can't be the George Cross.

No. I think it was the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.

-Yes.

-It's a new medal.

-Yes. Certainly we'd trust you on that one.

-Yep.

-You sure?

I think it's the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross if it's a new medal.

It is the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. Well done. Yes, bang on.

Well done. OK, Eggheads.

Which actress appeared in the 2015 film Jupiter Ascending

and took the title role in the 2014 film Belle?

Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

I didn't know about her being in Jupiter Ascending,

but she was the star of Belle and the other two weren't in Belle.

So Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

We believe, or Kevin has informed me,

that that is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jeremy.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is the right answer.

Well done. So 2-2.

Final round. Back to you, Challengers.

This could be the crucial question.

In which of these fields is the D'Hondt Method often used?

Could you spell D'Hondt?

Yes. D-apostrophe-H-O-N-D-T.

I... I feel like deciding elections feels...

I don't think... If it was weather forecasting,

-wouldn't we have heard of it?

-Well, I wouldn't have.

Maybe. OK. I'm happy to go with deciding elections.

So we're sort of inclined towards deciding elections.

-Does anybody have a better instinct?

-No.

OK.

We're not sure. We're going to go for deciding elections, Jeremy.

Deciding elections. OK.

As it happens, I happen to know quite a bit about this,

because I do do election programmes, so you're right.

-Yes!

-And just in case you want to know,

the reason it's a method is that it's the way they decide,

taking the votes in the European elections,

how many MEPs you get as a result.

It's a very complicated thing.

It's a form of proportional representation.

-I should know that.

-Named after Victor D'Hondt.

And every four years, or five years, I have to explain it,

and the explanation always baffles everyone who hears it.

OK. So three out of three.

Here we are again! See, you think you're playing well

and you're suddenly on the edge of oblivion.

So get this one wrong and you've lost, Eggheads.

The element of the British Crown Jewels known as Curtana

takes which form?

C-U-R-T-A-N-A.

-I thought it was a sword.

-Well, that was my first thought,

-but can you spell it again, Jeremy?

-Yes, C-U-R-T-A-N-A.

-It's not... I don't think it's anything to do with a crown.

-No.

-So...

-I can't associate it with sceptre.

-No?

-Not to say that it's not, but...

-So are you going to be happy going for sword if we...

-Yeah.

-I'm not going to come up with any...

-Yeah, we're not

going to come up with anything, we're going to over-talk this.

Right, Jeremy. We're not sure, but...

two quiz world champions here and they both

had an instinct for sword, so that will be the answer.

It's also known as the sword of mercy.

You're quite right. Sword it is. So three out of three for you both.

You're playing well.

Here we are in the final round.

Sudden Death - gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives.

Your question, Vibrato.

The food of the gods called ambrosia

originated in which ancient civilisation's mythology?

-I think it's Greek mythology.

-Well...I would say Greek.

-I do.

-You're OK with that?

-I'm happy with that.

-Yep.

-We're going to go for Greek, Jeremy.

Greek is right.

Thank you.

Sudden Death. Eggheads, get this wrong

and you are out and the contest is over.

The region called the Horn of Africa has a coastline on which ocean?

-Indian Ocean?

-Indian Ocean because Somalia...

-Somali coast.

-Yeah, so it's Indian, isn't it?

We're going for the Indian Ocean, please, Jeremy.

Indian Ocean is right. Sudden Death.

Back to our Challengers. Which US talk show host

left The Daily Show in August 2015?

Well, I think that was Jon Stewart.

I haven't got a clue, so...

I haven't got a clue, so we'll go with that.

-Go for it.

-We're going to go for Jon Stewart, Jeremy.

-Jon Stewart is correct. Well done.

-Thank you.

So you're really pressing them now. Eggheads,

what was the name of the Methodist minister

who founded the Salvation Army in 1865?

-It's Booth, isn't it?

-Mmm.

It's William Booth, I believe.

If we go... Again, just let's...

-Yes.

-Let's to take our time on this.

-Hmm.

Because there was another famous Booth around the same time -

who was the one who did the maps of London poverty and deprivation

and I think he was Charles.

-Charles.

-Yeah, I think that's right.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

I think it's William Booth.

Yeah? We all right, team?

We're going to go for William Booth, please, Jeremy.

William Booth is right!

You were just longing for them to stumble!

Which author popularised the term "thought crime"

in a novel published in 1949?

-Well, that was George Orwell...

-1984.

-In 1984.

-We sure, we sure? It's not Brave New World...?

-Absolutely, 100%.

-Thought crime.

-It's not Aldous Huxley?

-No.

-George Orwell.

-Yeah, I agree.

George Orwell's 1984, please, Jeremy.

George Orwell is right.

Eggheads, the animator Nick Park

won his first Oscar for which short film

in which animals discuss their lives in a zoo?

Is that Creature Comforts?

Creature Comforts. Yes.

Right. Jeremy, we're going for Creature Comforts.

Creature Comforts is the right answer.

Sudden Death. Your question, Vibrato.

Which actor, born in Mirfield in Yorkshire,

was knighted in 2010 for services to drama?

Mirfield. In 2010.

A Yorkshireman.

And he was knighted, so he's not going to be young.

What about Kenneth Branagh?

I don't think he's a Yorkshireman, is he?

We haven't got any other names coming up to mind, have we?

I feel that he's not from Yorkshire but you never know.

I think we might have to go with that.

-OK.

-Because we know he's been knighted - that's a start.

-OK.

I just can't think of anybody.

Who... Michael Gambon - where is he from?

-Ah.

-Do we know he's been knighted, though?

We know Ken Branagh has been knighted.

We know Kenneth Branagh has.

I think it's safer.

-OK.

-I'm happy with that because we are guessing.

-We are guessing.

-Jeremy, we're going to go with Sir Kenneth Branagh.

OK, let me see whether the Eggheads know this.

-Patrick Stewart.

-Patrick Stewart.

-No, I think it's Ben Kingsley.

I think it's Patrick Stewart.

-Sorry.

-Yes, Patrick Stewart it was.

-No, no...

-Yeah.

They're both from Yorkshire.

So that's an easy mistake.

Easy confusion.

So you may have let them in.

Let's see. Your question, Eggheads, for the contest, in Sudden Death.

Which woman, well known for her TV appearances on Countdown,

edited the 19th edition of Brewer's Dictionary Of Phrase And Fable?

-I presume it's Susie Dent.

-It is Susie Dent.

-Yes. Presume it must be Susie Dent.

-Yes.

-Right.

We're going for Susie Dent, please, Jeremy.

If you have got this right, the contest is over on Sudden Death.

Hard-fought as well.

The answer is Susie Dent. We say congratulations, Eggheads.

You are back on track and you've won!

You did the orchestra proud there.

My goodness me!

That was a fantastic performance right the way through Sudden Death

and at any point, you can get a stinker and the Eggheads can go

and they just... You held focus there, Eggs.

Commiserations, Vibrato.

The Eggheads have done what they like to do

and they reign supreme over Quizland once again.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £1,000,

so the money rolls over to our next exciting show.

Eggheads, well done.

Not easy today, was it?

No, not at all. Excellent team again.

I wonder who will beat you. Join us next time

to see if a new team of Challengers have the brains to do it.

£2,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.