Episode 38 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.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today are

Can't Agree. Now, this team all work together

at an accountancy firm in Stoke-on-Trent

and enjoy testing each other in the office with a daily calendar quiz.

Sounds great! Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Caroline and I'm a tax adviser.

Hi, I'm Philip and I'm an account manager.

Hi, I'm Carolyn and I'm a tax associate.

Hi, I'm Matt, and I'm an accountant.

Hi, I'm Ruth. I'm a tax associate.

-So, Caroline, team, welcome. ALL:

-Hi.

Good to see you and I gather as accountants you have put

together some fail-safe grid.

Being accountants we obviously love a good spreadsheet

so we've kind of put together an analysis of the different

rounds and how the Eggheads do in each round.

You've had to get data from somewhere as to how many

Sport rounds Kevin's done and all that kind of thing.

Yeah, we've been watching the show avidly

and then I've been popping it in the information to my spreadsheet.

-This can't go wrong. It can't go wrong.

-In theory.

Well, 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 the next show.

So in the last game they were not very formidable at all

and the Challengers won, so it means

£1,000 is on the table right now

saying you can't beat them.

All right.

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

Now, who would like this?

-Music?

-Oh, now.

-The worst one we could possibly have.

-Who do we think?

-Shall I do it?

-Carolyn? Yeah?

-Are you sure? Go on.

-Go on, then.

-We are going to choose Carolyn.

-She's good at music.

I was worried for your grid for a second there.

THEY LAUGH

Music is not on the grid. So Carolyn on music.

Against which Egghead? You can have any one of them.

I think to be honest this was one where all of them

do reasonably well so shall we...? We'll go for Kevin.

-Yes, Kevin, please. Yes, is that OK?

-All right. Thank you.

Yeah, strong subject for Kevin but maybe not your strongest, actually.

-No, it's not my strongest. No, certainly not. No, no.

-OK.

Carolyn from Can't Agree plays Kevin from the Eggheads,

our first round, and just to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please go to our famous Question Room?

Well, good luck, Carolyn, here.

Music it is and would you like to go first or second against Kevin?

First, please.

Which term, Carolyn, refers to catchy or repetitive music

designed to appeal to younger children and teenagers?

I can't say I've heard this at all.

I don't think it would be lemonsoda or applepie.

I'll try bubblegum.

Yeah, bubblegum is absolutely fine, well done.

The sound of accountants clapping.

I've never heard that sound before.

I just was thinking that was a bit different there.

OK, Kevin, your question.

What are the strings of a piano generally made from?

Well, it's not rubber.

So, metal.

Metal is the right answer.

OK, back to you, Carolyn.

When playing certain musical instruments,

which parts of the body are placed on a fipple?

A fipple which is F for Freddie, I-P-P-L-E.

I don't think it's the fingers.

I can't imagine it's thighs but it could be.

I'll try lips.

You're a very good guesser, you're right.

There was a bit more than guessing.

There was a little bit of application of logic there.

No, no, it was definitely guessing.

Kevin, your question

to keep pace.

Which artist had a UK number one single in 2015 with

Don't Be So Hard On Yourself?

Justin Bieber was all over the place with number ones...

..late in 2015 but I don't think that was one of them. You say

Don't Be So Hard On Yourself?

Don't Be So Hard On Yourself.

I think Demi Lovato might have been involved as a

featured artist on something but it wasn't...

I think this is Jess Glynne.

-Eggs?

-Jess Glynne.

-Jess Glynne is right. Two out of two for you both.

Back to you, Carolyn.

Who had UK Top 10 hits in the '80s with

Eighth Day, D-Days and Will You?

Again, I don't know. I don't know

the songs at all, the titles.

I'll try, I really don't know

but I'll try Alison Moyet.

No, Dave will know this. Dave?

Hazel O'Connor.

Yeah, Carolyn, I'm sorry the answer is Hazel O'Connor.

It gives Kevin a chance to come back now.

Which 19th century composer wrote the operetta Der Zigeunerbaron

or the Gypsy Baron?

That's, um, funnily enough, I knew it was a member of the

Strauss family so that helps that

there aren't others there.

I actually thought it was Johann Strauss the Younger

and it is.

Johann Strauss the Younger is the right answer, Kevin, well done.

Music IS a strong subject for you after all.

You've won the first round.

Carolyn, I'm sorry, knocked out by our Egghead.

Got to get back on that accountant's grid.

Come back to us, both of you, and we will play the next round.

So, difficult start for our Challengers.

Can't Agree have lost a brain.

The Eggheads are sitting there still intact, all five of them.

The next subject for you is Sport.

-Is this good, Caroline?

-Yes, it is.

-We've got Matt...

-Yes, I'll be the one taking on Sport.

-OK, Matt.

And who would you like to take on of the remaining four Eggheads?

-Should I take Judith?

-I think go with Judith, yeah.

I'll take Judith on, please.

I'm not going.

THEY LAUGH

I'm not doing it.

HE LAUGHS

-That's not quite how the game works. I'm so sorry.

-Tough.

All right, so clearly the grid is now working.

So Matt from Can't Agree versus Judith, who's on strike,

from the Eggheads on Sport.

And to ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

This could be lively.

Well, Matt, you leapt at the chance to do Sport there.

I'm a big fan of sport

so I was hoping this topic would arise today.

So, have you calmed down now, Judith? Are you happy with this?

Of course I'm not happy. I'm just doing what I'm told.

All right, Judith. Steel yourself, here we go.

Matt, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

So here's your question, Matt.

Which type of shot are golfers most likely to hit

from the tee of a par 4 or par 5 hole?

Well, I know that you only putt once you've reached the green in golf.

For par 4 or par 5 they're often long distances

so you would drive the ball. Drive.

Yes, indeed.

Very good. Drive is the answer.

Judith, which city staged the

IAAF World Athletic Championships in 2015?

IAA... Is that athletics? International Athletics...

I think it's Delhi.

-It's Beijing.

-Oh, no!

-Don't worry, don't worry.

Matt, in which year did Jonah Lomu

make his first appearance in a Rugby Union World Cup?

This is a tough one. Rugby isn't really my specialist area.

He was around for quite a while on the rugby scene.

I would say 2003 is too recent.

I would probably go, he made his first appearance

in 1995.

'95 is right. So you got two.

Judith, you are on the edge. If you don't get this right,

you will be out.

Which tennis player won the Women's Singles title

at the 2015 US Open?

And she beat Serena, didn't she?

I think it's Roberta Vinci.

Roberta Vinci who beat Serena Williams.

-Have you got a memory of that match?

-Well, vaguely.

Anyone else got a memory of that?

Well, I think she did beat Serena

but she didn't win the US Open.

Yeah, we think she beat Serena but

she didn't win the US Open, Judith.

The answer is Flavia Pennetta.

-Oh!

-An all-Italian final.

-Yes.

Well, that's me, then.

An all-Italian final. That's you, I'm sorry.

Judith has been knocked out on Sport but well done, Matt,

your team can go crazy. Give us some more of that accountants' applause.

Matt, come back to us. You'll be in the final round. Judith, you won't.

You return to us and rejoin your teams, we'll play on.

Well, the grid is working now.

The accountants are just pulling rank on the Eggheads, very slightly.

Can't Agree have lost a brain but the Eggheads have lost one as well.

It's finely poised, and the next subject is Arts & Books.

Philip P again.

-Philip?

-Philip?

-I think that's going to be me.

-OK.

This is certainly very organised on this side.

Who would you like to take on? It could be Dave or Chris or Barry?

I think as a fellow Crewetonian,

-I think I'd like to take Chris on.

-Oh, two Crewemen together. OK.

Philip from Can't Agree and Crewe

versus Chris from the Eggheads and Crewe.

Please go to the Question Room.

-Philip, how is Crewe these days?

-It's absolutely fine, thank you.

-Good and, Chris, you still like living there?

-Yes, it's great.

-What's the Crewe newspaper, Chris?

-Crewe Chronicle.

The Crewe Chronicle's got to be across this. Got to be all over it.

All right, Arts & Books.

Philip, would you like to go first or second?

Can I go first, please?

You can indeed and good luck.

Which of these art galleries has a large display space

known as the Turbine Hall?

Well, it's not one I've heard of. Um...

Instinct told me before you read the answers,

the possible answers, that it would be Tate Modern.

Because that's in a quite industrial building.

I think I'm going to go for Tate Modern.

Yeah, you're right.

I've been there and it's an absolutely enormous space,

in fact, so big they often I think

-struggle to put anything in it.

-Definitely.

So, well done, Tate Modern it is.

Chris, which of these novels

featuring James Bond was written by Ian Fleming?

Well, the only one there that is an original Fleming is

Diamonds Are Forever.

Yep, it's on my shelf at home. Diamonds Are Forever.

Philip, back to you. Crewe, one, Crewe, one.

Which famous author wrote A Child's History Of England that

first appeared as a serial in 1851

and was later used as a textbook in the 20th century?

Right, I'm on firmer ground with this one.

Not Disraeli, definitely not Shelley,

who was famous for Frankenstein, obviously.

I think it's Charles Dickens.

It is Charles Dickens, well done.

Back to you, Chris from Crewe.

Eudora Welty, born in Mississippi in 1909,

became famous in which field?

Eudora Welty. Wasn't she Grandma Moses?

In which case it would be painting.

Right, I don't have painting here

although I loved your conviction there.

It's literature.

Eggheads, was she Grandma Moses?

No, Grandma Moses was a painter.

Anna Mary Robertson

was Grandma Moses.

Eudora Welty was a novelist.

She was a Pulitzer prize-winning novelist.

-And she wrote under her own name.

-Yes.

-Yeah, she just wrote novels under that name, Chris.

-Oh, right.

But nice bringing Grandma Moses in. Always welcome.

Even when it's wrong.

Philip, your question.

You get this right, Philip,

you are in the final.

How many people are shown

in Grant Wood's 1930 painting, American Gothic?

I didn't know the artist

but when you said American Gothic, I think this is the painting of

two quite miserable-looking people in front of their farmstead.

I think it's two.

A husband and wife with a pitchfork. Yeah, two is right.

Well done, Philip. Three out of three. Three out of three.

Sorry, Chris.

Are you going to be able to show your face in Crewe now?

THEY LAUGH

So, Philip, you have taken down an Egghead.

That's very handy for your team, which now pulls ahead a little bit.

You come back to us, rejoin your teams, we'll play on.

Well, this is looking rather exciting because you've now

taken down two Eggheads and you've only lost one brain yourself.

The grid is working, clearly.

The next one for you is Science.

-You're better at science than me.

-It's one of you two.

It's not my strongest subject but...

I'm worse than you but I don't know.

-I think I'm going to go for Science.

-Are you sure?

OK, Team Captain, Caroline. Against which Egghead?

It can be one of the ones at the end there,

it's got to be Barry or Dave.

-Are you happy with Dave?

-I think Dave. Yes, I think Dave.

Dave on Science. Are you the one who blew up his chemistry lab once?

-Dave.

-No, no.

-No, it was Barry.

THEY LAUGH

So Caroline from Can't Agree versus Dave from the Eggheads on Science

and for the last round before the final, please take your leave of us.

So, Caroline, have you got any science background?

-I did do some science A levels but...

-That's good enough.

That is good enough, seriously. OK, well, good luck, Caroline.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

Here is your first question, Caroline.

When a computer is referred to as a PC,

for what does the letter P most often stand?

Well, I don't think it's pixel.

It tends to be for computers that are fixed

so I wouldn't think it would be portable.

I'm fairly sure it's personal so I'll go for personal,

personal computer.

Yep, exactly right. Personal is right.

Dave, based on their

average distance from Earth,

which of these planets is furthest away?

From Earth, well, they're going out so

I'm just getting it right in my head.

Yes, it's Neptune.

Neptune is right. So, one each. Back to you, Caroline.

Which of these terms refers to an

abnormal fear or dislike of beards?

I have to say I've not heard of this particular phobia.

It's not one that I have.

I'm kind of torn between

ballistophobia and pogonophobia.

Don't know why.

I'm probably going to kick myself

but I'm going to go with ballistophobia, I think.

-Ballistophobia, please.

-OK.

Well, let's check with Barry cos Barry grew a beard

and then it resulted in a series of

terrible losses in the Question Room.

Yes, I had to shave it off because

my wife suffered from pogonophobia.

-Oh, it's pogono.

-Oh.

OK, sorry about that, Caroline.

Dave, your question.

What is the main diet of the bird called the nightjar?

Nightjar, right. I'm not really sure.

I don't think it's smaller birds.

I really don't think it's nuts, to be honest.

I'll have to go insects but I'm not really sure at all.

You've taken the lead with that, it is indeed insects.

So, Caroline, sorry. You needed a break there, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-If you get this one wrong, you're out.

Including the mandible,

the human skull is made up of approximately how many bones?

Again, I don't know the answer.

Biology isn't one of the science

A-levels I took, unfortunately.

I took chemistry and physics.

I've got a gut feeling that it may be 22. I don't know

where I'm getting that from but I'm going to go with 22.

22 is right. Well done.

Dave, your question

to take the round.

In which medium does sound generally travel fastest?

Never thought about this at all.

I've got no basis for this at all.

I'm going to put myself out of my misery. I'll go gas.

Let's ask The Brain, Barry.

My gut feel would be gas.

Sound is a pressure wave and in a solid or liquid it would hit

more atoms so that would tend to slow it down.

-Well, the answer is solid.

-No!

-OK? Seriously.

-Would never have got that.

-One of the all-time great questions.

-So, look, where are we? We're all a bit fazed by that.

-We're baffled.

It's two-two.

Caroline, we go to Sudden Death now. It gets a bit harder.

-I don't give you alternatives.

-OK.

In which year did the supersonic airliner Concorde

make its final flight?

I am quite interested in planes.

I used to go with my grandad when I was a child

and we used to go to Manchester Airport

to watch the planes come in.

And I have seen Concorde.

I remember going to watch Concorde come in to Manchester.

I'm trying to think of the last time. I have a year in my mind.

I feel like it may be 2003 but I really don't know.

-That's just what first came to my mind.

-All right.

Let's see, let's just ask the Eggheads. Is she right?

-I think she's right.

-You're right.

-Brilliant.

-Really great.

That is great quizzing,

well done. So, you are pushing Dave here.

Dave, if you get this wrong, you're out.

Which of the alkali metals reacts with water to produce a lilac flame?

Well, there's only one I can go for but I'm out.

Yes, I'm just going to go with it. Potassium.

Potassium is the right answer.

Caroline, which medical pioneer famously identified a water pump

in Broad Street, Soho, as the cause of an outbreak of cholera in 1854?

No, I really don't have a clue on this one.

My mind's really gone blank.

I'm struggling even to think of any medical pioneers. Erm...

I think I'm going to have to pass, I'm afraid. Sorry, team.

-OK, Dave. Do you know this one?

-Was it Joseph Lister?

-No, it's John Snow, is the answer.

-No, I wouldn't have got that.

OK, so Dave, your chance to book

a place in the final round.

Which element in the periodic table has the symbol NB?

There's only one I can go for. Niobium.

-(Yes.)

-Barry, is he right?

He is indeed. And that's one of my favourite all-time quiz questions,

which is, "Which father and daughter are represented

"by elements in the periodic table?"

And the answer is Tantalum and Niobium

-because they're father and daughter in Greek mythology.

-Oh, wow.

I love that. Niobium is quite right, Dave.

Well played by you because you were on the ropes there.

Caroline, especially well played by you as a Challenger.

Really good to get that far into Sudden Death.

-Sorry you've been knocked out.

-Yeah.

It brings the two teams level and puts us

in prospect of a very exciting final.

Well, what a tussle.

And this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round which as always

is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't be

allowed to take part in this round.

So, Caroline and Carolyn from Can't Agree and also Chris

and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Philip, Matt and Ruth, you're playing to win

Can't Agree £1,000 and I should ask

where Can't Agree, the name, comes from?

-Is it going to be agreement on this round?

-Yes, I think it is.

We went through various permutations of what we could call ourselves

and every time, at least one person would say, "No, I don't like that."

So we said, "Well, we just can't agree." And it stuck.

Right, well, in this round you will have to, I think.

Barry, Kevin and Dave, of course the stakes are much higher in some

ways for you because you've had a pretty wretched time recently.

You need to get back on track.

You're playing for the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time they're all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer, crucially, and agree.

So, Can't Agree, the question is - are your three brains able to defeat

these three over here, and would you like to go first or second?

I think we'll go first, please.

Ruth and team, good luck to you. Here we go.

Which TV sitcom character thrashed

a red Austin car with a tree branch

in a famous scene first shown in 1975?

-Well, it wasn't Norman Stanley Fletcher...

-No, no.

..because that's Porridge.

And Wolfie Smith is Citizen Smith, isn't he?

-Yes.

-I think it's definitely Basil.

-It's Basil Fawlty, isn't it?

-Yes, yes, definitely.

-Basil Fawlty?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Basil Fawlty.

Yes, Basil Fawlty is correct. A great scene.

"You've had it coming. I've warned you!"

"I'll give you a damned good thrashing."

Yeah, Dave, "You're going to get a damned good thrashing."

OK, your question, Eggheads.

Which of these French ports is closest to the Belgian border?

-Dunkirk.

-Dunkirk, must be.

-Dunkirk.

Are we all happy with that?

Yes, it's very close to

the Belgian border.

Dunkirk is almost on the Belgian border

so we really couldn't choose anything other than that.

Dunkirk is correct.

Challengers, who came a distant second to

Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election?

-We need Caroline.

-I know, where's Caroline when you need her?

She's going to be shouting the answer.

My gut instinct from those was Andy Burnham.

His name did cross my mind. It did ring a bell. What do you think?

-I'm happy to go for that.

-I'd go with Andy Burnham.

-Do you want go with Andy Burnham?

-I think so.

We'll go with Andy Burnham, please.

-Andy Burnham is your answer?

-Yes.

-It's a hard question because they were all candidates.

-Yes.

Liz Kendall came last.

But you're right, Andy Burnham was

second, well done.

OK, your second question now.

Which actor played the role of Martin Luther King

in the 2014 film, Selma?

-David Oyelowo.

-Can't pronounce it.

THEY LAUGH

It was a wonderful film.

It was David Oyelowo.

David Oyelowo is the right answer.

OK, over to you for your third question.

Get this right, you really put a bit of pressure on them and they did

have a bad time in the last game and they're still finding their feet.

This is a good moment for you.

Emma of Normandy was Queen of England both as wife

of Ethelred the Unready and later as wife of which other king?

I haven't got a clue on this.

Not a subject I'm an expert in.

Edward the Confessor was the last

before the Norman conquest...

-..because...

-And this is Emma of Normandy.

Yes, and she was obviously before...

Canute I think was before Edward the Confessor.

So that would make sense.

Could we eliminate Edward the Confessor?

-I've never heard of Harthacnute.

-No, No.

Ethelred the Unready. Canute...

-..seems the logical answer.

-Yes, I'm leaning towards Canute.

Based on your logic of the time line...

-We'll go for that, yeah.

-Shall we go for Canute?

We really don't know.

So we're going...I think...

we'll go for Canute.

Canute is your answer.

Let's check with the Eggheads.

-Are they right?

-Yep.

You've got it right, well done.

Canute, phew! So three out of three!

Gosh, it's some

hard old games you're playing, Eggheads,

at the moment, isn't it?

If you get this wrong, you've been defeated.

I don't want to go on about it.

Which structure was partly built upon the Whin Sill?

Whin is W-H-I-N and Sill is S-I-L-L.

That's Hadrian's Wall.

This one's a bit more straightforward

because I think we've all

been to Whin Sill

and we've seen Hadrian's Wall.

Hadrian's Wall is the right answer

so you didn't

just knick it from them there.

We have to go to Sudden Death. So it gets a bit harder, I don't give you

alternatives and here is your first Sudden Death question.

Who is credited as the designer of the Morris Minor car

that first appeared in 1948?

Yikes.

I can't even think of any car designer.

-LAUGHS:

-William Morris?

-THEY LAUGH

-No.

If it's a Morris Minor.

Do you think it's someone with the name Morris?

As in Morris Minor?

Esther Morris then.

Do you want to have a guess at someone Morris?

Yes, we'll say somebody Morris. What shall we do?

What first name shall we go for?

Or shall we just go with William Morris?

Yeah, you'll kick yourself if it's wrong, though.

-If it's right, and you don't go for it.

-Yes, we'll go for it.

We'll go with the name William Morris just because Morris.

Sure, I totally understood and he was a person for sure.

-Is he the right person here, Eggheads?

-Issigonis.

-Alec Issigonis is the answer.

-I have heard the name.

-The designer of the Morris Minor.

-Yes.

So, Eggheads, if you get this right,

you've taken the contest.

In September 2015, Sir Alex Ferguson named

Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs

and which other as the only four world-class footballers to

have played for him at Manchester United?

-I think it was Paul Scholes.

-It is Scholes because...

Well, let's just discuss this

because we've got, it's not Kane

and the other one that I was looking at was Schmeichel

when I was looking through the list

that should've been in the list but I'm fairly certain it is Scholes.

Yeah, I know less obviously and I would have said Scholes.

Yeah, it's Paul Scholes.

We are all going for Paul Scholes.

You could give a lot of names in that gap, couldn't you?

The answer, though, is Paul Scholes.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Yeah, and I guess it's which player has he

not fallen out with is sort of the question.

Can't Agree, you played a great game.

To get them down to three and get three right

in a row in the final, well done. Commiserations overall.

The Eggheads have done what is

possibly starting to come naturally again.

They reign supreme over Quizland once more.

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

that money over to our next exciting show.

Eggheads, congratulations, let's see if you can get a run together here.

Join us next time to see

if a new team of Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.