Episode 39 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.

Taking on the might of our quiz goliaths today are the Quiztians.

This team of friends met through ChristCentral Church

in Portsmouth, and share a love of quizzing.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Siobhan and I'm a cultural coordinator.

Hi, I'm Oliver and I'm a charity director.

Hi, I'm Peter. I'm a charity worker.

Hi, I'm Nathan and I'm a data coordinator.

Hi, I'm Andrew and I'm a product manager.

-So, Siobhan and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

Great to see you. So Christians who love to quiz, right?

-Yeah. Yeah.

-And met at the same church?

Yeah, we all met through ChristCentral Church in Portsmouth.

And yeah, we also share a love of quizzing together as well.

And you quiz in the church or outside the church or where?

-Um...

-During the boring hymns you just...

THEY LAUGH

-..answer other questions.

-Yeah, we just pop out and like... Yeah. No.

No, no. Sometimes the church will run quiz nights which we attend.

Also, there is a local pub which also has quiz nights there

which we go along to as well.

Have you worked out how to play them?

-Peter has the spreadsheets.

-Right.

-So...

I've pulled together some statistics on them.

I heard a groan. I don't know who it was from there.

They don't like spreadsheets.

They've actually had quite a bad history with people

with spreadsheets. So good luck.

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, as you know.

So, Quiztians, the Eggheads have won just the last game.

So that means £2,000 is on the table if you beat them.

-Would you like to try? ALL:

-Yes.

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of Geography.

Let's get out the spreadsheet.

THEY LAUGH

We spoke about this, didn't we?

-Yeah. Uh-huh.

-If it comes up first...

-I think that's a good idea.

Whoever is more confident, Andrew or Nathan.

-So I think we... I'll take that.

-Andrew.

-Andrew, yeah?

-OK, Andrew.

-Andrew.

You're the most well travelled, are you?

Um, it was my degree subject. Not that that counts for very much.

That does. Could be handy.

OK, Andrew against which Egghead? You can have any one of the five.

Who looks as if they've never been anywhere?

THEY LAUGH

You can remember your spreadsheet?

Let's bring back the spreadsheet. Um..

-I think CJ didn't do too well.

-OK.

No, wait. No. Either him or Chris.

-Chris.

-Chris instead.

-We'll go for Chris please.

OK, CJ struggles, famously, with English geography.

But Chris struggles...

You struggle a bit if it's not on a train line, Chris, don't you?

-Yeah, yeah.

-OK.

-Just nail down two bits of steel and I'll be there.

That was like a kind of British Rail announcement.

It was delayed about a minute.

So Andrew from Quiztians versus Chris from the Eggheads.

To ensure there is no conferring,

please go to our famous Question Room.

So Geography, Andrew.

And your choice, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first please.

Here is your first question. Good luck.

Which of these countries uses the lira as its official currency?

OK, so...

I know it's not Denmark.

And neither is it Austria.

I'm certain that's Turkey.

Turkey is the answer. Well done.

You got it, Andrew. First one to you.

Turkey is the answer. Chris, your question.

What is the approximate population of Vietnam?

Relatively small nation.

Wouldn't be 390 million.

There is not that many large cities to bump the population up.

So I doubt it would be 90 million.

I'll go with 9 million.

OK, that's a face cos I saw the Eggs suddenly look very certain.

What did you think it was, Eggs?

-90.

-I thought it was 90.

-Yeah, it is 90, Chris.

-Oh.

90 million is the answer, Chris.

Andrew, this is good.

In fact, we could stop the game here, you are in the lead.

See if you can keep the lead and then you win. This is how it works.

-Simple.

-Yeah.

The Ozark Plateau, a highland region of around 50,000 square miles

is a feature of which continent?

OK.

It's not something I've ever heard of.

But I don't recall associating it with North America.

Or Africa.

I would hazard a guess as to Asia.

I know there are some high up plateaus in Asia.

-So I'll go Asia, please.

-Asia is your answer.

Anyone on your team know? Or is he right?

We had no idea.

Yeah, I think this is kind of the sort of thing Eggs know.

-Eggies?

-North America.

-North America.

-Sorry, it's North America.

-OK.

Chris, your chance to get on the board.

On mainland Europe, France shares borders with how many

European countries?

Uh... Let's have a count.

Spain.

Andorra. Monaco.

Italy. Switzerland.

Germany.

And Belgium.

That makes seven. One I've forgotten. Must be eight.

I like the way you did that. Eight is right.

OK, Andrew, he's equal with you now.

OK.

The Straight of Malacca is a waterway linking which oceans?

-The Straight of Malacca?

-The Straight of Malacca.

So let's narrow some down.

Atlantic and Indian...

No, I don't think it would be those.

Because I don't think they touch.

I don't think Indian and Pacific either

cos they kind of run into one another.

I'll have to narrow it down. Hazard a guess as to...

Pacific and Atlantic.

Indian and Pacific is the answer, Andrew.

Chris, for the round.

Which of these designs features on the national flag of Lichtenstein?

It's not a kingdom.

It's a grand duchy. So it wouldn't be a crown.

I doubt it would be a dagger.

It's got a shield in the centre, so it's a shield.

-No, it's a crown, Chris.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-For a grand duchy?

It would be a ducal coronet, not a crown.

-Maybe the crown was borrowed.

-Maybe.

OK, so we go to Sudden Death. One point each.

Andrew, you managed to squeak through there.

But it can end quickly now.

-I don't give you alternatives.

-OK.

Mount Tambora, which exploded in 1815 leading to the

deaths of over 70,000 people, is a volcano in which country?

I'm going to go for Indonesia.

-Indonesia is quite right.

-Thank you.

Quizzing well.

Chris, to stay in.

In physical geography, edaphology is the study of the influence of what

on living things?

It's spelled E-D-A-P-H-O-L-O-G-Y.

I can't get any handle on that at all. Um...

Influence of what on living things...

It can only be climate.

The answer is the soil. Well done, Andrew.

-You are through.

-Thank you.

That was good.

Wowee, you held your nerve there against Big Chris,

who has been knocked out. Andrew will be in the final.

Please come back to us and we will play the second round.

So, Quiztians, you're doing well.

-Well done, Andrew.

-Thank you.

No brains lost from the Challengers. The Eggheads are one man down.

And the next subject is Politics.

Who would like this?

-Should I just go?

-Yeah. Oliver has got a degree in politics.

We are getting all the degrees out today.

Actually, he's got a masters in politics.

Fantastic. Oliver against which Egg?

And it can't be Chris.

I'm trying to think who we had for Politics. I've got a feeling...

They were all about 60-odd percent, weren't they?

I've got a feeling CJ didn't do too well on politics, actually.

-I'm happy with whatever you choose. Let's go CJ.

-OK, yeah.

He's going to go for CJ.

OK, so Oliver from the Quiztians on Politics against CJ.

The legend of the Eggheads

in his own...in his own head.

To ensure there is no conferring, please go to our Question Room.

Oliver versus CJ on Politics.

And your choice, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first please.

Oliver, here is your first question, good luck.

Which of these countries is a permanent member of the

United Nations Security Council?

I would definitely say it's not Peru or Saudi Arabia.

So I'm going to go with China.

China is correct.

CJ, the period between late 1978 and early 1979

when trade unions rebelled against James Callaghan's strict public

sector pay rise policies is commonly known as the Winter of what?

It's the Winter of Discontent.

Quoted from what?

Some guy Bill, I think.

Discontent is right. Back to you, Oliver.

Who became the first female prime minister of Canada in 1993?

I'm not sure about this one.

I've definitely heard of Julia Gillard.

So I think I'm going to go with that.

Let's go Julia Gillard.

Yes, you have heard of her

because she's a more recent leader from a different country.

From, I believe, Australia.

Kim Campbell is the answer.

So one each. CJ could take the lead if he gets this right.

In which year did the Minister of Agriculture, John Gummer,

encourage his daughter to eat a beef burger in front of the

press in an attempt to reassure the public that British beef was safe?

Oh, my. When was it?

It can't be '98 because he was Conservative

and Labour was in by then.

I'm just trying to think if he was under Major or Thatcher.

I actually thought it was about '92

so I'm actually stuck between the two.

1990.

Is right. 1990.

Eggheads two, Challengers one.

Oliver, you need this one now.

Robert C Byrd, who died in 2010,

served as a US Senator for how many years?

I know he served for a very long time. I'm going to go...

..at the high-end of that. I'm going to go 51 or 71.

Going to the Senate.

He'd have to have been very young to have done 71 years.

Let's go with 51.

Well done. 51 is the right answer.

OK, CJ, this for the round.

The Eaton affair, spelled E-A-T-O-N, led to the effective

dissolution of which American president's Cabinet in 1831?

Um...

Unfortunately, I don't know...

I've only got the vaguest recollection of the name.

I'm just going to have to do this on the dates.

It's too late for Adams.

Could be either Pierce or Jackson on the dates cos

they both could have either started early or started a little later.

Now, Andrew Jackson.

Jackson was a war hero so I will guess at Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce is the wrong answer.

It's Andrew Jackson.

We go to Sudden Death, Oliver.

It gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives.

What does the letter R

stand for in the abbreviation of the government department HMRC?

Revenue.

Revenue is right cos it's Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Well done. CJ.

The MP John Whittingdale, born in 1959,

is a member of which political party?

I haven't heard of him so there is no point thinking about it.

I'll just get it. Conservatives.

John Whittingdale is a Conservative.

You're... I was going to say right but that's...stretching it.

OK, Oliver. Sorry about that.

Sudden Death, we're still on. Keep at it.

Which American politician who died in 2009 was

known in his latter years as the Lion of the Senate?

It's one of the Kennedys and I can never remember...

Is it Robert Kennedy?

No, he was assassinated in the '60s.

It's Ted Kennedy.

Oh!

OK, CJ, this for the round.

The think tank co-founded by Dr Madsen Pirrie in the 1970s

which promotes libertarianism and free market policies

is named after which Scottish economist?

I know the name of a Scottish economist.

And I'm fairly sure it's a think tank.

So I'll have to go for Adam Smith.

Adam Smith is the right answer.

You've taken the round, CJ. Well done.

Sorry, Oliver, but you played really well there. My goodness.

I'm sorry that Kennedy just escaped you at the end.

It happens all the time. Under pressure.

You were beaten by our Egghead. You won't be in the final.

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

It's quite a game, this. The Quiztians have lost a brain now.

The Eggheads have lost a brain already.

And we play on with the subject of Sport.

-Pete.

-I think that's Pete.

-That's your round.

Out of the means that we're left, I think I'm the...

-You're the one.

-..best choice.

What does the spreadsheet say?

Judith, wasn't it?

-Judith did surprisingly well, actually.

-Really?

Yeah, people often target her for Sport.

-Barry?

-Yeah?

-Yeah, OK. We'll take Barry on.

-Oh.

-OK.

Look at that, Judith, you see?

Your reputation on Sport is starting to just get a bit of traction.

So, Peter from the Quiztians versus Barry from the Eggheads on Sport.

Please go to the Question Room.

On Sport, Peter, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, Jeremy.

Here we go with your first question.

Which of these footballers has scored the most goals for England?

OK.

It's not Gary Lineker.

I believe that Wayne Rooney recently passed Bobby Charlton's

goal-scoring record for England with a penalty.

So I will go for Wayne Rooney.

And you are right. Wayne Rooney it is.

Barry, which tennis player did Steffi Graf marry in 2001?

She married Andre Agassi.

She did indeed. Agassi it was.

Andre Agassi it was.

Peter, the Rugby Union international Courtney Lawes usually

plays in which position?

Courtney Lawes, a very tall man. Big, strong man.

So he doesn't play on the front row. He's not a prop, not a hooker.

He's a lock.

Lock is right. Confident.

OK, Barry.

Which was the first American city to host a summer Olympic Games?

1904. St Louis.

Well done. St Louis it is.

Wow, you are cracking on here, you two.

Question three.

Peter, which country topped the final medal table

at the World Athletics Championships for the first time in 2015?

Ooh.

I didn't follow this as closely as I usually do or now wish I had.

I've got a niggling feeling...

Obviously, Kenya and Ethiopia

will always do well in the long-distance events.

Jamaica will do well at the sprints. I've...

I think I'm going to go with my instinct

which is Kenya.

Kenya is right.

THEY LAUGH

You made mincemeat out of those three questions. OK.

Barry, to stay in.

In 2015, which England batsman became only the seventh man

in the history of international cricket to be given out

for obstructing the field?

Oh, dear. I really should know this.

Cos cricket is a sport that I thoroughly enjoy.

And I cannot, for the life of me, remember who this was.

I'm afraid I'm just going to guess. I'll go for Ben Stokes.

Ben Stokes is right.

HE LAUGHS

-I'm sorry about that...

-Was that really a guess?

LAUGHTER

OK, we're going to Sudden Death again.

Here is your question, Peter.

The Toronto Raptors are a team in which sport?

My instinct tells me it's basketball.

Can't think of any reason not to go with that.

So I'll go for basketball.

Yes, the only Canadian team in the NBA. It's basketball.

Well done. Sudden Death. Barry, your question.

Which former rugby league international was

a controversial inclusion in England's

final 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup?

Oh, goodness.

Here's something else that I watched and I saw the controversy.

And again, the name escapes me.

Can I come up with anything?

No, I'm not going to come up with something.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass on this one.

Do you know the answer, Peter?

-Sam Burgess?

-Yeah.

-Oh!

-What a blow.

-Of course it is.

So, Barry, you're knocked out.

Peter, well done. You're playing well, your team.

This makes it all the more exciting for us.

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

Challengers in the lead now.

The Quiztians have lost one brain, the Eggheads have lost two.

And the next subject is Film & TV.

So who would like this?

-That's going to be me. Yeah.

-OK, Siobhan. Against which Egghead?

Depends if we want to play aggressive.

We could go for Kevin, couldn't we?

THEY LAUGH

If we... We could. We've got some into the final already.

-We could maybe go for the jugular here.

-And attack.

It's up to you. It's your choice.

-It's up to you.

-Right. OK.

-Your decision.

Do you know what, I am going to go with Kevin.

-Have fun with it.

-Yeah.

Oh, right. He loves to get into that question booth.

Siobhan, the skipper of the Quiztians, versus Kevin,

known as the Grandmaster, from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring... I know how much you like that.

Please take your positions.

Good luck, Siobhan. Up against Kevin.

-Yeah.

-Film & TV, Siobhan. Do you want to go first or second?

First, please.

Good luck.

Which of these TV detective shows is primarily set in Scotland?

I don't think it's Lewis

because I think that's based kind of down in Cambridge area.

Taggart and Bergerac, I...

haven't really seen much of, but...

I'm going to go with Bergerac cos that sounds a bit Scottish.

OK, your team were jolted by that. Team?

-I think it's Taggart.

-It's definitely Taggart.

It's Taggart.

SCOTTISH ACCENT: Cos that's a Scottish sounding word.

Terrible accent by me.

Taggart it was.

Kevin, your question.

Marlon Brando won his first Oscar for his performance

in the 1954 film On The WHAT?

THEY LAUGH

That's conjuring up all kinds of pictures there.

Marlon Brando is Blakey. I can see... Yeah.

Anyway, it's On The Waterfront.

Yeah, On The Waterfront it is.

Question setters having fun today.

OK, Siobhan, your second question.

Who plays the roles of both Ronnie and Reggie Kray

in the 2015 film Legend?

Legend. I think Tom Hardy had a film out recently with that title.

And I remember seeing the film poster with, like, two Tom Hardys.

So I'll go Tom Hardy.

Yeah, you're quite right. Tom Hardy it is. Good.

Back to you, Kevin.

The singer Ella Henderson found fame on which TV show?

Needless to say, I don't watch any of them. So...

I'll start ruling out.

My instinct is telling me it's not Britain's Got Talent.

But it could be.

I don't think she's an X Factor winner.

But then sometimes those who placed but didn't actually win it

have gone on to bigger fame.

I'm going to say The Voice.

-It's X Factor.

-It is? OK.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Yes!

So you're equal after two questions.

-The Taggart one was a shame there.

-If only I'd thought about it...

-You could've been on the verge of knocking him out now.

-Yeah.

Who plays the title role in the 2015 TV series Dr Foster in which a small

town GP begins to suspect that her husband has been having an affair?

Oh, great(!)

I've never seen Dr Foster.

I couldn't reduce it down.

So I'll just have to take a shot in the dark

and go with maybe Suranne Jones.

BARRY LAUGHS Nicely done.

-EVERYONE LAUGHS

-Ah!

Suranne Jones is right. She was great as well.

OK, well, this has been backwards and forwards, this one.

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

Which of these recent films took over 1 billion

at the worldwide box office?

I don't think...

I'm assuming Alice In Wonderland refers to the Tim Burton version.

I don't think it's that.

For that amount,

and the fact that it's spawned or is spawning sequels...

I think I would have to go for Maleficent.

-Oh, dear.

-Eggheads?

It's Alice In Wonderland.

Alice In Wonderland is the answer.

-Kevin, sorry.

-Alice In Wonderland?

Yeah. So you've done it.

That was a gamble and it's paid off. You've knocked him out.

How about that, Siobhan? The Force is with you.

-The Force is with me.

-I'll have to come to your church.

THEY LAUGH

Yeah, OK.

So, listen, well done. You're in the final.

And if you come back to us, both of you, we will play that final round.

So this is what we've been playing towards.

It is time for the final round. What a great contest so far.

Amazing. As always, this is going to be General Knowledge.

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

allowed to take part in this round.

So, Oliver from the Quiztians, but also Barry, Chris

and Kevin from the Eggheads, please leave the studio.

How often does it end like this?

Siobhan, Peter, Nathan and Andrew, well done so far.

You're playing to just clinch it and win the Quiztians £2,000.

CJ and Judith, oh, my goodness.

You're playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

And to dig this lot out of the hole they've created.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

-You are allowed to confer.

-OK.

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

defeat these two?

They are very good brains over there.

Would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first, please.

OK, Nathan and team, here is your question.

What is the national flower of Wales?

-OK, that's daffodil.

-It's definitely daffodil.

-Daffodil.

OK, we're going with daffodil.

Daffodil is the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, CJ, Judith.

Which of these mythological creatures was a sea monster?

That's Kraken.

Kraken is the right answer.

Sounds like a breakfast cereal.

Your question.

Who was emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989?

I have no idea on this one.

What would your hunch be?

-Akihito.

-You think Akihito?

-Yeah.

-Is that was you were going to say?

-No.

I would've thought Hirohito.

-My gut says Hirohito.

-OK.

-Why are you saying that?

-I don't know. Just familiar.

-It sounds...

Why are you thinking Akihito?

Cos I think, again, he was one of the emperors.

-If you feel reasonably confident...

-Yeah.

-Shall we go with you on that?

-Cos I don't.

-He's definitely a Japanese emperor?

-I'm pretty sure.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-OK.

-We'll go with...

-Akihito.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah. Go for it, yeah.

OK, we're not too sure but we think it could be Akihito.

OK.

It's wrong.

-It's Hirohito.

-Oh!

-That's all right.

OK, Eggs.

Your chance to take the lead.

A sheet of A4 paper is 297mm long and how many millimetres wide?

It's 210.

CJ says it's 210.

-What's your answer?

-210.

210 is the right answer.

So you've taken the lead.

That means you must get this one right, team,

after your sterling performance.

Here is your question.

Make Me, released in September 2015,

is the 20th entry in a series of novels by which author?

Any thoughts?

-Make Me.

-Make Me.

It doesn't sound like Andy McNab. I mean, he's sort of...

-Is he war?

-War-based, yeah.

Lee Child has written a lot of novels.

-Maybe up to 20.

-I haven't even heard of him.

I'd put it between Lee Child and Conn Iggulden.

I hadn't heard of Conn Iggulden.

-I hadn't either.

-No.

Which sort of makes me think that might well be the answer.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Lee Child. What sort of, do you know what sort of...?

Crime, I think.

-Crime. Make Me.

-That could be a crime, potentially.

That could be crime.

Make me make a crime. I don't know.

He might not exclusively be a crime writer.

Should we just go with the end one then?

-This hasn't gone well for us, has it?

-Maybe Conn Iggulden.

That...

I... Yeah. I...

Make Me, yeah, it's logical. It doesn't sound like a criminal title.

OK.

-OK.

-That would be my thinking.

-Yeah.

OK, we're going to guess completely.

And we think it could be Conn Iggulden.

OK, you missed out Andy McNab but that was a good policy.

He does more kind of inside the SAS stuff.

The answer is Lee Child. THEY GROAN

I'm sorry, guys.

Having played so well.

There is no way back in the final round.

And we say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

On the size of a page of A4. There we are.

-That's how you did it.

-But such a good team.

-What a performance.

-Great team!

-Bad luck.

You two have never been beaten when you've been together.

We've only been together once.

You make quite an operation, the two of you.

Brilliant. But bad luck. Commiserations, Quiztians.

-Ah, we did it for fun.

-There was a surge so powerful going on there.

I think we peaked too early.

Well, the spreadsheet was very...

Whatever was on that spreadsheet, it's very, very good.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

But they struggled today. You really made them work for it.

So, well done. It does mean that you won't be going home with the £2,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Slightly bedraggled outfit this afternoon.

But there we are. You're on track. You won.

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

have the brains to finally turn it around and beat them.

£3,000 will be on the table. Till then, goodbye.