Episode 42 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.

Here they are, the Eggheads.

-Are you ready for this one?

-Yes, definitely.

-Oh, yes!

-OK!

Taking on our awesome quiz champions today are...

Now, this team all met

when working in baggage handling for a major airline,

and they're based at Heathrow Airport.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Andy and I'm a baggage handler.

Hi, I'm Glen and I am also a baggage handler.

Hi, I'm Shell and I am a ramp agent.

Hi, I'm Eddy and I am a training coordinator.

Hi, I'm Robert and I'm a retired baggage handler.

-So, Andy, team, welcome.

-Hi, Jeremy.

-REST:

-Hi.

First time we've had someone described as a ramp agent.

-Which is two words, isn't it? Just to be clear.

-Yes, it is two words.

Because we've got some rampage-nts over here, in other ways.

-But you all work for the same airline at Heathrow? ALL:

-Yeah.

-And you're getting the bags on and off the planes?

-We do, yeah.

-Brilliant. And is that tough?

-It can be hard.

-It can be very challenging, yes.

-Do you quiz together?

-That's the key question.

-A couple of us do. Myself and Robert.

-And occasionally Glen.

-Yeah.

-But not as a rule, no.

-But we all love quizzing.

-You love quizzing?

-Individually, yeah.

-You throw questions backwards and forwards?

-Oh, yeah, we do.

And now you're meeting these great people here.

Yeah, that's it. The elite now.

All right, let's see if...

We'll look for some bag analogies here.

Can you remove their bags from them without them noticing?

-Good luck, team.

-Thank you.

-Great to see you.

You know that every day there's £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs.

And if you fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money

rolls over to the next show.

So, Good To Load, the Eggheads have won the last four games.

They are just getting a little bit of swagger back.

£5,000 is on the table, therefore,

which says you can't beat them today.

-Would you like to try?

-Certainly.

-OK.

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

Who would like this?

-OK, Film & TV.

-Eddy?

-I think that's you, Eddy.

-Yep.

-Eddy?

-That would be me.

OK. Did you manage to watch a bit while you're on shift?

No, I'm too busy.

That's the right answer.

Eddy, who would you like to pick?

-Um... Dunno.

-Who do you think, Andy?

I think, well, you know, they're all good, so...

-You choose.

-Choose.

-Uh, Pat.

All right, that was a bit of a desperate, "Oh, anyone."

Yeah, straight down the middle.

OK, Eddy from Good To Load versus Pat from the Eggheads.

Please go to our famous Question Room now.

OK, Eddy, Film & TV against Pat.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go with your first question.

The title characters in the TV drama series

Scott & Bailey have which jobs?

Scott & Bailey...

I'm going to guess detectives.

Yeah, because most people on TV are detectives.

It's just a fact of life.

And you're right. Well done.

Well done, Ed.

They say if a Martian landed and just watched American TV,

they would assume 60% of the world was in law enforcement.

And suspended as well.

Yeah, yeah. Exactly. THEY LAUGH

Pat, your question. What term

did Gerry Anderson use in the 1960s for the puppetry technique

she developed for television series such as Thunderbirds?

I used to watch Thunderbirds when I was a little boy. Very exciting.

I think it's based on the idea of a marionette.

So the term he came up with was Supermarionation.

Supermarionation is quite right.

OK, back to you.

Eddy, your question.

Which star of the television series Madmen won their first Emmy

in 2015 after eight previous nominations?

I didn't watch the programme.

I caught a couple of episodes, but I didn't watch it religiously.

Um...

Again, complete guess, I'm going to go down the middle -

-Jon Hamm.

-EGGHEADS LAUGH

-He's good!

-Is he right, Eggheads? EGGHEADS:

-Yeah.

-Yeah. And is he...

is he sort of the cool, chiselled one?

He's Don Draper, the lead guy, yeah.

Don Draper, OK, Jon Hamm. Yes, you're right, Eddy, well done.

Well done. He guessed the right bag.

THEY LAUGH OK, Pat.

In which year did Sunday Night At The London Palladium

first appear on British television?

Sunday Night At The London Palladium,

it's quite a venerable programme.

I think it's older than 1995, so I'll dismiss that.

It's sort of a classic format,

so I think it's conceivable they would roll it out in '55.

No, I'm a bit flummoxed here.

It's possible it's all the way back to '55.

They were broadcasting in '55, no question about that.

I think it is quite venerable.

I think I'll have to go for '55, but I could easily be wrong.

Yeah, I have a memory. I interviewed Bruce Forsyth once, and he...

I think that was his show, and that was the start of his career.

So you are back in the '50s with that. 1955 is right, Pat.

Well done.

So, two each. Eddy, get this right, put Pat

under some pressure.

Which of these films features the song Sister Suffragette?

OK, I don't remember ever seeing My Fair Lady.

Oliver!,

I can't remember it being in that.

But I know there's a scene towards the end of Mary Poppins

when the mother of the children was doing a suffragette march.

So I'll go for Mary Poppins.

-Mary Poppins is the right answer, Eddy. Well played!

-Well done.

Three out of three. Deadpan delivery.

-Yeah.

-Very good.

-Deadpan!

-OK, Pat.

Which of these film stars was born in Puerto Rico?

My first thoughts are that Andy Garcia was born in Cuba.

Gael Garcia Bernal, I think, is Mexican.

I think I'm going to have to go for Benicio del Toro.

Benicio del Toro is the right answer.

-Oh, well done.

-Good man.

So, three each. We go to Sudden Death, Eddy.

-It gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives. You ready?

-Yep.

Which James Bond film was the first directed by Sam Mendes?

I really don't have a clue, so...

Um...

You Only Live Twice.

As a guess.

-Skyfall.

-Oh.

-Much more up-to-date, Eddy. Pat,

your question, for the round.

In which film does Russell Crowe say the line,

"At my signal, unleash hell"?

And he borrowed it from me.

I think this is...

a huge set piece opening.

He's a general for Marcus Aurelius,

and they're about to give the Celts a duffing.

So I think the film is Gladiator.

Gladiator is the right answer, you've taken the round,

Pat, on Sudden Death.

Sorry, Eddy. Well played, though.

First round. Good To Load were good there, but not quite good enough.

So Eddy won't be in the final.

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

Oh, a couple of matters of fact, Eggheads.

The Celts you referred to at the start of Gladiator...

-Germans, perhaps?

-Germanic tribes, very good.

And then just on the Sam Mendes, he was born in 1965,

You Only Live Twice was 1967.

-Very talented director, but at the age of two...

-Not that good.

I'm not sure.

In nappies, directing in nappies.

So Good To Load have lost a brain - lost a suitcase, really -

for the final round, which I know will trouble you.

The Eggheads have not lost any. But we're early days.

And the next subject for you is Politics.

Who would like this?

Politics. I think you said Glen. Anybody else want to take it?

-Glen said...

-Politics is not my forte.

-I don't mind trying it.

-Rob, you feel confident?

-Yeah.

-OK, Rob, Robert.

-OK, Rob.

-Against which Egghead, Rob? Obviously, can't be Pat.

-Um...

-Probably Lisa.

-All right, so Robert from Good To Load against Lisa.

-Have we done Politics recently, Lisa?

-Not recently.

I'm just thinking you haven't been chosen for that.

No, and that's really the way I would prefer it.

Well, let's see what happens. Please go to our Question Room.

On Politics, Robert, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Good luck, Robert.

What colour is the leather upholstery of the speaker's chair

in the House of Commons?

I don't think it is black or brown.

I don't really know, but I'll go for green.

Yep, it's like the benches, it's green.

-Well done.

-Well done, Rob.

OK, Lisa. How many Liberal Democrats

MPs were returned to Parliament of the 2015 General Election?

Not a whole big old load. I think it is eight.

Yep, famously two cabs.

In fact, one big cab. LISA LAUGHS

-One of those minivans.

-Get them all in a big suitcase, do you reckon?

Save money?

I tell you, I think that would be tight,

but, yeah, eight is the answer.

OK, back to you, Robert.

Who was the only prime minister of the UK to have four

separate terms in office?

I don't think it was Churchill.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Baldwin,

so I'll go for Gladstone.

Gladstone is quite right.

-Nicely done.

-All right, Robert.

OK, Lisa, who is the most recent

UK prime minister not to have gone to university?

Not to have gone to university?

Right, well, Thatcher went to my university and got two degrees

cos, you know, she was that sort of lady.

Um... Major, I think famously, hasn't got any A-levels.

I sort of want to say Major, but then I've got this connection

with him and LSE in my head.

-BARRY LAUGHS

-Go for it!

I don't know why it's there.

Oh, the run I'm having on 50-50s at the moment,

it probably doesn't matter which ever way I jump.

I'll just say John Major.

-You've done it, well done.

-Oh!

Well done. Yeah, not a university person.

There was a famous thing where he said,

during his crisis over Europe, "When your back's against the wall,

"it's time to turn around and start fighting."

THEY LAUGH

OK, so, Robert,

I'm afraid she got it right.

So your third question becomes quite important.

Which MP became Father of the House following the 2015 general election?

This one has really got me stumped.

I'd like to say it was Dennis Skinner,

but probably can't imagine that he'd be granted that honour.

Kenneth Clarke, possibility.

But I'll go for Gerald Kaufman.

Yeah, bang on, well done.

Gerald Kaufman it is.

Not an easy question.

Back to you, Lisa. Which Independent

senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist

entered the race to become US president in 2016?

Uh...

You sit there and you read the debate between Hillary Clinton

and the senator from Vermont,

and do you bother remembering his name? No, you do not.

I think it's Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders is correct, well done.

We go to Sudden Death now, Robert. Gets a bit harder -

I don't give you alternatives.

In September 2015, the Labour Party held their annual conference

in which seaside resort?

Lots of seaside resorts to choose from.

I'll go for one my favourites. I'll go for Llandudno.

Oh, really? OK. HE LAUGHS

That's...that's an interesting choice.

-It was Brighton.

-Oh, that's right.

But I like that we got a Llandudno reference into the programme,

that's good. THEY LAUGH

Are you on a bet or something?

-Not saying.

-To mention the town?

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

The 1986 political scandal

known as the Westland affair concerned a company of that name

that was primarily concerned with the manufacture of what?

This had a lot to do with Heseltine, as I recall.

I think it's helicopters.

Helicopters is the right answer.

Well done, Lisa, you've booked your place in the final.

Sorry, Robert, you were beaten by our Egghead

and won't be in the final round.

Both of you, please, return, rejoin your teams.

So Good To Load have lost two suitcases - I'm sorry, brains -

from the final round.

They have not yet deployed their ramp agent, though.

We're looking forward to that moment.

The Eggheads are still just sitting there,

with their smiles a little bit too wide for our liking.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Who would like this?

-Well it's between me and you.

-Yeah.

-What do you think?

-I think I'll have to take that one.

-All right, you go then.

-Yeah, you do that.

-You do that.

-Glen against whom?

-I think I know what's coming.

-Yeah.

Well, my kids love him. CJ.

THEY LAUGH

-Do they?

-They do.

-All right, they want to see you knock him out?

Hopefully.

Yeah. Glen from Good To Load versus the legendary CJ

from the Eggheads.

That will put him in a good mood all day.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

-So, Glen, you're a baggage handler as well?

-I am, yes.

-I've been there for 30 years now.

-Really?

-Yeah.

What's the craziest thing you've ever found in a suitcase?

Um, nothing too irregular,

but a friend of ours has found an armadillo.

Really? What, just skulking?

Yeah, just sitting in the corner quietly, until his tail was pulled.

And it had been on a plane or it was going on one?

No, it was coming in from...

I think it was coming in from the West Indies.

Right. And did you get your armadillo back, CJ?

No, I'm still waiting for it, actually.

THEY LAUGH I told you not to do that.

So, Art & Books, Glen, would you like to go first or second?

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

-Great, and your kids will be watching this, will they?

-Oh, yes.

-Well, shout out to them, who are they?

-Josephine and Luke.

All right, and they want you to win this round, so good luck.

Leonardo's mural The Last Supper is located in which

type of building in Milan?

HE SIGHS

The Last Supper...

I would say...

probably the most obvious one -

a convent.

Convent is correct.

-Well done, Glen.

-Well done.

Now, I'm suffering brain fade - I thought this was on a canvas.

Is it not? It's a mural, is it?

No, it's a mural on the wall.

Unfortunately, it's fading because Leonardo used some

-experimental techniques which haven't stood the test of time.

-Oh.

Convent is right. Well done, Glen, good start.

The kids are cheering. CJ,

the title of Ray Bradbury's novel Something Wicked This Way Comes

is a quote from which author's work?

I am fairly sure it is Shakespeare,

just trying to think which one, which play it's from.

Generally, with quotations or new words,

it's generally Shakespeare, really, cos he invented so many of them.

Um... I can't actually remember which play it's from,

but I think it's William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare. Which play is it, Lisa?

Macbeth, Jeremy.

Are you sure it's that and not Hamlet?

There are no witches in Hamlet.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

-Now leave me alone.

-THEY LAUGH

We had some confusion the other day.

And actually, "by the pricking of my thumbs,"

which is the first half of it,

it became the title of a book by somebody else.

-Agatha Christie.

-Agatha Christie, yeah.

So both halves have been used. Shakespeare is right, CJ, well done.

Back to you, Glen. In the 1964

children's book Harriet The Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh,

the title character lives in which city?

I've never heard of this book.

I would tend not to go with Amsterdam.

I'm going to go down the middle with Edinburgh.

See if your team-mates know, is he right?

I don't think I would've said Amsterdam.

I would've said New York myself.

Yeah, New York it is, Glen. Sorry.

So, CJ, your chance to take the lead.

Including Svetlana Alexievich

in 2015, how many women have won the Nobel Prize in literature?

How many women?

35 does seem like a lot.

It seems to me, even 14 seems like too many.

Doris Lessing won it.

I remember there being a bit

of a fuss about there not being very many female winners.

Ooh...

Not sure, but I'm going to go for the lowest.

-I'm going to go for seven.

-OK...

Anyone on this side know, is he right?

I'd have gone for seven, yeah.

Yeah? They all think seven, but it is 14.

-Right.

-Oh!

So that's a let-off, Glen.

Turn it around now.

Which of these best-selling novels was originally written in

Norwegian and gives an explanation of the history of philosophy?

I don't...

I don't know this.

Something is telling me Sultana's Dream.

So that's what I'm going to go for, Sultana's Dream.

But I don't know.

Sultana's Dream. Robert, you're shaking your head.

-You don't think so?

-I don't think so, no.

But I don't know which of the other two it would be.

I heard an answer on this side.

-Sophie's World.

-Sophie's World is the answer.

OK, CJ, this for the round.

In Pierre-Auguste Renoir's painting entitled The Umbrellas,

what is the main female figure in the foreground carrying on her arm?

I don't think it's a shawl.

Hm. I really don't know this.

Maybe I'm getting confused, but as soon as you said the question,

I thought she was carrying a basket.

So that's the one I'll have to go for.

You can visualise it, can you? The basket?

Unless I'm visualising the wrong thing, which is

a distinct possibility.

-What's in the basket, do you know?

-No idea.

You are right, it is basket. I'm just teasing you.

That was actually well done

cos it's quite hard to pick out that detail.

So, CJ, well done, you've taken the round. Sorry, Glen.

-Ah, Glen!

-At this point, about a minute earlier,

when this show's aired,

say to your kids, "Oh, hang on, something's gone wrong with the TV."

THEY LAUGH Come back and join your teams.

So, Andy, any change of tactic now?

-Yeah, we're going to try to win one.

-THEY LAUGH

So Good To Load have lost three brains from the final round,

the Eggheads are sitting pretty.

Although, just a few games ago, you had a bad patch.

So you never know, honestly.

And in fact, one of the last ones they lost was up against one

Challenger in the final.

So the next subject is Sport.

Who would like this?

Well, I think Michelle, you did say you'd do Sport, didn't you?

-I'll do Sport.

-Yeah?

-Shell? All right.

-Brilliant, Shell.

Our ramp agent from Good To Load. Which Egghead would you like, Shell?

It either... Well, it's one of the two at the end,

-the bookends, Barry or Dave?

-We're going Barry.

-We're going Barry, are we?

-You can go for Dave if you want.

-THEY LAUGH

-He needs the exercise.

Shell from Good To Load versus Barry from Eggheads.

To make sure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Shell, I know we made a lot of comments about ramp agent,

you better say what ramp agent is.

A ramp agent is the actual guys and girls that work airside

by the planes.

We load all the cargo and bags

and whatever is travelling on the airplane.

-Good stuff. Do you enjoy your job?

-I love my job.

I can see the vibe is good on your team here. Nice people to work with.

-And you've been chosen for Sport or it's your thing?

-I don't...

I quite enjoy sport, but I think it's a tactical play as well.

Yeah, understood. So, Shell, would you like to go first or second?

I'm going to go first, please.

All the best, Shell. Good luck. Sport against Barry.

Which British athlete set a new world record

for the decathlon on four occasions during his career?

Ooh...

There's only one person that stands out here for me.

I've not heard of Dean Macey or Ashton Eaton.

But I remember as a young girl always watching Daley Thompson.

So just for that reason alone, I'm going to go Daley Thompson.

And it's right, Shell, well done.

-Daley Thompson.

-Well done, Shell.

-Good stuff.

Barry, your question.

Which of these England cricketers became famous for being

an all-rounder?

-HE LAUGHS

-I think we could discount

that well-known Yorkshireman Geoffrey Boycott.

I have seen him bowl, but he is not an all-rounder.

You've got to go for Ian Botham, haven't you? Really?

Ian Botham is right.

Shell, what is the traditional colour

of the shirts worn by the Portuguese football club Benfica?

Oooh...

Football is not really my thing, I'm more of a rugby girl.

Portugal...

I really don't know. And this is...

purely, purely on a hunch.

I'm going to go green.

-It's red.

-Oh.

-Yeah, it's red.

Sorry, Shell. So Barry has a chance to take the lead.

Which rugby league club, Barry, won The Treble, Challenge Cup,

League Leaders Shield and Grand Final in 2015?

If I get this question wrong, I don't think I can go home.

It was the fabulous, fantastic Leeds Rhinos.

THEY LAUGH Well, you wouldn't have even been

able to return to your seat cos Lisa is watching out.

Leeds is right.

OK, Shell, need to get this one right.

Prior to the 2015 competition,

in which year did Great Britain last reach the final of the Davis Cup?

Ooh... '58 and '68 were before I was born.

I don't think it was 1978.

Just as a pure guess, I suppose, I'm going to go 1958.

Let me ask CJ because he is a big tennis man.

No, it was in 1978 cos Lloyd and Mottram were playing,

and they just did not get on.

-Lloyd and Mottram in '78, Shell. Apparently.

-Oh.

-1978 is the answer.

Sorry about that.

So, no way back for you.

Barry is in the final round.

If you come back and rejoin your teams,

we'll take stock and then we will play the final.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It's time for the final round,

which as always, is General Knowledge.

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

are not allowed to take part in this round.

So, that's Glen, Shell, Eddy and Robert from Good To Load.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Well, Andy, I'm sorry it's ended up like this,

but of course, it has amended here and you could win.

And we saw this, literally, the other day.

-Absolutely.

-Where you were all taken down by a single player.

-So good luck.

-Thank you.

-You're playing to win Good To Load £5,000.

OK.

Dave, Lisa, Pat, CJ, Barry, you're playing for something

I don't think I can really put a price on,

which is your precious name.

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

This time, they're all general knowledge. You can confer.

Sorry that doesn't help you.

Andy, the question is, can you with your one brain beat these five?

-Good luck.

-I'll give it a go.

-Would you like to go first or second?

For a change, I think I'll go second.

OK, your question, Eggheads.

The River Tagus flows into which body of water?

-Atlantic?

-Atlantic?

-Atlantic? Are we all happy with the Atlantic?

-Right through Lisbon.

-Yep. The Atlantic, yep.

Jeremy, we're going for the Atlantic Ocean, please.

OK, where is the River Tagus?

-Portugal.

-Lisbon.

-Lisbon?

-Yep.

Atlantic Ocean is correct.

Your question, Andy.

"Lend a hand" was once the motto of which organisation?

Here's where I think I should've gone first.

Lend a hand.

It can't be the United Nations, surely.

The RAC?

You know what? I'm going to say The Brownies.

-I'm glad you did.

-Oh!

-It's right. Well done.

The Brownies.

Eggheads, the recording artist

Sananda Maitreya was formally known by which name?

It's Eddy Grant, isn't it?

Terence Trent D'Arby is a nickname, isn't it?

Is it Terence? Oh, right. Oh, sorry. Fair enough.

-Terence Trent D'Arby.

-Yeah, he's taken on...

-It's the one that's changed his name.

-Oh, right, fine.

I wouldn't have got this,

but the rest of the team informed me that it is Terence Trent D'Arby.

Yeah, are we sure about that, Eggs?

-Fairly sure, yeah.

-Who did you think it was, Dave?

I was thinking Eddy Grant, but, no, that sounds right.

Sananda Maitreya is Terrance Trent D'Arby, well done.

So back to you.

You're playing second, so you've got to catch up now.

In Imperial Russia,

which of these terms referred to a decree from the tsar?

A decree from a tsar.

That is pretty obscure.

I can't say I've heard of it. Obschina, kulak...

Kulak sounds like gulag.

I'm going to go... Obschina.

-Ukase is the right answer, Andy.

-OK.

So, Eggheads, if you get this right, the contest is over.

Which legendary US former basketball star co-penned a novel

entitled Mycroft Holmes, published in 2015?

-It's Kareem, isn't it?

-Kareem.

-It's Kareem, yeah.

He's definitely written Mycroft Holmes.

It's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jeremy, please.

You all sort of went for that. Usually means you're right,

but not always.

If you are right, the contest is over.

The author and basketball star is indeed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

-So it was ukase, ukase. It was that wretched word.

-Yeah.

It would have been a pure guess anyway.

I can't say I would've got it.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed coming on and playing.

-Oh, it's been fantastic. Yes, really brilliant.

-Very good to see.

Great team to see in action.

-And commiserations, we say, to Good To Load.

-Ah.

The Eggheads have done what comes increasingly naturally to them.

I am getting worried about this streak. I can't see it ending.

They still reign supreme over quiz land.

It does mean you're not going home with the £5,000.

We take the money, we roll it over to our next show.

So, congratulations, Eggheads. Who will beat you?

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

brains to defeat the Eggheads. We'll have £6,000 for them if they can.

Till then, cheerio.