Episode 48 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.

Ohh! Smiling broadly, CJ.

Looking forward to this. Looks like a good team.

OK. Well, that's high praise. They never normally say that, seriously.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today

are The Simms Roaders.

Now, this team of friends

all quiz together at the Simms Road pub in St Helens.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Ray and I'm a retired structural engineer.

Hello, I'm Tony and I'm a retired post office clerk.

Hi, I'm Keith, a retired local government officer.

Hi, I'm Gavin. I'm a property developer.

Hello, I'm Kevin and I'm a retired utility operative.

So, Ray and team, welcome.

-ALL:

-Hello. Thank you.

-Nice to be here.

Fantastic. And the Simms Road pub. Tell us about that, Ray.

Yeah. Well, it's a very nice pub just on the border

of St Helens and Wigan where we quiz together.

And it does have another claim to fame, Jeremy.

It used to be frequented by our friend Pat over there.

-Is that right?

-It is.

One of very few pubs in the country that I haven't been to.

And I think it must be one of the ones that he was banned from as well

-because he doesn't feature there any more.

-Is that right, Pat?

You used to go and have a drink there?

I used to...

For about a year, maybe a year and a half,

I played in a quiz team there about five years ago.

And then they found you out?

I don't know what happened, I can't remember.

-Didn't get invited back.

-I think he won all the money, Jeremy.

They're only here, these five, cos they've been banned

from every pub in the country. That's the reason.

-All right, but you like quizzing, guys?

-Oh, yes.

-OTHERS:

-Yes.

Good stuff. And are you looking forward to taking on these five?

-Absolutely.

-OTHERS:

-Yes.

-The fearsome five. Well, 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.

Now, Simms Roaders, the Eggheads are on a roll.

It's official. They've won the last ten in a row,

which these days is hard to do, actually.

You get some very good teams in here.

So it does mean £11,000 is up there for you to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-We'll have a go.

-OTHERS:

-Yes.

I thought you might.

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

Who wants Music?

-OK, so we've got....

-One of you two.

-..Tony or Gavin.

-You go.

-OK, it'll be me.

-OK.

-I think we'll take...

-Which Egghead?

-Who shall we play against?

-I think Chris?

-Chris?

-Yeah? Are we OK with that?

-Take on Chris?

Gavin from The Simms Roaders against Chris from the Eggheads.

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

in our legendary Question Room?

Music, Gavin. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Good luck to you.

The piccolo is a smaller version of which instrument?

OK. I'm fairly certain it's not the bassoon.

I think I will go for the flute.

Yes, indeed. Well done, Gavin. The flute.

OK, Chris.

Which former Radio 1 breakfast show host

began presenting a Radio 2 programme called Sounds Of The '80s in 2013?

It wouldn't be Noel Edmonds cos he's doing other things.

Sounds Of The '80s?

It's a bit late for Tony Blackburn, isn't it?

He was more of a sort of '60s person, so I'll say Sara Cox.

Sara Cox is right.

Gavin, Rachel Platten

had a UK number one single

with which song in September 2015?

Hm. That's not something I actually know the answer to,

so I'm going to have to have a bit of a guess.

I will have to try Black Magic.

Fight Song, Gavin.

# This is my fight song. #

-Didn't know that.

-Chris, your question to take the lead.

Stephanie Mangano

is a character in which stage musical?

Not Rock Of Ages.

Saturday Night Fever, that's...

No, that's Stayin' Alive, isn't it?

Yeah, she's got to be one of the motley crew in Rent.

Now, I'm not sure which part she plays,

-but she's actually in Saturday Night Fever.

-Oh!

All right. Gavin,

the rapper Macklemore is best known for collaborating

with which of these musicians?

Wonderful subject, rap.

Absolutely no idea, I'm afraid.

I will have to guess.

I will go for Ryan Adams.

-Yeah, he's, I guess, the best-known name there.

-Hm.

-It's not him, though. It's Ryan Lewis actually.

-Oh, dear.

So, Chris, you have a chance to take the round.

Here is your question.

In whose arms does the title character die

in the Verdi opera Aida?

Er...dah-dah-dah.

The only one I recognise there as a character of Aida is Radames.

-Barry, is he right?

-Yes, he is indeed.

-Are the others from Aida?

-Yes, yes.

Radames is the right answer, Chris.

You chose the name you recognised.

-Sorry that didn't work for you, Gavin.

-No.

You've been knocked out by big Chris Hughes,

who will be in the final round.

If you come back to us, we'll play on.

So as it stands, The Simms Roaders have lost a brain

from the final round.

Chris is in the final. Are we celebrating?

Well, a self-congratulatory pat on the back

for remembering Radames from Aida.

Yeah, sure you are. You got a nice opera question there.

And the next subject is Science.

So, Ray, who wants this?

-I think this is me.

-It is.

I think you're right.

I think this is me, Jeremy.

OK, Ray. Against which Egghead? You can choose anyone but Chris.

I think I'll choose my favourite Egghead - Judith.

-Oh, thank you. Flattery will get you everywhere.

-It will.

We'll see.

Ray from Simms Roaders versus the great Judith Keppel

from the Eggheads.

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

Ray, I thought you might have gone for Music

cos you're a qualified line dancer.

Well, line dance instructor, Jeremy.

So teaching line dancing?

Teaching line dancing. Yeah, that's right.

-I'll show you some steps afterwards if you like.

-I'd love to.

Judith, are you up for that?

Yes, I think we all ought to be lined up and given a lesson.

-Completely free of charge, Jeremy. No charge.

-All right, brilliant.

Well, Jeremy can dance, as we all know.

-Ahh!

-Well, that's disputed, that is disputed.

Well, if I'd have been teaching you, Jeremy, you may have won. Who knows?

Yeah, I can see...

There were attractions in being taught by Karen Clifton, I must say,

but you're right, Ray,

it would have been interesting to be taught by you.

So bizarrely, we now move to Science,

which is quite a long way from line dancing.

Would you like to go first or second, Ray?

I'll go first please, Jeremy.

You're going to go first. And here is your first question, Ray.

By what name is a female fox known?

Well, I think a doe is a female deer.

A mare is a female horse.

So the female fox is a vixen.

Vixen is quite right. What a great word that is as well.

Very useful word.

Judith, which planet in the solar system

is named after the Roman god of the sea?

I think that might be Neptune.

-With his trident.

-With his trident, exactly.

You're so right, Neptune it is.

Back to you, Ray.

Traditional cathode ray tube televisions

divide the signal into red, green and which other colour?

These are primary colours, aren't they? Cathode ray.

Well, it's not orange because that's a mixture of yellow and red.

Er, red, yellow...

I think it's blue, Jeremy.

It is blue, well done.

All right. Let's see if you can turn the heat on now.

Judith, the pangolin is a mammal also commonly known by what name?

Well, I think duck-billed platypus is sort of on its own

with one name, isn't it?

And it's definitely not a ring-tailed lemur.

I think it's a scaly anteater.

Scaly anteater is quite right.

So, Ray, at the moment, I'm afraid Judith

is playing a perfect round, but then so are you.

-That's fine. That's fine.

-So this is the moment to take her.

The Swedish-born scientist Tomas Lindahl

was a co-winner of which Nobel prize in 2015

with Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar?

Yeah, I'll have to just think about this one a little bit.

I think I've possibly read this.

I hope I'm not mistaken, I think it's chemistry, Jeremy.

Do you know what it was for?

Er, fiendish experiments possibly. I don't know.

Well, Barry's quietly applauding here. Chemistry's the right answer.

Right, Judith under pressure now.

What is the medical term for earwax?

Well, tinea pedis, I think that's athlete's foot, isn't it?

And myalgia is kind of aching in your bones or something.

I think it's cerumen.

It is cerumen. Well done.

So, three each.

We go to Sudden Death, Ray.

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

-Yeah.

PU is the symbol for which radioactive chemical element

of the actinide series on the periodic table?

Well, I hope I'm not making this too obvious, but PU,

I'm going for plutonium.

Plutonium is quite right, Well done.

Good round so far, not a hair out of place.

Sudden Death.

Judith, Mimus polyglottos is the scientific name

for the common or northern variety of which bird

that is well-known for its ability to mimic the calls

of dozens of other bird species?

Well, I absolutely know this and I simply can't think.

I mean, I want to say mynah bird,

but I don't think that's a northern hemisphere bird.

I think it's a tropical bird of some kind.

I'm going to have to say mynah bird, but I really think it's wrong.

How about this for a clue, Judith? And obviously you're wrong.

-To Kill A...

-Mockingbird.

-Sorry!

-You've been knocked out.

-Oh, how annoying.

Well done, Ray.

Ray is through to the final.

Maybe things are turning in the Challengers' way.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams, we'll play on.

As it stands, Simms Roaders have lost a brain,

but they've fought back and they've knocked out Judith.

I say that without pleasure. JUDITH CHUCKLES

And you fought well, but you are a goner.

The next...

The next object is Arts & Books.

So who would like Arts & Books? This should be yours, Ray...

-with your English A-level.

-Yeah, well...

-It's a sacrificial lamb.

Sacrificial lamb.

-Are you going for this, Kevin?

-I'll go for it, yeah.

We did have you down for this as a possibility.

And you never know, they might all be on books about horse racing.

-They could be, yeah.

-So, it's Kevin.

-OK.

Kevin against...? You can have Barry or CJ or Pat.

-What do you think?

-Well, I'll go for Pat The Eliminator Gibson.

-Oh, The Eliminator.

-That's our nickname for Pat.

The Eliminator because he weighs up the question so carefully,

and he eliminates the wrong answers,

and he nearly always finishes up with the correct answer.

He makes quizzing sexy.

Yes. Erm...yeah. I'll come back to you on that.

-Cos he teases the opponent and then he...

-He does. He's very good.

-We're talking about you, Pat.

-I'm not sure I recognise myself.

So it is Kevin from Simms Roaders versus Pat from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

So you were being showered with compliments there, Pat.

I shall attempt to live up to my Eliminator nickname.

So, yeah, you may have tempted fate there, Kevin.

-I think so, yes.

-But you do it in a dastardly manner, Pat.

You just think and think and think,

and then suddenly the answer comes out.

Dastardly is best, isn't it?

When you go silent for long periods,

-what are you normally thinking about?

-My childhood.

Happy places. Whatever!

Kevin, Arts & Books against the fearsome Pat.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go with the flow, I'll go first, please.

OK, so here is your question.

Who is the villain in the Brothers Grimm fairytale

Hansel and Gretel?

As I say, I'm not very well up on the books,

but if I was going for one...

..I'll go for the giant.

Let's have a think, Hansel and Gretel.

Suddenly I'm panicking trying to recall this one. What happens?

-Is there an apple in it?

-No, a gingerbread house.

-A gingerbread house...

-Oh, gingerbread house.

-..lived in by a witch.

-A witch.

It's a witch who lives in a gingerbread house.

Witch is the right answer. Let's go to Pat.

Which of these literary detectives was created by Ruth Rendell?

Ah, I think Jane Marple is from Agatha Christie.

Adam Dalgliesh is PD James.

And Reg, Reginald or Reg Wexford is by Ruth Rendell.

So Reginald Wexford.

Reginald Wexford is the right answer.

OK, back to you, Kevin.

Catriona is the sequel to which 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson novel?

Ah, dear. Well, I don't think it's Treasure Island.

Erm... Kidnapped, that's Scottish. Catriona.

I'll go for Prince Otto.

The answer here is Kidnapped.

Kidnapped.

So if Pat gets this one right, the round is over.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,

which sold for a world record 135 million in 2006,

is a painting by which artist?

It's very much in his distinctive style,

Vienna Secession, I think, and all that.

It's a work by Klimt.

Klimt is the right answer, Pat, well done.

Sorry, Kevin, you've been knocked out by our Egghead there.

-No problem.

-But you've had the full Pat experience, no doubt about that.

-Oh, yes!

-The silent destroyer.

So as a result you can't help your team in the final.

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

OK, we've had three rounds.

The Simms Roaders have lost two brains,

but the Eggheads have also lost a brain.

The next subject is Sport.

So, I was expecting you to go, "Yes!"

-It looks like it's me.

-Yeah.

-You look very reluctant there.

-It looks like it's me then.

-Another sacrificial thing here.

-Keith?

-Yes, it's me.

-OK. And which Egghead would you like Keith?

-Oh, either.

-I think CJ.

I think... Yeah, we'll go for CJ.

He's good on tennis and Formula One, but if they don't...

He's good on snooker as well.

So if they don't come up, we're in with a shout.

So we'll have a go with CJ, please.

Righty Ho. So Keith from Simms Roaders

versus CJ from the Eggheads.

Quite a lot at stake here cos you guys could level it up now

if you knock CJ out.

Please take your positions and we'll play the last round

before the final.

So, we're on Sport, Keith. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll stick with the rest and go first.

And here is your first question.

In 2010, it was announced that which country would host

football's 2016 European Championship?

I don't think it's Denmark and I'm also going to eliminate Russia,

and I will go with France.

Well done, France it is. Excellent.

CJ, here's your question.

How many runners usually compete in the final of the men's 100m

at the Olympic Games?

I think the track is divided into nine lanes,

but that's just if something goes wrong or if there's a tie,

but it's usually eight runners.

Eight is correct.

Keith, which of these tennis players is 6ft 6ins tall?

It's always difficult to judge height

unless you see them up against somebody else so...

I do know Djokovic is quite tall, so I'll go with Djokovic.

Do you know, CJ?

It's Del Potro. He won the US Open.

Del Potro is the right answer.

I'm afraid you're wrong.

CJ,

which golfer won his final major in 1986,

24 years after winning his first?

Well, I think Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in '86.

Gary Player's last major was in 1970 at The Open

and Arnold Palmer would have been much before that.

I think Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in '86

and that was his last one, so Jack Nicklaus.

Jack Nicklaus is right.

So CJ has two and you have one.

Keith, you need to get this one right to stay in.

And after this the final, so it's a big moment now.

In cricket, a yorker is a ball aimed at which part of a batsman's body?

They always seem to have to dig a yorker out of the pitch,

so I would say it's aimed at his toes.

Yes, it is his toes, well done.

CJ, for the round.

The Irish rugby union international Paul O'Connell

usually plays in which position?

It's a blind one-in-three guess, this.

I've never heard of him, I know nothing about rugby,

so this is just a blind one-in-three guess.

There's no point even asking you to repeat the question

cos I don't know him.

So I will try flanker.

Keith, what do you think?

I don't know him either, so again it would be a guess myself.

Challengers, let's just ask here.

-Number eight.

-You say number eight.

-Flanker, I'm saying. Flanker.

You say flanker? You're all wrong, every single person in the studio.

The answer is lock.

So it's equal after three questions.

That's rather handy, Keith.

Sudden Death now.

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

In snooker, Keith, which ball is worth seven points?

-That would be the black ball.

-The black is seven, well done.

CJ, the modern pentathlon consists of how many sports?

What does it include? There's running, shooting...

..horse riding, I think.

Because wasn't the pentathlon originally...

..all the skills that...

..a soldier or a dispatch rider would need in the First World War?

That's where it's taken from, I think.

So they may be all different skill sets.

I don't think there's any point in trying to overthink this,

so I'll just try five.

-As in pentagon five and pent is...

-Well, assuming it means...

Whether it means different events or different areas.

-I think they're all different anyway.

-Yeah, it's five.

Fencing, swimming, show-jumping, shooting, cross-country run.

Am I right about the dispatch rider from the war thing?

Chris, is he right about the dispatch rider?

Yes, it was originally based on that,

an idea of what a dispatch rider would have to do

to deliver a message.

All right, we got to the bottom of that.

Keith, Sudden Death, your question.

Which sport do the Philadelphia Phillies play?

American sport is not my forte, I must admit. Erm...

I'll try baseball.

-Baseball's correct.

-Well done!

Well done. So CJ on the edge now.

The footballer Francesco Totti began his 24th season

at which Italian club in 2015?

Absolutely no idea.

Here we go down to blind guess time again.

Juventus.

-Juventus is the wrong answer.

-Lazio.

-You've been knocked out, CJ.

-What's that, Judith?

-Lazio.

-Lazio? No.

-It's AS Roma.

Roma, says Pat. There we are, Keith.

You're through to the final round.

On a question about Italian football, CJ.

That's how kingdoms fall.

Please come back to us, we'll play the final.

Well, how about that? So, you guys just pulled back there.

-Just one.

-Nicely done.

This is what we have been playing towards.

It's really set for our final round.

As always, it 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, two from each side - Gavin and Kevin from The Simms Roaders,

also CJ and Judith from the Eggheads.

Please leave the studio.

Ray, Tony and Keith, you are playing to win The Simms Roaders £11,000.

Great jackpot today.

Pat, Barry and Chris, you're playing to keep that jackpot rising

and to protect the Eggheads' reputation.

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, Simms Roaders, the question is,

can your three brains take down these three Eggheads over here?

-Do you want to go first or second?

-What do you want to do?

-First?

-Yeah, we could go first.

-Yeah, we'll say first.

-Go first.

All right, General Knowledge.

Good look, guys, here we go, first question.

Shanghai is located in which part of China?

Isn't it on the east coast?

-It's on the coast.

-It's not north.

They don't have a west coast. It's got to be the east.

-OK.

-It's coastal.

-Well, if you're happy with that.

-It's a port, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It is indeed, yeah.

THEY CONFER

-No, I knew it wasn't north.

-It could be east.

-Yeah, OK.

Right, that's fine then.

The east.

East is correct.

Eggheads, which of these characters does Macduff kill

in the Shakespeare play Macbeth?

That's "Lay on, Macduff and damned be him who first cries,

"'Hold enough!'"

He kills Macbeth. Are we happy with that?

He comes back with his head on his sword, yeah.

Yes? He kills Macbeth.

He does indeed kill Macbeth.

So one each. Your question.

In which country was the opera singer Renata Tebaldi born?

-He sounds Italian, doesn't he?

-Are you up with opera singers?

-No.

-Could you spell Tebaldi?

-T-E-B-A-L-D-I.

-Renata - Spanish name.

-It's sounding...

I think Renata's more of a German name, isn't it? Any ideas, Tony?

Renata Tebaldi. I'd say it sounds more Italian to me.

-It sounds Italian, really.

-Rennie and Renata.

-Shall we go for Italy?

-It sounds more Italian to me.

Tebaldi.

It doesn't sound like a Spanish name

and it doesn't sound Russian at all.

-I'd go for Italy.

-We'll go for Italy? Go on, then.

We're going to say Italy.

-Italy is correct.

-Well done.

-I suppose Baldi, Garibaldi, all that.

-Hm-hm.

OK.

Eggs, to catch up, what is the title of the 2015 film

inspired by JM Barrie's Peter Pan

that stars Hugh Jackman and Levi Miller?

-I'm not sure about that one.

-It's not Hook.

-No.

That was Dustin Hoffman, wasn't it?

-I've got an inkling it was Peter.

-Yeah.

Yeah, I would go for...

I have a vague inkling of reading a review that said Peter,

-but I'm really not sure.

-This one passed me by.

Well, there's already been one called Pan, hasn't there?

-No.

-I just don't know.

-We can safely dismiss Hook.

-Yeah, well...

If you have a feeling that you've seen something about Peter,

-then fair enough, but I don't know.

-I've got the vaguest

of inclinations, it's not even an inkle,

it's probably the dot on the I.

But I think we're going to go for Peter.

Well, we are going to go for Peter.

OK. CJ has got his head in his hands.

-CJ?

-It's Pan.

Ah!

-It is Pan.

-Oh, well.

-Come on!

-Oh, dear.

-Oh, dear.

Oh, dear. The wheels are falling off at the perfect moment.

So let's just take stock here.

You've got two right.

They've got one right out of two.

They're exposed now.

You're one question away from £11,000.

There may be no further role for the Eggheads in this game.

Here's your question.

Born in 1922, which British diplomat

and spy for the Soviet Union

served in the British Embassy in Seoul

and secretly became a communist

while imprisoned by North Korean forces during the Korean War?

If I was guessing, I'd go for Blake.

Yes, I've got a feeling for Blake.

Philby, Burgess were with Maclean. They were the three main ones.

-They were indeed.

-Burgess or Blake...

-Blake's the...

-I think he was a bit of a...

-Yes, he was kind of an odd...

-Whether it's a... I don't know.

-That would be my guess.

-Shall we go for that then?

We're going to go for George Blake.

Oh, quite a quick decision-making process there.

George Blake is your answer.

£11,000 the jackpot.

If you get this right, you've taken the money.

I'm going to look at the Eggheads' faces.

-ALL:

-They're right.

George Blake is the right answer.

-Yes, get in there!

-Congratulations, Challengers, you have won!

-Well played.

-Well, it's funny how these things work.

You knocked out CJ, Keith,

and that turned out to be a killer moment

because CJ knew it was Pan, and there we go.

But you got three out of three in the final.

I think there was a certain amount of good fortune on our side there.

That was a so-and-so question, the Peter Pan one.

Pan, that's where you are, Eggheads. You've gone down the pan.

Well, I've got to say, Jeremy, I personally feel very, very humble

at having beaten these people because I watch them

every time the show is on and I think they're absolutely superb.

And for us to win, I think is excellent.

-Listen, well done, Ray and team. ALL:

-Thank you.

You played well and I know you've said very nice things about them,

but my goodness, they don't do one wheel falling off, the Eggheads,

they do all four simultaneously.

So that's what you saw just then. There we go.

-Congratulations, you've won £11,000.

-Fantastic.

This run that they were on has turned out to be just thin air.

-You're officially cleverer than the Eggheads...

-Oh, no, no!

..and you've proved they can definitely, definitely be beaten.

Oh, yes! Don't be too humble.

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

will be just as successful.

We'll pick up the pieces over here,

make sure they get a good night's sleep

and see you next time. Goodbye.