Episode 5 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads,

the show where a team of five quiz Challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today are...

Now, this team all know one another

through playing skittles

and quizzing at The Brown Jug in Cheltenham.

So, let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Sherry and I'm a senior account manager.

Hello, I'm Viv, I'm a retired accounting technician.

Hi, I'm Rose, I'm an analyst programmer.

Hi, I'm Jan, and I'm a retired English teacher.

Hello, I'm Hazel and I'm a senior pensions administrator.

-So, Sherry and team, welcome. Great to see you.

-Thank you.

-And good to have some skittlers in.

-Yes, yes.

We were trying to uphold the tradition.

That's good. Now, tell us about skittles for those who don't know.

-What do you do?

-Well, we turn up at The Brown Jug every other week

cos we play at opposition's alleys as well.

And we aim to knock down nine pins if we possibly can

and enjoy ourselves doing it.

And forgive my ignorance, Eggs, cos you all know this

but is skittles on a table at sort of waist height

with a piece of string?

-No, no.

-That's something else?

-It's at the end of a wooden alley.

Oh, OK, like tenpin bowling, actually?

Like tenpin bowling but no holes.

No holes in the balls.

And do you do the underarm thing with the ball, do you?

Hopefully, yes.

And hopefully knock down as many pins with each ball as we can.

And where does the quizzing come in? Or isn't there any?

The quizzing happens in the summer

because we play in a winter's league

and in the summer we meet up every couple of weeks

for either a meal or a quiz.

Right. And you've got...they're sort of quite hard, wooden balls?

-They are, yes.

-You've got them ready for this lot?

Absolutely, we've got five to knock them out with.

OK, knock 'em out.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to skittle out the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Alley Pallies, I can tell you the Eggheads have won

the last 13 games.

So, they're on a roll which is bad but the prize money is...

..which is good.

Would you like to try

-and win it?

-Of course.

I thought so.

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

-Who would like this?

-Film & TV, who wants

to do that?

Shall I do that or...?

-Rose?

-Shall I do it?

-Rose.

Rose will take Film & TV.

All right. Have you been volunteered or did you volunteer?

I think a bit of both, really.

So, against which Egghead, Rose?

Who looks as if they've not been watching anything for a while?

-Kevin.

-Kevin? Want to go against Kevin?

I'll go against Kevin.

Kevin. Rose against Kevin.

Taking the big man out straightaway.

Let's see what you can do here.

Rose from Alley Pallies versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

Just to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our Question Room?

You're up against Kevin on Film & TV.

And would you like to go first or second, Rose?

I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck. What is the logo

for the long-running children's programme Blue Peter?

Well, I've been watching that since I've been, you know,

born, more or less, so I know it's the ship.

Ship is the right answer, well done.

And you like some of the big BBC programmes, I gather?

I know. It's terrible, isn't it?

Well, I think we'll take compliments wherever they come from.

-Watch Strictly and all that?

-Yes, all that stuff. Yeah.

-Bake Off?

-Yes, yes.

I like watching programmes where people are amateur

but enjoying themselves.

Great. Rose, well done, one point to you.

Kevin. The lines,

"I coulda had class, I coulda been a contender,

"I coulda been somebody" were famously said by which actor?

Well, I suppose it's one of the most famous film quotes.

It's from On The Waterfront and it was Marlon Brando.

Directed by...

Elia Kazan.

Well done. OK, Rose, your question.

The term scripted reality refers to which of these TV shows?

Scripted reality.

I would guess that is The Only Way Is Essex.

Absolutely right. It's not quite a documentary, it's something...

It's not nearly real but not quite. Well done. The Only Way Is Essex.

Kevin, your question.

Which actress won a BAFTA for playing the title role

in the TV drama Mrs Biggs?

Well, I think she gets a lot of these sorts of roles now.

I don't think it was Olivia Colman,

I don't think it was Michelle Keegan.

I think the go-to one for this sort of thing is Sheridan Smith.

Sheridan Smith is correct.

So, two-two. Not a hair out of place

so far.

Keep skittling.

The fictional TV detective

Jane Tennison was created by which screenwriter, Rose?

I think that was...

..Lynda La Plante.

-Is she right, Eggs? ALL:

-Yes.

Yes, you're right. Well done. Three out of three.

Going well, Alley Pallies.

Going well down the alley.

OK, Kevin.

To stay in, who plays the title role

in the 2014 Luc Besson film Lucy?

It's a strange film, that one.

It's Scarlett Johansson.

Scarlet Johannson is the right answer, well done.

So, three points each.

You're starting well

but so are they, so are they, it's always the way.

-So, Rose, we go to Sudden Death. Gets a bit more tricky now.

-Yes.

I don't give you alternative answers.

-OK.

-Here we go.

Which Oscar-winning 1970 film

and subsequent long-running TV series

was based on a Richard Hooker novel?

My mind's gone blank.

Love Story?

-It's MASH.

-MASH, oh, yes.

-Yeah.

OK, Kevin, your question, for the round.

In which 1970s comedy drama series did Adam Faith play a character

whose official name was Ronald Bird?

Well, hence his nickname, which was the name of the series - Budgie.

Yeah, Budgie was his nickname, Budgie was the name of the series.

You're right. On Sudden Death, you've taken the round.

Sorry, Rose. First blood

to the Eggheads.

Kevin will be in the final and you've been knocked out

but it's early days.

Please come back to us and we'll play on.

OK, as it stands, Alley Pallies have lost a brain.

Bad luck - played well there, Rose.

And the Eggheads are still sitting there

rather too smugly for our liking.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

-This is good, isn't it?

-Arts & Books.

-Take that?

-No, not me.

-I think that was...

-Me?

-I think it's Jan.

-Go on, Jan.

-I think it's going to be me.

-It's going to be you.

Against which Egghead? Obviously can't be Kevin.

-Shall we go for Dave?

-Yeah, why not?

Dave, I think Dave.

-OK. I will...

-Laughing mischievously, Dave.

I know, I know. They've got every reason to laugh, yes.

We'll see. Jan from Alley Pallies, Dave from the Eggheads,

please take your positions.

-So, Jan, you taught English?

-I did.

-This should be a good round but, of course...

-It should be.

-..they're the most stressful.

-It depends on the questions.

Exactly. Any particular period that you love?

No, not particularly.

I quite like Victorian novels

but whether I can remember a lot about them today

will be another matter.

OK, well, good luck against Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first.

Here we go. Good luck.

Which location is the setting for Shakespeare's play

Twelfth Night?

Well, I know it's not Denmark because that's where Hamlet is set.

Verona is the setting for Romeo and Juliet.

Is it also the setting for Twelfth Night? I can't remember.

On that basis, on my logic, I'll go for Illyria.

-Illyria is the right answer.

-Thank you.

Well done.

Dave, your question.

-Yep.

-Which of these artists

is regarded as one of the leading figures of the Baroque period?

I hate these time periods.

Erm...

Just trying to think when Baroque was.

But, no, I've got to go, in that case, I'll go with Rembrandt.

Yeah, Rembrandt is the right answer, well done.

So, one point each, back to you, Jan.

William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones

were leaders of which art movement?

Um...I don't think it's the third option.

Having dismissed that, it's probably the correct answer.

I'm going to go for Arts and Crafts.

Yeah, Arts and Crafts looks like the made-up answer

but it is actually correct.

-Well done.

-That's good.

Now, William Morris, I seem to see museums with his name on.

Was he basically wallpaper and all that, was he?

-Yes, and furniture and...

-Furniture...

-I mean, just interiors.

OK. Here we go, Dave, your question.

Paul Bowles' 1949 novel entitled The Sheltering Sky

is set in which part of the world?

I've never heard of this novel at all.

So, it's a guess. I can't think of why it would be The Sheltering Sky.

I'm going to regret it but I'll go North Africa.

-You're right. North Africa it is.

-Oh, wow.

Did you know that, Jan?

-I would have guessed North Africa on the title of the book. Yeah.

-OK.

So, equal, two points each.

Here's your question, Jan.

Lady Honoria Dedlock

is a character in which novel by Charles Dickens?

I'm quite a fan of Charles Dickens so I should be quite annoyed

if I get this wrong.

I have a feeling it's Bleak House.

You're right. You've got three out of three, well done.

OK, now, let's see if Dave

takes you to Sudden Death or whether he crashes out.

Which popular English poet who died in 1800

was known as the Bard of Olney?

Right, I'm in a bit of trouble here.

I don't believe its Wordsworth.

Cowper or Cibber.

Just trying to get a handle on when Cibber was around.

And when Cowper was there.

The Bard of Olney.

Yeah, I'm going to go Colley Cibber

and really regret this one.

You are because you are out, Dave. It is William Cowper.

Yeah, well done.

So you got two out of three. Jan, well done.

This is quite a contest.

So, the skittles are flying now.

Well done, Jan, you are in the final round.

Come back to us. Getting exciting! We'll play on.

As it stands, the Alley Pallies have lost a brain,

but the Eggheads have lost a brain too.

And the next subject for you is Sport.

Can't guarantee skittling here.

I think we know that's Hazel.

-That's Hazel.

-That's me.

-Hazel? OK.

-Yes.

Against which Egghead on Sport?

-Judith? Judith.

-Judith. Sorry.

Hazel from Alley Pallies, Judith from the Eggheads.

You'll gather there is a bit of history with Sport and Judith.

We try not to mention it.

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

Hazel, Sport it is.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

So, here we go with your first Sport question, Hazel.

For which football team did Harry Kane

score 31 goals in the 2014-15 season?

Well, I actually do know this one

so I'm going to go straight in and say it was Spurs.

-It was indeed Spurs. Are you a football fan?

-Yes.

-Great. And you support which team?

-Manchester City.

OK.

All right, Judith, your question.

In which sport have Lucie Safarova and Ekaterina Makarova

both been ranked in the world's top ten?

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

I think tennis.

-I think tennis too. Well done.

-Oh, phew.

Back to you, Hazel. Which county

cricket club appointed Australian Jason Gillespie

as first-team coach in 2011?

Um... I'm not 100% sure.

But I'm leaning towards Yorkshire.

I think it might be Yorkshire.

It is Yorkshire, Hazel, well done.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-Phew.

Judith.

In which motorsport was Carlos Sainz

twice world champion in the 1990s?

Well, I don't think it's Formula One.

Um...

MotoGP.

Whatever that is.

Eggheads, do you know?

-ALL:

-Rallying.

-Rallying.

-Rallying!

-And his son, Carlos Sainz Jr,

is now a Formula One driver.

It's not MotoGP, Judith, I'm so sorry. It's rallying.

-It's all right, Jeremy. I don't mind.

-OK.

I know you watch a lot of rallying.

Every day.

Now, this is good for you, Hazel,

it means if you get this right, you're in the final round

and your team's starting to

just make them shake, rattle and roll a bit.

Between 1932 and 1960, the Hungarian Aladar Gerevich

won seven Olympic gold medals, but in which sport?

HAZEL SIGHS

Gosh. Um... I really don't know the answer to this.

Um... I'm not very good on historical of those sports either.

So...

probably not gymnastics, not sailing.

I think I might go for fencing.

The correct answer is fencing.

Well done, Hazel. Three out of three.

-Judith, I'm so sorry.

-That's all right.

Blown away on Sports.

So, Hazel, you'll be in the final round.

Well done. Come back to us. This is getting lively.

-I think we can sense a threat here.

-So far.

Look at them, they're all quiet now. They're actually worried.

They're actually worried. So, £14,000 we're playing for.

The Alley Pallies have lost one and the Eggheads have lost two.

We play on. Geography it is.

I drew

-the short straw.

-Viv?

-Yes.

-OK. Against which Egghead, Viv?

And it can be one of... Either... I was going to say the young ones.

-It's CJ or Lisa.

-They are the young ones.

I've got to choose CJ.

Yeah, OK.

Hooray.

-I'm sensing you watch the show.

-I do.

And you know he has a little...

I'm just hoping it's all English geography that comes up.

Exactly, anything about Devon or Northumberland,

you're in the money.

OK, Viv from Alley Pallies versus CJ from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions to ensure there's no conferring.

All right, Geography, Viv. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Here is your first question.

Djibouti is a country in which continent?

I'm fairly sure that's in Africa.

Africa is correct.

OK.

CJ.

Which road connects London and Edinburgh?

Well, the M6 doesn't go to London.

But London to Edinburgh is the A1.

I was certain you were going to struggle with that.

-You've been up it in your Porsche, have you?

-Both of them, yes.

Yeah, OK, that's how you know.

All right. That's the way he knows anything,

is by visiting it in his car, Viv.

Back to you - our Alley Pallie.

Port Erin is a resort on the coast of which island?

Um...

I've been to Jersey, I haven't been to the other two

but I think it's on the Isle of Man.

Spot on, it is the Isle of Man. Well done.

Two out of two.

Challengers are playing so well.

You've had one question wrong so far in the whole contest. Amazing.

OK, CJ, no pressure.

The Maritime Alps form part of the border

between Italy and which other country?

Well, I've never heard of the Maritime Alps.

I wonder if it's some sort of derivation of French words,

I don't know.

I'm going to rule out Austria

for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

I've really got no idea, I'll blind guess at France.

Let's have a think, Eggheads, is he right?

Judith, you know France.

Kevin was saying there is a department or something

or a region called Alpes-Maritimes in France.

Oh.

Kevin is saying there's a department...departement

called Alpes-Maritimes...in France.

-Or it's a region.

-Or a region. We think so.

You're right, anyway, CJ, well done.

Well done indeed. All right, two-two.

-They're never easy to shake off, are they?

-No.

So, Viv, Croatia has land borders with how many countries?

Oh, dear.

Um... I was in Dubrovnik quite recently but only to Dubrovnik.

I would say five. But I'm unsure.

-Five is correct.

-Thank goodness.

Three out of three. These Challengers are playing so well.

CJ, Egghead on the back foot again.

Alicante is a city and port on which of the Spanish costas?

I have no idea, really, where any of them are

cos they're all pretty much in a row, aren't they?

I think I once went to the Costa del Sol

when I was about four.

And that's my only visit to any of these places.

Again, for absolutely no reason, I'll rule out Costa Blanca.

But between the other two, I don't know.

Alicante...

Don't know. Costa del Sol.

-You just basically...

-It's a guess, it's a blind guess.

-Pinning the tail on the donkey here?

-Yeah.

I wonder if you know, Viv. Have you been?

I haven't been to Alicante, no,

but I don't think it's the Costa del Sol.

No, Costa del Sol is wrong, Costa Blanca is right.

CJ, you've been knocked out. What a contest we have here.

You've reduced them to two in the final.

Come back to us and we'll see if you can win the money.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our 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, that is Rose from Alley Pallies but it is also Judith,

Dave and CJ from the Eggheads.

Please leave the studio.

Well, you've done very well to knock so many of them out.

Let's see if you can win the money.

Sherry, Viv, Jan and Hazel,

you're playing for £14,000 for Alley Pallies.

Eggheads, the two of you here, you're playing to save their bacon

and restore the Eggheads' reputation

after it's taking a bit of a battering in this game.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Alley Pallies,

the question is - can you with your four brains defeat these two?

And they're pretty good Eggheads over there as well.

Sherry, would you like to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please.

Here is your question.

For the year starting in April 2015,

what is the basic rate of income tax?

-JAN:

-We have an accountant.

-20%?

-It's 20%.

-20%.

THEY CONFER

We think it's not 15

or the other one, it's 20%.

OK, and someone said, "I do payrolls." So that's...

THEY LAUGH

..for your sins.

Well done. 20% is quite right.

That's handy. Eggheads,

what name is given to the series of European Space Agency rockets

that had their first flight in 1979?

Long March are Chinese.

Soyuz - Soviet, Russian,

so it's Ariane.

That's the name of my best friend.

-There you go.

-Oh, even better.

That's Ariane, Jeremy.

Ariane is the right answer.

One each. Final round. £14,000

we're playing for here.

They've built up quite a head of steam over the last few days.

Maybe you're taking the steam out.

What does the L stand for

in the common texting abbreviation ROFL?

-ROFL.

-I've never used that.

-I don't use abbreviations in text.

-No, I don't either.

I don't think it's laughing.

-It's laughing when it's LOL.

-LOL, yeah.

-LOL, yeah.

ROFL.

No, I can't say that I've seen that.

ROFL, what could it be?

...of life?

-Yes. But what would the R stand for?

-I don't know.

-SHERRY:

-I would go for life.

-JAN:

-Yeah. We'll disagree on that.

We don't know, really.

We don't know the answer to this, as you might have guessed,

but we're going to say life.

OK. Life is your answer.

Just wondering if you know, Rose?

Roll on the floor laughing.

Yeah, Rose knows. It's rolling on the floor laughing.

-Laughing.

-Oh, and I ruled that out.

Rose, I could see you were

jumping back there.

We said we needed Rose here!

So, how come you know and they don't, Rose?

I don't really know

cos I am hopeless on those things,

they'll tell you.

Absolutely hopeless but I have heard of that.

And that's the only one, really.

OK, your chance to take the lead here, Eggheads.

The railway gauge used

in the majority of the world's railways

is based on that introduced by which engineer?

Standard gauge.

It's not... Brunel didn't use that.

I mean, Brunel, I mean, you know,

he's obviously the sort of instinct one,

but Brunel actually had a wider gauge.

-For the Great Western.

-Right.

So...

Then that had to be changed later to come into line

with the majority of other networks.

-OK.

-It's nothing to do with Edison at all.

So, current standard gauge.

Jeremy, do you think we could have the question one more time, please?

The railway gauge used in the majority of the world's railways

is based on that introduced by which engineer?

So, current gauge then we're talking of, definitely.

Right, just checking.

So, I... Given that the Great Western used this wider...

-Yeah. Which they've now changed...

-..gauge.

Not due to anything that Brunel did.

-Logically, I think it must be Stephenson.

-Right.

I'm slightly... Slight worry about it, though.

As a rule, if you think it is, it's good enough for me.

So...

-Yeah, I think...I think, yeah.

-And if you think...

Unless I've misunderstood something, I think we have to go...

-With Stephenson.

-..with Stephenson. Yeah.

-OK. Right.

After much thought

and question and analysis

and picking of Mr Ashman's

considerable memory palace,

we're going to go with George Stephenson.

George Stephenson is the right answer.

Yeah, you've got there,

you've crept there.

Yeah, I just thought Brunel sort of famously...

The Great Western is his great railway line

and he used a wider gauge for that.

And, so, later on, the Great Western

had to come into line,

-no pun intended, with other networks.

-Right.

-And so...

-That's standard gauge. OK.

You've taken the lead and that means you need to

get this one right to stay in the contest.

£14,000 we're playing for.

You played brilliantly so far, I'm sorry about ROFL.

Which we will not be...

-Won't be using that.

-You're not out, you're not out. Here we go.

What was the first name of the character

played by Robert Wagner in the TV series Hart To Hart?

THEY CONFER

-Jonathan.

-Yes, yes.

Know this answer. It's not Peter or Richard but it's Jonathan.

Nice work, you made quick work of that.

Jonathan is the answer. Well done.

Robert played Jonathan so you got two out of three.

The Eggheads have got two out of two.

If they get this one right, the contest is over.

In what role is the West Midlands-born John Oliver

familiar to US television audiences?

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver - the comedian.

-He's a comedian, isn't he?

-Yeah.

He started out doing segments on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

which is the big sort of comedy news show over there

and then he was given his own show - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

So, he's a comedian.

I can see there's not

a sliver of doubt.

If you've got it right, the contest is over

and, my goodness, you've played hard,

but it is over.

The answer is comedian.

So we say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

Well...

-you took them to the wire.

-Yeah.

-That was one of the things we didn't study, wasn't it?

-Exactly.

But then they got three out of three

so you could have gone to Sudden Death and it's...

-It wouldn't be easy.

-If they'd got the last one wrong,

-that would have been maybe more painful.

-Yes.

But, yeah, well done on your railway gauges.

We don't take that for granted, you Eggs, you played well too.

Commiserations to Alley Pallies.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

This winning streak of yours continues,

albeit with a bit of a dent today.

It means you won't be going home with the £14,000

so the money rolls over to our next show,

which may be even more exciting.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Maybe down to one next time, hey?

Can't resist teasing.

Join us next to see if a new team of Challengers

have the brains to defeat them.

£15,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.