Episode 54 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz Challengers

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

They are the Eggheads.

Hoping to get one over on our quiz champions today

are Bobby's Dazzlers.

In forming this team, captain Bobby

has called upon the services of her brainiest friends

from all over southeast England.

Individually, they love to quiz

but this will be their first time competing together.

So, let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Bobby and I'm a freelance bookkeeper.

Hello, I'm Julian. I'm a health and safety consultant.

Hi, I'm John. I'm a semi-retired chartered accountant.

Hello, I'm Colin. I'm an accountant.

Hi, I'm Bill and I'm a retired teacher.

So, Bobby and team, welcome. Good to see you.

-So, you brought together the best and the brightest, Bobby.

-I hope so.

Good stuff. And to take on these five, to dazzle them.

Hopefully, we will dazzle them.

When you put together a quiz team, what are you looking for?

I was looking for people who had expertise in different areas.

I was going to say, you've got a spread of skills.

But the trouble is, you don't know what's going to come up.

No, I know. That's the wicked thing.

So, have you got some kind of spreadsheet for Eggheads?

-No, it's in our minds, really.

-All right. Do you all watch the show?

-Oh, yes.

-Definitely.

-I do, every day.

-Oh, good. Do, you?

-So, what's it like to be in the studio now?

-Great, great.

-Good.

-I hope it gets better and better. Good luck to you.

-Thank you.

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, Bobby and her Dazzlers,

I can tell you the Eggheads have won the last five games,

so £6,000 says you can't beat them.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes, please.

-Yes, please.

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

Who would like this?

-Oh, gosh. We were hoping for it not to be Music.

-Yeah.

-I said I would do it, didn't I?

-OK, the captain.

-OK, Bobby.

-Looks like it's me.

-All right. Into the breach against which Egghead?

Any one of the five.

-I think...

-I don't know.

-Chris or Dave? What do you think?

-Not Chris cos we might have Sport.

-I'd go for Dave but it's up to you.

OK, yes, we'll go for Dave.

OK, Bobby from Bobby's Dazzlers

versus Dave from the Eggheads on Music.

And just to make sure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in our famous Question Room.

Good luck, Bobby, against Dave.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

Here we go.

Which of these characters from a Disney animation sings the song

I Just Can't Wait To Be King?

Ooh, that's...

I don't think I've ever heard of Belle in a musical

and I don't think it's Ariel. I'm going to go for Simba.

-Simba is correct, Bobby. Well done.

-Well done.

-Onto you, Dave.

-Yeah.

Keep On Running by the Spencer Davis Group

was a UK number one single in which decade?

-Er, 1960s.

-'60s is correct.

Bobby.

Michael Jackson's UK number one You Are Not Alone

was originally on which album?

I love Michael Jackson, I was very shocked when he died.

But I must admit that I don't know an awful lot of his recordings

but I will go for Bad.

It's a bit later, actually.

It's HIStory, yeah, which is one of his last albums.

OK, Dave.

What is the first name of the Little Mix founder member

with the surname Nelson?

Right, I think it's Perrie Edwards, Little Mix.

I could be totally wrong and overthinking this,

but I've got a yearning to go for the option of Leigh-Anne.

Jesy's the answer, with one S.

So, Bobby, this is good.

Here is your question.

Who is the subject of the Rodgers and Hart song

that contains the lyrics "And all at once I lost my breath,

"and all at once was scared to death,

"and all at once I owned the Earth and sky"?

I think that might be Miss Jones.

Miss Jones is right, well done.

Good play. Dave.

-Yeah.

-Get this wrong, you're out.

-Yeah.

Abigaille and Fenena are female characters in which Verdi opera?

Right... I haven't got an idea. Um...

-I'm going to go La Traviata.

-Oh!

-OK, if you've got this wrong, you're out. Barry?

-Nabucco.

-Nabucco, says Barry. Sorry, Dave. Well done, Bobby.

-Well done.

-Well done, Bobby.

-How about that?

Despite the Michael Jackson moment,

you're in the final, Bobby. Well deserved.

Bobby's Dazzler dazzling in the final.

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

-Well, Bobby, how about that? The captain is still there.

-That's it.

And you've taken out an Egghead.

So, Bobby's Dazzlers have not lost any brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost a brain. We play on with Science.

-Who would like this?

-You're on, Julian.

Julian, you're next.

-Julian, who would you like to take on?

-Oh, gosh. Who do you reckon?

-I think Barry's good at Science. I think Chris is quite good.

-Judith?

-I'd go Judith.

-Judith, please.

-Now, you are a former nuclear scientist.

-Yeah.

-Right. THEY LAUGH

-Another?

-We've just done our 1,500th programme

and we were talking with Judith about the best moments

and we agreed one of the best moments

-was when Judith knocked out a rocket scientist on Science.

-Oh, wow.

Julian, from Bobby's Dazzlers, Judith from the Eggheads,

please take your positions.

-So, Science, Judith, and we're up against a nuclear scientist.

-I know.

-I just want to go home right now.

-But we know how well you play.

So, this could be fun. Julian, would you like to go first or second?

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

Good luck to you both.

Julian, for what does the letter R stand

in the name of the vaccination abbreviated to MMR?

I think it's rubella.

Rubella is right. Measles, mumps, rubella. Judith.

What name is given to a triangle with no equal internal angles?

You know I simply can't do these. We didn't do them at school.

Um, I have absolutely no idea.

I'm going to say polynomial.

OK, let's bring in Barry on this. Barry?

-I'm afraid it's scalene.

-Scalene. And what is polynomial?

-Polynomial is an algebraic expression.

-OK.

-Judith, I'm sorry, it's scalene.

-Right. Doesn't mean anything to me.

Looks like you're going to be hit by the nuclear button.

-I think I already have.

-OK. THEY LAUGH

Julian.

What is the physical state

of the element manganese at room temperature?

-It's a solid.

-It is a solid. You're doing well.

Judith, you need this to stay in.

The sex chromosomes in the human male

are known to geneticists as what?

I think they're XY.

-You got it! Well done.

-Phew!

XY is correct.

So, back to you, Julian.

What type of creature is a velvet scoter?

S-C-O-T-E-R.

I'm inclined to think it would be a beetle.

-This didn't come up much in nuclear science, did it?

-Indeed not.

You didn't ever have to use a weapon against ducks. I'm afraid it's duck.

You very nearly had the better of Judith.

She has a chance now to come back in.

In 1855, which scientific figure married Mary Everest,

the niece of George Everest, after whom Mount Everest is named?

-In 18...?

-'55.

-I wonder.

I think it might be Charles Darwin.

I'm trying to think of the dates. Um...

-I think it's Charles Darwin.

-Any guesses from this side?

That's late for Darwin to get married.

We think it's late for Darwin. It's the wrong answer, I'm sorry.

George Boole is the answer. You've been knocked out.

Hey, this is going well. Julian, well done. You can smile now.

You're through to the final round. Well done.

Sorry, Judith, we couldn't repeat your famous rocket scientist moment.

I know. I'm terribly disappointed.

-I'd love to be able to say I beat a nuclear scientist.

-There we go.

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

This is looking good for Bobby's Dazzlers, I must say.

They've not lost a brain, the Eggheads have lost two brains.

The next subject for you is Politics.

Who would like this?

-Not my favourite, but I'll do it.

-OK.

OK, Bill, retired teacher, against whom?

Er, I'll take on Chris, please.

So, Bill from Bobby's Dazzlers

versus Chris Hughes from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room.

-Politics, Bill. Do you want to go first or second?

-First, please.

Here's your first question.

Who served as deputy prime minister between 1997 and 2007?

Um, Jack Straw was Home Office,

Gordon Brown was something to do with the Treasury.

-I think it was John Prescott.

-Yeah, Gordon Brown was Chancellor.

John Prescott was deputy prime minister. Well done.

Chris, your question.

Nancy Astor, the first woman to sit in the House of Commons,

was born in which country?

-She was American, born in the USA.

-USA is quite right.

Back to you, Bill.

The British architect Norman Foster redesigned the parliament building

in which city in the 1990s?

Ooh, this is a tough one. Er...

I've got a feeling... Not Paris or Rome.

I've got a feeling it's Berlin.

Berlin is right, after the German unification. Chris.

For what does the letter E stand in the name of the organisation OPEC?

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Exporting.

Exporting is quite right. Storming along here on Politics, both of you.

Bill, your third question can be crucial.

Which of these awards did Barack Obama win in 2006?

Oh, wow, it's another tough one.

I can't see it being an Oscar. Um...

-I'll go with an Emmy.

-Emmy. Let me check with your teammates.

-What do you think?

-I'd go for Emmy.

-He got the Best Spoken Word Album.

-He got the Grammy.

-OK, Grammy is the answer here, Bill.

-Oh.

All right, chance for you, Chris. Is this the moment the tide turns

for the Eggheads?

Get this right, Chris, you're in the final.

Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat party leader,

competed for Great Britain in the 200m at which Olympics?

Ah, yes, Menzies Campbell is older than me, so...

..he'd have been in athletic prime in 1964.

Very well done. '64 is the right answer, Chris,

and you're in the final. Sorry, Bill. First of our Challengers

-to lose his place in the final.

-OK.

Come back to us and we'll play another round.

So, Bobby's Dazzlers have now lost a brain for the final round.

The Eggheads have lost two though. This is quite a contest.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Who wants this?

It's me. I was hoping not to be that.

All right. Well, there we go.

-John from Bobby's Dazzlers versus whom?

-What do your reckon?

-Kevin or Barry?

-Barry?

-I think so.

-OK, Barry.

-The Leeds lad.

-Yeah, so John against Barry from the Eggheads.

He loves his books.

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

-John, would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

Here we go. Hermione Granger first appeared

in which Harry Potter novel?

Well, the one I've...

I'm not sure, but the one I've heard of is Philosopher's Stone,

so I'll go for that one. The Philosopher's Stone.

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, you're quite right, John.

Well done. OK, Barry.

Napoleon, a pig in George Orwell's Animal farm,

is believed to be based on which historical figure?

Right, let me just get this right.

Napoleon was based on Stalin.

Indeed he was. Stalin.

John, which of these books

was written in the 18th century?

Gosh. Dickens...

In the 18th century... Um...

Might be Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby.

Tom Jones, a bit older. Jane Eyre...

Actually, against my better judgement,

I'll say Nicholas Nickleby.

-Challengers, any help with this?

-Tom Jones, I think.

-Tom Jones.

-We all think.

So, Nicholas Nickleby would have been the 1800s,

-as in the 19th century, correct?

-Yeah.

-John, it's Tom Jones.

-Oh.

-The others were the next century.

Barry.

Storm In A C Cup is a 2015 book by which TV presenter?

Goodness me. Storm In A C Cup. I love the title!

I don't think that's got much to do with property,

so I'll discount Kirstie Allsop.

It sounds very like Sara Cox, so I shall go for Sara Cox.

-No, it's Caroline Flack, actually.

-Went the wrong way.

-Sorry, Barry.

So, you're level. That's a bit of luck there, John.

What name is given to Antony Gormley's installation

of 100 cast-iron figures on England's Crosby Beach?

I'd probably say, because of the number...

Purely because of the number and I am an accountant,

I'd say In A Thousand Years, though I'm not at all confident.

-Anyone know?

-Another Place, I think.

Yeah, Another Place is the answer.

-Oh.

-OK, Barry, for the round.

In Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party,

what is the name of the character whose birthday sparks the party?

Oh, I don't know this and it's such a well-known play as well.

Sadly, I'm afraid I have to admit that this will be a guess,

so I shall go straight down the middle for Bernard Jenkins.

I don't know if he's in the play.

-He's certainly in parliament, Bernard Jenkins.

-Oh!

That doesn't augur well for the answer then, does it?!

-Stanley Webber.

-Oh.

-So, one each, after three questions.

John, another let-off for you. We go to Sudden Death.

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

-OK.

What adjective describes Mr Fox in the title of a Roald Dahl book?

The logical one is... The adjective, isn't it?

The logical one would be cunning, I suppose.

-It's not cunning. Fantastic Mr Fox.

-Oh!

OK, Barry, your question for the round.

"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life"

is a line from the opening of which Shakespeare play?

-Oh, that's Romeo And Juliet.

-Romeo And Juliet is quite right.

-I know you would have known that, John.

-Yes.

-Just the way it falls.

Sorry, you've been knocked out. Barry is in the final.

Leaves us very evenly balanced.

Come back to us, gents, and we'll play the final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our final round

and, as always, it's General Knowledge questions.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round,

so that is John and Bill from Bobby's Dazzlers

but also Judith and Dave from the Eggheads.

Would you please leave the studio?

So, Bobby, Julian and Colin,

you're playing to win Bobby's Dazzlers £6,000.

Barry, Chris and Kevin,

you're playing for something that I don't think money can buy.

It's the Eggheads' reputation.

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

They're all General Knowledge. You can confer.

So, Bobby's Dazzlers, the question is,

can your three brains defeat these three?

But you don't need to answer that.

Just tell me whether you want to go first or second.

-Go first?

-Yeah.

-Go first, please, Jeremy.

Colin and team, good luck. Here we are with your first question.

At which football World Cup was Eusebio the top goal scorer?

Well, five of them were penalties, if I remember rightly.

Football's not my thing at all.

-'66?

-Yeah, we're pretty confident it was definitely '66.

-Yes, go for it.

OK, we'll go for 1966, please.

You're a quizzer, aren't you, Colin? 1966 is the right answer.

OK, Eggheads.

What type of clothing is a jerkin?

-TOGETHER:

-Sleeveless jacket?

It's a type of sleeveless jacket.

You're right. Sleeveless jacket, it is.

Challengers.

"Vogel" is the German word for which of these?

I can't get anything out of the, um...

"Vogel". Is there any word we get from "vogel"?

I'm trying to think of another language that's similar.

-Vogel...

-Is it like "voiseau" and "bird" in French?

No, I don't think bird. I think bat or bear.

-Bear...

-Could be totally wrong but...

-What do you think?

-I don't think it's bird.

-What do you want to have a go at? I think bear.

-Could be any of them.

-You'd go for bear?

-Mmm.

-Shall we go for bear?

-But it's a guess.

I'm just trying to think of something

that reminds you of it. I can't think.

I've got a hunch for bird. You don't think it's bird?

If you do, go for it.

No, it's just a one in three... Vogel...

-Something's telling me bird.

-Co on then. Go for it, Colin.

I think it's bird.

-Really?

-Go on, right.

-I don't know why.

-Yeah.

-Here goes. Going once...

-Two out of three.

-Going twice...

-Yes.

We're going to say bird.

-Now, in the back there, Bill taught German...

-Yes.

..and had his head in his hands for a period there.

I did German A level, so I know this word,

but I'm trying to think how you would get to it. Bird is right.

-Whoa!

-Bird is right. Let me put you out of your misery.

You have two points. Eggheads, which musical star

plays Danny McGuire in the 1980 film Xanadu?

I don't recall Frank Sinatra...

Well, not that I saw Xanadu

-but I've got a faint idea Gene Kelly was in it.

-I think Gene Kelly.

I don't associate Frank Sinatra with it and Bing Crosby was dead by then.

-I think it's...

-I'm happy with that.

-OK.

Not 100% we think it's Gene Kelly.

-Gene Kelly is the right answer.

-Ooh.

Oh, my goodness, this is making my heart race, this one.

Get the third one right and you might not have to do anything more.

Streckfus was the middle name of which famous author, born in 1924?

Wasn't Truman Capote born around 1900, I think? Um...

And Norman Mailer was a lot later, wasn't it?

-Gore Vidal is about the right age.

-He's got a stranger name.

-Yeah.

-That's a point because Gore is quite an unusual name.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Let's... I don't want to keep you all day, Jeremy.

-That's all right.

-Are we OK to go for Gore Vidal, everyone?

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Gore Vidal.

-Shall I check with the Eggheads?

-Shall we see if they know?

-They probably will.

-Go on, Eggheads.

-I think it's Truman Capote.

-Truman Capote is the answer.

-Ah.

-So, Eggheads, you have a chance to take the contest.

In church bell ringing, what name is given

to the coloured woollen section in the middle of a rope?

-Goodness, I haven't a clue.

-Me neither.

-Um...

-Molly, gilly or sally.

-I honestly haven't got a...

My initial inclination was for sally,

-but the more I think about it, gilly is relatively unusual.

-Mmm.

It just makes me think, "Why is that there?"

It could be a shortened term for something.

-Gilly could be short for something.

-It could be.

-It's the only one that's likely to be short for anything.

-Mmm.

-We've got to take it.

-It'll go to Sudden Death anyway.

-We've got to take a guess, haven't we?

-Yeah.

-Go for gilly then.

Maybe go for that, on the basis that it's the most unusual sounding one.

OK, Jeremy, we haven't got the faintest idea

but, on the basis that gilly is a slightly more unusual name

than the other two, so you wonder why it's there, we'll go for that.

-Correct answer is sally. You're still in it.

-Ah.

-This is fun.

We go to Sudden Death.

Get's a bit harder. You don't get alternatives.

Here's your question, Challengers.

The Empire State Building is in which borough of New York City.

-Manhattan.

-Yeah?

-It's not Staten Island, or Richmond, its real name.

-Not Queens.

-It's not Queens. Yeah. OK?

-Yeah.

We'll go for Manhattan, please.

Manhattan is the right answer. Sudden Death.

Get this wrong,

£6,000 goes to the Challengers.

Which foodstuff takes its name from the Portuguese for "quince"?

-Marmalade, isn't it?

-Marmalade.

-Marmelada.

-Marmelada.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Just running it through, just so we don't... Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-We think that's marmalade.

-It is marmalade.

Sudden Death. £6,000.

Back to you, Challengers.

Which Ronald Harwood play did the BBC produce in 2015

with Anthony Hopkins as Sir and Ian McKellen as Norman?

-There's one called The Dresser, isn't there?

-Was it The Dresser?

-Yeah, there was.

-There was.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Take your time.

I don't remember it.

I didn't actually watch it but I believe it was fantastic.

-And was it called that?

-I think... Yes, yes.

-I think so, yeah.

-OK, going once...

-Yes.

-We think that's The Dresser.

Well done. Well done, Bobby, especially.

The Dresser, it is, directed by Richard Eyre.

So you've got the initiative here.

Eggheads, up on the ropes.

Which Massachusetts ice hockey team is the oldest US team in the NHL?

The only one I can think of from Massachusetts

-are the Boston Bruins and they are an old team.

-Yeah.

-They're the NHL team for Boston.

-Yeah, Boston is Massachusetts.

-OK.

It's a bit far south for ice hockey. Yeah.

Yeah, well, anyway, it's Boston Bruins, I think.

-That's what we're going with.

-That's OK?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-I think that's the Boston Bruins.

-Boston Bruins is the right answer.

Ice hockey team.

You're doing well. You're holding them off.

So, Bobby's Dazzlers, your next question, Sudden Death.

In the 1964 film Carry On Cleo, which actor says,

"Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!"?

-I've got a very strong hunch for Kenneth Williams.

-Go for it.

-Go for it.

-Go for it, Colin.

-Here we go again.

We'll take our chances with Kenneth Williams, please.

It is Kenneth Williams, playing Julius Caesar.

They've all got it in for YOU, haven't they?

-Mmm.

-Which Neolithic monument near Avebury in Wiltshire

is the largest manmade prehistoric mound in Europe?

-TOGETHER:

-Silbury Hill.

-Silbury Hill.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Right by the A4.

It is, it is. That is Silbury Hill.

Yeah, a flat-topped, conical mound,

40 metres high or more. Silbury Hill.

Your question, £6,000.

The model Ireland Baldwin is the daughter of Alec Baldwin

and which famous actress?

Um, I've got a name in my head but it's just a guess.

-What do you think?

-I had a thought for Susan Sarandon.

But think of another one.

Oh, really?

I've no idea, guys, sorry. If you had Susan Sarandon in your mind...

There's a chance it's Susan Sarandon.

-I can't think of anyone else.

-So, go for it. Don't worry.

Oh, we'll... Got a very faint hunch of a name

but it's almost certainly wrong,

but it's the only name we can come up with.

-We'll say Susan Sarandon.

-OK. Is she the mother of Ireland Baldwin?

-Eggs?

-I think it's Kim Basinger.

-Kim Basinger.

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

Which royal character, in a play by Shakespeare, has the line,

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"?

-I thought it was Henry IV.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-That was my first thought.

Not sure if it's Part 1 or Part 2, but I think it's him.

-We only need to care about the character. It's Henry IV.

-Yeah.

-I think it's Henry IV.

-Yeah.

-OK. We believe that's Henry IV.

If you're right, the contest is over.

If you're wrong, we play on, Sudden Death. Do you know?

No, but I've got a strong hunch it's going to be correct.

Yeah, it's very dangerous to bet against them.

Henry IV is the correct answer. We say well done, Eggheads.

-You have won.

-Brilliant game.

Well, Bobby and team, honestly,

-we haven't seen quizzing like that for a long time, have we?

-No.

To go that far into the final on Sudden Death is quite exceptional.

Really well done. Some great answers. You really ferreted around.

Commiserations to your brilliant Dazzlers, Bobby, and to you.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

They worked hard today. The winning streak continues on this side.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £6,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show. Eggheads, congratulations.

Who will beat you? I wonder. Join us next time to see

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

£7,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.