Episode 9 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. Here you are, looking pugnacious.

-Fighting fit.

-Yeah, I was going to say, Barry...

What is that on your shirt, by the way? You have a spill earlier on?

-BARRY LAUGHS

-No, it's in honour of Canada, I think.

Yeah, OK, well, there we are.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today are...

You frightened of this lot here?

-Er...

-Don't be.

-No.

-Honestly, don't be.

This team have known one another for more than 20 years

and they regularly quiz together at the Chase Inn in Ayr.

Let's meet them.

Hi, my name is Charlie and I'm a semi-retired

advertising agency account director.

Hi, my name is Dougie and I'm a facilities manager.

Hi, I'm Iain, I'm a retired NHS records clerk.

Hi, I'm Alastair, and I'm a chartered surveyor.

Hi, I'm Hugh, I'm a retired business analyst.

-So, Charlie, team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Thank you.

And there's some drinking and some quizzing and a bit of golf,

-I gather?

-Er, yeah. Well, not necessarily in that order,

but, yes, I think you've summed it up pretty well.

And in terms of the quiz, what sort of level of seriousness

are we at at The Chase Inn?

-Oh, very competitive.

-Really? There's no other sort, is there?

No prisoners are taken in our quiz.

So, anyone of you a question master or you all the answerers, are you?

No, we're all the answerers, the question master will be at home

laughing his head off at us at the moment.

We often have question masters in answering the questions

and it's funny how they're not necessarily as good as they are

when they've got the paper in their hands.

Yeah, we've found that out before.

Yes, and I know the feeling only too well.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our Challengers, but if they fail to defeat

the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Ayr We Go, it's been a bit of Ayr We Go

for the Eggheads recently, they've won the last 17

so they're way above their batting average at the moment.

They're cruising for a bruising

and it means that £18,000

is here for you to win today,

which I think is probably worth going ahead with, shall we do it?

-ALL:

-Yeah. Let's do it.

-Let's do it.

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

So, who from Ayr We Go would like this?

Oh, Charlie. Hand in the air. I like that. Against which Egghead?

They're not going to put their hands up,

they're not that respectful, I'm afraid.

I would love to play against CJ, if I may.

You may indeed. So, Charlie from Ayr We Go versus CJ from the Eggheads.

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

in the Question Room?

So, CJ, how are we on our English towns at the moment?

Um, I wasn't aware there were any.

Counties you haven't been to or don't care about?

There are quite a few English counties I have never visited,

it's one of those problems, maybe in my gym, I've got two posters

and the periodic table's in front of me on my treadmill

and the map of the British Isles is just to the side of me.

Maybe I should swap the positions so I can actually see

the British Isles and maybe something will go in,

but I just cannot get British geography.

But you had a bad time with the periodic table the other day.

-Thanks so much, Jeremy.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-Why don't you just tell everybody?

-They know anyway.

On Geography, Charlie, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

Geelong and Wollongong are cities in which country?

Well, looking at those,

I feel the antipodes coming upon me

so I'll immediately say no to South Africa

and New Zealand and I'll say Australia.

Australia is the right answer, well done. Well done.

CJ, the resort of Tenby

is in which Welsh national park?

I knew it was in Wales.

However, I do believe Tenby is on the coast

and the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia aren't

and I think it's over in Pembrokeshire,

which I think is the south west of Wales,

so I'll go for the Pembrokeshire Coast.

Yes, it's not an easy question, you've got it absolutely right, CJ.

-I don't mean to sound so surprised.

-Well, only because I live in Wales.

Obviously in your gym,

you've been turning to the left a bit to see that map.

-Maybe?

-Maybe.

-Just a thought.

OK, your question, Charlie.

The Lancashire market town of Clitheroe

is in the valley of which river?

-Clitheroe?

-Clitheroe.

Hmm, that's a tough one for me.

Um... I think it may well be...

and it's 80% guess,

but I'll go for the Ribble.

And Ribble's right. Yeah.

OK, CJ, which of these cities is on the Strait of Gibraltar?

Hmm, now which one's closest?

I'll be honest, I've never heard of Oran, I don't know where that is.

I've been to Morocco...

On the coast you've got Essaouira.

I thought Casablanca was more inland.

I think... I'm discounting Oran, because I've never heard of it.

I think Casablanca's further inland, so I'll go for Tangier.

-Is he right, Eggheads?

-To some extent, yeah.

-To some...?

Casablanca is very definitely on the coast.

Yeah, Casablanca is on the coast.

But Tangier is nearest.

But Tangier is on the Strait of Gibraltar,

So, you've got it, you've squeaked it there. Well done.

All right, Charlie, back to you,

third question.

In which county is Framlingham Castle,

where Mary I of England once rallied her troops

when she was securing the crown?

Well, I've got to rule out Suffolk first of all,

because I don't think she...

..got that down that far and that east. I may be wrong.

Gloucestershire, again...

heading westwards...

..makes me lean towards North Yorkshire,

but, again, it's pretty much a guess.

North Yorkshire is the wrong answer, it is actually Suffolk.

Framlingham is in Suffolk, right?

-It is, yeah.

-Yeah.

OK, CJ,

your chance for the round then.

What term is used to you refer to the scratches left behind

when a glacier has eroded a rock?

OK, now, scree...

..is...

..the debris. Scree is just lots of little rocks left,

cos you have scree slopes.

So, it's not scree.

Striations, obviously, are scratches...

..and talus is...

..something else.

They're all glacial terms,

but I think the scratches left on rocks are striations.

Striations is the right answer, CJ.

Well done, on your third question. Three out of three for our Egghead.

Very hard to beat when they're like this,

-Charlie, isn't it?

-It is, well done, CJ.

-But early days for your team.

Please come back to us.

CJ will be in the final, we'll see what happens next.

So, as it stands, Ayr We Go have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have still got all five sitting there,

see if you can take a couple of lumps out of them now.

The next subject is Music.

So, which one of you would like this?

Looks like it's me, isn't it?

-Dougie?

-Yes.

-OK, against which Egghead?

Obviously, it can't be CJ.

-What do you think?

-Lisa?

-Lisa.

Yeah, I think we'll go against Lisa, Jeremy.

All right, Lisa on Music... Oh, you'll be singing.

-SHE LAUGHS

-I can't work out whether

you said that in delight or in despair, Jeremy.

-Can you sing at least once?

-We'll see.

-All right.

That sounds like a promise.

It's Dougie from Ayr We Go versus Lisa, the Voice, from the Eggheads.

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

OK, so good luck, Dougie, you're up against our own Lisa Thiel

on Music, she loves her music.

Dougie, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here is your question.

The artist known as Diddy has become famous in which genre of music?

Well, I'm pretty sure it's not jazz,

grunge I would say was before his time and not his type,

so I'll go with rap, Jeremy.

Rap is the right answer.

Here's your question, Lisa.

"You're the Nile, you're the Tower of Pisa,

"you're the smile on the Mona Lisa"

are lines from which Cole Porter song?

You might have to sing this.

OK. Well, it ain't Night And Day,

because that one I could sing for you.

And I think most of the lines in Let's Do It end in "do it",

so, I think, on that basis, we can say it's You're The Top.

It is You're The Top, but I'm sensing you don't know the notes.

-I don't, I'm afraid.

-OK, better move swiftly on.

Dougie, which James Bond theme tune

starts with the lines,

"He always runs while others walk, he acts while other men just talk."

Bond films aren't my forte.

I'm going to rule out Thunderball,

because it starts with "He", so it's either Goldfinger,

or The Man With The Golden Gun.

And, purely a 50-50 guess,

I'm going to have to go with Goldfinger.

Yes, but I think that will... Lisa, that starts with the word...

Goldfinger.

# Goldfinger, he's the man

# The man with the Midas touch. #

-That's Goldfinger.

-# That spider's touch, da-na-na... #

So, that's not that one.

It's not The Man With The Golden Gun, it's Thunderball.

On we go. Lisa's chance to take the lead.

Fairground was the debut UK number one single by which band?

I think it took them till about 1995, but they'd been around

for a long time before they ever had a number one,

but Fairground is Simply Red.

Simply Red is right, well done.

Back to you, Dougie.

You need to get this one right.

Which of these patriotic Scottish songs was written in 1965?

Oh, I'm going to be embarrassed if I don't get this one.

And probably get the train home on my own.

Scots Wha Hae, I would imagine, is a very old one.

Scotland The Brave and Flower Of Scotland

are both very patriotic and, again,

I can feel the team

shouting it at me.

But I'm going to have to go with Flower Of Scotland.

-Team? CHALLENGERS:

-Yeah.

Yeah, they like it. Flower Of Scotland it is, well done.

You got two out of three.

Lisa can take the round, though, with this question.

The Song That Goes Like This and You Won't Succeed On Broadway

-are songs from which musical?

-Oh.

Right, well, it ain't Cabaret

and I think the Spamalot ones

tend to be slightly more Arthurian

in derivation, but...

..yeah, they sound sort of Avenue Q-y,

so we'll go for Avenue Q.

We've got some musical lovers here, Barry, CJ?

-BOTH:

-Spamalot.

-Spamalot.

-Oh, gutted.

-Spamalot.

So, after three questions, you both have two, you're level.

Dougie, you're off the hook, but you need to press the advantage now.

We go to Sudden Death. It gets a bit harder,

cos I don't give you alternatives.

Which song, a UK hit single for The Shangri-Las in 1965

features the revving sound of a motorcycle engine?

Well, thanks to having to listen to it in the car on holidays every year

with my mum and dad, I think, that'll be the Leader Of The Pack.

Leader Of The Pack is quite right.

Lisa, to stay in,

which song made famous by Frank Sinatra

has lyrics by Paul Anka set to the tune Comme D'Habitude,

composed by Claude Francois and Jacques Revaux.

Oh.

That could've been a more convoluted question, but...

it's not really helpful saying,

"A song made famous by Frank Sinatra," is it?

It's the second part of the question

that's going to narrow it down for you and I don't know.

No, I can't think of anything even vaguely plausible,

which is going to annoy me.

So, I shall say Strangers In The Night

and hold my hands up.

# And now, the end is near... #

-Oh, is it that really?

-Yeah, seriously.

-Wow.

My Way is the answer. Sorry, Lisa, you've been knocked out.

Well done, Dougie.

-Thank you.

-Good effort on Music.

Excellent stuff.

Becoming a contest, isn't it?

Do both of you please return to us, we'll play on.

So, as it stands, Ayr We Go have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost a brain.

Well done, Dougie. Good round.

The next subject is Film & Television.

Who would like this?

-Do you want me to do it, Charlie?

-If you're happy with that.

-Yeah.

-We would like you to do that, definitely.

-Yep.

-On you go.

-Yep, that's fine.

-OK.

Hugh, I think, difficult to resist the call-up from Charlie there.

"We would like you to do it VERY much."

So, who would you like to take on, Hugh?

-Er... Chris, please.

-OK.

-Hugh from Ayr We Go versus Chris from the Eggheads.

-Mm-hm.

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

OK, Hugh, here we go - Film & TV against Chris.

Would you like to go first or second?

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

Good luck.

Which Blue Peter presenter

travelled to the South Pole using a bicycle for Comic Relief?

Now...I don't think it was Katy Hill or Lesley Judd.

I'll go with Helen Skelton.

It was indeed Helen Skelton.

Over to you, Chris.

Jennifer Lawrence co-starred with which of these actors

in both Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle?

Now, she's the Hunger Games girl, isn't she, Jennifer Lawrence?

Er... And Chris Evans isn't THAT Chris Evans, is it?

I don't think it'd be Michael Fassbender,

so I'll go with Bradley Cooper.

Bradley Cooper is the right answer.

Hugh, your question.

In which film did Colin Firth play Harry Hart,

also known as Galahad?

Well, the good thing is I've never heard of any of them...

..so...

..educated guess...

I'll go with Easy Virtue.

No. I think I think it was... He was...

I haven't seen the film,

but he was a guy who was in charge of agents that he'd recruited.

Yeah, and he was recruiting this young lad.

Yeah, sort of from the other side of the tracks.

Kingsman - The Secret Service was the answer.

Over to you, Chris.

Sarah Parish played Anna Rampton, the head of output,

in which television series?

Oh, yeah, sounds like one of those menial management titles,

doesn't it, from W1A?

It is W1A. Well done. Yes, indeed. She's the head of output.

She's the one who's just worrying the whole time about stuff.

And if you work inside the BBC, it was not funny at all.

OK. Hugh,

your question.

What is the name of the bass player played by Harry Shearer

in the film This Is Spinal Tap?

Again, one that I'm not familiar with.

-Uh...

-CJ MOUTHS

I will try Derek Smalls.

You've got it right. It is Derek Smalls.

Very good.

Chris, for the round.

Before he became famous,

which actor worked as a market porter,

a steeplejack and a fire-eater?

Well, I don't see Jeremy Irons as a steeplejack.

It's not David Jason either,

cos he's been in the business since forever.

But, given Bob Hoskins' Cockney background,

I could see him as a market porter, so it's Bob Hoskins.

Bob Hoskins is the right answer. Well done. You've taken the round.

Sorry, Hugh. Didn't really give you any quarter there, did he?

-No, he didn't, no.

-He is quite methodical.

-Like a train just chugging along, old Chris.

-Yep.

And you've been knocked out, Hugh. Chris'll be in the final round.

Come back to us and we'll play on.

As it stands, Ayr We Go have lost two brains from the final round.

Good round from Chris there. The Eggheads have lost one.

And the next subject is History.

Who would like this?

Oh! A hand... I like this hand raising that's going on.

-This is a good...

-It was agreed in the train on the way up.

-In training?

-In the train.

-Oh, on the train.

-Yes.

-OK.

Iain against...?

-I think I'll take Barry.

-Barry. All right.

So, Iain from Ayr We Go has chosen Barry the Shirt from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring, please go to our Question Room.

So, Iain, we're on History,

and I can't resist pointing out that when you were 17

you served breakfast to Douglas Bader.

-That's correct, yes.

-The circumstances?

I worked at Prestwick Airport Hotel,

and I was a waiter during the summer holidays,

and he came in for breakfast, passing through Prestwick Airport.

But nobody else knew who he was - even the older waiters -

but I'd read Reach For The Sky and seen the movie.

Yeah, I've seen that film as well. That's interesting.

So, that was pretty sharp of you to spot him.

Everybody else thought he'd been drinking...

because of... He had false legs,

-and they thought he was unsteady on his feet.

-Yeah.

Great story, Iain, and good luck in this round, History.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first.

Here we go with your first question.

What name was sometimes used for Viking longships

due to the shape of their prows?

Well, I don't think it was lion ships...

..and the wolf, being a northern animal...

..is more likely.

And, with the same way of thinking, I'm going to discount dragon

as it's a Far Eastern mythological creature.

No, I'll go for wolf ships.

No, it was dragon ships. I think it's that...

The way the front sort of goes up and curves

like a dragon's head.

Barry,

the tribes called Caledonii by the Romans

lived in which part of the British Isles?

Well, as the Caledonian Canal runs through northern Scotland,

I think I'll have to choose northern Scotland.

And as we are filming in Glasgow, I'm glad you got that right.

Northern Scotland is correct, Barry. Well done.

Iain, back to you.

In the 11th and 12th centuries,

the Seljuks ruled an empire that was powerful

in which part of the world?

I've seen that name recently...

..but I can't remember in what context.

I'm going to discount West Africa.

Middle East.

Well done, Iain. The Middle East,

it is. You've got a point there.

So, you're level. Barry's chance to pull ahead.

In the 1840s, which German author wrote the work

The Condition Of The Working Class In England?

He is more commonly associated with Karl Marx,

but it was Friedrich Engels.

It was indeed Engels.

Storming play, Barry,

which means, Iain, you've got to get this right to stay in.

In Ancient Greece, the brazen bull was a form of what?

I don't think it was a divination method.

I'm going to go for a torture device.

Torture device is correct.

OK, Barry,

for the round, Tipu Sultan, who led a campaign against the British

in 18th-century India,

was nicknamed the Tiger of which Indian kingdom?

I believe it was... He was the Tiger of Mysore.

He was the Tiger of Mysore. Well done.

With that, you've taken the round. Well done. Three out of three.

Sorry about that, Iain. He played well...

-Yes, he did.

-..and you've been knocked out.

But if you come back to us, both of you, we'll play the final,

and it may be more evenly matched than it appears.

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, Charlie, Iain and Hugh from Ayr We Go

and also Lisa from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Well, good luck, Dougie, Alistair.

You're playing to win Ayr We Go £18,000.

Your three colleagues at the back

will be very, very pleased with you if you win it.

You can just leave that way and we'll slow them down.

Eggheads, you're playing for something that money can't buy -

the Eggheads' precious 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, Ayr We Go, the question is -

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

No need to answer that. Just tell me if you want to go first or second.

-Go first?

-Yeah.

-We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go with your first question.

What term do Americans use for the boot of a car?

-Trunk.

-Trunk, yeah.

-There's no doubt about that.

-No.

Trunk.

Trunk is right.

Here's your question, Eggheads.

I feel the tension.

What colour is the natural dye called cochineal?

-Red.

-It comes from the beetle, doesn't it?

-Little crushed beetles.

They're... Yeah? They breed on cacti.

It's...a red colouring used for centuries.

Red is the correct answer.

Well done.

One each. £18,000

we're playing for here on Eggheads.

What type of game is Nine Men's Morris?

-I don't know.

-Nine Men's Morris...

-Never heard of it as a board game.

-Never heard of it as a board game.

Ball game, it's...

Anything like...

-..dodge ball or something like that, maybe?

-Maybe a card game.

I don't... Never heard of it.

Nine Men's Morris - is it like Gin Rummy or something?

Nine... Nine cards and...

Why would you be nine?

-Erm...

-Two to...ten... No.

What do you think?

-I'm going to go ball game.

-OK.

-OK.

-OK, after a bit of debate, ball game.

-Ball game.

You ruled out cards because of

-nine doesn't sound right - is that right?

-Yeah.

OK. Eggheads, do you know that?

-It's a board game.

-A traditional English board game.

It's a bit like... It's a kind of chequers.

OK. What, with round pieces?

-It's got a track.

-No, pegs.

-Yeah, nine pegs.

You have to manoeuvre them

so as they jump over each other, you have two at the end.

Nine Men's Morris is a board game.

Sorry.

Your second question.

In architecture, what name is given to the roughly triangular spaces

between the exterior curves of an arch

and a rectangular framework surrounding it?

-Well...

-Spandrels, I think.

-It's definitely not a ha-ha.

-Not a ha-ha.

I'm pretty certain that they're spandrels.

Architrave...

I think an architrave is something on... Under the frieze at the top.

-Yeah, they're in the ceiling, at the top, architraves.

-Yeah.

Could we have the question one more time, Jeremy?

In architecture, what name is given to

the roughly triangular spaces

between the exterior curves of an arch

and a rectangular framework surrounding it?

-Spandrels.

-That's definitely spandrels.

-You're definite?

-Definite.

-Yeah.

OK, we're going for spandrels.

Sounds like the name of a bad '60s band,

doesn't it?

Spandrels is correct, though.

Barry and his architecture.

So, you must get this one right.

Pressure is on here.

The fictional musketeers D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis

are based on real musketeers who lived in which century?

-It's not 19th.

-Are you sure?

-19th's too late.

-Right.

-Erm... 17th.

-15th is too early?

15th... 1400s...

Erm...

The book's written...

We'll go for 17th.

-Yeah?

-1600s.

-1600s.

Which is in the run-up...

to...the French Revolution,

17th century.

-17th.

-Right. I'm happy with that.

OK. 17th century.

17th century is the right answer.

Well done.

OK, they've got two out of three.

If you get three out of three, the contest is over.

Eggheads, what type of bird is a blackcap?

-Was that a blackcap?

-Is that a blackcap, you say?

One word - blackcap.

-Cap.

-I thought it was a songbird.

-Yeah, it's a warbler.

Well, it's certainly not a crow.

-I don't think it's a crow...

-And it's not a falcon.

I thought it was a warbler,

I thought it was a songbird, a blackcap.

It's not a finch-y type...

It's obviously not one of the other two.

-OK, are we happy with warbler, then?

-Mm-hm, yeah.

We're going to go for warbler, Jeremy.

You reacted in such a stunned way, I thought

you had no chance of answering this. Let's see.

Are they right? Do you think it's warbler?

I think so.

It's not a crow...

it's not a falcon - it is a warbler.

We say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

-Guys, thanks for playing, and I hope you enjoyed it.

-Very much.

-You haven't got far to go now.

-No.

-No, just down the road.

OK, you're here in Glasgow, so...

-Well, thank you for your hospitality to us, and well played.

-Thank you.

And at the end, it's always...nip and tuck, isn't it?

But the Eggheads have done

what comes increasingly naturally to them.

Their winning streak continues.

I wonder if they're going to get to £20,000.

Does mean the Challengers don't go home with the 18,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, well done. Another convincing performance.

You lost Lisa Thiel on the way,

but you are very much there and fighting in the final.

Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if

a new team of Challengers can defeat the Eggheads.

19,000 says they can't.

Till then, goodbye.