Episode 11 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads,

the show where a team of five quiz Challengers pit their wits

against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Here they are, the Eggheads.

-Eggheads, are feeling fiery today?

-Yes.

Very much so. Determined to win.

Challenging our resident quiz champions are...

Now, this team

all met when they volunteered to help during

the London 2012 Olympics.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Sue and I'm a retired educational administrator.

Hi, I'm Alex. I'm a retired retail buyer.

Hi, I'm Martin and I'm a retired civil servant.

Hello, my name is Marjon and I am relief matron.

Hello, I'm Shirley and I'm a charity legacy officer.

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

And of course, the Olympics in 2012 were such a great success.

So, well done.

-All your own doing.

-Of course.

-How does quizzing come into this?

That's what I can't work out.

Well, it's quite interesting, really.

Because we all met about five years ago,

we've carried on meeting up, having regular reunions,

and about 18 months ago, because I watch the programme a lot, I floated

the idea with my team about taking part in the Eggheads.

And we also thought, "Well, we're not going to be at Rio,

-"so why not have a go at the Eggheads?"

-Brilliant.

That's a very, very good plan. Good luck, Challengers.

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

If the Challengers fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to our next show.

So, Fellowship of the Rings,

the Challengers actually won the last game, which in a way

might be good cos the Eggheads are teetering a little bit

and it proves it can be done.

So there's £1,000 to win.

Would you like to go for it?

-Definitely.

-OK.

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

-Who would like this?

-Martin.

I think that might be Martin.

I think that's you, Martin.

I could have guessed this would happen.

-Yes.

-Martin, so you're taking it, and you want to know which Egghead.

Well, two of them are still slightly unknown quantities,

the two new Eggheads.

And we've got Pat, Barry or Judith as well.

-I'd say Beth.

-Good?

-Yeah.

-I think so.

-Happy with that.

Martin from Fellowship of the Rings versus Beth from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the famous Question Room.

So, Martin, how come you got down for Film & TV there? What happened?

When we had our trials, I seemed to do rather well at it,

but probably more by good luck than good judgment, but we'll see.

OK, Film & TV, Martin,

you can choose whether you go first or second against Beth.

I'll go first if I may, Jeremy.

And here is your question.

Which Friends actor became a co-host of the TV show Top Gear

in 2016?

Well, I don't actually watch Top Gear,

but I think the answer is Matt LeBlanc.

Matt LeBlanc is right.

OK, your question. Beth.

In which year was the reality TV show Big Brother first

broadcast in the UK?

Well, this was around the time I was finishing university,

so I'm pretty sure the answer is 2000.

2000 is correct.

OK, Martin, your question.

You've got one each.

The superhero costume worn by Ryan Reynolds's character in

the 2016 film Deadpool is typically black and what colour?

I haven't seen the film. I hope to, I like Marvel films.

I think it's red.

Yeah, you're playing well, red it is.

Are you pleased you put Martin in now?

Absolutely. We knew.

They're feeling good about this, Martin.

OK, Beth.

The fifth instalment

of which animated film series was released in the UK in July 2016?

I'm a fan of animated films and I believe this is Ice Age.

I think it's subtitled Collision Course.

Yes, you're right. So, Martin, your question.

For three in a row.

Tom Courtenay won a BAFTA award in 2016 for his performance in

which TV drama series?

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it's Unforgotten.

Unforgotten is correct.

Well done, three out of three.

Beth, onto you. Which of these fictional countries

plays a key role in the plot of the 2015 film

Avengers - Age Of Ultron?

Ooh! Well, Genovia, I believe,

is The Princess Diaries.

So I don't think it's that.

So Sokovia or Ruritania?

I'm going to go with Sokovia.

BARRY LAUGHS Barry, what do you think?

-Yes indeed. Ruritania is from The Prisoner Of Zenda.

-Yeah.

I thought Ruritania was a real place as well.

No, no. Fictional.

What? Ruritania is not real?

Oh, my goodness! BARRY LAUGHS

-Sokovia is right, Beth.

-Phew!

Three out of three for you both, so we go to Sudden Death now.

Martin, it gets a bit harder,

I don't give you alternatives. So here's your question.

Which Hollywood actor born in 1972 has starred in films in

The Fast and The Furious, GI Joe and The Mummy franchises?

Um...

-Born in 1972?

-Yeah.

Um...

Only one I can think of in the context of The Mummy

is Brendan Fraser, but I fear that's not right.

It's Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock.

Back to you, Beth, for the round.

Who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar

for her portrayal of the

Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo

in the 2002 film Frida?

-Um...

-SHE SIGHS

Now, let me make sure I've got her name...her name right.

I think that's Salma Hayek.

That's the correct answer.

You are through to the final. Sorry, Martin,

knocked out there on Film & TV.

Please return to us, rejoin your teams

and we'll see what happens next.

So, as it stands, the Fellowship of the Rings

have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost a brain so far.

But it's early.

And the Olympic spirit will carry you through.

The next subject is Science.

Who would like Science?

I think that was me, wasn't it? Yeah.

-Shirley?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Which Egghead would you like to play, Shirley?

-Do you think Judith?

-Could try Judith.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Judith. I'd like to play Judith, please.

Judith, known as The Rocket after she beat a rocket scientist

in the Science round. THEY LAUGH

-SHIRLEY:

-Thank you(!)

Now you tell her.

She beat him on a question about hedgerows, to be fair.

So Shirley from Fellowship of the Rings

versus The Rocket from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

-Shirley, do you have a science background?

-Um, no.

-I was the member of the team that was least bad at science.

-OK.

Well, I guess the same for you, Judith. You've got some botany.

-Yes, and animals and things.

-Yeah.

-Antelopes and whatnot.

-EGGHEADS LAUGH

Yeah, and the famous...

The call of the nene.

And the nene!

-A Hawaiian goose.

-A Hawaiian goose.

If Judith gets knocked out, she then does that call.

-I have become a Hawaiian goose.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

All right, Shirley, Science we are on,

would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, please.

OK, over to The Rocket.

Tim Peake returned to Earth on June the 18th, 2016,

after spending approximately how long in space?

I think it was about six months.

-Six months is correct.

-Yes.

Shirley, your first question.

In physics, momentum is the product of a body's velocity and what?

Well, it's not temperature.

I think it's mass.

You're right. It's one of the few things I remember

from science at school - momentum is MV.

-Is that right, Barry?

-Yes.

Mass times velocity.

All right, Judith.

Including moons that have been discovered but not yet given

official status or names,

which planet in our solar system do scientists now think has 67 moons?

I don't think it's Neptune.

Jupiter has a huge number of moons, doesn't it?

And Juno is going to probably discover how many.

But of Uranus... I don't know much about Uranus, frankly.

I'm going to say Jupiter.

Jupiter is right, well done. Well done.

So, Judith moves into the lead. Back to you, Shirley.

The honey bear, an arboreal mammal native

to South and Central America,

is also known by which of these names?

Well, it's not okapi.

That's a sort of creature that is similar to

a giraffe but it's got a shorter neck.

I think dugong is an underwater creature, so I think it's kinkajou.

Kinkajou is quite right. You're playing well.

You're good at this, I can tell.

Back to Judith. Which radioactive element

with the atomic number 96 has the chemical symbol CM?

Can you tell me the number again?

The atomic number 96.

So, 96. They get more and more radioactive

as they go up in numbers.

I don't know for sure, but as it's 96,

it's quite high up the table,

and Marie Curie got terrible radioactive sickness,

and curium is named after her.

So, I mean, the association... I'm going to go for curium.

On the basis that if it's a higher atomic number,

it's giving off a lot of something?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Like it. Barry?

Yes, the higher the atomic number,

the more unstable the nuclei are,

so you will get radioactivity.

But Judith is right about curium,

but it wasn't just named after Marie Curie,

it was named after Pierre and Marie Curie,

after her and her husband.

You're missing Pierre Curie out, but apart from that, Judith,

-you're right.

-Oh, well.

-Curium is the right answer.

-Yeah.

So, here we are, three to Judith,

two to you. See if you can make it three, take her to Sudden Death.

Who performed the world's first successful human cornea transplant

in 1905?

I've no idea.

So it will have to be a complete guess.

And I'm going to go for Eduard Zirm.

Eduard Zirm is right.

Well done.

Tell you what, these Challengers are playing well.

Both of them have gone to Sudden Death so far.

So, Judith, it gets a bit harder.

I don't give you alternative options.

Which famous cosmonaut was killed along with Vladimir Seryogin

during a routine training flight on March the 27th, 1968?

Well, it is not Gagarin, is it?

I think it's Valentina...

What was she called? Tereshkova or something.

I think it was the female one. I have a feeling.

Give me a name.

Valentina...Tereshkova.

Valentina Tereshkova.

It certainly sounds like a Russian name.

-Pat, you know this.

-I have a feeling it's one of these great ironies.

I think when Gagarin came back from space,

he was so precious they resolved that they'd never send him up again

and risk him, and I think he died in an airplane crash.

-It was Yuri Gagarin.

-Really?

-It really was.

I thought he lived to a ripe old age.

So you have a chance here, Shirley.

This question will get you in the final round.

What has the India Meteorological Department

defined as a seasonally reversing wind system accompanied by

seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation?

-Is it monsoon?

-Monsoon is quite right, well done.

You're in the final round, Shirley. Sorry, Judith.

Didn't quite fall for you today,

but brilliant play from our Challenger.

Come back to us and rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands,

the Fellowship of the Rings have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost one. It's quite a tight contest here.

You're playing well, Challengers.

And your next subject is Geography.

Who would like this?

-I think that's going to be me, Jeremy.

-OK, Marjon.

And... You can pick an Egghead.

Obviously, it can't be Beth or Judith.

-I think it's going to be Pat.

-Brilliant.

OK, Marjon from the Fellowship of the Rings

versus our own Pat from the Eggheads,

known as The Silent Destroyer.

EGGHEADS LAUGH

Sometimes anyway.

To ensure there is no conferring, please take your positions.

Now, your name is fascinating, Marjon, cos it's M-A-R-J-O-N,

and I bet everyone gets it wrong.

Um, yes.

It is just the Dutch version of Marion, but it is Marjon.

Yes, and in the end, it's all Mary.

It is just another version of Mary.

OK. Geography, Marjon.

Would you like to go first or second against the great Pat?

I think I'll go first, Jeremy, please.

All right. All the best, Marjon, in this round. And here we go.

The island of Corsica lies approximately 100 miles off

which coast of mainland France?

Well, it's not north.

And it...

shouldn't be west, so I'm doing south.

Yeah, I went on holiday there once, it is definitely south.

Well done.

Pat.

Which of these motorways links Bristol to London?

I have lived in London in the past and my mother lived in Wexford,

so the motorway and ferry combination

meant I had to go along the M4.

M4 is right.

OK, Marjon. What is the approximate

population of the Netherlands?

How did...? How did that happen?

Now, you're welcome to get this wrong,

but I'll give you three suggestions.

Mm.

Well, 57 million would mean that we would all be terribly squashed in,

so let's not do that one.

I don't think it is 37.

It used to be 16, when I came to live here,

but I think it has gone up a bit, so I'm going with 17.

And that is your country of birth?

It is, yes.

You're absolutely right, 17 million. That question was designed for you.

-I know!

-That's joyful.

-Thank you.

-That's wonderful.

OK, Pat, your question.

The Gulf of Aqaba is an arm of which sea?

The Gulf of Aqaba, which is A-Q-A-B-A.

Well, the Red Sea runs in a sort of southeast to northwest direction.

And the Gulf of Aqaba is a little branch of that that goes up

the edge of the Sinai Peninsula to the Israeli city of Eilat,

so it's the Red Sea.

You do have a map on the inside of your eyelids, don't you?

I'm certain of that. Red Sea is right. Well done.

Marjon, back to you.

Which Middle Eastern country shares land borders with

Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates?

It's going to be a little bit of a guess, and I'm going to say Oman.

-Pat, is she right?

-She is. She is correct.

-Oman is right.

Three out of three again.

Nothing goes wrong for you in the multiple-choice rounds,

you Challengers.

Playing really well.

OK, Pat, to stay in.

Which of these items features on the national flag of Angola?

I think it's...

Yeah, it is one of those flags with some unusual content.

I think Mozambique has got the AK-47

and I think Angola has a machete.

So...

-I think it is a machete.

-Machete is the right answer, well done.

So, here we are, Sudden Death. Back to you, Marjon.

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

French Guiana, an overseas region of France,

is located in which continent?

I think, but I might not be quite right, but I think it is in Africa.

-Africa no, South America.

-Oh!

Pat, your question for the round.

The Tenzing-Hillary Airport is located in which Asian country?

Well, one's first thought would be Nepal because of the obvious

Everest connection.

I know Nepal does have some of the world's most frightening airports,

with short runways that head straight into cliff faces.

BARRY LAUGHS

I don't think it's... I think it's not far from Everest.

I don't think it's on the Chinese side.

So I think it must be in Nepal.

Nepal is your answer.

And it is the correct answer, you've won on Sudden Death.

Sorry, Marjon.

Brilliant Dutch question in there. Well played.

-Thank you.

-Bad luck. You won't be in the final round.

Do come back to us, we'll play the last head-to-head.

As it stands, the Fellowship of the Rings

have lost two brains now from the final round.

The Eggheads have only lost one, so this is the time to fight back.

The next subject is Sport.

Now...

So we've got Alex or Sue on this, is that right?

-Me.

-Yes.

-OK, Alex.

-It's going to be Alex.

-I'm in here for my sports knowledge.

-Oh, right.

Well, that's brilliant. And against which Egghead?

You can go for Steve or Barry.

-I think I'm going to try Barry, actually.

-Why not? Many have.

Alex from Fellowship of the Rings versus Barry The Brain.

To ensure there is no conferring, please go to the Question Room now.

So what took you toward Sport in this, Alex?

I love sport. I watch lots of sport, all sports, all over the place

-and I spend all my holidays watching sport in foreign countries.

-Really?

-Fantastic. So the Olympics was fantastic for you.

-Fantastic.

And I mainly follow cricket,

-so I go and watch England wherever they play.

-OK.

Well, good luck in this round against Barry.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I think I'll go second.

OK, Barry, your first question is this.

Which of these teams knocked England out of

football's 2016 European championships?

BARRY CHUCKLES

I watched this match, and I must admit, when I watched it,

I was very proud to be a Scotsman.

And it was Iceland.

Yes, I suddenly remembered I had a grandfather who lived in

Wales for a period. BARRY LAUGHS

Iceland is right.

And good for them.

They played well.

OK, Alex, in snooker,

the pink ball is generally worth how many points?

I haven't got a clue, so I'm going to have to have a guess.

I'm going to guess at four. I'm pretty sure it's not two.

But I really don't know.

I'm so sorry, it's six. Barry, back to you.

David Haye

has been a world champion at heavyweight and which other

boxing weight class?

Right.

Well, if he has to lose weight from a heavyweight,

the next one down is cruiserweight, so I shall try that.

Nicely done, you're right.

Cruiserweight it is.

Alex, you need to get this one right.

In cricket, which of these positions is closest to the batsman?

Slip.

Brilliant. I knew you wouldn't go wrong there.

I don't know how many hours of cricket you've seen,

but it just paid off.

Slip is right, so a point to our Challenger,

but Barry can take the round now.

In which year did the tennis player Stefan Edberg win

his first Grand Slam singles title?

'95 is much too late for Edberg, and for his first championship,

I think '90 is, cos he...

he kind of won championships alternating with Boris Becker,

so I shall go for 1985.

The correct answer is 1985.

Barry, you're in the final.

Sorry, Alex, that wretched snooker question.

So, come back to us, both of you, rejoin your teams,

and we will play the final.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It's time for the final round, which as always is General Knowledge.

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

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

So, Alex, Martin and Marjon from the Fellowship of the Rings

and Judith from the Eggheads, would you please now leave the studio?

Sue and Shirley, you're playing to win the Fellowship of the Rings

£1,000.

Pat, Beth, Steve and Barry, you're playing for something that

money cannot buy, which is 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, Fellowship of the Rings, the question is,

are you two brains able to defeat these four?

You don't have to answer that,

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

I think we'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here is your first question.

Which of these politicians campaigned for the UK to leave

the EU in the 2016 referendum?

-(Michael Gove.)

-Michael Gove, yes.

-Yeah.

-That was Michael Gove, Jeremy.

Michael Gove is right.

Eggheads, your first question.

Which birthday did Prince Philip celebrate in June 2016?

-95.

-95.

-I think it was 95.

Definitely 95.

-I think he's a few years older than the Queen.

-Yeah.

-And she's 90.

-Yeah.

Jeremy, the consensus of opinion seems to be the 95th birthday.

95 is quite right.

OK, your question, Challengers.

Elizabeth Bats married which explorer in 1762?

-Right. So it is not Francis Drake because...

-James Cook, do you think?

I don't know anything about John Smith, do you? Or when he was.

Do you think he exists?

Possibly not.

-Shall we go for James Cook?

-Yeah.

Right, I think we are going to go for James Cook, Jeremy.

James Cook. It is a tough old question.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know. Eggheads?

-Yes, yes.

The other two were much earlier.

-They were much earlier. They were explorers, though?

-Yes.

James Cook is right.

So, Eggheads, your second question.

What is the real name of the singer Pink?

-Alecia Moore, I think.

-Alecia Moore. Yeah.

Stefani Germanotta is Lady Gaga.

Stephanie Germanotta, she is Lady Gaga.

Katheryn Hudson is Katy Perry.

So we're left with Alecia Moore, and we think that's Pink.

Alecia Moore is quite right.

Nicely done. OK, your third question. Get this right

and you get a bit of pressure on them.

Which of these characters is killed in the John Steinbeck novella

Of Mice And Men?

I don't know, I haven't read it.

-The only one I've heard of is Lennie.

-Right.

-So I think we'll have to go with Lennie.

-Yeah, Lennie.

We're going to go with Lennie.

Nice bit of logic, that's the one you've heard of.

THEY LAUGH

No, but it is good because it is right. Well done, Lennie is right.

You play well in these rounds, I must say.

It's three out of three again.

OK, Eggheads,

here's your questions to stay in.

In 2009, which film star co-founded the drinking water

and sanitation development and aid organization water.org?

-PAT:

-Hmm...

-BARRY:

-Struggling on this. I'm afraid I don't know this one.

-PAT:

-Hmm... My slight preference would be Matt Damon,

I'm just trying to bring back some clearer details.

We've all got a slight Matt Damon preference.

Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and I think Matt Damon are very active

on the charity front.

I mean, not to say the others aren't, but...

The others could be.

Should we ask for a reread?

Yeah, please. Could you just read it again, Jeremy, please?

Yeah. In 2009, which film star co-founded the drinking water

and sanitation development and aid organization water.org?

You're going back seven years.

-How long has Chris Pratt been a big star?

-Not very long.

So he might be a bit recent.

Bradley Cooper has been fairly big for a while.

Matt Damon has been very big for quite a long time.

Quite a long time.

What is the consensus, then? Barry?

Well, I think Matt Damon, but I don't know it.

I don't know, but I prefer Matt Damon.

-I prefer Matt Damon as well.

-Yeah, Pat?

As you can see, Jeremy, we're not ever so sure.

Rightly or wrongly, we've ruled Chris Pratt out,

so it's a toss of the coin, but purely on the basis that

Matt Damon's been an established star longer than the other two,

we are going to chance his arm and say Matt Damon.

You are one question away from defeat here.

The correct answer is Matt Damon.

-Phew!

-Well played, team.

A lot riding on it for these guys.

It's like a car that's crashed and they're trying to put the different

bits back together and you're stopping them, which is great play.

We go to Sudden Death.

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

The title of the stage play that won the Best New Comedy award

at the 2015 Olivier Awards is

The Play That...what?

So the title is The Play That...

(Went Wrong.)

Right, I don't know, so...

I believe that's The Play That Went Wrong.

It's incorrect.

The title is The Play That Goes Wrong.

-Ah!

-Oh!

That is very unlucky.

You just needed an extra moment on that.

Eggheads, you can win on this, but you may not.

Which ministerial residence which in recent times

has been granted to either the Deputy Prime Minister or the

Chancellor of Exchequer is located near the Buckinghamshire

village of Burnham?

-Dorneywood?

-Dorneywood.

-Dorneywood?

-Dorneywood?

Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Chevening is in Kent, not Chevening.

-Not Chequers.

-Not Chequers.

Which is the other one?

The Foreign Secretary house.

-That's Chevening, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-And Chevening is in Kent.

-I think it is Dorneywood.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, yeah.

-We'll go with that.

-Well, we are all agreed on Dorneywood, Jeremy.

If you got this right, you'll taken the contest.

They've given you a run for your money, that's for sure, here,

these Challengers.

The correct answer is Dorneywood. We say congratulations,

Eggheads, you have won.

Oh! The challenge that went wrong, just at the end.

-Just at the very end.

-Don't rub it in!

You played really, really well throughout. Notwithstanding,

the three in the back honestly played really well.

Lots of questions right, that's what we like to see.

So, commiserations. I hope you've enjoyed coming in.

-Very much, thank you.

-The Eggheads have done what comes

naturally to them and they reign supreme over quiz land once again,

along with our newest Eggheads.

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £1,000,

which means the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, maybe we'll build up a bit of a jackpot, you never know.

Who will beat you? Join us next time

to see if a new team of Challengers have the brains

to defeat the Eggheads. It will be £2,000 they'll be playing for.

Till then, goodbye.