Episode 18 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 Bath Brewhaha.

Team captain Dorian hosts a weekly quiz at the Bath Brewhouse pub,

and has hand-picked a team from his regular quizzers

to take on the Eggheads. It's a big moment, let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Dorian, and I'm maths teacher.

Hi, I'm Jane, and I'm a Citizens Advice volunteer adviser.

Hello, my name's Adam, I'm a freelance translator

and supermarket assistant.

Hi, I'm Barry, and I'm a retired legal executive.

Hello, I'm Shaun, and I'm a stockbroking administrator.

So, Dorian and team, welcome.

-Hi!

-Thank you for having us.

So tell us about Bath Brewhouse, Dorian?

It's a lovely little pub,

I've been doing the quiz for a couple of years now.

Been torturing all these fine folk over here. Mostly.

But they seem to enjoy it, and I've picked my best quizzers.

And I understand you are really fanatical about

compiling the best questions...?

Oh, of course, yeah. I have to do everything myself.

I might use the germ of an idea, but all questions are my own.

They're a bit weird, but I think they're used to them.

And tell us about the team and how you all got together?

Do you quiz against each other, or with each other?

That's the key thing.

So, I'm always winning, because I'm the quiz master.

But everyone else, yeah, they're my regulars. They often do very well.

They've all been on winning teams at various points.

Good luck to you, Challengers.

Everyday, there's £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our incoming team.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Bath Brewhaha, the Eggheads have won the last couple of games,

they're getting into their stride.

You've got to stop them, there's £3,000 if you do.

-Do you want to go for it?

-Yes, please!

OK, the first head-to-head battle is on Sport.

THEY LAUGH Who would like this?

Is that good?

-I think we would sacrifice Barry.

-Yeah, sorry, Barry.

-Sorry, Baz!

Not the first time we've seen Barry sacrificed in this studio.

LAUGHTER

Who would you like to take on?

OK, I think Chris, please.

Ah, you DO watch the programme.

Barry from Bath Brewhaha - all the Bs -

versus Chris, known as the Locomotive.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Barry, good luck here against Chris,

who has his moments on Sport, don't you?

I've been known to win the occasional Sport round, Jeremy.

So, would you like to go first or second, Barry?

First, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

How many strides did Usain Bolt take when running the 100m final

at the 2012 Olympics?

I would think it's a small number.

Quite a long strides.

Probably not 121.

I think I will say 41, please.

41 is correct. Well done.

Chris, your question.

What is the length of the baseline in a game of doubles tennis?

Eee...

16 feet, that's...

half a bus.

Same size court as a singles game, anyway, so it's 26 feet.

Ooh...

The length of the baseline in a game of doubles tennis,

26 feet - you've worked that out going on buses, have you?

-I know you like to get transport into things?

-Well...

But the idea that you could park a bus at the end of a court?

-Just about, yeah.

-How long is a bus?

Depends what buses we're talking about.

Well, we know what we're talking about,

we're talking about an old-fashioned Routemaster.

Well, old-fashioned Routemaster, 27' 6" long.

-OK. I'm sorry, Chris, it's wrong, it's 36 feet.

-Ah!

I guess because it's got the two tramlines on the sides on.

Yeah, yeah.

All right, Barry, this has started well.

Chris has unaccountably brought in a bus and crashed.

Which Six Nations rugby union team secured its first test series

win in Australia in June 2016?

I will try Ireland, please.

Oh, Barry!

This was a big story for England. England is the answer.

Would you have got that, Chris?

Probably on the percentages, yeah.

I don't believe you!

I don't believe myself either.

LAUGHTER

OK, your question.

In which year did Gary Lineker

first play international football for England?

'76 seems a bit early.

And '84 seems a bit late.

So I'll go for 1980.

1980 is your answer.

Do you know, Eggheads?

I think the likelihood is that it's 1984.

'84 is right.

You're ahead of Chris. Get this right, you're in the final round.

After Floyd Mayweather Jr's retirement in 2015,

who became the world's number-one ranked pound-for-pound boxer,

according to the Ring Magazine?

Hmm.

I must say, I don't know any of those.

Roman Gonzalez, please.

If you've got this right, you're in the final round.

-Do your team-mates know?

-No!

Dorian, have you not been setting questions on this?

Absolutely not, no!

Well, you can have a picture of Roman Gonzalez on the wall,

because that is indeed the right answer.

-Well done, Barry.

-Yes!

Well done, well done!

Chris, sorry, you're not in the final round, and Barry, you are.

Good stuff for our Challengers, please return to your teams.

As it stands, Bath Brewhaha have not lost any brains.

The Eggheads have lost one. The next subject is Science.

-Who would like this?

-We agreed that was me.

-That is you. It's not me!

Dorian, against which Egghead would you...

I won't even suggest one, who would you like?

-I will take on the unknown quantity of Steve.

-Good stuff.

So, Dorian, from Bath Brewhaha, to play Steve.

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

OK, Science, Dorian, would you like to go first or second?

First, please.

And here is your first question on science, Dorian, good luck.

What term is often used to describe the pressing of

a computer mouse button twice in quick succession?

OK, I'm very fond of technology-related questions

in my quiz, that's double click.

Double click is right. Well done.

Steve, apitoxin is the scientific name for the

venom produced by which creature?

Well, the "api" makes me 'appy, because I think it's a honey bee.

Oh, "api" as an apiary, is that right? I see, clever you.

Honey bee is right. One each. Back to you, Dorian.

Siberian, European and Japanese are species of which coniferous tree

of the genus Larix?

-Could you spell the genus name?

-Yeah.

L-A-R-I-X.

I was not aware they had oaks around there.

I've never heard of a Japanese spruce.

But there is a dedicated character for larch, so I will guess larch.

Oh, there's a dedicated Japanese character for larch?

Don't ask me what it is, I won't know!

No, but that's very good quizzing, larch is right.

Steve, onto you - what is the name for the study of the

interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter?

Hmm.

Well, just breaking down the word from the source,

ignoring the "scopy" bit,

Chronoscopy sounds more to do with time.

Microscopy is obviously looking at small things.

I've got go with spectroscopy.

-Let's check with Barry.

-I'm very happy with that.

Barry is happy. I'm happy.

You've got it right. Spectroscopy.

Two each. Dorian.

Obtained from lichens of the same name,

what colour is the dye orchil?

-O-R-C-H-I-L?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Well, I've never heard of it.

But, given it has a special name, it sounds like it might have been

an old royal colour, so I will guess purple.

-The answer is purple.

-Oh, excellent!

Three out of three, well played.

So far you're playing really well.

Steve, to stay in, what symbol is used to denote Planck's constant?

A physical constant used in quantum mechanics.

Well, the letter that was in my head has come up,

which is always promising.

And I can't really try and reason it out other than

I think I've read it. So I'll go for H.

-Any Eggheads know? Barry will know.

-Spot-on.

H is right. Three each. This is a good round on Science, isn't it?

We go to Sudden Death.

Dorian, it gets a bit harder, I don't give you alternative answers.

For what does the first P stand in the abbreviation PPM?

A measure of small levels of pollutants.

Ooh, I believe that's parts, as in parts per million?

You're quite right, parts it is.

Steve, lampblack - all one word -

a substance produced from the combustion of organic compounds

and used as a pigment, is an almost-pure form of which element?

Well, because it's black, and I know American footballers wear it

to protect them from glare, I'd have to go carbon.

Carbon is correct.

Dorian.

How many of the planets in our solar system

are larger in diameter than Earth?

Oh, heavens, OK.

Well, I'm torn between two or three. I will try three.

I learned a rhyme for this, and I forgot it.

Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth,

-and the ones after are the key.

-Ah, OK.

So which are the ones after, anyone?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

-Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune is four.

-Oh, OK.

OK. Steve, for the round.

Horse, pincher and oak ox are nicknames for which UK insect

that spent most of its life underground

and emerges during the summer to find a mate?

I've very little to go on here.

So I'm going to try and use a bit of common sense,

which has always been a bit of a failing.

Because, using the terms ox and horse, I'm thinking something...

A large insect.

So, I think probably the largest one we've got - whether it lives

underground or not, I don't know - but I will try stag beetle

with no real conviction at all.

Latin name Lucanus cervus, English name - you're right -

stag beetle, well done.

Well played on Science, Steve, excellent.

And, Dorian, sorry, but he is clearly very good...

-That was an excellent answer!

-..as we're finding out.

Would you have got that, Dorian?

-No.

-OK, very honest.

So, come back to us, and rejoin your teams, please,

and we'll see what happens next.

So, Bath Brewhaha have now lost a brain - lost the skipper -

from the final round. The Eggheads have lost one as well.

And we play on with Film & TV.

So who'd like this?

-I think that's got to be Jane.

-That's me, that's me.

-Jane, OK.

Our Citizens Advice volunteer adviser, against which Egghead?

-Anybody? Anybody?

-Whoever you like.

-No, OK.

-I think Judith.

-Uh-huh?

-That's good, Judith, isn't it? You like your films?

-Yes, I do.

Judith once sat next to Gregory Peck at dinner.

Really? Is that your claim to fame, Judith?

No, that's HIS claim to fame.

-LAUGHTER

-Of course!

Jane from Bath Brewhaha, Judith from the Eggheads,

please go to our Question Room.

OK, Film & TV, Jane, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

And here we go.

Matthew McConaughy won an Oscar for his performance in which 2013 film?

OK, I don't think it's The Wolf Of Wall Street,

because that was Leo thingy.

I don't think it was A Time To Kill,

so I think it was the Dallas Buyers Club.

-Have you seen it?

-Yes.

-Me too, it's brilliant, isn't it?

-It was.

Dallas Buyers Club is right.

All right, your question, Judith.

Who became one of the main co-presenters

of the TV show This Morning in 2002?

The trouble is, I don't watch it.

But I vaguely remember something in the papers about Piers Morgan.

So I'm going to say Piers Morgan.

You've fallen into error there.

Because he does co-present with the brilliant Susanna Reid

-on Good Morning Britain.

-Oh.

But the - you'll know this, Jane?

-It's Phillip Schofield.

-Phillip Schofield.

So what's Good Morning, then, with Piers Morgan?

That's the breakfast show.

And this is the mid-morning show.

-Have you seen Jeremy Kyle?

-Oh, God, yes.

So, you're ahead, Jane.

Now known simply as Crimewatch,

in which year was the BBC TV show Crimewatch UK first broadcast?

OK. I don't think it was as recent as 2004.

Or 1994.

I'm going to go for 1984.

Yes, correct, 1984.

OK, Judith, your question.

You need to get this one right, Judith.

In which TV drama series did Martin Freeman play the role of the

insurance salesman Lester Nygaard?

Definitely not Mad Men,

because I watched Mad Men from beginning to end.

I don't know about the other two, though. Oh, dear.

Let's try the magic right, Dexter.

Dexter is your answer.

Now, let me just remind myself of who was, who was the star of Dexter?

Michael C Hall.

-That's right, yeah. Not Dexter, Judith...

-Fargo?

Fargo - which was a movie and became a TV series - is the answer.

Well done, Jane.

Made short work of that. APPLAUSE

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

Well, interesting game we've got here.

Bath Brewhaha have lost a brain, but so far two Eggheads have scored

no points at all. So the position is a powerful one.

This is a key moment now in the contest, with Geography.

-Who would like this?

-Is that you, Adam?

-I think, yeah.

-I can see you out there, Adam, it is you.

-OK, Adam. Our translator.

Against either Barry or Kevin?

-I'm not entirely sure.

-OK...

-Barry's more sciencey, isn't he?

-So, Barry...

-Shall I go with Barry?

-Yeah.

I think against Barry, please, Jeremy.

Adam from Bath Brewhaha against Barry.

Please go to the Question Room, and we'll play the last head-to-head.

-So, Adam, I mentioned you are a translator?

-I am indeed, yeah.

French to English, yep.

OK, good luck in this round, Adam,

and would you like to go first or second against Barry?

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

Last round before the final, here we go.

Which French city lies on the Bay of Biscay,

approximately 15 miles from the Spanish border?

Well, I'm pretty confident on my French geography,

Marseille and Toulon are on the Mediterranean coast.

The answer is Biarritz.

Biarritz is quite right.

Barry, your question.

Approximately how many miles separate

mainland Russia and mainland Alaska

at their closest points across the Bering Straight?

Well, I think the nearest point that America and Russia

come together is on the Diomadeed... Gah...

Diomede Islands,

and I think they're only about five or six miles apart.

-So I'll have to go for five.

-Five.

Which is why Sarah Palin said, "I can see Putin from my house"?

-Yes!

-Is that right?

-It is indeed.

I'm sorry, you're wrong.

-GASPS

-Oh!

-Oh! 55.

-As much as... I didn't think it was as much as that.

-I really didn't.

-We did specify mainland Russia and mainland Alaska.

Ah...!

-Yeah...

-There are islands that are closer.

-No, I see what happened there.

-Ah!

So we're having a really strange game here.

There's only one Egghead who's got a question right so far!

LAUGHTER

OK. Adam, your question.

Sultan Ahmed is a historic district of which city?

Well...

I'm pretty sure it's not Tehran.

I'm just going by the Ottoman connection,

because I'm fairly sure...

Yeah, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by sultans.

Just from that, I'm probably going to have to guess Istanbul.

Although I'm not 100% sure.

Istanbul is correct.

Nicely done.

OK, Barry, your question.

Originally a minaret and later converted into a bell tower,

the Giralda is part of a Unesco World Heritage Site

in which a Spanish city?

I think the Giralda is part of a cathedral in Seville.

Seville is right, Barry, well done.

OK, so, the Eggheads on the scoreboard here.

But you can take it with this question.

The active Arenal Volcano is a tourist attraction in which country?

Ah...

They're all incredibly close together

in Central America, there, of course.

Purely on the basis of nothing at all, I'm going to go for Costa Rica.

-Barry, is he right?

-I think he is, yes.

-Oh, wow!

Yes, you're right, three out of three, excellent.

-Playing so well, well done, Adam.

-Did not expect that!

Language skills came in really handy there.

Costa Rica's right, Barry's been knocked out.

So what a final in prospect here, with only two Eggheads playing.

Please come back, rejoin your team-mates

and we'll see what happens.

So, this is what we've been playing towards,

and who would have predicted this,

with the skipper on this side knocked out?

It's time for the final round.

As always, it's 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, surprisingly, Dorian from Bath Brewhaha.

But also, Barry, Judith and Chris from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio.

Jane, Adam, Barry and Shaun,

you're playing - with Dorian looking on - to win Bath Brewhaha £3,000.

Steve and Kevin, you're playing for something that money can't buy,

to just somehow shore up the Eggheads' reputation here

after a torrid time today.

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

this time they're all General Knowledge. You can confer.

So, Bath Brewhaha, the question is,

can your four brains take down these two?

Bath Brewhaha, would you like to go first or second?

-First, guys?

-Yes?

-Can we go first, please, Jeremy.

Here's your first question.

What was the approximate turnout of eligible voters in the

UK's 2016 EU referendum?

-Either 52 or 72.

-It was high.

-It was high.

-It was high, 72.

I was going for something in the 60s, high-60s,

-so 72, low-70s, I think...

-Shaun? 72?

-I think 72%.

72%, Jeremy.

72% is quite right. Well done.

Eggheads.

Who was number one on Forbes' 2016 list of their world's richest

people, with an estimated net worth of 75 billion?

I think, for quite a long time, it was Carlos Slim.

But he's dropped away for various reasons.

And I think Bill Gates, who once was, has come back again now.

Happy with Bill Gates, yeah?

We think that's Bill Gates.

Three rich men. The answer is Bill Gates.

Back to you.

Your question, which of these acts was

a headline performer at the 2016 Glastonbury Festival?

Oh, I know this one.

-Definitely Adele.

-Yes, definitely Adele.

-Definitely.

-That's Adele, Jeremy.

Adele's right.

Well done, Shaun and team.

You're in the lead.

Eggheads, which of these London landmarks was designed by the

Italian architect Renzo Piano?

-It's The Shard.

-Yep.

Marks and Barfield, London Eye, weren't they?

I don't know who the Olympic Stadium was.

Various people for the Olympic Stadium.

We think that is... Renzo Piano, just to be cautious?

Renzo Piano.

Given some things that happened earlier. The Shard.

The Shard is right.

2-2.

Your question. Which author won the 2015 Man Booker Prize

for the novel A Brief History Of Seven Killings?

-I think it was Marlon James.

-OK, I had no idea.

He's a Jamaican bloke, it's about something to do with Bob Marley.

-If you're sure.

-If you're happy with that.

-Go for it, Shaun.

-OK, fine.

Yeah, OK. Not 100% sure, but we'll try Marlon James.

Marlon James is your answer.

Let's check with the Eggheads, Eggs?

-Yes, that's right.

-Yeah, I've read it.

-You've read it? Is it good?

-Yeah, very good.

-Marlon James is right.

-Well done, Shaun.

So, Eggheads, if you get this wrong,

the contest is over and you've lost.

A lot riding on this third question for you.

The Pyramid Of The Magician is a feature of which ancient city?

-Ever heard of it?

-I don't think so, no.

But...

-If it's a pyramid...

-I'm shying away from Petra.

Well, I've never heard of pyramids being associated with either

Petra or Persepolis. Whereas Uxmal is a Mayan city.

And lots of these ancient Mayan cities have got

the Pyramid Of This, the Pyramid Of That, etc, etc.

-Yeah. And that's all I've got myself, really.

-I think...

-Percentage answer, in't it?

-Percentage answer, definitely, yeah.

We've not heard of the actual - don't think so, anyway -

the actual structure itself, Jeremy.

But never associated pyramids with either Petra or Persepolis,

so we'll say the Mayan city of Uxmal.

Uxmal is your answer. If you've got this wrong, the contest is over.

-Eggheads at the back, do you know?

-Uxmal.

-Uxmal is correct.

Well done, Eggheads, well done, Challengers. 3-3.

We go to Sudden Death, it gets a bit harder,

I don't give you different options.

Your first question, here we go.

As of July 2016,

how many great-grandchildren does the Queen have?

OK, so that's Charlotte... George...

Savannah... Isla...

That's Peter Phillips, got Savannah and Isla.

-William and Kate have got Charlotte and George.

-Yeah, yeah.

-They've got two, yeah.

-Harry hasn't got any.

Oh! Right, OK, thingy...

Princess Anne's daughter's got one.

So how many is that? Is that five altogether?

-So far.

-Yeah, that's five so far, yeah.

Anybody else?

Prince Andrew...

Neither Prince Andrew's daughters have married.

-Beatrice and Eugenie don't...?

-No, they don't have any.

-Nor do any of Edward's?

-OK, so that's those two out.

So we just took up Charles and Anne.

-I think it's five.

-Yeah, OK, I'm happy to go with that.

-If you can't think of any more, yeah.

-Definitely can't...

-Can you think of any more?

-As you can tell...

-We're racking our brains!

-Yeah, we're really not sure.

But seems like we're going to go with five.

Five is your answer.

The correct number is five.

-Yes!

-Well done, Jane.

Well done. So, Eggheads, on the edge here.

Who played the title role in the Quentin Tarantino film,

Django Unchained?

-That was Jamie Foxx, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-So...?

-Definite.

-Jamie Foxx?

-Yeah.

That was Jamie Foxx.

Jamie Foxx is right. With two Xs.

OK, they made light work of that.

Here's your question.

The Brusilov Offensive,

named after the Russian General Alexei Brusilov,

took place during which war?

I would, just off the top of my head,

-I would go for either World War II or, perhaps, the Crimean War.

-Yeah?

I would say Crimea. But I don't know.

I don't know, I just have a feeling Crimea's a bit more of a gamble.

But...

But then, World War II is rather obvious, perhaps. By the same token.

I mean, is it anything else that it could be?

There's nothing else, I can't... It's not ringing any bells with me.

-Well, it could be, it could actually be World War I.

-It could be.

I'd be more inclined to go Crimea, because of that.

You think the Crimean War? I think that's a possibility, yeah.

Because if it was World War II,

we're more likely to have heard of it, I would have thought?

-Yeah, that's true.

-But I'm not...

-No, I'm not at all sure.

-I'll go with whatever you go with.

I think we're leaning towards Crimea, aren't we?

-Crimean War?

-OK, try it.

-OK, we'll go with that?

-OK.

Again, Jeremy, you can see we're not sure,

but we're going to try the Crimean War.

Yep, so many wars to choose from,

it was a major assault against the Eastern front to relieve pressure

on the Western and Italian fronts by drawing German forces east.

-It's World War I.

-Ah!

-It was World War I.

-World War I.

So, in fairness, it was not really one of your central options there.

OK, Eggheads, you can take the contest

with this question on Sudden Death.

Which three-digit number is widely used as

a fake area code when telephone numbers appear in American movies?

-I'm not sure, I've got an inkling.

-Yeah?

For 555, but I'm not at all...

-..sure on that.

-Because I can't really...

I can't even recall an area... I mean...

-Yeah.

-Right.

-But I may have it wrong entirely.

-But my immediate instinct...

-Yeah.

-Well, if it's your first thought, I'd say...

-I mean, it's tenuous...

-Well, I don't know.

-Shall I?

-Yeah. Get on with it.

Yeah, we're even-stevens if we don't.

Not sure about this, Jeremy.

I just have an inkling from a number of films, possibly,

I don't know, 555 is what's come to my mind.

-But this may be entirely wrong, I don't know.

-And your answer is?

-555.

-555 is the answer.

I'm just thinking that maybe Dorian knows this? Dorian?

-I have no idea, I'm afraid.

-OK, thought it might be up your street.

-Anyone here know?

-It's 555.

Well.

The three-digit number used as a fake area code in American movies,

quite often, is 555.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

APPLAUSE

-Now, did you know the question about the Brusilov Offensive?

-Yeah.

It was the 100th anniversary of it in 2016.

It was June, so just before the Somme.

Well, we have seen a very good quiz today.

And you've played brilliantly, and I hope you enjoyed it.

-We have!

-Which is 99% of the reason to come.

So thank you very much. Great stuff.

Well played, what a team Bath Brewhaha have been!

The Eggheads have...

Well, you've done what normally comes maybe

a little bit more naturally than it did today.

You do reign supreme over quiz land.

It means our Challengers don't go home with the £3,000.

So we'll take that money and roll it over to the next show.

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

have the brains to defeat the all-powerful Eggheads.

£4,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.