Episode 37 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. Taking on our awesome quiz champions

today are the Thursday Knights. Now, this team are all associated with

the University of Warwick chorus. Although they don't quiz regularly,

they believe that with a combined age of 357 years,

they will have soaked up enough trivia to help them along,

against this lot over here. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm JG, and I'm a semi-retired IT consultant.

Hello, I'm John, and I'm a solicitor.

Hello, I'm Nick, and I'm a retired engineer.

Hello, I'm Phil, and I'm a retired mechanical engineer.

Hello, I'm Mike, and I'm a retired education adviser.

So, JG and team, welcome.

-Hello.

-Good to see you.

-Hello.

-And tell us about University of Warwick,

or the Warwick chorus.

Well, it's an un-auditioned chorus which consists of community people

as well as staff and students from the University of Warwick.

It's been going for 28, 30 years, and we sing primarily classical,

although occasional jazz things, but mostly...

Currently rehearsing a Verdi Requiem but we have done virtually all

the Requiae and many other classical works.

If I asked you to sing later,

would that embarrass some members of the team?

Yeah? Better not, then!

I did think about trying to get two tenors and two basses so that

-we could do Dies Irae from the Verdi Requiem.

-Yeah.

When we got, normally, 200...230 or more...

-It's difficult.

-Four would be a bit... Asking a lot!

OK, I hope your quizzing is as good as your singing,

those of you who sing. Good luck, team.

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

for our Challengers. However, as you know,

if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, that prize-money rolls over

to the next show. So, here we are, Thursday Knights.

The Eggheads have won the last three games.

They just... They had a bit of an incident,

which I'm not talking about, a few games ago.

They've almost got back into their stride,

and you need to break them up right now.

It means £4,000 is on the table for you to win.

-Would you like to get cracking?

-Absolutely.

-Fantastic.

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

and you can choose from Judith, Beth, Pat, Steve and Chris.

-Film & TV.

-TV. I think that's...

-I think Mike...

-I pulled the short straw on this one.

OK, Mike, so the battle plan has already not survived

first engagement with the enemy, as they say. Who would you like?

-Any advice?

-Advice. We haven't seen much from Beth, of course, but...

-I don't know, being fairly new.

-Yeah.

-Well, let's try.

-OK. All right.

Chris, famously the last movie you watched was where they had a bloke

playing the piano at the front, wasn't it?

The up-and-coming Studio Keystone, yeah.

Anyway, you're out of this one. Mike from Thursday Knights

versus Beth from the Eggheads on Film & TV, and to ensure there's

no conferring, please go to the Question Room now.

Mike, before we start,

I should ask why you're called the Thursday Knights.

Because choir practice is on Thursdays

during the university terms,

and when we started to agree to meet,

we met in each other's houses on Thursday nights.

The Knights bit is the clever,

because we're the Thursday Knights with a K in front.

Yeah, because you're galloping in your armour.

Yeah, exactly, well, keep the armour on,

cos this lot play a hard game, as you know.

There's no messing with them. So you're up against Beth on Film & TV.

Would you like to go first or second, Mike?

I think I'll go first, as a matter of course.

And here we go. William Roache first played Ken Barlow in the TV soap

Coronation Street in which year?

Well, I don't think it was 1940s,

I really don't think it had started yet.

In the '50s, I think it started,

and I think he was pretty well established by the 1980s

so I'll go for 1960.

1960 is quite right.

OK. Beth, your question.

John Kettley, born in 1952, found fame in which role on TV?

Well, as the 1990s song goes, "John Kettley is a weatherman".

-He was a weather forecaster.

-Weather forecaster's right, yeah.

All right. Mike, your question.

In the 1995 film Braveheart,

which member of William Wallace's family is killed,

igniting his quest for vengeance?

Well, it was a youngish woman, and I don't think it was his mother,

so I'm going to say his wife.

So you've seen the film?

Yes. Yes.

Sounds like you weren't that moved by the incident in question.

Well, the incident was one thing,

the retelling of history was another.

All right. Understood, I get where you're coming from.

Wife is correct.

-Oh, well done!

-He's playing well on Film & TV.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Beth, your question.

Which of these Star Trek films was released in 2016?

Oh, one of my husband's favourite things, Star Trek.

Star Trek Nemesis was one of the earlier Star Trek films.

Star Trek Into Darkness was the second of the reboots,

so I'm sure it was Star Trek Beyond.

Star Trek Beyond is quite right.

Well done. Mike, your question, third question.

Get this one right, put some pressure on.

Which of these actresses was born first?

I'm likely to be offensive to one of them in my answer, aren't I?

I think none of them is in the first flush of youth.

I have a feeling that I read recently they're all in their 50s,

whatever they look like, and I think they all look terrific.

-Well done.

-Erm...

Nick in our team always tells me to go for the middle

if you're uncertain, but I think I'm going to go for Julia Roberts.

OK. Julia Roberts was born in 1967.

Nicole Kidman was born in 1967.

Sandra Bullock was born in 1964.

-Oh!

-So the middle was the one.

Nick, I'm sorry.

He thought about it.

Beth, you can take the round with this question.

In which year was the Academy Award for best animated feature

first awarded?

Now, surprisingly a rather late entry into the Academy Awards.

And it wasn't as late as 2012.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't as early as '92.

Yeah, 2002 sounds about the right sort of area for the entrance

of this award, so 2002.

If you have this right, you are in the final round.

Anyone know on the Eggheads side?

-Quite tricky.

-I know it was won by Shrek.

-Won by Shrek. Oh, so...

-I'm not sure about the year.

-Ah!

-That would be 2000...

-It will be 2002.

They like it, Beth, 2002 was the right answer.

Well done. Mike, sorry.

Knocked out by Julia Roberts.

Well, there are worse things! There are worse things.

So you won't be in the final and Beth will.

Please return, rejoin your teams.

So the Thursday Knights have taken a bit of a jousting lance.

-Yes.

-Not centrally, but just, I think, a glancing blow.

They've lost a brain. The Eggheads have not lost any so far,

and the next subject is History.

Who would like this? Oh, there's a worrying silence.

It's got to be Phil, I think. Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Phil, you like your History?

He was deputed.

-OK.

-Yeah. Not my favourite subject.

-Not your favourite?

-No.

All right, you can have any Egghead except Beth.

-Chris.

-Chris, I've been told.

He knows a lot of history.

-Oh, does he?

-He's lived a lot.

Well, I've been around longer than most people.

You've seen a lot of it up close.

So, Phil from the Thursday Knights

versus our own Chris from the Eggheads.

Please, gentlemen, go to the Question Room now.

So, Phil, is History your choice?

-It is.

-Oh...

-Not my favourite.

-..I thought you'd been kind of volunteered for it.

-Well, it's one of my subjects.

-Oh, good, OK.

-But not the strongest.

OK. And you like it, Chris?

Well, History is real, it exists. The present is transitory

and the future is nebulous, so study History.

-Ah!

-You see how profound he gets.

Honestly, it just comes from nowhere.

So, Phil, good luck. First or second on History?

First, please.

OK, here is your first question.

Where was William the Conqueror born?

Certainly not in England. Erm...

I don't think it was Germany, so I will certainly go for France.

France is the right answer.

Well done. You knew that, Chris?

-Well, he was Duke of Normandy, so it is France, yeah.

-Yeah.

OK, here's your question.

Which of these groups of people came from Hungary?

If you see a Hungarian stamp, even today, it says "Magyar poster,"

-so they are Magyars.

-Magyar is correct.

Phil, your question.

How did the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev die?

Certainly wasn't a plane crash and - well, I remember this happening -

it wasn't assassination.

I believe he almost dropped dead in the street of a heart attack.

Heart attack is the right answer. Well done. Back to you, Chris.

The Hundred Years War was fought

between England and France from 1337 to what date?

Er... Well, it was 118 years, wasn't it?

So 1337...

So, 1453 in that case.

That's good quizzing, you're right. 1453.

He's good, isn't he, Phil?

-Mmm.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-So far.

-Here is your third question, this is the one.

This is the turnaround moment now.

Which of these politicians was Prime Minister of Great Britain

for just under 15 years?

Chatham... Now, I think that was one of the... I can't remember his name,

but I think it was probably a fairly long stretch.

Having been told to go for the middle one if in doubt,

and my friend went for not the middle one,

I'm going to go for the middle one.

-The Earl of Liverpool.

-Chris, you know?

Well, it's Chatham, isn't it? William Pitt the Elder.

Argh!

The answer is the second Earl of Liverpool. Well done!

Even Eggheads can be wrong sometimes.

Chris does say it with immense conviction when he's wrong.

Almost more than when you're right, Chris, actually.

-Yes.

-It's brilliant.

OK, you'd be an amazing con man, because you convince everybody.

Right, your question, Chris,

and if you get this wrong,

you're going to have to go out the hatch.

What was the first name of the man after whom Wyatt's Rebellion,

a 1554 uprising against Mary I, was named?

Wyatt. Thomas...

Thomas Wyatt. Thomas.

Thomas Wyatt is your answer.

You're right. Well done, 3-3.

So it gets a bit tense now, Phil,

we go to Sudden Death.

I don't give you choices.

The Gulf War was triggered in 1990

by which country's invasion of Kuwait?

Erm... The invasion of Kuwait by...

-Iraq.

-Iraq is quite right, under Saddam Hussein.

Chris, in January 1959, what became the 49th state of the USA?

Er, 49th...

Well, Hawaii's the 50th, so it was Alaska.

Yeah, you could have gone wrong there, but you didn't.

Alaska's right. Phil, your question, Sudden Death.

In 1679, which diarist was charged

with leaking naval secrets to the French?

The only diarist I know around that time was Samuel Pepys.

Samuel Pepys is the right answer.

Chris, if you get this wrong, you're out.

Who was president of the USA

at the start of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis?

-Jimmy Carter.

-Jimmy Carter is right.

History, Sudden Death. Phil, back to you.

Who was the first Hanoverian monarch to be born in England?

I should think it was George II.

It was George III.

OK, Chris, for the round.

Who was the head of the German Luftwaffe

during the Battle of Britain in 1940?

Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering.

Hermann Goering is the right answer.

Chris, you've taken the round, on History.

I know you love your First and Second World War,

so I would have been surprised if you'd got that wrong. Well done.

Phil, sorry, you've been knocked out.

He knows his history, and you won't be able to help your team

in the final round. So, Phil, Chris,

come back to us, and we'll see what the next round brings.

So, as it stands, the Thursday Knights have lost a second brain

from the final round. The Eggheads are still all there.

The next subject is Sport.

Who would like this?

-Hooray(!)

-Hooray.

-The plan has slightly...

-That's defini...

-Nick.

-I'll take that.

OK, Nick, our retired engineer.

Which Egghead? It can be Judith or Pat or Steve.

We decided on Judith.

Yes. Yes.

OK, so, it is Nick from the Thursday Knights,

with no intention of being chivalrous, I am sure,

to Judith from the Eggheads.

For Sport. Please go to the Question Room now.

Nick, is this your choice of subject?

-Yes, it was, yes.

-Good luck against our Judith.

And would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go.

The tennis player Heather Watson won which competition

at Wimbledon in 2016?

It certainly wasn't the Ladies Singles.

And I don't think it was the Ladies Doubles.

I think it was the Mixed Doubles.

Mixed Doubles is right. Well done. Judith, by what score

did Portugal defeat France in the final

of the 2016 European football Championships?

Um, I think it was 3-1.

3-1. You've got a memory of those goals?

Yes.

JEREMY LAUGHS

It was 1-0, Judith, sorry.

-Oh!

-You got half the score there,

but there were three phantom goals involved. 1-0.

Phil, back to you.

For which international rugby union team

did the fly-half Stephen Larkham play over 100 matches?

Now, rugby isn't necessarily my best sport, so I'm going to certainly go

against my rule of the middle.

I don't think he was South African.

I just might remember Australia.

Australia is the right answer.

-Yes!

-OK, the pressure's increasing, Judith.

You need to get this one right.

The golfer Henrik Stenson won his first major in 2016

when he finished 20 under par at which of these tournaments?

Well, it wasn't the Masters.

Oh, gosh, which one from the other two was it?

I think it was The Open.

-Yes, brilliant work. It is The Open, well done.

-Mm.

So you're back in the game here, Judith,

and we return to Nick.

Which of these Pakistani cricketers is a spin bowler?

Sharp intake of breath.

It's certainly not Mohammad Amir. He's their fast bowler.

I don't know, but I'll go for Riaz.

It's Shah. Yasir Shah.

So, get this right, Judith,

and you're in Sudden Death territory.

-Oh, Lordy!

-No, that's a good thing.

We'll be here for ever!

No, no, it's a good thing.

Which of these cyclist recorded his 30th stage win on the Tour de France

in 2016?

I thought that was Mark Cavendish.

Mark Cavendish is right, Judith, well done.

So, Nick, she's held you there,

and that means we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a bit harder - I don't give you different choices.

In which decade did Kevin Keegan

make his debut for the England football team?

It wasn't the '60s.

I don't think it was the '80s. I think he made it in the '70s.

-And your answer is?

-'70s.

'70s is right. Well done.

Judith, to stay in, how many gold medals

did Usain Bolt win at the 2012 Olympic Games?

I think it... I think it's three.

-You're absolutely right. Three is correct.

-Mm.

It's 100, 200, and then it's the relay.

So, well done, you are still in it, and we go back to Nick.

In American sports, in which city is the National Football League team

known as the Colts based?

I need some clues here.

So, the Colts would be horses, cowboys...

So I will go Dallas.

Anyone on your team know?

-Denver, I think.

-Denver Colts?

Just looking for a word that goes with Colts.

-Anyone here?

-Indianapolis.

-Indianapolis Colts is the answer.

-Ah.

So, Judith, you are on the verge of a place in the final here on Sport.

This whole room is going to fill with confetti.

In rugby union, what number shirt does a team's fullback usually wear?

-15.

-Is she right, Challengers?

-Absolutely.

-Judith, you've got it absolutely right.

Well done!

-You've won on Sport.

-I can't believe it!

-There we go!

Well done, Judith.

-Sorry, Nick.

-Yep.

Beaten by our Egghead, and as a result,

you will not be in the final round.

Please come back. We'll play on.

I'm starting to think, Judith, you are spending your Saturday nights

propping up a sports bar somewhere.

Talking about American football with everyone who, you know,

passes the time of day.

You know how many sports rounds you've won on the trot now?

-How many?

-Five!

No! Oh, that's not very many.

Anyway, we must hurry on, cos Judith has to get back to the sports bar.

As it stands, the Thursday Knights have lost three brains

from the final round. The Eggheads have not lost any brains so far.

The next subject for you is Geography.

-Who would like this?

-There's only one left.

It's suddenly become very real. Is that you?

-All right, JG.

-It's got to be me.

Good, good, lovely. And against which Egghead?

It could be either Pat or Steve.

All right, then, we'll take Steve.

Good stuff. JG from the Thursday Knights

versus Steve from the Eggheads on Geography.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Geography, JG.

Team captain now, big moment.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first and get it over.

So, get through this round, then you've got two in the final.

Here's your first question. Which of these is not a state of the USA?

I know New Mexico is. It's next to Texas.

New Hampshire, I'm fairly certain, is New England,

so therefore, I'm going for New Brunswick.

Yes, indeed, you're right. Is that Canada?

Yes, it is. OK, New Brunswick, you're right.

Steve, how are you doing, my friend?

-Still here, Jeremy.

-Good, good.

On the London Underground,

the Piccadilly Line has a distance of about 0.25 kilometres between

Leicester Square and which other station?

STEVE SIGHS

I do not have a clue.

I know London like the back of somebody else's hand.

For no particular reason, I'll say Covent Garden,

cos I like the sound of it.

Covent Garden, Steve!

-Really?

-Well done. Yeah, yeah.

-Sorry.

OK, back to you, JG.

The state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo is part of which country?

Hmm, they're all very close... No, Philippines, yes.

Sarawak...

I think that has to be Indonesia.

Malaysia is the answer, JG, sorry.

So Steve has the chance to take the lead.

Barcelona is the capital of which of Spain's autonomous communities?

Well, the one leaping out at me there

is Catalonia, so that's me answer.

Catalonia is quite right.

JG, you've got to get this one right.

Which of these African countries is landlocked?

Not Equatorial Guinea, certainly. That goes out onto the ocean.

The Congo has gone through so many changes, but Burkina Faso...

No, I think Republic of the Congo.

Burkina Faso is the answer, JG.

It's hard, that. Congo must have a coastline somewhere.

-Yeah, it's quite small, though.

-Yeah. Sorry, JG.

-Oh, well.

I think Steve has knocked you out, and will be in the final round,

and actually, if you both return to us,

we will play that final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards. It is 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, and I'm afraid I have to look this way

at JG and Nick and Phil and Mike from the Thursday Knights.

Would you please now leave the studio?

John, you're playing to win the Thursday Knights £4,000, no less.

Chris, Steve, Pat, Beth and Judith,

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

which is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, they're all General Knowledge.

You can confer. Sorry that doesn't help you.

So, John, the question is can you defeat these five brains

-with your one?

-It seems startlingly unlikely.

-Do you know? It's happened more often than you would think.

-Right.

And sometimes the sheer number of them, it causes trouble, so let's...

-We can but hope.

-We can but hope.

Would you like to go first or second?

I would like to go first please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Caymans are South American animals closely related

to which of these creatures?

That would be the alligator, Jeremy.

Alligator's right. Straight there.

Eggheads, what is added to

coconut cream and pineapple juice to make

a Pina Colada cocktail?

-Rum.

-Rum. Everyone happy with Rum?

-And an umbrella.

-It's not there, Judith, it's not an option.

We think that's rum.

Rum is the right answer.

Your question, John. Which of these people

celebrated their 70th birthday in 2016?

I don't think Richard Branson is that old.

I would be surprised if Bill Gates was.

I'll go down the middle with Donald Trump.

You are a very good quizzer. Donald Trump is correct.

OK. Eggheads,

which of these areas of the United Kingdom

voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum?

-Northern Ireland.

-Well, Northern Ireland voted to stay in.

-Oh, no, they stay, sorry.

-Scotland want to stay in.

-Wales wanted to leave.

-It must be Wales.

-It's Wales.

Wales and England, I think.

-Wales wanted to leave.

-Voted to leave, yes.

Scotland definitely want to stay.

Northern Ireland, I think, was narrowly stay.

Because they were worried about the border, and that kind of thing.

-What do we think, Chris?

-Yep.

We think that's Wales.

Yes, Wales is right.

Back to our Challenger.

John, who wrote the bestselling novel Me Before You, which was

adapted into a film starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin?

Yes, I have absolutely no idea about this.

I will straightforwardly guess Sophie Kinsella.

-No, it's not, it's Jojo Moyes.

-OK.

Your chance now, Eggheads, to take the contest.

Which of these featured on the UK number one single

One Dance by Drake?

-Don't associate Lil Wayne with that song.

-No?

-No.

I mean, I'm not saying... I'll go with the majority,

but for me, if I were on me own, I'd say Wizkid.

-I really...

-Have you reason to believe...?

I don't know if I've heard...

Because when the song comes up on the charts, it's Drake,

and that's obviously "featuring,"

and I've obviously not looked at that bit.

-Blocked the feature bit out?

-Yeah.

Well, it's rap, isn't it, basically?

I'd be inclined towards Lil Wayne myself.

-That's what I thought.

-Is that what you think?

Go with that, then. Yeah, if that's what do you think.

I think he's a more regular collaborator, he pops up.

He's just done that one, hasn't he, Sucker For Pain, from Suicide Squad,

with about three more of them.

So we'll go with your faint notion, or we go with just a calculated

-the most regular collaborator?

-Yeah. Yeah...

-It's a bit unsatisfactory.

-It is, I know.

-What do you fancy?

-What we do? Do we go with...?

-Majority rule.

Abstaining. I don't want to...

So it's two against me, so I'll go with Lil Wayne.

OK, we're in trouble here.

Lil Wayne has the higher profile and seems to pop up more often in

collaborations, but Steve has a sort of memory for Wizkid.

We're going to go for Lil Wayne.

OK. Lil Wayne.

-Steve was right, though.

-Oh!

-Wizkid.

-Always go with instincts.

-Yes.

Sorry, Steve.

You did a lovely little sort of soliloquy there, Steve.

No, but, it's a democracy rule, isn't it? So...

Three questions each, the scores are level,

and we go to Sudden Death.

So, John, well done, you've held them off. I know that's frustrating,

that Jojo Moyes moment. Wipe it out of your mind.

Here is your first Sudden Death question.

I don't give your alternatives.

Which star sign falls between Aquarius and Aries in the calendar?

-Capricorn.

-Do you know this, Eggheads?

-Pisces.

-Pisces.

-Pisces.

Sorry.

OK, Eggheads, you have another chance.

Oh, what a let-off!

In which TV sitcom did Windsor Davies play the role of

the irascible sergeant major Tudor Bryn Williams?

It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Sounds like it.

-Can you think of anything else?

-Not a sergeant major, I can't.

No? OK, we're going for It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

-Do you know this, John?

-Yeah, they're absolutely right.

There is no point in me even drawing this out, because you've got it

completely right. It was It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Well done.

Well, as I said,

sometimes when they're all together those massive brains all sort of

-start colliding, so it almost...

-Yes.

-You could see the trouble.

You won! Look joyful.

-Commiserations...

-We don't want to look smug.

..to the Thursday Knights.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and they still reign supreme over Quizland, so it does mean

our Challengers are not going home with the £4,000,

so we roll it over to the next show.

It's building up, isn't it?

And look at you, all five of you, again. You're on good form.

Who will ever beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers can do it.

£5,000 says they haven't got a chance.

Till then, goodbye.