Episode 49 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.

Taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Chester Romans.

Now, this team are all members of one of the UK's oldest

American football teams. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Lex, and I'm an engineer surveyor.

Hi, I'm Pete. I'm a customer assistant.

Hi, I'm Mark, and I'm a film student.

Hi, I'm Billy, and I'm a care manager.

Hi, I'm John, and I'm an oil tank cleaner.

-So, Lex and team, welcome. Great to see you.

-Hello!

Oh, I love the... That's good!

Is that kind of an on-pitch wave thing?

No, it's just something we've cooked up for professional events.

Brilliant, I loved it!

So, tell us, American football is THE thing, is it?

It's one of the fastest-growing sports currently in the UK

and it's something we really love getting stuck into.

And you are the defensive line,

so does that mean they play five at the back in these teams?

No, we're actually at the front of the defensive team.

It's our job to make up the gaps within the lines,

to allow the linebackers in to make the tackles.

And what is it about American football that is so exciting?

Compared to the British thing where you don't wear a helmet

-and you kick a ball.

-You get tackled, no-one cries.

To be honest, a lot of us have played both rugby as well as soccer,

as well as American football.

We've sampled the best of all worlds, really.

Don't be fooled by the helmets,

it is incredibly painful when you get hit.

Sure. Now, I know the team has existed for 30 years.

You haven't quizzed before together. Is that right?

Not together. We have quizzed individually but this is the

first time we've all quizzed together.

All right, well, I hope you form a good defensive line against

this lot here - the Eggheads.

Good luck. Every day, there is £1,000

worth of cash up for grabs for our Challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

we roll that prize money over to the next show.

So, Chester Romans, the Eggheads are playing well.

They've now won five games on the trot,

so there is £6,000 here for you to win if you beat them.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes!

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

So, you can have either Judith

or Steve, Kevin, Dave,

or Lisa to play against.

Lex! You're up!

So, Lex against...?

I think I'll go with Dave.

Very good. Straight to it.

Lex, from Chester Romans. Dave, crash helmet on?

-I'd better have it on there.

-I think you do,

-and the shoulder pads as well.

-Yeah, absolutely.

It's all right, he is defensive and you're highly offensive,

it'll be fine.

Dave and I are such '80s kids, we normally wear shoulder pads anyway,

to be honest. To ensure there is no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our legendary Question Room?

Dave, what do we make of politics at the moment, in the world?

It's very interesting times, but quite uncertain ones.

I suppose if you're looking at 2016, having Trump and then Brexit

before it, that's an incredible sequence.

They will be quizzing on that in 100 years' time.

Yeah. I think we've spoken about it at quizzes there,

that, if in doubt, we're going to say 2016, going forward.

In a few years' time, if we've forgotten a few events,

"When did that happen?" 2016 would be a good bet,

because everything seems to have packed in.

Anyway, Lex,

good luck on Politics against so-called Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go. With reference to government-held data,

for what does the letter I stand in FOI?

I think that's information.

Yeah. Freedom of information. Well done. One to you.

OK, Dave. Which party won the greatest number of seats in

the 2016 election for the Welsh Assembly?

-I think that's Labour.

-Interesting, isn't it?

The situation where they get knocked for six in Scotland,

but Wales is still very much Labour terrain.

-Yes.

-Well done.

Next, which Prime Minister was the MP for Huyton

in the North-West of England between 1950 and 1983?

I'm not entirely certain with this one.

My instincts when it came up was James Callaghan,

so I'd like to go with James Callaghan, please.

OK, Prime Minister in the late '70s.

Let's just check with the Eggheads.

-Harold Wilson.

-Wilson.

Wilson is the answer, I'm afraid, Lex,

so Dave has the edge.

Which of these countries has been a member of the European Union

since 2004?

Right, let me have a think.

I'm trying to think of when...

It's a toss-up between Serbia and Slovenia.

It's not Switzerland - that's never been a member of the EU.

I think Serbia is later.

So, no, I'm going to go with Slovenia, please.

Slovenia is quite right, Dave, well done.

Back to you, Lex.

What term is used for sittings of the House of Commons in the

grand committee room at the Houses of Parliament?

I think the only one I can think that I've heard of is

the Central Lobby Meetings.

It's wrong, actually, it's Westminster Hall Debates.

It is, I suppose, a way of having additionally having some

other things going on apart from what is happening in the chamber.

So, sorry, no way back for you. Dave has won that first round.

Early days, guys.

Challengers, don't be alarmed,

but your first competitor has been taken out by an Egghead,

and won't be able to be in the final round.

Lex and Dave, please return to your teams.

OK, so our Chester Romans have lost a brain from the final round.

American football equivalent of that is you've let through a try?

Yeah, a touchdown.

The offensive line have broken us apart there

and gone straight through to the end.

Right, but you know better than anyone that it's not over.

-We bend, don't break.

-Exactly.

Exactly! Eggheads have lost no-one so far.

The next subject is Film & TV.

Who would like this?

-You're up.

-Mark.

-Yep.

So, Mark, OK, film student - that's really handy.

And which Egghead? Obviously, it can't be Dave.

I'll go for Judith, please.

Lovely. You haven't had a run out on this for a while?

-Not for ages.

-No, it's usually Sport.

So, Mark from the Chester Romans versus Judith from the Eggheads.

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

This seems like a perfect round for you, Mark,

as you're a film student.

You would hope so, yeah. We'll see.

What kind of films do you love?

Anything. I would watch any film.

TV - I'm hoping that nothing comes up about any soaps.

But we'll have to see.

-And do you write scripts yourself?

-I do.

So you... These are film scripts?

Yeah, film scripts, short film scripts.

Scripts for TV, sometimes.

That sounds very creative, Judith, doesn't it?

-It does, yes.

-We need to get started on that.

Well, it sounds rather alarming

if you have to quiz against someone like that.

OK, well, let's see. Film & TV.

Mark, would you like to go first or second?

First, please.

Here is your first question. The TV soap Emmerdale Farm

was originally set in which fictional village?

I was hoping this wouldn't come up!

I'm inclined to go with Weatherfield, please.

Let's see. Maybe Judith knows. Judith?

Isn't Weatherfield Coronation Street?

Ambridge is the Archers.

-Yeah.

-I would say Beckindale.

Yes, it is Beckindale.

And Weatherfield is Coronation Street.

OK, Judith, your question.

In the episode Yuppie Love in the TV series Only Fools And Horses,

which character famously falls through the open hatch of a bar?

It's... It's David Jason.

Now which one...?

It's not Trigger, and Rodney is the young one.

It's Del Boy.

It is Del Boy, famous scene, like the chandelier scene.

I love it. I can see it in my mind, yeah.

-Indelible.

-It's terribly funny.

OK. Mark, to catch up.

The US legal drama The Good Wife is set in which city?

I thought Chicago, as soon as you mentioned the question,

so I'm going to go straight for Chicago there.

Chicago is correct, well done. Very good.

So, level, but Judith has the edge.

Here we go. Which actor played Theseus in the 2011 film Immortals

and Napoleon Solo in 2015's The Man From U.N.C.L.E?

Well, I don't think it's Henry Cavill,

because he played something else.

I'm going to say... Go down my lucky right and say Christian Bale.

OK, do you know this one at all, Mark?

I do, it's Henry Cavill.

-Henry Cavill.

-The one I ruled out!

-The one you ruled out.

I thought he played something else.

That is much more your territory, Mark, I know.

So, you're level, how about that?

Level after two. Your third question.

Get this right, Mark, put a bit of pressure on Judith.

Which of these 1993 films was directed by Nora Ephron?

I was thinking that it could be The Piano.

Not 100% sure, but, yeah, I'm going to go for The Piano.

No, it is Sleepless In Seattle. That's interesting,

I thought she wrote the script but didn't direct it.

OK, Sleepless In Seattle is the right answer.

So, Judith has the advantage again.

Judith, get this right, you're in the final round.

Which actress played Lillie Langtry in the 1978 TV drama series Lillie?

-What date did you say it was?

-1978.

Well, it's rather a long time ago.

'78, '78...

I'm just trying to think of...

I can see a portrait of Lily Langtry in my head. Who would I cast as her?

I think I might cast Greta Scacchi.

Her face is sort of Edwardian looking.

OK. Good way of working it out - who has got the most Edwardian face?

Is there any reason, Eggheads, we couldn't choose Greta Scacchi?

Well, it's a little bit early for her.

Little bit early. Was she four or five years old?

Oh, not that early. No.

I mean, she broke through, really, in the early to mid '80s.

Yeah. It's Francesca Annis, Judith.

-Oh.

-Were you not watching TV in the late '70s?

Well, probably, but I can't remember that far.

There wasn't that much on, I just remember it, so...

Bad luck, in the sense that you got that wrong, but you're still in it.

Again, a let-off there, Mark.

She can suddenly turn, Judith, so be careful here.

Don't assume she's going to get them all wrong.

We go to Sudden Death.

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

Which sport featured in the most watched television moment

of the 2016 Rio Olympics in the UK?

I would imagine it would be men's 100 metres.

No, it's cycling.

I would have imagined that.

11 million watched Laura Trott and Jason Kenny win gold.

It was actually just a shade behind the final,

or the first of the new series, of Bake Off.

OK, Judith, your chance to take the round.

Which royal character was played in television dramas by Keith Michell

in 1970 and Damian Lewis in 2015?

Oh, that's Henry VIII.

-You sure?

-Yes, positive.

So am I. Henry VIII is right.

Well done. On Sudden Death, Judith, you've triumphed,

you're in the final round. Nicely done.

Mark, sorry, beaten by our Egghead there,

and you won't be able to play in the final. Come back to us,

both of you. We'll play the next round.

So, as it stands,

the Chester Romans have lost two brains from the final round.

All right, let's think about this - do we change the formation?

No, I don't think we're panicking too much just yet.

We had a stuttering start last season and we came back through

and managed to battle our way through to the play-offs.

Is it one of those ones where someone just takes the ball

-and throws it?

-Hail Mary, yeah.

-Oh, a Hail Mary!

-A good Hail Mary play.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

The Eggheads have not lost a brain so far.

Music is your next subject.

Who wants this, from Chester Romans?

Music, John?

-John, yeah.

-John, oil tank cleaner.

-Against who?

-Kevin, please.

All right. Cleaning out the big oil tank now!

John from the Chester Romans going against Kevin.

Is this the turning point of today's contest?

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

So, is Music your choice of subject, John?

It's not ideal, but I'm hoping to fare fairly well.

OK. Any particular areas you love?

I have quite eclectic music tastes, really,

so I'm hoping to do quite well.

So, a bit of opera, bit of classical?

A bit of everything, really, Jeremy.

OK, brilliant, that's a really good situation for a quizzer,

that's for sure. And I've never asked you, Kevin -

what's your favourite music? Early Elvis? Verdi?

Oh, well, I'm more classical than popular, in that sense.

But classical, folk, some bits of world.

Not really so much pop and rock.

OK. Well, two eclectic musical people, I think.

John, do you want to go first or second?

I'd like to go second, please.

And your first question now, Kevin.

The style of male voice singing known as barbershop is traditionally

performed by how many people?

Yeah, normally, I mean, it can be done by larger groups -

I've got a friend who actually takes part in a larger group -

but he also does it as part of a quartet,

that's the standard, so four.

Yes, barbershop quartet. Four is right.

John, back to you.

The instrument called a shawm is played by using

which method? It's spelt S-H-A-W-M.

Purely off the spelling, I'm going to say plucking.

Plucking. What is this? What is this, Eggs?

It's like an oboe, so it's for blowing.

Blowing is the answer. I'm sorry.

So Kevin in the lead.

And back to you. Which of these 19th-century musicians

famously engendered screaming, cheering and swooning responses

from his international female following?

It's Franz Liszt.

And I think that the term Lisztomania was even...

It may even have been coined at the time.

Or certainly when Ken Russell made a film about it,

he called the film Lisztomania.

He was like a 20th-century or 21st-century pop star,

the sort of fan adulation that he got.

Franz Liszt is the right answer. Lisztomania! Who knew?

So, John, we've got to get you on the scoresheet now.

Kevin's two to your zero.

Which solo album by Annie Lennox featured the singles

Walking On Broken Glass and Why?

I don't really know a great deal about Annie Lennox. Erm...

I'm going to hazard a guess at Bare.

Challengers, do you know?

-Diva.

-Yeah, Diva is the answer.

I'm afraid, John, there's no way back in this round,

Kevin has taken it.

You were beaten by our Egghead and you won't be in the final.

If you both come back, we will play the last round

before the crucial final.

It's hard going for the Chester Romans, but they love their

American football - they know all about hard going.

They've lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads, who are on a roll anyway,

are sitting there with all their shells still intact.

The last subject before the final is Arts & Books.

So who...? I know this is what you wanted, John, actually, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-So who would like this, Arts & Books?

-I'll take that.

-OK, so Pete against which Egghead?

You can have either Steve or Lisa.

I'll take Lisa.

OK, so Pete from the Chester Romans versus Lisa from the Eggheads,

on Arts & Books. For the last time, please go to our Question Room.

So, what position do you play when you're on

-the American football pitch, Pete?

-I play defensive tackle.

-Straight in the middle.

-So you're going in and you're just basically

-laying people out?

-Yeah, I like to hurt people!

JEREMY LAUGHS

Well, that's honest! And all the kit, as we were saying earlier,

it doesn't matter how much kit you've got, it's still painful.

Yeah, especially if you dislocate your kneecap like I did,

-that really did hurt.

-I'm guessing you get quite a lot of injuries,

because it is a real serious contact sport.

Yeah. I've dislocated my kneecap, a few other injuries.

Other players have done a lot worse, though.

John especially - he hasn't got any knees left, I don't think.

-It could always be worse, though!

-Lisa, do you fancy this?

I think my best position would probably be something like mascot.

Yeah, on the bleachers, I think they call it in the States, don't they?

Yeah. Basically as far away from the actual action

as it's possible to be.

It makes me want to watch it, though, Pete.

I think I could get into it, actually.

I think you'd enjoy it. You should come down and train with us one day.

Mm! Love to, yeah. I'd be in the same position as Lisa,

which is kind of reverse halfback.

-Horizontal.

-Horizontal, yeah, exactly!

Arts & Books, would you like to go first or second?

Ladies first, please.

All righty. Lisa, your question.

What is the name of the bronze sculpture by Rodin

of a seated man resting his chin on his fist?

I now have the Steve Miller Band playing in my head, inappropriately.

It's The Thinker.

The Thinker is right. Not the Joker.

Over to you, Pete. The family of the artist

JMW Turner called him by which of his names?

I'm not sure. I am going to go with William.

Beautifully done! William is right.

Maybe this is the turning point for your team.

Lisa.

The group of anonymous feminist female artists that adopted the name

Guerrilla Girls formed in which city in 1985?

That is guerrilla as opposed to gorilla.

Well, that's bad, I don't know.

It sounds like an American movement,

so I don't know if that's enough just to go straight for New York.

Do I know anything else about the Guerrilla Girls?

I don't think I've got anything really to go on here.

That's bad. I'll say New York.

You are right. New York it is.

So, two points for Lisa now, and back to you, Pete.

The artist Wolfgang Tillmans, born in 1968,

has become famous in which field?

Once again, I have no clue. Erm...

I'm going to go photography.

-Eggheads?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, we like it!

Photography is right! Your guesses are unerring.

That's amazing. Fantastic, so, you're equal. Third question, Lisa.

Which Shakespeare play has the lines "Nay, if our wits run

"the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose

"in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five"?

You see, normally, I love Shakespeare questions. Erm...

I don't think it's Romeo And Juliet,

being the one I'm most familiar with.

My first thought was it would be something like As You Like It

or Twelfth Night.

I can't think of it fitting in the other two.

I know Hamlet and Romeo And Juliet slightly better than Twelfth Night,

so I'll go with my first instinct and say Twelfth Night.

Yeah, I would have taken every single step that you took there,

and I actually recently read Romeo And Juliet,

and couldn't remember this line in it.

-But it's there!

-But it is there. It is Romeo And Juliet.

So, two out of three for Lisa.

Your chance now. Here we go, Pete.

In 2016, Martin Roth announced his decision to quit as director

of which London arts institution,

citing his disillusionment over the British vote to leave the EU?

Hmmm. Unbelievably, once again, I don't know.

I'll go British Library.

-Do you know this, Judith?

-I think it's the V&A, isn't it?

Yes, it is, the V&A Museum.

So you've both got two out of three.

Just slightly failed to book your place there in the final, Pete.

I hope it doesn't cost you. It goes to Sudden Death, gets a bit harder,

I don't give you different choices.

Lisa, your question.

Pippi Longstocking was derived from a character that

first appeared in books in which language?

Pippi Longstocking...

So, yes, that's not her real name, is it, in the Astrid Lindgren books?

She's called something slightly different.

But I think the language we are looking for is Swedish.

-Swedish is right. She is Pippi Langstrump...

-That's the one.

..in the Astrid Lindgren originals.

Pete, you've got to get this to stay in.

Which Italian city started an Art Biennale in 1895,

that has developed into a major international exhibition?

So Art Biennale is B-I-E-N-N-A-L-E.

Purely from the spelling, and that alone, I'm going to go with Bologna.

Now, I wondered whether Biennale means "biannual",

meaning once every two years.

Eggheads, is that right?

-Yeah.

-Therefore it doesn't take us to Bologna.

It's Venice.

So, on Sudden Death, Lisa edged it, I'm afraid,

and you will be in the final round, Lisa.

Pete, you won't, and it is looking difficult for our Challengers,

but it's definitely not impossible.

Please come back and we will play that final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our 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's Lex, Pete, Mark and John from the Chester Romans.

Would you please now leave the studio?

-Well, here we are, Billy.

-I know this wasn't the game plan!

But you've got a chance, there's no question.

In fact, a very good chance. We've seen people win from that position.

-Hopefully.

-In the last few weeks, even.

You're playing to win the Chester Romans £6,000.

Lisa, Dave, Kevin, Steve, Judith -

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

the Eggheads' name.

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

This time, they are all General Knowledge.

You can confer.

I'm sorry that doesn't help you, Billy.

The question is - can your one brain defeat these five?

And they'll have a lot to thank you for if it happens.

-Definitely.

-Good luck, Billy.

All the best to you. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll kick this off. I'll go first, please.

OK. Your first question, Billy, is this.

For what does the letter P stand in the corporate abbreviation PLC?

I'm quite confident the answer is public.

Public is quite right, well done. Public limited company.

OK. Eggheads.

Which of these UK measures is roughly equivalent to 1.14 litres?

-A quart is two pints, isn't it?

-Yes.

That's about right then, isn't it?

Yes, it is, yeah, because a pint is 568ml.

A litre bottle is that big.

A pint is 568, and a gallon is eight pints, so...

-Can we just have another read, please, Jeremy?

-Yeah, go on.

Which of these UK measures is roughly equivalent to 1.14 litres?

I'm happy with a quart, yeah.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Consensus of opinion, Jeremy - it's a quart.

The consensus is quite right, it is a quart.

So, they've drawn level.

That's a bit annoying, you just keep playing as you are, Billy,

and hopefully you will see them off.

The Celtic goddesses Rhiannon and Epona were both associated with

which of these creatures?

I don't think it's snakes.

I can't imagine it being snakes.

I'll go for horses, please.

Let's see with the Eggheads. Is horses right?

-Yeah.

-Horses is the right answer, Billy, nicely done.

Two out of two. Sure-footed,

shoulder-padded.

Eggheads, your question.

Which French expression refers to privileged, wealthy young people,

and dates back to the time of the French Revolution?

-Jeunesse doree.

-The gilded youth.

I'm reliably informed it translates as gilded youth,

and that is jeunesse doree, Jeremy.

Jeunesse doree is the right answer.

So, toe-to-toe. Tight round. Equal.

Over to you, Billy. In the Coronation ceremony, the Coronation

ring is traditionally placed on which finger of the sovereign?

I can imagine it being on the right hand.

I'm going to go for the middle finger, right hand.

Go straight down the middle.

Hope for the best.

Crucial moment, this. Eggheads?

-I think that's right.

-Middle finger, right hand.

No, it's the fourth finger.

Fourth finger, right hand, Billy.

So, if the Eggheads get this right,

they will have taken this round and the contest.

All five of them sitting here.

A lot of brainpower, but sometimes sparks fly, and they melt.

Which range of mountains lies mainly in Tajikistan and has traditionally

been known as the Roof of the World?

-Pamirs.

-All agreed, yeah?

-It's got to be.

-I'll just go with whatever you say, gents.

It's got to be, because the others aren't round there.

Nowhere near.

Western Ghats are India, aren't they?

No, Tatras is part of the Carpathians.

After a bit of discussion, Jeremy,

we're pretty confident that's Pamirs.

The range of mountains that lies mainly in Tajikistan,

the Roof of the World,

is the Pamirs.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Oh, Billy, I'm sorry.

It was so... You guys seemed like you might have got that wrong.

-Yeah.

-I mean, I favoured what Billy said.

I knew it wouldn't be the left hand, but...

-just got the wrong finger.

-Yeah, it's visualising it, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Commiserations.

I hope you've had a good game.

Yeah, it's been fun. It's been a good day.

Bad luck, the Eggheads are on very good form at the moment,

and they are on this roll, which people are talking about.

Their winning streak continues.

It does mean that the Challengers don't go home with the £6,000,

so we take the money and we roll it over to our next show.

Eggheads, all five of you, my goodness.

You're looking almost bulletproof now,

and I'm wondering if you can ever be beaten.

Just trying to make it happen!

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

of taking them down. £7,000 will be here for them to play for.

Until we quiz again, goodbye.