Episode 55 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.

And hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today

are the Bush Whackers from Cheshire.

This team is a combination of two teams who regularly

compete against each other at The Holly Bush in Northwich.

Let's meet them.

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

Hello, I'm John, I'm a film and TV extra.

Hello, I'm Lorraine and I'm an information analyst for the NHS.

Hello, I'm Keith and I'm a polymer chemist.

Hi, I'm Ross, I'm a scientist in the nuclear industry.

So, John, team, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Good to see you.

John, we have got not just one quiz team here but two, have we?

Well, Ross and Keith have joined Lorraine, John and myself.

Usually we're rivals at The Holly Bush in Little Leigh,

but we're playing as a team today.

Brilliant. Is it very hard fought at The Holly Bush?

It's a very challenging quiz.

The General Knowledge section of it is really difficult.

And who sets the questions for that, then?

Well, it's Robert, who's really good,

and he sets the General Knowledge quiz.

And he's watching, is he?

-Yes.

-With concern.

Good luck. I sense you girding yourselves here, Challengers.

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

for our challenging team.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, that prize money

rolls over to the next show, as you know.

Now, Bush Whackers, they are on fiery form at the moment -

they've won the last 11.

So it's a really good run and it means there's £12,000

for you to win today. Would you like to try?

-Yes!

-OK, I thought so.

The first head-to-head battle is on Sport and you can choose between

Judith, Beth, Pat, Steve and Chris.

Right, who wants Sport?

I think it's me, John.

-OK.

-Ross.

I would suggest either Chris or Judith, maybe Judith.

Right, I'll go for Judith, please.

And you are, Ross, a nuclear scientist?

-That's correct, yes.

-OK.

Thank goodness I'm not doing science!

There is that. Doing a nuclear scientist on Sport

is probably the better of the two options.

So, Ross from the Bush Whackers versus Judith from the Eggheads,

first round, here we go. Please go to the Question Room now.

Well, Judith, this is exciting,

you're up against a nuclear scientist,

and you've got a history of going up against scientists

-and doing rather well.

-Yes, but at Science, not Sport.

Yes, that's true.

That's a slight flaw in my thesis.

OK, Ross, on Sport, would you like to go first or second?

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

So, here we go. Who became manager

of the England men's football team in July 2016?

Was it...

Right, I don't think it's Tony Pulis.

I think Roy Hodgson was earlier than that, so I shall go Sam Allardyce.

Yeah, didn't last long, but it was Sam Allardyce.

OK, Judith, approximately how long does it take

Mo Farah to run a 5,000m race?

Approximately...

A half, what did you say?

-5,000m?

-5,000m.

Well, you watch it, don't you,

without it having to go away

and do something else until he finishes?

So it must be quicker than 33 minutes.

I think it's 13 minutes.

It is 13 minutes, you're right.

-Yeah.

-OK well done, one each.

And we go back to you, Ross.

Where was the Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg born?

So, he's not Italian.

I think I'm going to go...

..for Sweden.

-Judith, do you know this?

-I think he's German.

Germany is the answer, Ross.

So Ms Keppel's chance to take the lead

with your second question, here we go.

Which of these England cricketers is a wicket keeper, Judith?

Alastair Cook's a batsman.

I think it's Jonny Bairstow.

Because you could be a batsman and wicketkeeper, couldn't you?

Yes. Yes, but Alastair Cook is not a wicketkeeper.

Right. Let me check with the Eggs here, Judith. Is she right?

-Yes.

-Yes, they like it. Jonny Bairstow's right.

She's taken the lead, Ross.

It's not the sort of level of panic stations you get

in the nuclear industry but it's close.

The red lights are flashing. You need to get this right.

The rugby union international Brian Moore

usually played in which position?

Ross, was it...?

Unfortunately I don't have that much knowledge on this one.

So...

I think I'm going to go for flanker.

Let's see, Eggheads, come on.

-He was a hooker.

-Hooker, says Beth,

and Beth is right, hooker is the right answer. Sorry, Ross.

Two wrong answers, too dangerous in this round.

Judith, on Sport, you're through.

-Am I?

-Yes.

-Hooray!

That's it, no way back for Ross,

and Judith will be in the final round.

Please come back and we'll start again.

OK, tricky start for the Bush Whackers here

but I can tell we've got great quizzers on this side.

They have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still intact.

And the next subject for you is Politics.

So, which is the political Bush Whacker?

We're going to have to send John, aren't we?

Yeah, I think so.

Are you happy with that, John?

Yeah, I have to be.

It'll be you, John, then.

OK, John S, going into the breach against...

Choose anyone but Judith.

-Chris?

-Yeah.

-Chris.

-OK, Chris.

Yeah, yeah, Politics, I'm there.

His eyes suddenly popped open.

So, John S from the Bush Whackers taking on Chris on Politics

from the Eggheads. Let's see if they can just strike back early here.

Please go to our Question Room now.

So, John, good luck here.

And I know you've been a film and TV extra?

Yes, that's correct.

What are the most fun days you've had?

A couple of days in Emmerdale.

-They were really good.

-Chris, do you fancy this?

Sounds like quite a good sideline.

Well, I used to do a bit of amateur acting

in my remote and misspent youth.

I could probably carry it off, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I could see you in a Victorian hat of some kind.

Grinding the faces of the poor.

Yeah! All right, so, Politics is your subject John,

and would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

And here is your first question, John, good luck.

The famous dictum of the Prussian general

Carl von Clausewitz is commonly stated as

"war is the continuation of politics by" what?

Wow. This is a question that my other John should have had, I think.

I will go with drawing lots.

Ah, well, let's try with other John.

No, other means.

Yeah, it's a continuation of politics by other means.

OK, so, potential for Chris to take the lead

with his first question now.

Bute House is the official residence of which politician, Chris?

Ah.

Now, although Bute is a Scottish island...

..most of Cardiff Docks were built by the Marquis of Bute.

So there's a big Bute connection with Cardiff.

So, Bute House would be the residence

of the First Minister of Wales.

Wow, you've surprised me with that.

It's, it's... Eggheads, can you tell him?

-Yes, it's Scotland.

-It's in Edinburgh.

It's in Edinburgh, it's the First Minister of Scotland.

-Oh.

-Sometimes your heads are so full of information

-it's hard to choose a fact.

-Mm, OK.

All right, so, level after two questions.

Here we go with your second, John, and it is this.

Arthur Thistlewood was responsible for which

of these antiestablishment schemes?

OK, I've not heard the name.

The Gunpowder Plot I would think of somebody else,

i.e. Guy Fawkes.

I'll go with Cato Street Conspiracy.

You are right. And they are even applauding here.

Cato Street Conspiracy.

OK, Chris, your question.

Who became the Secretary of State for Defence in 2014?

That's Liam Fox.

Oh Chris, you're all over the place today.

It's Michael Fallon.

I thought he was leader of the Lib Dems.

Tim Farron, that is.

Ah.

OK, so, let's see the scores.

You've got a chance here to go into the final with this question, John.

How many amendments to the US Constitution were ratified

in the 1791 Bill of Rights?

-Right.

-Get this right, you're in the final.

I think it's more than three but I wouldn't have thought it was 22,

so again I'll go for ten. The middle one.

The correct answer is ten.

-Well done, John.

-Thank you.

Chris misfired. I hope you don't mind me saying, Chris,

a little bit of misfiring, not maybe your normal level.

Yeah, maybe not.

It's the short-sleeved shirt, Jeremy, they're a jinx.

Yeah, never wear one again.

You need one of those bold patterns that Barry has.

So, John, you're in the final round. You've taken on an Egghead,

you've knocked him out. Maybe things are turning now for the Challengers

as they play for £12,000.

Please rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands, the Bush Whackers have lost a brain

from the final round, but the Eggheads have lost one too now.

And the next subject is Arts & Books.

Who would like this?

-Oh, dear.

-Who wants it?

I don't want it, but I'll go if you want.

Do you mind, Lorraine?

-No, I know nothing about it.

-Lorraine...

-It might be Harry Potter.

-I doubt it.

-OK, you're being volunteered, I can hear.

-I am.

Would you like Steve or Pat or Beth?

-Beth.

-Beth, please.

-OK, good stuff.

So it's going to be Lorraine from the Bush Whackers

versus Beth, back having a run out again.

You had a few games where you didn't.

-Yeah.

-Beth from the Eggheads.

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

Good luck, Lorraine. Did you get slightly pitched into this?

Yes, just a little bit.

-Not my best subject.

-I know you love ballroom dancing.

-I do, yes, very much.

-Any particular part of it that you really enjoy?

I like tango and waltz the best but I like tango because of

-the concentration and the steps on that.

-Brilliant.

All right, Lorraine on Arts & Books, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

And here is your first question, Lorraine.

How much money were the winners of the 2015 Turner Prize awarded?

Wow. That's an awful lot of money, 2.5 million.

I don't really know. It's quite a prestigious prize,

so I think I'll go down the middle and do 250.

-Let's try the Eggheads.

-25,000.

Judith is absolutely certain it is 25,000.

25,000, the lowest of the three, is the answer.

Beth, your question.

What is the title of the third book in Philip Pullman's

His Dark Materials series?

The answer is The Amber Spyglass.

It is indeed The Amber Spyglass, well done.

So, Beth is ahead. Lorraine, your question.

In Roger Hargreaves' Mr Men books, what colour is Mr Strong?

It's very difficult.

I was hoping it was one I knew.

I think a strong colour, because I like it myself, is red,

so I'm going to say he's red.

-Red is correct. Well done.

-Phew!

Do you remember he's square-shaped?

-He's got that thing, his arms stick out of the side.

-Yeah.

Beth, your question.

What is the English translation of Las Meninas,

the title of Diego Velazquez's famous painting

housed in the Museo Del Prado in Madrid?

I'm pretty sure The Ambassadors

is in the National Gallery in London, so it can't be that.

I'm not sure about The Maids Of Honour,

but it's unlikely to end in an S if it was females,

about ladies, so I'm going with The Card Players.

-No, no, no.

-Oh!

It's a bizarre painting where he's been asked to do a portrait

of the king and queen of Spain and he's done himself, basically,

as they will have seen him, because obviously

Velazquez was such an egomaniac.

He's also surrounded by all the people that were looking at

the king and queen, among them the maids of honour, so that's why...

So you sort of see the rest of the family.

The Maids Of Honour is the right answer.

So, scores level. Lorraine, back to you.

Gratiano and Lorenzo are characters in which Shakespeare play?

Gratiano is G-R-A-T-I-A-N-O and Lorenzo with a Z.

I'm going to go Merchant of Venice.

The Merchant of Venice is quite right.

-Phew.

-Well done.

OK, Beth, your question.

-This is to stay in.

-Mm-hm.

"Keep your eye clear as the bleb of the icicle,

"Trust the feel of what nubbed treasure your hands have known"...

..are the last lines of which Seamus Heaney poem?

I don't know any Seamus Heaney poems.

These could all be Seamus Heaney poems.

They probably are all Seamus Heaney poems.

Poetry is not my forte by any means.

Might as well go with my first inkling of a smidge of a...

..guess of Death Of A Naturalist.

OK, Death Of A Naturalist.

If you've got this wrong, you'll be knocked out.

They are all Seamus Heaney poems.

-The answer is North.

-Oh!

North, and well done, Lorraine. You're in the final round.

How about that? Arts & Books.

You knocked out an Egghead and you will be in the final round.

Please both of you come back, rejoin your teams.

Well, is this the turning point in the contest?

The Bush Whackers have lost one brain,

the Eggheads have now lost two.

And we have one more subject before the final.

It's Film & TV.

-Who would like this?

-It's Keith, then. Keith.

-Keith?

-I guess that'll be me, yeah.

A polymer chemist.

All scientists doing arts subjects!

This is confusing me.

Against either Pat or Steve.

Steve, it'll have to be Steve.

We'll go with Steve.

So, Keith from the Bush Whackers takes on Steve from the Eggheads,

who's come off a loss in the last episode.

-Yes, I'm off the wagon.

-So to ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

Film & TV. Keith, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, if I may.

And here is your question. The 2016 Tom Hanks film Inferno

is based on a book by which author?

Well, I don't think it's Michael Crichton.

I've never heard of Lee Child.

So I think I'll go for Dan Brown.

Dan Brown is quite right. Well done, Keith.

Steve, in which TV soap was Kylie Platt

killed by Clayton Hibbs in July, 2016?

Right, what's that taxi number again?

-Kylie Platt?

-Kylie Platt.

I know there's about 300 Platts in Coronation Street,

so that has got to be my answer.

Coronation Street is the right answer, Steve, well done.

Lots of Platts. Good logic.

OK, Keith.

Which character is betrayed by Hermione Norris

in the TV comedy drama Cold Feet?

Now, unfortunately I've never watched Cold Feet.

But I'm afraid it'll have to be a guess.

So I'll go for Jenny.

It's actually Karen.

I'm sorry. John S, you were an extra in...?

Yes, I've been in Cold Feet.

-Would you have been able to answer that?

-Easily.

So, Karen is the answer.

Your question, Egghead.

Which of these classic Westerns was remade in 2016

with Denzel Washington in the lead role?

Yeah, I saw it recently, Jeremy.

I thought it was quite a good attempt.

It's The Magnificent Seven.

It is The Magnificent Seven, well done. So you're ahead, Steve.

And that means, Keith, you've got to get this next one right.

Here's your question. At the start of the 2015 TV drama Poldark,

the title character returns home after fighting in which war?

Well, fortunately, I have seen Poldark.

It wasn't World War I. That's much too late.

It's the American War of Independence.

Well done. It is the American War of Independence.

Brilliant.

So, level, but Steve has a question in hand, and here it is.

The TV soap Eldorado lasted for how many episodes?

Will you not just accept "too many"?

I don't think it saw two years out.

Or if it was on, what was it, five times a week?

It's a 50-50, and I will say...

I'll try...

..256.

It was 50-50 between 256 and 356, was it?

Yes, are you going to tell me it was 156?

I am going to tell you it's 156. It was three episodes a week.

-Right.

-And if you multiply 52 by 3 you get 156, I think.

-I thought it was five times a week.

-So bad luck, Steve.

You didn't clinch it there and we go to Sudden Death.

Keith, it gets a bit harder.

I don't give you alternative answers, OK?

Here we go with your question. Sudden Death.

The 1993 comedy film Cool Runnings tells the story of the creation

of which country's first Olympic bobsled team?

That was Jamaica.

Jamaica is correct.

Steve, to stay in.

In 2013, UK television rights for the 2016 Paralympic Games

were awarded to which channel?

I think they went to Channel 4.

Channel 4 is the right answer.

Sudden Death, Film & TV, Keith, back to you.

Which actress won an Oscar in 2016 for her role in the film Room?

I'm afraid I've never heard of that film.

So I'm going to have to make a guess.

Think of somebody who wins a lot of Oscars.

Meryl Streep?

No, Brie Larson.

So, Steve, you have a chance to take the round

with this Sudden Death question.

Who plays the title role in the 2016 TV historical drama Victoria?

Oh, I did actually watch that.

It's Jenna Louise Coleman.

Jenna Louise Coleman. Yeah, we'll accept that -

most people call her Jenna Coleman now.

But it's the right answer. Well done.

Sudden Death and you've knocked Keith out.

Keith, I'm sorry. You fought hard there.

You didn't quite make it. So if you come back to us, both of you,

we will play the all-important final round for £12,000.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round.

As always, it's General Knowledge,

but I'm afraid that those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't

be allowed to take part in this round.

So, Keith and Ross from the Bush Whackers

and Chris and Beth from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

John B, John S and Lorraine

playing to win £12,000 for the Bush Whackers.

Steve, Pat and Judith, took a bit of a hit this time, didn't we?

But still here 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 are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Bush Whackers, the question is -

can your three very quizzy brains beat these three very quizzy ones?

And do you want to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please.

Here we go, playing for £12,000. Good luck to you.

On which row of letters does the L button sit

on a standard QWERTY keyboard?

Middle, isn't it? Middle right-hand side.

It's not at the top? That's QWERTYUIOP, isn't it?

-So it's the middle?

-Definitely the middle, yes.

Yeah, definitely the middle, we think.

Middle is right.

That is quite a tough question.

OK, Eggheads.

Istanbul is located in which part of Turkey?

Well, Turkey is mostly like a big rectangle

-with a little bit of European land.

-It's a bit of European.

And it's in the top left corner.

That's the north-west, isn't it?

Yeah, north-west.

Definitely not south-east. It's not that.

Yeah, we think that's the north-west.

North-west is the right answer.

One each, final round.

Big jackpot today.

Sergey Brin...

..co-founded which of these companies?

Well, it's a Russian name.

Well, it wasn't Facebook, was it?

No, I don't think, no.

I'd go with Amazon.

Because I think they're Indian, aren't they, who did Google?

-No, they're not.

-No?

-What you are thinking?

-I'm thinking it's not Facebook, it's one of those other two.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I'm thinking it was Google.

OK, go with that, then.

You think Google, go with Google.

-Try that.

-OK.

-What do you think?

-Yeah.

Not sure. It's definitely not Facebook. We'll try Google.

Eggheads, do you know?

-Google.

-It's Google.

Google is right.

OK. Your question, to catch up, Eggheads.

Which of these ancient Egyptian gods was often depicted as having

a jackal's head on a human body?

Anubis.

-Well, Ra had the disc of the sun, didn't he?

-Yeah.

-It's Anubis.

-Yeah?

-Isis was a female character, weren't she?

And Anubis was the jackal.

-I think so, yes.

-Underworld, isn't it? Yeah.

It's just what sprang to mind before it came up.

OK, we think that's Anubis.

Anubis is right. I think I heard Judith say it

before the options even came up.

Yes, that's what sprang to mind.

So, really good idea to get this one right.

You're playing great.

Get this right, you may not need to do any more work today.

What was the name of the female lawyer who was the lead prosecutor

in the OJ Simpson murder trial in the 1990s?

-Any idea?

-No.

Janet Reno was the Attorney General, wasn't she?

Do you recognise any of the other names there?

No. Marcia Clark sounded a bit familiar, but...

Yeah, it sounds more familiar to me, but I don't know.

Maybe we might have heard that little bit more.

-What do you think?

-Yeah, I'd go with Marcia.

I don't think it's Janet Reno - she was the Attorney General -

and we can't decide between the other two.

Marcia Clark sounds a little bit more familiar, so we'll try that.

Marcia Clark is the right answer.

Well done. Three out of three. You're playing well.

You're quizzers, you really are quizzers.

£12,000 for you if the Eggheads get this wrong.

Which French king died in 1498 after hitting his head on a door frame

while on his way to watch a game of tennis at his chateau in Amboise?

I have a faint notion it's Charles VIII but...

Why? Why is that?

Because what I think, once upon a time,

I heard this question or I read the fact,

-and I think I immediately lapsed into Henry...

-Yeah, yeah.

But then I heard it again and it wasn't Henry,

I think it was Charles.

I think that's what we're clinging to, then, really.

I trust your instinct.

We're not super confident. We're not very confident on this,

but I have a memory that it was Charles VIII.

The correct answer is Charles VIII.

-Well done, Pat.

-Well done!

So, well done.

So we go to Sudden Death.

It couldn't be tenser here. Can you feel the tension?

-Yeah!

-£12,000.

You're playing really well. Sudden Death now.

I don't give you alternative answers.

Memorial Day is an American holiday

observed on the last Monday of which month?

Is it the equivalent of...?

-Our Remembrance?

-Yeah.

Which day would it be?

In November, then, would it, Memorial Day?

I thought it was earlier than that, October.

-Is it?

-I think so.

-Memorial sounds like Remembrance Day.

-It does.

-Yeah.

Could be November, then.

-OK. What do you think?

-Yeah, go with that, then.

Well, we're not sure.

We think it might be either October or November.

We'll try November.

OK, November.

Let's see if the Eggheads know.

I think it might be May.

I thought it was later on in the year, but I'm not sure.

Judith's right. It's May.

What an answer, Judith!

May. So, you have the initiative now, Eggheads,

with £12,000 on the table.

You can snatch it away if you get this right.

Sudden Death. Your question.

Le Rosey, known as the School of Kings

and often cited as the most expensive school in the world...

-In Switzerland.

-..is located in which country?

Switzerland.

Yeah, Geneva, isn't it?

-The mountains.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Judith seems very happy, so I'm happy, yeah.

-OK.

We think that's Switzerland.

Switzerland is your answer.

If it's right, the contest is over.

Switzerland is the right answer.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Both questions you gave the answer before I read the options,

Switzerland and Anubis.

-It's just how they fall.

-And May.

-And May, three.

-They are playing well at the moment.

-I hope you've enjoyed the encounter.

-It's been great.

-Thank you.

You're seeing them at their very, very best form, I must say.

Commiserations, Bush Whackers, the Eggheads have done it again.

Their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £12,000,

so we keep that money, roll it over to the next show.

Eggheads, this is quite something now.

Who will beat you?

Can anyone ever do it?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£13,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.