Episode 70 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 Potters.

This team of students are all

members of the University of Bristol Pool and Snooker Club.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Daniel and I'm a mathematics and physics student.

Hello, I'm Natan and I'm a mathematics student.

Hi, I'm Tom and I'm a law student.

Hi, I'm Michael and I'm a history student.

Hello, I'm Joel and I'm a mathematics student.

So, Daniel, team, welcome.

-Hello, Jeremy.

-Hello.

-All right.

What a fantastic hello you just gave me.

When I saw you were called The Potters, I thought this was to do

-with Stoke-on-Trent, and so did Chris, didn't you, Chris?

-Yeah.

-But it's not.

-No, we're all members of the Pool and Snooker Club

at the University of Bristol, so we all share a passion for cue sports.

How are you on your quizzing?

Do you quiz while you're potting the balls?

Not whilst we're at the balls, but we do quiz regularly together in and

-around Bristol.

-Shall I ask if you win,

or shall we keep that secret?

I think you'll know at the end! I think you'll know at the end.

All right. Have you got all the subjects covered?

Because sometimes, in this game, you need a bit of range.

Yes, I think we have a good range, but there are one or two

-we're hoping don't come up.

-Don't say what they are,

because you need to flummox this lot over here.

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

for our challengers. However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, Potters, the Eggheads are doing well at the moment, which must be

why they've got that little look of confidence.

They've won the last seven,

so it means there is £8,000 for you to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-Of course.

-Yes.

-I thought so.

OK. And the first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of Geography.

Now, you can have either Beth or Dave, Chris, Barry or Lisa.

-Geography.

-For you, Joel?

-Yeah.

-That was our dream pick for number one, wasn't it?

-Yep.

-Very confident on geography.

-We know you are.

Joel down the end, mathematics student.

-OK.

-Who should I take?

-Beth, maybe?

-Beth.

-Beth!

-Beth!

Yeah, Beth. Beth.

OK, Joel from The Potters, on Geography, taking on Beth.

-There we are. Early in.

-Early in. I don't mind.

-Yeah, that's good.

-Beth from the Eggheads. To ensure there's no

conferring, would you please both take your positions

in our legendary Question Room.

Well, the key question, Beth,

is whether we've sorted out South-east Asia yet, isn't it?

Well, let's just hope it doesn't come up this time around.

You just need a rule, always go Vietnam...

I think that's going to be a good idea!

We got into a bit of a jumble, Joel,

with our Vietnams and everything else.

So good luck against Beth.

-Thank you.

-I know this isn't your subject, really, is it?

Not at all, no, not really, but what can you do when they come up?

Have you been chosen for Geography because you've travelled more than

anyone else? Or just that you were sitting on the end?

I have ambitions of travelling, but I haven't got round to travelling

yet, as much, but, yeah, probably because I was just sitting

on the end, they picked on me!

OK! Well, ambitions to travel are good enough for this round

and would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Good luck, Joel. Mathematics student from Bristol.

Here is your question.

Which of these countries is larger than the United Kingdom

in terms of area?

For some reason, I don't think it's Costa Rica,

so that leaves Algeria and Bulgaria.

I'll take Algeria, please, Jeremy.

-Is he right, Eggs?

-Yes.

-Yes, you're right.

Algeria is correct, well done.

Algeria is now the biggest country in Africa,

now that Sudan has split into two different countries.

So it's the biggest country in Africa, Barry says.

OK, Beth, your question.

Cuba lies approximately 130 miles off the south coast

of which US state?

Well, there's always attempts to try and swim from Cuba to Florida.

Florida is correct.

Joel,

how tall in metres is North America's highest mountain,

Denali?

Well, they're all quite tall.

LAUGHTER

I'll rule out 4,190, because that's...

I don't know why...

I'll guess at 8,190, please.

The answer to this question, Joel, is 6,190.

OK, Beth, your question to take the lead. What colour is the

middle stripe on the national flag of Russia?

Now, let me think. They're all the colours of the flag of Russia.

Now, if it was red, white and blue,

that would make it very similar to the flag of the Netherlands,

so it can't be white.

I think it might be blue.

Now you're going to tell me it's red.

No, you're good on your flags, it is blue. Well done.

Blue is right. So, Beth takes the lead.

So, Joel, you need to get this one right to stay in.

-No pressure.

-No pressure!

What is the capital of Bhutan?

Is it...?

I don't really know, but I'm going to guess at Thimphu.

Oh!

Let's see, Eggheads, is he right?

-Yes.

-You're right and that's quite an obscure capital. Well done.

Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan.

That's one of the places on your list, is it?

Yeah, definitely, yeah. It will be, now!

Yeah, it's got to be.

So, if you get this one right, Beth, you are in the final.

Here's your question. The Indonesian island of Sumatra is part of which

island group?

Are we back in these islandy groups that I know nothing about?

-Can you repeat the question for me, Jeremy, please?

-Yes, of course.

The Indonesian island of Sumatra is part of which island group?

Must do more reading on islands.

I don't think it's the Andaman Islands.

Though I expect Barry is sitting there going, "I've been there,

"I know where it is."

Visayan Islands.

Barry has got an expression of pain.

-Barry?

-Well, the Sunda Strait separates Sumatra and Java,

so Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands.

Yes, the Sunda Strait apparently separates Sumatra and Java,

so it is the Sunda Islands.

So, a little bit of a let-off there, Joel.

You're level after three questions.

We go to sudden death on Geography.

I thought you'd say that!

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

The quetzal is the currency of which Central American country?

Panama.

Not Panama, Guatemala. Sudden Death.

For the round, Beth, your question.

Which African country shares land borders with Angola,

the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Zimbabwe?

Er... So, it's all on...

the west coast, going downwards...

There's quite a lot... Erm...

Namibia?

-Close but no cigar.

-Eggheads, do you know?

-Zambia.

-Zambia is the answer.

Oh, that was the other one I had in my head.

Joel, back to you.

What is the English name for the river known as the Donau in German?

-How do you spell that, please, Jeremy?

-D-O-N-A-U.

The Donau, in German,

what's the English name?

I'm trying to think of words that are similar.

-Money.

-The Money?

It's the Danube.

Beth, your question, for the round.

Leshan in China is famous for its giant statue of which religious

figure, carved out of a rock face?

Er, I'm hoping that's a Buddha.

Buddha is the right answer.

Well done, Beth, you've taken the round on sudden death.

Hard-fought, Joel. You've been knocked out.

Please return to us. Beth will be in the final and Joel won't.

Rejoin your teams, we'll play on.

So, we started with Geography and The Potters lost a brain.

You lost Joel.

The Eggheads have still got all their brains intact

and the next subject is Film & TV.

-Who would like this?

-Certainly Natan.

-Natan.

-I watch. I watch, I dabble. It'll be me, I think.

OK, Natan. Against? Anyone but Beth.

-Who do you think, Dan?

-Barry.

-Yeah, Barry's a good shout.

-Barry.

Barry, please.

Good stuff. So, Natan from The Potters

versus Barry from the Eggheads.

-Up for this, Barry?

-Always.

Always. Please go to the Question Room.

OK, well, Natan, good luck.

You're a maths student, as well.

I am indeed a maths student, yeah.

So, Joel did Geography as a maths student and you're doing Film & TV.

Are you out of your comfort zone here, or not?

I think relatively in my comfort zone.

I do a lot of ignoring my maths by watching TV.

I do a lot of ignoring my friends by watching TV.

So I think, along that line, I think I'll be OK.

Brilliant. That sounds very promising, actually.

So, Film & TV, Natan. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll stick with tradition and go first, please.

Here we go.

Which British actor stars as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's

film adaptation of The Hobbit?

Is it...?

So, I actually watched this with my friend Dave.

It's, like, one of his favourite films.

I'm going to cut out Benedict Cumberbatch.

He was the Dragon, so he was Smaug.

Nick Frost, unfortunately, would be too funny for it,

so I'm going to go with Martin Freeman, please.

Yes, Martin Freeman is quite right. Well done.

No uncertainty. Barry, over to you. What type of animal

is Judy Hopps in the 2016 animated film Zootopia?

Barry, is Judy a...?

Oh, I've not seen this film, so...

I'm going to have to have a guess on this.

Could you just repeat the question again?

What type of animal is Judy Hopps, H-O-P-P-S,

in the 2016 animated film Zootopia?

Well, pairs of rabbits are known to multiply and as the name is female,

I shall go for rabbit.

That's interesting logic!

I haven't got any other logic!

No, I thought you might see the Hopps and go kangaroo.

Rabbit is right. Well done.

Oh, I'm sorry about that!

You were almost ahead there, Natan.

-That's OK.

-Your question.

John Whaite and Frances Quinn have won which TV show?

OK, so, we do watch a lot of this in my house.

I don't think it's The Voice UK.

I'm going to say it's not Bake Off, I've just started watching Bake Off,

the names don't sound delicious enough.

So I'm going to have to go with Britain's Got Talent,

please, Jeremy. OK.

I love your logic, you're taking a leaf out of Barry's book there,

the wildest logical process of the night.

The Great British Bake Off is the answer, though.

So yes, maybe they didn't have very bakey names, but they were in that!

Eggheads, would you give us any more info?

They were series three and series four winners.

Right. Series three and series four winners, Natan.

So, Barry has a chance to take the lead

and here is your question, Barry.

Which of these EastEnders actresses was born first?

Ooh, goodness me.

Another EastEnders question.

I've got a bad track record on EastEnders questions.

I'm pretty certain Samantha Womack is older than Natalie Cassidy,

but I'm not quite sure how old Kellie Bright is.

I'll go for the one I know, I'll say Samantha Womack.

She is the answer, Samantha Womack. Well done.

So, he's taken the lead, Natan, which could be bad news.

Here's your third question.

You need this. Who stars in the 2015 disaster film San Andreas

as the helicopter rescue pilot Ray Gaines?

San Andreas. OK.

I think maybe the film is slightly too trashy for Jason Statham,

which is saying, maybe, something.

I think...

I don't remember Vin Diesel being in it,

and Dwayne Johnson's in everything,

which would help, if everything included this.

I think I'm going to go for Dwayne Johnson on that.

Team-mates, is he right?

-Yeah, we think so.

-They like it. You're right, Natan. Well done.

You're still in it.

You've got two and Barry's got two,

but he has a question in hand and here it is, Barry.

Which of these '70s movies was remade for TV in 2016 with a cast

that includes Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris?

Now, Chinatown...

was one of my all-time favourite films, with Jack Nicholson

and I don't believe that's been remade.

And Serpico, I think, had Al Pacino in and

I don't think that's been remade, but I'm pretty certain

there's been a remake of Westworld, so I shall go for that.

Good quizzing. Westworld is the right answer, Barry.

You've taken it, three out of three.

-Sorry, Natan.

-That's OK. I think I'll get over it, slowly.

They do that, yeah. Just take it slow.

And your team is not out of it, not by any manner of means.

You won't be in the final, but if you come back to us,

we'll see what happens in the next round.

So, as it stands, The Potters

have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have still got all their brains intact and Barry is

looking particularly pleased with himself!

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Come on, you're all students, you're supposed to say, "Yes!

"That's brilliant, that's what we wanted."

-Who's going to...

-Answer books?

You're a better shout than me.

Yeah, because he can do Sport as well, and History,

-so it leaves more...

-Are you happy?

ALL SPEAK AT ONCE

Try your best.

-Anyone could've got the questions I got!

-OK, Michael.

So it's going to be Michael from The Potters, Arts & Books, against...?

And you can have Chris, Dave or Lisa. They're all pretty clever.

-Lisa.

-Yeah? I'll play Lisa.

-Very good.

Michael from The Potters to play Lisa from the Eggheads

on Arts & Books.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Michael, you were once grabbed by an orang-utan.

Yeah, this is true. I was in Malaysia when I was about seven

and a small orang-utan called Tiger Woods mistook me for one of its own

and came up to me and pulled me off into the forest temporarily

and sat me down, looked at me very peculiarly and sort of...

And then, fortunately, my parents came and took me back.

It does sound like the start of a book, doesn't it, Lisa?

Yeah. I mean, I had a hat stolen by a monkey once, but, you know,

-that's not nearly as cool.

-Arts & Books, Michael,

would you like to go first or second?

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

Here we go with your first question.

Wilfred Owen wrote the poem Dulce et Decorum est during which conflict?

Right, now, I think there is...

I think there's an obvious answer here.

And obviously...um, one war, the First World War,

is particularly known for its war poetry.

I think in terms of the rhetoric,

I think I'm going to go for World War I, Jeremy.

Yeah, you're bang on. For some reason,

the poets all did World War I. Not so many in World War II.

Well done. Lisa,

in which century was the artist Edvard Munch born?

I always think of Munch as being quite sort of contemporary.

Anything to disprove that theory?

I could do a full Scream impression while I think about it.

That's actually quite good.

Yeah, my face sort of lends itself to gurning, doesn't it?

On that basis, I will try the 19th.

OK, that is the first time in the history of this programme we've had

somebody recreate a painting inside the booth, so credit for that.

You also get a point for the answer, because it is the 19th century.

I think we were probably lucky it wasn't Rubens

you were asking about, in that case.

LAUGHTER

He wasn't that far near the end of the 19th though, it was 1863,

he was born.

So he was well square in the middle of it.

-Right.

-OK. Michael.

Who wrote the Booker Prize-nominated novel Brick Lane?

Is it...?

Right, Brick Lane, you said?

Brick Lane, yeah, Booker Prize.

I'm being drawn towards Zoe Heller

and I can't really give you a reason why.

I recognise the name

and on the faintest chance that one plus one equals two,

I will go for Zoe Heller, please, Jeremy.

Lisa, you'll tell me the right answer here.

It's Monica Ali.

Monica Ali is the right answer there, Michael.

So, Lisa has a chance to take the lead now.

What You Will is the subtitle of which Shakespeare play, Lisa?

Ordinarily, I'm very confident with Shakespeare.

Recently, he has let me down badly

for a man who's been 500-odd years dead.

400-odd years, sorry, Shakespeare.

It's quite a feat. I think that's Twelfth Night.

Yes, Twelfth Night, we did it at school

and it said underneath, "or What You Will."

OK, so she's ahead, Michael.

You've got to stop her.

In the French novel Dangerous Liaisons,

who kills Valmont in a duel?

Again, Dangerous Liaisons...

Again, the name obviously springs out at me.

Unfortunately I haven't read it,

I know nothing about it, which is obviously a shame.

Tourvel and Merteuil do ring a bell somewhere,

which probably means they'll be completely wrong.

But I associate Tourvel slightly differently.

I can't really put a finger on it. I'm probably going to go with...

-Merteuil, please, Jeremy.

-OK, Merteuil is your answer,

not an easy question.

The answer is Danceny.

Michael, I'm sorry, you got it wrong.

-Such is the way.

-It was indeed a dangerous liaison with Lisa,

who's in the final now.

And if you come back to us,

we'll have one more round before that all-important final.

All right, they're getting close to potting the black.

You've lost three brains from the final round, but, Daniel,

any change of strategy, a different position for the cue, maybe?

Er, no, I think we're going to stick with a similar strategy,

just hoping for some nicer categories.

Yeah, keep aiming at the same pockets. The Eggheads have not lost

any brains so far and they're just looking as if they're the best

quizzers in the world, which of course they are.

The next subject is Sport.

-Who would like this?

-I'm confident with sport.

Who do you suggest I take on?

-Tom?

-Is it Dave and Chris?

Dave or Chris are still left.

I'd like to challenge Chris in Sport.

Oh, he's going to be happy about that, he's had a lot of sport

-recently, haven't you, Chris?

-I've had too much sport.

Tom, from The Potters, to play Chris again on Sport, from the Eggheads.

Please, go to the Question Room.

-Tom, are you up for this on sport?

-Yeah, I'm feeling confident.

Er, I've got football pretty well covered and maybe a bit of boxing as

well. Hopefully, if we can avoid cricket,

-I'm pretty sure I've got a good chance of winning this round.

-OK.

-I like this man.

-Good attitude and they're depending on you back here.

They've got their fingers crossed, they've got everything crossed.

So up against Chris, who has his moments.

I won't say any more than that.

On Sport, would you like to go first or second?

Er, I'd like to go first.

All right, here we go.

Which footballer scored a record 260 Premier League goals before his

retirement in 2006?

I think my dad would disown me if I got this one wrong

as a Newcastle fan, so I'll go for Alan Shearer.

Yes, and I can, of course, hear the Geordie in your accent.

Alan Shearer is right.

He must be like a god there, is he?

-He's up there.

-Chris, your question.

In Test cricket, how many umpires are always on the field of play

officiating a match?

This is Test cricket, Chris.

Well, there's...one, two...

Well, these days there's all sorts of additional umpires with Hawk-Eye

and that sort of stuff, but on the field of play,

under the laws of cricket, there are two.

And two is the right answer.

OK, Tom, keep your confidence, your question.

By what score did the USA defeat Europe in golf's 2016 Ryder Cup?

Golf's one of my weak points, so unfortunately this is going to

have to be a bit of a blind guess.

Er...

I'll go for 11-5.

Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Team-mates?

-17-11.

-17-11.

You got it wrong, Tom.

Chris, to take the lead,

which of these tennis players never won the ladies' singles title at

Wimbledon?

Well, Lindsay Davenport certainly did, so it's not her.

Sanchez Vicario...

won it. No, no, no, no.

Jana Novotna did, I think.

A Czech lass. So it's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

It is actually Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Well done.

He's taken the lead, Tom.

You need to get this one right to stay in.

Danny Cipriani left Sale to join which rugby union club in 2016?

It's a tough one. I'm not sure of the answer to this, either.

Er...something seems to make me

think that Harlequins are quite successful, so I'll go for them.

No, it's Wasps.

So, sorry, Tom, you've been knocked out by our Egghead.

Don't worry, you went into that with such confidence,

I was right behind you there.

Chris has done it. Chris, another round on Sport,

another scalp you've taken on Sport.

-Yeah.

-Do I say wonders will never cease or actually,

does that not take account of your secret sporting knowledge?

You say wonders will never cease.

If you come back to us, both of you,

we will play the final round for £8,000.

Now, Barry, you've noticed something interesting?

Yes, of the last three games of Eggheads we've played,

that was 12 head-to-heads, we've only lost one head-to-head,

and do you know who lost that head-to-head?

Well, I think I do.

-It was Kevin. How unusual is that?!

-That's Barry's very modest way

of saying that they are in storming form,

so don't feel bad about what's happened here.

Four of you have been knocked out.

This is what we've been playing towards.

It is time for the final round.

As always, it's General Knowledge,

but I do have to ask those of you who lost those head-to-heads

to leave the studio. So that's Natan, Tom, Michael

and Joel from The Potters,

would you please take your leave of us now?

Daniel, you're playing to win The Potters £8,000.

Lisa, Barry, Chris, Dave and Beth, here you are, all five of you,

playing for something that money can't buy,

the Eggheads' precious reputation.

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

This time they're all General Knowledge.

I usually say you can confer, but obviously you're playing alone.

So, Potters, the question is, can you, with your one brain,

destroy these five? And would you like to go first or second, Daniel?

Can I go first, please?

Good luck, take it slow and here we are.

Mike Hookem and Steven Woolfe,

who were reported to have had a physical altercation in the European

Parliament in October 2016,

were, at the time, members of which political party?

This is a good first question for me.

I know it's Ukip, so the answer's Ukip.

Ukip is right, well done.

Over to you, five Eggs.

Approximately how long does it take the International Space Station to

orbit the Earth?

Well, my guess would be 92 minutes.

-92 minutes.

-Yes, we're all happy with 92 minutes.

I think they watch about 18 sunsets a day,

so it must be about 92 minutes.

92 minutes, yeah.

-It's 92 minutes.

-92 minutes, yeah. is that our answer?

We're going for 92 minutes, please, Jeremy.

92 minutes is the right answer.

OK, your question, Daniel.

What are the main alcoholic ingredients of a Manhattan cocktail?

OK, so my initial thoughts are not rum and Curacao,

because I think that might have a more exotic or tropical name.

My gut instinct is vodka and Cointreau, but I'm not confident.

So I'm going to say vodka and Cointreau.

Vodka and Cointreau.

Let's see if the Eggheads know, because they have a lot of Manhattan

-cocktails after we've recorded.

-It's whiskey and vermouth.

Whiskey and vermouth is the answer.

So you got one wrong there, Daniel.

It may not be expensive, or it may be.

Let's see how they fare.

Let's hope they have a problem.

Which of these monsters from Greek mythology had 100 heads?

-Typhon.

-Yep, Typhon.

Polyphemus only had one because he had one eye.

Chimera is half dog, half whatever.

-Typhon.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, we're happy with the Typhon.

Er, Jeremy, we'll go for the Typhon, please.

Typhon is correct. I would have been put off by the poly there,

but you weren't foxed by that, you clever Eggs.

I won't sugar-coat it, you do need to get this question right,

to keep it alive.

Who wrote the bestselling 1845 cookery book

entitled Modern Cookery For Private Families?

I really...don't know.

It's a terrible question for me, really, both cookery and books,

so...

I've never heard of Eliza Acton.

I've heard of the other two,

so I'm going to plump for one of those two.

With absolutely no logic whatsoever, I'm going to go for Isabella Beeton.

Isabella Beeton. Well, there was a Mrs Beeton, wasn't there?

-Is this her?

-Yes.

Was she writing in 1845?

-No.

-No, she's a bit later.

-A bit later but not much.

-Not much, no.

The answer is Eliza Acton.

So no way back for our brave challengers and I'm afraid we have

to say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Commiserations, Daniel and The Potters.

I know that's a hard one, history, the history of cooking, basically.

-Yeah, it's terrible for me, a scientist.

-It's not a good one

for a young scientist.

-Thank you for playing.

-Pleasure.

-Have you enjoyed it?

-Yes, it's been brilliant.

Good stuff. Well done.

Commiserations as well to The Potters who go back

to the pool and snooker table.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and their winning streak continues.

It does mean the challengers don't go home with the jackpot,

so we roll the money over to our next show.

Eggheads, I wonder if you can be beaten,

or even lose any head-to-heads any more?

I think maybe we've reached the perfect moment.

Join us next time to see

if a new team of challengers can spoil it for them.

£9,000 says they can't.

Till then, goodbye.