Episode 76 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 the greatest of this age and any age, do we think?

It's very hard to compare different ages, Jeremy.

-That's what they always say in sport.

-Hmm.

But you are very great, there's no doubt about that,

and quite modest, as well.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today

are the Beamish Bakers. Now, this team all work together

in the bakery at the Beamish open-air museum in County Durham,

where the date is perpetually 1913, speaking of different ages.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Michael, and I work in the Beamish Bakery.

Hi, I'm Laura, and I work in the bakery and the sweet shop.

Hello, I'm Selina, and I work in the bakery and the pub.

Hi, I'm Georgina. I work in the bakery and the outside stalls.

Hi, I'm Gemma. I work in the bakery and the ice-cream kiosk.

-So, Michael and team, hello. Welcome. ALL:

-Hello!

Michael, tell us about Beamish.

You don't need to tell me cos I was there recently,

but tell everyone else.

Yeah, it's an open-air museum in County Durham.

It first opened in the early '70s

and different parts of the museum are set in different eras.

The town where we work is set in 1913,

and we all work in the bakery in the museum.

"Open-air museum" almost doesn't even describe it

because, actually, it's a proper living space

where you can walk round houses

and see bedrooms as they would have been in 1913

and classrooms and actual school reports, as well.

That's right. And there's a tram ride round the museum.

There's a steam engine.

-You can have a ride on the steam engine, as well.

-Yeah.

And there's, like, a working farm there, a manor house.

And the kids all want to see the sweets being made,

which is another...

They make the boiled sweets like they made them in 1913.

-Lemon drops and pear drops and all that.

-That's right, yes.

Well, listen, I wish you all the best in this quiz.

Good luck, Beamish Bakers.

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.

So, Beamish Bakers, the Eggheads have won the last 13 games,

-so it means there is £14,000 if you win.

-Excellent.

So, would you like to have a go?

-Certainly would.

-Great stuff. I've got a good feeling here.

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

And you can choose to play either

the great Judith or Steve, Kevin, Dave or Lisa.

-Who's going to go for Sport?

-I don't mind.

-Go on, then.

-OK.

-You would like that one?

-I'll go for that one.

OK, Georgina, great stuff. Choose any Egghead here.

-Judith?

-Judith, yeah.

-Judith, please.

Do you watch the show? I'm sensing you do.

-Yes. Most nights, yeah.

-You've got a plan. OK.

So, you come home from the bakery and watch the show. Brilliant.

-Just in time, most nights.

-Good stuff.

Well, good luck, Georgina from the Beamish Bakers

who's playing Judith from the Eggheads,

who's also here in costume.

LAUGHTER

That's so rude! Really!

-What period?

-The 2010s, for goodness' sake!

To ensure there's no conferring,

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

-So, Georgina, is sport your thing?

-Not particularly.

Erm, I do watch it now and again and I do actually...

I used to enjoy doing sports,

-but it's probably not my strongest, but I'll give it my best try.

-OK.

And I gather trampolining particularly...

Yeah, I do really enjoy trampolining.

-I was gutted when I gave it up, but I do enjoy trampolining.

-All right.

Well, good luck in this round against Judith.

And, Georgina, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, please.

So, the first Sport question goes to Judith.

In which decade did the racing driver Mario Andretti

make his Formula One debut?

Mario Andretti.

Erm, I have heard of him,

but, goodness, I can't remember when he was.

I'm going to say the '60s.

It is the 1960s.

Georgina, your question.

Haseeb Hameed, born in 1997,

has represented England in which sport?

Right. Erm, I'm not too sure on this one.

My gut instinct is saying to go with tennis, so I'll go with that.

OK, let's just check this out with the Eggheads.

-Is she right on tennis?

-No.

-Cricket.

-Cricket is the answer.

-He's the new wonder boy.

-He's the new wonder boy.

And he's only 19 or something. He's an amazing figure.

Wow, amazing figure. Judith, here's your question.

At the London 2012 Olympics,

the British boxer Anthony Joshua won gold in which weight division?

Oh, no.

Well, I don't think he's a super heavyweight.

And I never know what a middleweight or a welterweight...

There are so many different weights. I mean, honestly!

Erm, I think he's a welterweight.

-Dave will know. Dave?

-Super heavyweight.

-Super heavyweight is the answer.

-Oh!

All right, Georgina, your second question.

If you get this right, you've drawn level with Judith.

Where is the Australian rugby union team Western Force based?

Erm, straight away, I thought Perth then.

Erm, I'm just going to go with that one cos, again,

I'm not too sure, so I'll go with Perth.

The instinct is good. Perth is the right answer.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Level, and they're clapping here. Level with Judith.

Here's your question, Judith.

Who captained the European team at the 2012 Ryder Cup?

2012 Ryder Cup. I think that was Colin Montgomerie.

-Let's just check this with the Eggheads. Eggs?

-Olazabal.

-Olazabal.

-Oh!

-It was the miracle of Medinah.

Yeah, this was the so-called miracle of Medinah. Do you remember this?

Yes, I thought that was Colin Montgomerie.

Just remind us of the background here, Eggheads.

In 2012, they came into the last day trailing heavily,

and then Ian Poulter sank a wonder putt,

managed to get a win on the Saturday,

and then they turned round all the singles matches

to come back from a seemingly impossible position.

-Oh, so, a win for Europe, yeah?

-Yes, it was, yeah.

Jose Maria Olazabal is the answer, so Judith exposed here to

this potential right answer. If you get this right, Georgina,

you will have knocked out Judith and you'll be in the final.

Here we go. In September 2016,

the Slovenian lawyer Aleksander Ceferin

became president of which sporting organisation?

So, this for the round, Georgina.

Erm, again, I have not got a clue for this one,

so I'm going to have to go with another guess.

IAAF.

-OK, UEFA is the answer here.

-Oh.

-Georgina, sorry.

So, after three questions, the scores are level.

We're on Sport. We go to Sudden Death.

Just to make it that bit harder, this is not multiple-choice.

Here we go, Judith. In 1954, the Australian athlete John Landy,

who went on to become Governor of Victoria,

broke whose world record that had been set only weeks before?

Roger Bannister.

Roger Bannister's the right answer. That was the...

Was it the four-minute mile or the three-minute mile?

The four-minute mile. Under four-minute mile.

He got under four minutes.

So, it was broken by John Landy. You're right.

So, Georgina, you need this to stay in.

Which national football team did Claudio Ranieri manage

for less than a year before being sacked in 2014?

I'm sorry, I'm going to have to pass that one. I haven't got a clue.

OK, no problem. Anyone here know?

-Greece.

-Greece is the answer. So, Judith, you've taken the round.

Georgina, sorry, beaten by our Egghead.

Judith will be in the final.

She's won quite a few sporting rounds recently. Haven't you?

Yeah, I know. More luck than good management, I'm afraid.

Well, please come back to us, both of you.

Rejoin your teams and we'll play on.

So, our Beamish Bakers have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are still pretty much all there, in a manner of speaking.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

So, Michael, who'd like this?

-Gemma?

-Gemma?

-Gemma for this one, please.

-Very good. Gemma.

Against which Egghead? Anyone but Judith.

-GEMMA:

-I don't know. Who do you reckon?

-Dave?

-MICHAEL:

-Dave?

-Dave?

-Dave?

-Dave.

-Good stuff.

So, Gemma from the Beamish Bakers is going to take on

Tremendous Knowledge Dave on Arts & Books.

Please go to our Question Room again.

OK, Gemma, Arts & Books. Let's test you here.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-Second, please.

So, we start with Dave, then, and your first question is here.

Published in 2016,

A Life In Questions is a memoir by which television personality?

2016.

Erm, it could conceivably be Jonathan Ross,

but I'm going to go against that and go for Jeremy Paxman, please.

Yes, it is Jeremy Paxman. You're right.

Cos I guess he had Newsnight

and then he also had University Challenge...

-Yes, of course.

-..so that's a way of wiring them together.

OK, Gemma, your question.

In George Orwell's novel 1984,

the central character Winston Smith lives in which city?

Oh, think back to school, think back to school.

Erm, I'm going to say London.

You're absolutely right. Well done. London it is.

Dave, which novel, published in

1906, centres on the three Waterbury siblings?

Waterbury.

I thought Peter Pan involved the Darlings.

I'm going to go for The Railway Children.

The Railway Children is quite right.

OK, Gemma, your question

to catch up here.

Who wrote the 1964 spy novel Funeral In Berlin?

Erm...

Not... I don't think it's Ian Fleming.

Erm, I'm going to...

Ooh, hmm. Erm, let's see.

I'm going to go for Len Deighton.

Yes, you're absolutely right. It is Len Deighton. Brilliant.

OK, Dave, your question.

It's a good round so far.

Poems And Problems is a combined volume of poetry

and chess problems written by which author?

Not heard of this at all,

but I'm going to go for Vladimir Nabokov.

-Oh, how did you choose that?

-Well, I was just thinking about chess

and somebody with poems who'd possibly do that.

The other two don't appeal to me in that way, but I could be wrong.

No, you're right. Vladimir Nabokov it is.

So, you need to get this one right

to stay in, Gemma.

What was the assumed name of the man born

Christian Emil Marie Kupper,

the Dutch painter and art theorist who was a leader

of the early-20th-century De Stijl movement?

Oh, dear. Erm...

Oh, I'm just going to have to pick one.

Kees van Dongen, I think.

-I know you're not certain about that.

-No.

Kees van Dongen. Let's check with the Eggheads. Is she right?

-No, it's van Doesburg.

-It is, Kevin.

Theo van Doesburg is the answer.

Sorry, Gemma. Knocked out

by our Egghead. Dave will be in the final round and you won't.

Return, rejoin your teams and we'll see what happens next.

No cause for panic yet, Beamish Bakers,

but maybe just we turn the heat up, to use a baking analogy,

and get that oven door closed on them as quickly as possible.

You have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

They haven't lost many in the last few games.

They are playing well, but they can be stopped,

and the next subject is Science.

Who would like this?

-That would be me.

-OK, Laura...

-Definitely.

..from the bakery and sweet shop.

Against which of these quizzy bakers here?

-Who do we think?

-Who do you fancy? Lisa?

-Lisa.

Right. So, it's Laura from Beamish Bakers

against Lisa from the Eggheads.

Less bread, more toast, I think.

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

Well, I know sometimes, Laura, when you're not in the bakery,

-you're in the sweet shop.

-I am sometimes, yes.

And we've got a bit of an interest -

well, Judith and a couple of others - in sherbet lemons.

-Yes, they're lovely.

-And, you know,

-they're a lovely boiled sweet that tastes like lemon.

-Yeah.

But you've got sherbet in the middle,

and we couldn't work out how you get it there.

They sort of do a folding process with all the ingredients in it.

It's magic, really, how they do it.

Lisa, are you, like me, just feeling like we've got to eat one right now?

Oh, any time anyone mentions sugar, I'm pretty much drooling, so, yeah.

So, Science, Laura - did you choose that because you did a...?

Did you do a degree in science or not?

It was history and archaeology, so there's sort of a science...

-Yeah.

-..element to it.

-OK, great stuff.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

All right. So, third round - Science -

and it's Laura against Lisa,

and here we go with your first question.

Fibres of cotton are made almost entirely of which natural polymer?

My first instinct was cellulose

cos I think silicon's something different.

I'll go with cellulose.

I'm really glad you did. You're right. Well done, Laura.

Cellulose it is.

Lisa, your question to catch up.

The herb sweet basil belongs to the family of flowering plants

Lamiaceae that is alternatively known by which name?

-You best spell Lamiaceae for me, Jeremy.

-Lamiaceae -

L-A-M-I-A-C-E-A-E.

Sweet basil. OK, so,

borage - not renowned for its sweetness properties.

Mint, I think, would probably be called something different.

But verbena, you have sort of lemon verbena and things like that.

It doesn't look very basilly,

but then I don't know what sweet basil really looks like.

No, I'll try verbena.

-It's mint.

-Bother!

-Mint family.

Laura, your question.

You're in the lead. This is good. Keep hammering home here, OK?

Forms of cobalt, Laura, have been used for centuries

as pigments to give what colour to ceramics?

I'm trying to think.

It'll have to be a bit of a guess with red.

-Team-mates? ALL:

-Blue.

-They think it's blue.

I'm afraid it is blue.

OK, Lisa, when working with wood,

a brace and bit is a hand tool used to do what?

A brace and bit.

As I remember, it looks a bit like that,

and you turn it like that, and I think it bores holes.

Bore holes is right. My dad had one. I think everyone's dad had one.

Your question now, Laura.

What was the name of the European Space Agency probe

which crashed onto the surface of Mars in October 2016?

I remember reading about this,

but the name has completely gone from my head.

-I'll go with Bianchini.

-Lisa, do you know?

I think I might have been shocked that it was Schiaparelli

cos she was a fashion designer.

Schiaparelli is the right answer.

But don't worry, Laura, you've got one there.

Let's see if it's enough to hold off Lisa.

If she gets this right, she is in the final.

Lisa, an important function of which part of the body

is the production of digestive enzymes

by cells called acinar cells?

Spelled A-C-I-N-A-R.

I don't think the oesophagus

does a huge amount of digestive enzyme producing.

I think it's just there to move your food along.

See, I'm thinking pancreas cos I was fairly sure

that was involved in the digestive enzyme making process.

Could be the spleen.

The thing about a spleen is you don't really need one,

so that's all I ever learned about it, really.

Erm, I'll try the pancreas.

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

Let's check with the Eggheads here. Eggheads?

-That's what I would have gone for.

-We think it's pancreas.

Yeah, they like pancreas. Pancreas is the right answer. Sorry, Laura.

Been knocked out there by our Egghead Lisa

who will be in the final round. Return to us, please,

and we'll play the last round before the final.

The Beamish Bakers have lost three brains from the final round now.

The Eggheads are still there. How frustrating for our Challengers.

But that can change cos the next subject is Music.

Now, it's going to be Selina

-or you, Michael.

-It's Selina.

-It's going to be me.

Selina. All right, which Egghead would you like?

-You can take on either Kevin or Steve.

-It'll be Steve.

-Steve.

-Steve, yeah.

So, Selina on Music from the Bakers against Steve from the Eggheads.

Please, for the last time, go to the Question Room.

Selina, it's going to be down to you to stop the onrush here.

-I'll give it a go.

-Come on, let's do it.

Tell us, Selina, about your passion for crafting and cross-stitch.

Oh, I took it up just on a whim.

I found a magazine and it had a little kit in it

and I've become absolutely addicted and it drives my husband mad

cos I've got quite a few kits that I need to catch up on.

And what's the end result of it?

Something you can put on the wall or something you can wear?

-Usually, I do them for cards.

-OK.

Well, I hope this round is not too much work,

and it's Music against the great Steve.

And would you like to go first or second, Selina?

I'd like to go first, please.

And here is your first question.

"Doesn't have a point of view Knows not where he's going to

"Isn't he a bit like you and me?"

are lyrics from which 1965 Beatles song?

-Can I have the question again, please?

-Yeah.

"Doesn't have a point of view Knows not where he's going to

"Isn't he a bit like you and me?"

are lyrics from which 1965 Beatles song?

I'm looking at the three answers,

and I think the one that sounds about right is the Nowhere Man.

Nowhere Man is right. Selina, well done.

OK, Steve. Did you know that one, Steve?

-Yeah, I like The Beatles.

-Here's your question.

The output of which of these bands is often characterised as art rock?

Well, a very confused lot of options.

Erm, I don't think you could accuse Status Quo of being art,

even though I like Status Quo.

Ditto Madness, so I'd have to say Talking Heads.

Talking Heads is correct.

OK, Selina,

who took the song Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

into the UK Top 10 in 1979?

I don't recognise that as a Michael Jackson one, I don't think.

I'm going to have to go with my gut again and say Barry White.

It would have sounded great if he'd sung it. It's not.

It is Michael Jackson, actually.

You were very young back then, for sure.

OK, Steve, your question,

to take the lead. Which of these rock bands was formed

by a group of pupils from the public school Charterhouse?

That's Genesis, Jeremy.

It is indeed Genesis, yeah, with Peter Gabriel, who then left.

So, he's taken the lead and, Selina, it means

you need to get this one right to stay in and to reverse the tide.

In October 2016, at the age of 90,

which veteran musician announced the imminent release of a new album?

Well, I know Tommy Steele's still working,

but I don't know if he's got a new album. Erm...

Chuck Berry.

-Chuck Berry is your answer. You didn't go for Steele.

-No.

That's a good thing. Chuck Berry is right.

OK, Steve, your question. You can take it with this.

It's two points each.

Hornbostel-Sachs is the name of a system

used to classify which of the following?

-HE EXHALES

-Not a clue.

-Can you just spell that, please, Jeremy?

-Yeah.

It's two words, hyphenated.

Hornbostel is H-O-R-N-B-O-S-T-E-L,

hyphen Sachs - S-A-C-H-S.

-Both words have a capital letter.

-Really don't know.

I've never heard of this before in my life,

and they all look as though they could be equally valid.

So, it pretty much is a one-in-three guess.

Probably because there's more to go at, I'll try musical instruments.

-Anyone on this side know?

-I thought it was musical instruments.

The answer is musical instruments, Steve. Well done.

I know you were clutching at a straw there, but it was the right straw.

Sorry, Selina.

-Sorry!

-No, don't you be sorry. You played well there.

You have been beaten by our Eggheads.

It's going to be tough in the final,

but not impossible for our Challengers.

And if you come back to us, we'll see them play for £14,000.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our 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,

so that's Laura and Selina and Georgina and Gemma

from the Beamish Bakers.

Please would you leave the studio?

All right, Michael, I know this is not quite how the planning went,

but you are here and you are now playing to win

the Beamish Bakers £14,000.

Lisa, Dave, Kevin, Steve and Judith,

you're playing for something which money really can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

My goodness, you have played some amazing games recently.

You've hardly lost any head-to-heads in recent games at all.

Anyway, here we are, and you can definitely win.

As usual, Michael, I'll ask each team three questions in turn.

They're all General Knowledge, and usually I say you can confer,

but, obviously, I realise you can't cos you're on your own.

The question here is can you, with your one brain,

defeat these five? And would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go, Michael. Good luck.

Playing for the brilliant Beamish Bakers.

Who directed and starred as Shakespeare's Falstaff

in the 1965 film Chimes At Midnight?

I'll try Laurence Olivier.

Orson Welles.

Laurence Olivier - could have been him, but it wasn't.

OK, Eggheads, your question.

Regicide is the action of killing whom?

-King.

-Happy with king?

-King, yeah.

-King.

Yeah, it's getting rid of a monarch, so it's king.

The right answer is king.

OK, Michael, back to you.

In the fairytale Rumpelstiltskin, the eponymous, gnome-like figure

has the ability to spin straw into what?

Rumpelstiltskin.

Well, I think gold would be the thing to spin it into.

I've got to go for gold.

Gold is your answer, and it's quite right.

Well done. You've drawn level with the Eggheads.

Eggheads, to take the lead,

which fictional character was often addressed as kemosabe?

-The Lone Ranger.

-The Lone Ranger, yeah.

That was how Tonto addressed the Lone Ranger,

so it's the Lone Ranger.

The Lone Ranger is the right answer.

So, they've got two,

you've got one

and you do need to get this right to stay in, Michael.

Saint Kevin, whose feast day is the 3rd of June,

is a patron saint of which city?

Saint Kevin.

I think one person will know this in this room, but...

I don't think it's Brisbane.

I'm toying between Chicago and Dublin.

-I'll go for Chicago.

-Chicago is your answer.

OK, if you've got this right, we play on.

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

Let's just check you're right.

-He will know, won't he, don't you think?

-I would think so, yes.

I don't know if it's going to be good news or bad here.

Saint Kevin - probably named after you, I should think.

-HE SCOFFS

-Erm, I'm not really...

I think I would probably go for Dublin.

I've been to Glendalough in County Wicklow,

where there's an old monastery,

and that's associated with Saint Kevin.

That's not far from Dublin,

and they've got various Saint Kevin's this,

Saint Kevin's that, etc.

There's a photo of me somewhere stretched out on this stone slab

which is described as Saint Kevin's bed.

-But...

-Right.

So, you initially curled your lip when I said it was named after you,

but you have actually been photographed in position.

-Well, yeah, but it wasn't really mine.

-I see. I see.

On the basis that that's not far from Dublin,

I think I would go for Dublin.

I don't see why it would be either of the others,

although they have both got substantial Irish populations.

Well, that's what I was thinking -

that if you're looking for the Irish connection,

you've certainly got it with Chicago, as well.

And it says something that Kevin is not 100%.

-Fair to say?

-I'm not at all. Not at all.

So, he would have had to think about this pretty hard.

The answer is Dublin,

so we have to say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

But at least it was close on that Kevin question there.

-A little bit of doubt on this side.

-Yeah.

Thank you so much for coming in, particularly for the outfits...

-Oh, you're welcome.

-..and giving us a flavour of Beamish.

-I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

-We loved seeing you all.

-Thank you. ALL:

-Thank you!

Hope you enjoyed it. Commiserations, Beamish Bakers.

You've just run into them in the most amazing form at the moment.

Hardly anyone is knocking any of them out individually,

let alone winning. I don't know what accounts for this winning streak.

A different breakfast cereal or something - I don't know -

but it is formidable.

It means the Challengers don't go home with the £14,000.

We will take that money and roll it over to our next show.

We seem to do that quite a lot at the moment.

Eggheads, many congratulations.

Who will beat you? Who will even knock a brain out?

You're playing so well.

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

can finally defeat the Eggheads and win what will be £15,000.

Thanks again for coming in. We've loved seeing you.

Until next time, goodbye.