Episode 78 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.

Hoping to get one over on our quiz champions today

are the Remote Chancers. Now, most of this family and friends team

live near Mote Park in Maidstone

and attend fundraising quizzes for Maidstone United.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Shelagh, I'm a university administrator.

Hello, I'm Shaughan and I'm the manager of a bookmaker's.

Hello, I'm Anne and I'm a semi-retired primary school teacher.

Hello, I'm Trevor, I'm a volunteer at my local hospice.

Hello, I'm Jon and I'm an IT design architect.

So, Shelagh and team, hello.

-Hi!

-Hello.

-Good to see you.

And just tell us, the name Remote Chancers...

-Tell us why.

-We all live near Mote Park in Maidstone,

which is a beautiful park, so that is our connection.

Oh, good, so the park is at the centre of it.

-Yeah.

-Have you done any quizzing in the park?

Yes, we've quizzed at the leisure centre in the park for a Kent quiz,

-yeah.

-OK, and have you chosen each other for different subject areas?

Yes, yes, we have.

We've all got our strengths and we just hope our subjects come up.

All right. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-I wish you well.

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 our next show.

So they've won the last 15 games,

which means there's £16,000 to play for.

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

Shelagh and team, you can choose between Chris, Dave, Kevin,

Barry and Lisa.

-You?

-Be me, then.

Yeah? Which egg do you want?

-Anne, OK.

-I'll take Politics.

Primary school teacher. Against any one of the five, Anne.

Oh, let's have... Let's have us ladies.

I'll take Lisa, please.

It's going to be Anne from the Remote Chancers

taking on Lisa on Politics from the Eggheads.

First round and, please,

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

Politics, Anne, and would you like to go first or second against Lisa?

I'll go first, please.

And here is your first question, Anne. Good luck.

Which politician married Kirsten Mehr in 1999?

Let me spell it - K-I-R-S-T-E-N and then M-E-H-R.

I'm not sure of this.

Nick Clegg is married to a lady who's Spanish, I think.

I think Nigel Farage's wife is German.

It sounds as if it could be a German name, so I'll go for Nigel Farage,

-please.

-On the basis that his wife is German,

and you are absolutely right. Well done, Anne. Kirsten Mehr.

Lisa, which of these politicians had served as governor of Georgia before

becoming President of the United States?

OK, it's not Obama.

For some reason, I don't think it's Reagan either.

But I'm not actually sure.

I'm really... I'm struggling.

I'm struggling. I'll try Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter is your answer.

Yes, of course it's Jimmy Carter. Anne, back to you.

Which of these politicians was forced to install iron shutters

on their house after angry protesters had broken the windows?

I think I would have heard of it if it had been Margaret Thatcher.

Duke of Wellington, I can't think why anybody would be angry with him.

I'll go for Neville Chamberlain.

At the beginning of World War II, I don't know.

-Neville Chamberlain.

-You have got the logic of that completely,

but it is the wrong answer.

It's the Duke of Wellington, Anne.

Lisa has a chance to take the lead.

The 1834 Tamworth Manifesto came to be seen as establishing

the principles, Lisa, of which modern political party?

For 1834, it would be pushing it a little bit for the Lib Dems.

I will try, I think, Labour.

Oh, OK.

-Barry?

-No, it's Conservative. It's the foundation of

the modern Conservative Party under Robert Peel.

Conservative is the answer. OK, well, well.

-That's handy, Anne.

-Yeah.

-Here is your next question.

The First International,

an organisation which brought together

left-wing and anarchist groups,

was founded in 1864 in which city?

I don't think it would be Chicago.

I can't think of any radical groups coming out of America then.

I think I'll just plump for London, because it's the bigger place

and more likely to have more happening there.

You know, that's very good quizzing. You're quite right. It is London.

-Well done, Anne.

-Thank you.

Left-wing and anarchist groups in London.

OK. So, Lisa, on the edge.

Which term is used for a member of the United States electoral college

who casts their vote for a different presidential candidate

from whom they had pledged?

It's going well today, isn't it?

OK. Duplicitous voter...

Yeah, I'm not really liking that.

Then you have the problem of false delegate, which sounds better,

or faithless elector, which sounds more dramatic and works with

the fact that they are members of the electoral college.

Right, um...

I'll try false delegate.

Yeah, I think language-wise that probably was the choice,

-but is it right, Eggheads?

-No, it's faithless elector.

Faithless elector is the answer, Lisa.

Oh, what a sticky round for you there!

You've been knocked out. Well done, Anne. Well done, Challengers.

What a good start from our primary school teacher.

OK, you've taken on an Egghead, you've emerged triumphant.

You will be in the final round, Anne.

You're there. Come back to us, both of you. Rejoin your teams.

Oh, so a good start for our Challengers.

Well done. Remote Chancers have not lost any brains

from the final round. The Eggheads have lost Lisa.

The next subject for you is music.

So who would like this? Oh, it went very quiet there.

Someone's musical, they must be.

-What are we saying?

-I'm tempted for Jon to go for it.

-I think Jon or Shaughan.

-What do you think, Jon?

-Jon?

-I can take it.

-I'll take it.

-You sure?

-Yeah.

-OK, Jon.

Our IT design architect.

Against which Egghead? Can't be Lisa.

-Not Dave.

-Chris?

-Chris?

-Yeah. I think I'll take Chris.

So, Jon from Remote Chancers versus Chris from the Eggheads on music,

and please go to our Question Room.

OK. Jon, would you like to go first or second?

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

All right. Which song starts with the line,

I got my first real six string

Bought it at the five and dime?

OK. I think I know this one.

And I think it's a Bryan Adams song.

And I think it is Summer Of '69.

The answer is Summer Of '69.

Well done. Oh, Lisa, can we prevail?

Give us the notes.

# Got my first real six string

# Bought it at the five and dime... #

Yay!

That's great.

OK, Chris. Johnny Marr became famous

playing which instrument for The Smiths?

They did have a keyboard player, so I'll go keyboard.

Oh, lawks a daisy!

Dave, we need to just rationally give the right answer here.

It's the guitar. The guitarist.

It's a guitar. Without any show of emotion.

Dave is crying, Chris.

Oh, well.

OK. Well, look, this is good, Jon.

Your question. Which singer recorded the US number one album

Cheek To Cheek with Tony Bennett and went on tour with him in 2015?

Must admit, I've not heard of... that particular name.

I don't think it would have been Rihanna.

I don't think it would be Britney Spears.

So I'm going to go right down the middle with Lady Gaga.

And Lady Gaga is the right answer.

You're playing really well.

OK, Chris. In 2016, which band announced Blue And Lonesome

would be their first studio album in over a decade?

And you must get this right.

-I know, I know.

-Sorry to remind you.

Toss-up between Genesis and Led Zeppelin.

Down the middle, Genesis.

It's not Genesis. It's not Led Zeppelin.

-It was the Rolling Stones.

-Oh.

-The only ones who, I suppose,

have got a bit of a blues thing going on.

Chris, you've been knocked out there.

Straight down the middle. Well done, Jon. How about that?

You're in the final round. It's going well for our Challengers.

Return to us, please, both of you, and we'll see what happens next.

Now, Remote Chancers have not lost any brains from the final round.

Even I'm getting excited here.

This looks promising, but keep pressing them.

You really have to, because they can strike back.

The Eggheads have lost two already, and the next subject,

the third round, is Sport.

Who is the sportsperson?

-You, then, Shaughan.

-OK.

-Reserve, yeah.

-I'll go for it.

-Shaughan, right.

And you can choose any Egghead there

apart from, obviously, Lisa or Chris.

Might as well give it a go with Kevin.

We're going to go for Kevin.

-Yeah?

-I'd like to play Kevin, please.

Always got to take him on at some point.

So, Shaughan from Remote Chancers,

trying his luck against Kevin from the Eggheads.

Can you knock Kevin out?

Let's see. Take your positions, please, in our Question Room.

Shaughan, Sport it is.

Your team is playing brilliantly, but this could be a crucial round.

Would you like to go first or second against Kevin?

Well, it's going quite well, so I'll go first, please.

And here we go, then, with your first question.

At professional tennis tournaments,

what are typically changed every seven or nine games in a match?

I'm pretty confident on this one.

So I believe it is the balls.

The balls change. Yeah, balls.

OK, Kevin.

According to the rules of golf, what is the minimum depth of a golf hole?

I'm not sure I've seen the depth.

I believe the width has to be about four and a quarter.

I think it must be four inches.

Yeah, can't be any less than four inches. Well done.

Oh, I thought it was going to go wrong there, Shaughan.

I thought you were going to get the rub of the green, as they say.

Second question for you.

In 2016, who refereed the finals of the FA Cup,

the Champions League and the European Championships?

OK. Well, I believe Graham Poll had retired then.

Might not be Atkinson.

I think Clattenburg's the more high-profile,

so I'm going to go with Mark Clattenburg.

It is indeed. He's doing everything. Mark Clattenburg's right.

Well done. Very busy in 2016.

OK, Kevin. Which French word is used in cycling

to refer to someone's record of achievements in the sport?

Well, a Domestique is a member of a team,

one of the sort of following riders in a team.

I don't think I've ever heard the word Palmares

and I don't know what the derivation would be.

I have somewhere heard the word Bidon.

Oh, dear, now I've thought of something

and that's caused me to go 50-50, really.

Oh, dear. Because you could make a case for Palmares,

in the sense of somebody being crowned with a laurel wreath

or something like that, you know, a palm.

I don't know what this word, Palmares, is, but I can see it.

I'm going to try Palmares.

Bidon is a water bottle, so you got it right.

Well done. Odd word.

Palmares is someone's record of achievements.

Oh, you are pressing him hard here, Shaughan.

Well done. 2-2 though. You've not overcome Kevin yet.

Here is your question. Third question can be crucial.

In 1873, Tom Kydd became the first sportsman

to receive which famous trophy?

Not the FA Cup.

I do recall some golf tournaments being in there that amount of time.

I'm going to go with the Claret Jug.

Claret Jug is the right answer.

Well done, Shaughan.

Three out of three. Great quizzing by our Challengers.

And here is your question, Kevin, to stay in.

Dong Dong from China won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics

in the men's competition in which sport?

Dong Dong, same name twice.

Yeah, D-O-N-G. Dong Dong.

Well, they didn't do anything,

the Chinese didn't do anything in the BMX.

So I'll rule that one out.

Obviously, they do extremely well in the diving.

So that's favourite, but I'm trying to...

remember in terms of the trampoline, going back to 2012.

Because Chinese have been quite dominant

in diving in recent Olympics,

there are obviously more of them who have won medals in that event

or in that sport, and so I'll have to go for diving, but I'm worried.

Trampoline is the answer, Kevin.

You've been knocked out. Well done, Challengers.

Three in a row!

Shaughan, you took on Kevin, not just any old Egghead.

You emerge triumphant and it's very good news for your team.

Come back to us. We've got one more round to play before the final.

As it stands, the Remote Chancers have not lost a single brain

from the final round, we're almost at the final.

The Eggheads are three down. This is two games in a row

where you have been clobbered.

But they can still win from this position, so be careful now.

Last subject before the final, geography.

-Who would like this?

-Would you like this, Trevor?

-I think that's me!

-OK, Trevor, which one of these Eggheads...

Actually, there's only Barry and Dave left.

-What about Dave?

-It'll have to be Dave.

-We'll try Dave.

I think we'll... Well, I'm going to try Dave.

Good stuff. Trevor from Remote Chancers taking on

Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room.

Well, let's see how you do, Trevor, on geography.

First or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here is your first question. Good luck.

Which of these ports is on the coast of the English Channel?

Well, Tynemouth is on the coast in the North Sea.

Great Yarmouth is in East Anglia

which is nowhere near the Channel, so it's got to be Weymouth.

Weymouth is quite right. Well done.

Tremendous Knowledge Dave, here's your question.

Barcelona is the capital

of which autonomous region of north-eastern Spain?

-Catalonia.

-Catalonia is correct.

Over to you, Trevor.

The three mountain ranges called Matra, Tatra and Fatra

are often said to be represented on the flag of which country?

Well, all three countries are fairly mountainous.

Ah! I'm going to go straight down the middle and say Slovakia.

Slovakia's the right answer!

Well done! It's going well for you guys.

OK, Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

The Eggheads have got everything crossed back here!

Which of these cities is in the region which was once known

as the Austrian Riviera?

I'm going to have to think about this.

Because I thought Varna was in Bulgaria.

I can't think it's that far to Trieste.

I'm going to stick with Salzburg, please.

-Eggheads?

-Trieste.

-Trieste is the answer.

-Oh, no, sorry!

-Trieste.

-My apologies, Eggheads.

Is this a turning point? If you get this answer right, Trevor,

the Eggheads are down to one in the final with £16,000 to play for.

-No pressure, then!

-Lots of pressure!

Barra, B-A-R-R-A, is a member of which Scottish island group?

To take the round...

Ah. I think this is going to be a wild guess.

And I'm going to go for...

-..the Orkneys.

-Orkney is your answer.

If you've got this right,

you've knocked out David and you are five on one in the final.

Eggheads, do you know?

-Outer Hebrides.

-Outer Hebrides is the answer, Trevor.

Oh, OK.

So, Dave is still in,

-but you need to get this one right, Dave.

-Yeah.

By population, Dave, which is Australia's third-largest city?

Not Canberra.

I've got to go Brisbane, Barry, sorry, mate.

-Don't be sorry, Barry.

-I'm happy with that answer.

He's happy. Brisbane is the answer. You're level after three questions.

Trevor, it gets a bit harder. We go to Sudden Death on geography.

I don't give you alternative options.

OK.

Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean

is an external territory of which country?

I know there are quite a few islands there that are protected by

Australia and New Zealand.

It's a toss-up between the two.

-New Zealand.

-You've gone the wrong way.

It's Australia.

-OK.

-It's Australia.

All right, Dave, your question.

And you can take the round with this

and, maybe, it's part of the fightback here.

Cambodia has a coastline on which gulf?

There's the Gulf of Tonkin coming into my head,

there's the Gulf of Siam coming into my head. Which one's right?

If any's right?

I've just got the Gulf of Siam coming into my head,

so that's my answer. The Gulf of Siam.

Gulf of Siam is correct.

-Now known as the Gulf of Thailand, but we can accept that.

-OK.

Oh, Dave, well done.

Well played. Trevor, you were beaten by our Egghead, there.

But is it enough?

With £16,000 to play for.

Trevor and Dave, return to us, we will play the final round.

OK, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our all-important final round.

As always, it is General Knowledge, and it's £16,000.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads will not be allowed

to take part in this round,

so it's only Trevor from the Remote Chancers,

but it's Lisa, Kevin and Chris from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Shelagh, Shaughan and Jon,

you are playing to win the Remote Chancers £16,000.

And you have played brilliantly so far.

Barry and Dave, you are playing for something which money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

They're all General Knowledge, and you can confer.

So, Challengers, the question is,

can your four brains make light work of these two?

Over here. Take them down and win the money.

I really hope you can. Would you like to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

OK, Shelagh and team, good luck.

Full of admiration for your performance so far.

Here is your first question.

How many months of the year have 31 days?

Four months have got 30, one month hasn't, that's five.

-Seven?

-Seven.

-We agree?

We say seven.

Seven is right. Well done.

Eggheads, which group

had a UK number one with their debut single,

What Makes You Beautiful

in 2011?

It's 1D.

One Direction, yeah.

I am so glad I have this man sitting on my left, here!

Our answer is One Direction.

It is One Direction.

OK, Challengers.

Oran is a major port in which African country?

Is it...

O-R-A-N.

Well, I don't, wouldn't go with Kenya.

Isn't there somewhere on the North African coast called

some...Oran?

That would lead more towards Algeria if it's North Africa.

Yeah. It sounds Algerian to me.

What would you go with?

-If I had to guess, I'd go Algeria.

-I think we'd going to go Algeria.

We don't know, but we're going to guess Algeria.

Let's see. Eggheads?

Algeria's correct.

Algeria is correct.

OK. Ooft!

£16,000 if you win here, Challengers.

Two Eggheads left, fighting a defensive action.

The famous Steiff teddy bears

are trademarked by a button placed where?

-It's in the ear.

-OK.

-It's in the ear.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

-That's fine, I don't know.

I believe the Steiff teddy bears,

which are worth a small fortune if you're fortunate enough to own one,

have a button in their ear.

Well done. I thought you might struggle with this

but in the ear is right.

Your third question.

Get this right and you may have to do no more work today.

In 1861,

which Scottish scientist made the first public demonstration

of a colour photograph produced using a three-colour process?

John Napier is logarithms, wasn't he?

-Yeah.

-So we'll discount him.

Maxwell... Is Maxwell not a photography...

Has that not got something to do with a photography make?

Maxwell...

The printing process would be about the film.

That's the only inkling I've got.

Well, there is a connection.

Yes, I believe so.

-But whether it's the right one...

-Well...

-I've never heard of this.

If there is a connection, I think we've got to go with it, don't you?

We are going to guess...

-Educated guess.

-Yeah.

..at James Clerk Maxwell.

James Clerk Maxwell is the right answer. You're playing so well.

Well done, Challengers. You got three out of three.

Now, you need to hope the Eggheads slip up.

If they get this right, we go to Sudden Death.

If they get it wrong, £16,000 is yours. Eggheads.

Which author's 1879 book The Red Room

has been described as the first modern novel

in his native country's literature?

August Strindberg, isn't it?

That came into my head before the options, to be perfectly honest.

OK, well, I'm happy to go with that.

The answer came into Dave's head before the options came up,

and that's always a very good sign when you're quizzing,

so we're going to go with Dave's answer, which is August Strindberg.

We're playing for £16,000 here.

If this is the wrong answer, you will have won.

If it's right, we go to Sudden Death.

You've played brilliantly so far. Let's see whether you've taken it.

The 1879 book, The Red Room, was written by August Strindberg.

Well done, Eggheads, you're still in it.

Sorry, Challengers, right on the edge of that 16,000 there.

And three each in the final round. It gets harder, now, though.

We go to Sudden Death. I don't give you alternative options.

Which medical condition,

whose name is derived from the Greek for "bad" and "doing"

affects coordination and dexterity?

Well, I...

-Co-ordination.

-Dyspraxia comes straight to the mind.

-"Dys" is bad.

-Coordination, to me, says dyspraxia.

That's what the children at school are diagnosed with, if they're...

-I'm happy.

-If they have coordination problems.

-I've got no...

-I'm happy with that.

We say dyspraxia.

Dyspraxia.

And Anne, you're a primary school teacher by profession, right?

I hope I haven't got it wrong.

You haven't got it wrong. It's dyspraxia. Well done.

Well done, indeed. You've seen it, I'm sure.

OK, Eggheads, to keep the contest alive,

what is the title of Norman Mailer's debut novel,

first published in 1948?

-The Naked And The Dead.

-Is that his debut?

-About the Second World War?

-I can't think of any other...

I can't get anything else from that. We've got to go with that.

Well, one novel came to both of us straightaway,

so we are going to say The Naked And The Dead.

That is correct.

They're still alive, they're very much alive.

Keep going, here. Sudden Death, £16,000, you're playing so well.

You've got no answers wrong in the final round so far.

You know what'll happen if you get one wrong, what they'll do.

You've got to keep training your sights on these questions, Challengers.

Capablanca, Alekhine

and Botwinnik

were leading names in which field in the 20th century?

Technology, science...

There's a huge range if you don't recognise any of the names.

Medicine.

-Genetics, or...?

-Genetics possibly...

-I've got no idea...

-It's not anything to do with sports, is it?

-No.

-I think we'll go genetics.

-Shall we go with that and hope?

-Yeah.

We don't know, but we're going to guess at genetics.

Genetics, understood. Shall we just check with the Eggheads?

-Chess.

-Chess.

They were all world chess champions.

If it's any consolation, you weren't anywhere near chess.

We discounted sport.

If someone has suddenly said chess,

I wondered if you might suddenly seize on it, but it didn't happen,

so that's your first wrong answer

in the final round so far

and it gives the Eggheads the chance to take the contest.

Richard Stott, David Banks and Colin Myler

have all been editors of which national daily tabloid newspaper?

Colin Myler rings a bell with me.

Was he the Daily Mirror?

Was it The Sun?

No, it's just with Stott

and Banks, I've not heard of Banks with The Sun.

Myler rings a vague bell for me.

So I'm going to go with the Mirror, as it's called, or the Daily Mirror.

My first thought was that, as well.

-Yeah, the Mirror.

-We're not 100% certain on this one.

We think it might possibly be The Sun,

but we're going to go for The Mirror.

If you've got it right, the contest is over on Sudden Death.

They were all editors...

..of the Mirror, or Daily Mirror.

We have to say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Absolutely amazing performance.

Plugging away right at the end, there.

-But your tenacity was remarkable.

-Remarkable.

Very, very impressive.

One of the best teams we've ever had on this show.

I think that's right, one of the absolute best.

You took them further, without winning, so I'm feeling for you, here, Remote Chancers.

It was not a remote chance, it was a very good chance.

So they're back with this winning streak, which is also very impressive.

It does mean that you're not going home with the £16,000.

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

Eggheads, congratulations,

and we now wonder if anyone can actually beat them at all.

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

-I hope you enjoyed it, Challengers.

-It was great.

-You were brilliant.

There'll be £17,000 to play for in our next game

and, until then, goodbye.