Episode 81 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.

Your shells going to give way today, Eggs, what do we think?

Oh, no. We're rock solid.

We'll see about that. JEREMY CHUCKLES

Challenging our resident quiz champions today

are Strip The Willow from Essex.

Now this team are all members of the Grand Ceilidh Club

in Southend-on-Sea,

so let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Jeff, and I'm a science teacher.

Hi, I'm Kate, and I'm a children's services practitioner.

Hi, I'm Claire, and I'm a barmaid.

Hi, I'm Alexandra, I'm a preschool practitioner.

Hi, I'm Bob, I'm a retired technician.

So, Jeff and team, welcome.

-ALL:

-Hi.

-Good to see you.

You've made a long trip up to Glasgow, haven't you?

Yes, four and a half hours from London...

-up to Glasgow.

-Tell us then about the ceilidh club, Jeff.

Yes, it's a barn dancing group in Southend.

We meet regularly every Wednesday evening.

We really enjoy it, it's a really good social event.

We get to see our friends, and lots dancing and music.

And so we have some musicians here

and I think they're called callers as well, is that right?

Yes, I do some calling,

and Alexandra does some calling, and then we've got...

Kate is a musician as well.

The calling is, you know...

Is strip the willow one of the commands?

It's one of the moves within the dances.

What exactly is strip the willow?

You have a line of gentlemen facing a line of ladies.

-Yes.

-You have a partner opposite you.

You move into the middle, just the top couple only,

you turn one and a half times round, right hand,

and then you go left hand down the opposite line.

So the men turn the ladies on the opposite line,

keep coming back to the middle,

turn your partner around until you get to the end of the line,

and that's strip the willow. But it can go on for a long time.

Depending on the length of the line, I guess.

I was in Pitlochry for New Year

and I started at one end of the high street and people kept going on,

adding on to the line,

so by the time I got to the end of the high street, I was quite tired.

It was January 2nd!

Yes, January 2nd.

Have you got that, Eggs?

When we do strip the willow later, are you up for that?

I've a feeling we might be do-si-doed here!

-Very good.

-Well, I don't know, good luck.

Will you do some calling during this game maybe?

Yes, I think we will be.

I think... OK, the team captain especially.

Good luck, Jeff and 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.

So, Strip The Willow,

I can tell you the Eggheads have been playing really well.

They've had some games that were close,

but by and large they have been triumphant.

They've won the last 18 games,

which means there's £19,000 to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes, please.

OK, good stuff. The first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of geography.

And you can choose between Beth, Chris, Pat, Steve, and Barry.

-How about Bob?

-Bob?

-OK.

-You want to do geography?

-Yep.

-Bob's going to do geography.

-All right.

Bob, our retired technician.

Any one of the five, Bob.

How about Beth?

-Beth?

-OK. That's fine, yeah.

-OK.

-Beth.

-And this is strip the willow now, is it?

-Yes.

Bob from Strip The Willow versus Beth from the Eggheads on geography.

Please take your positions in the Question Room.

Well, I guess the key question, Beth,

is whether we've sorted out our Southeast Asia yet.

Well, at least I know Belize isn't there any more.

Belize is not in Southeast Asia

and Vietnam was constantly the issue, wasn't it?

Oh, I'm just going to say Vietnam, even if it isn't an option.

All right, Bob. Well, good luck.

I know you went to Romania recently.

Indeed, we did.

Tell us why.

My daughter invited me to look at salt mines, churches,

and other such tourist attractions,

and sweetened the pill by saying

there's a steam work narrow gauge railway in north-west Romania.

Ah, that's your kind of thing, is it?

-Yes, indeed.

-Well, it's Chris's kind of thing, too.

Have you been to see that, Chris?

I haven't been there but I've read all about it.

-Oh, right.

-There's videos of it on YouTube.

So Chris knows a bit about this at this end, Bob,

so you've touched his heart.

So would you like to go first or second, Bob, on geography?

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

Here we go with your first question, Bob. Good luck.

What was the approximate population of Wales at the 2011 census?

Well, Wales is a fair percentage of Britain.

Percentage...

The population of Britain as it stands is about 60 million.

So I would think by saying...

..it's about a fifth of the land area,

I'd expect the population to be about a fifth,

so, Jeremy, I'm going for 13 million.

13 million. You're 10 million out.

It's something to do with the way...

Well, I guess England is so much the population centre, isn't it?

The correct answer is 3 million.

OK, Beth, your question.

Mar de Hoces is a name for the body of water

that separates Antarctica from which part of the world?

Well, purely from the language

and your wonderful pronunciation, Jeremy,

I'll go with South America.

Thank you for that compliment.

South America is right.

-You were tempted with Asia, weren't you?

-Yeah!

OK, back to you, Bob. Get on the score sheet now.

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a figure cut into a hillside

in which country of the UK?

It's England. It's England.

-Do you know whereabouts?

-Dorset.

Yes. I've seen it in Dorset, yes.

England is right. Well done.

OK. Based on this,

the next answer to your next question will be Scotland, Bob.

We can see the pattern here.

Beth, what is the most populated town of the Shetland Islands?

I used to live in the Orkney Islands, which is

the ones just below, but I never managed to get up to Lerwick.

Lerwick is quite right.

So, two to Beth.

It means, Bob, you need to get this right.

Australia's third-largest island,

after Tasmania and Melville Island,

is named after what creature?

Well, they're all Australian creatures.

I'm making the assumption that if there's

two jumping creatures and there are other birds,

it's got to be wallaby or kangaroo.

A pure guess, wallaby.

Wallaby. Anyone know Australia here, of the team-mates?

-I think it's Kangaroo Island.

-Yeah, I thought it was kangaroo.

Kangaroo Island it is, Bob.

-Oh, well.

-Sorry. Two wrong answers,

very expensive for you, you've been knocked out.

Beth will be in the final round.

Well done. Doing better and better on geography.

Come back to us, both of you, and we will play round two.

OK, Strip The Willow have lost a brain from the final round,

the Eggheads are still all there, playing well.

And the next subject for you, Challengers, is sport.

So, Jeff and team, who wants this?

-Sport.

-Are you OK, Alex, on this, Alexandra, to do Sport?

I know it's not your favourite subject, but one for the team.

One of the team, I'll give it a go.

-Yes.

-Yay! Go, Alexandra.

-Alexandra is going to take one for the team.

Alexandra, brilliant. Against which Egghead?

Chris, would you be able to do this one, please?

Oh, you mustn't ask him - that's a recipe for disaster.

I'd consult with the higher powers.

Alexandra from Strip The Willow is against Chris

on sport, from the Eggheads,

which seems to happen quite a lot at the moment.

Please take your positions in our famous Question Room.

Alexandra, tell us what you do in the ceilidh club.

Are you a caller or a musician?

I am a caller. I call the dances

and I occasionally may have made a dance.

Right, and you then say "do this" and "do that" and they all do it.

-It must be satisfying.

-When it works it's very satisfying, yes.

So apart from the command strip the willow,

what are the other classic commands?

There's do-si-do, swing your partner, promenade,

-I can't think of any others!

-That's a good list.

All right. So, I guess, for this round's purposes,

take your partner by the arm, Alexandra, we're on sport.

And would you like to go first or second?

I would like to go first, please.

Here's your question.

In January 2016, Nick Brett became an indoor world champion

in which sport by beating Robert Paxton?

I don't think it's bowls.

And I've got a feeling, table tennis is calling.

I'm going to go with table tennis, I think.

Actually, that's wrong. I think the key word in the question

is probably indoor.

The suggestion that there's an indoor and outdoor version.

Team-mates, you got a clue here?

-Bowls.

-Yeah, bowls, cos there's no outdoor table tennis or darts.

Bowls is the right answer, Alexandra.

Here's your question, Chris.

The Hawk-Eye ball tracking system

was first used in cricket broadcasting in what year?

Well, it's a very recent and quite controversial thing, isn't it?

So certainly not 1991.

I don't remember it in 2001, so I'll say 2011.

Eggheads, is he right?

I thought it was much earlier.

I think it must be earlier than that.

Earlier. Earlier, they're saying.

-2001, Chris.

-Oh, 2001.

So, level.

Alexandra, here's your question.

Used in tennis's Australian Open from 1988,

rebound ace is a type of which of the following?

Quite a while, then.

I think it's... I'm going to go with ball, I think.

It could easily be ball, but it's court surface, Alexandra.

Bit of bad luck. So, Chris, your question.

What is the name of Middlesbrough FC's home ground?

Oh, Turf Moor's Burnley, Vicarage Road is Watford,

so it's got to be Riverside Stadium.

-Riverside Stadium is quite right.

-Well done.

So the first point in this round

and you need to get this one right, Alexandra.

In which decade did synchronised swimming debut

as an Olympic sport?

I seem to remember watching it

and pretending to do it while swimming in the creek!

I think that's 1970s.

I'm afraid it's 1980s.

So sorry.

So Chris has beaten Alexandra in the sporting round.

Chris, you'll be in the final. How about that - on sport?

-How about that?

-How about that?

And, Alexandra, return to your team,

who need to start to come back now.

Bad luck there, Alexandra.

Actually, one of the techniques in synchronised swimming

is called the eggbeater kick.

You've been on the receiving end of a few of those!

Haven't you, Eggheads?

So, Strip The Willow, you have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads are all still there,

and the next subject for you is arts and books.

-Who would like this?

-I think that's you.

-Something for you, Catherine.

-That would be me. Yep.

-Kate.

It's Kate. OK. Our children's services practitioner.

Against which Egghead?

-Steve?

-Shall I go for Steve?

-We'll go for Steve, please.

-Very good.

Good luck. Kate from Strip The Willow, Steve from the Eggheads,

please take your positions.

Kate, good luck in this round.

-Thank you.

-Would you like to go first or second?

I would like to go first, please, Jeremy.

And here we go with your first question.

The illustrator Quentin Blake is famous for his work

with which of these writers?

That would be Roald Dahl, Jeremy, an author who I grew up on.

As did we all. Roald Dahl is quite right.

-And he's an amazing illustrator, isn't he?

-He is.

OK, Steve, which of these was the place and date of Rembrandt's birth?

Well, I know he were Dutch, so that's a big help,

so I'll say Leiden, 1606.

Yes, spot on.

It is Leiden, 1606.

OK, Kate your question.

Rabbit Run, published in 1960,

was the first in a series of novels by which American author?

I don't know this one, Jeremy.

I think it's not going to be Kerouac.

I think I'm going to go with John Updike, Jeremy.

Team-mates, is she right?

-Yes.

-You are right, Kate, well done.

It is John Updike.

OK.

Steve, to catch up.

Which of these writers wrote only one novel

that was published in their lifetime?

As opposed to more than one, I'm assuming?

Right, OK.

In that case then, I'll say Oscar Wilde.

And do you know what it was?

Picture of Dorian Gray.

Picture of Dorian Gray is the right answer.

Oscar Wilde is correct.

So, level. This is a fun round, Kate.

-Certainly is.

-We're finding out a lot here and you're playing well.

Here is your next question.

Which was the first of Patricia Cornwell's novels

to feature the character Kay Scarpetta?

OK, so I know the novels,

I think I might have read one

with a detective Kay Scarpetta.

Don't know the title.

Point Of Origin seems to be speaking to me because it's about something

beginning, and if it's the debut of that particular character,

I think I might go for that one, Jeremy, Point Of Origin.

-Postmortem is the answer, Kate.

-Oh.

So, Steve, for the round.

The American artist Ad Reinhardt's work

is most commonly associated with which art movement?

The short answer is I don't know.

I'm going to rule out impressionism, rightly or wrongly,

and because I don't know, it could equally be either.

I'll try pop art.

No, it actually is abstract expressionism.

OK, so it's level after three.

How about that, Kate?

-Oh.

-Did you think you were out there?

I thought I might have bitten the dust.

No, you have not, definitely not.

Sudden Death we go to. Gets a bit harder now.

I don't give your alternative answers,

so you've gone further into this round

than any of your colleagues did in theirs. Good luck.

Here we go.

Which character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

is the main romantic interest of Benedick?

I think that's Beatrice.

It is Beatrice. Really good answer, well done.

Sudden Death.

Back to you, Steve.

The poet George Gordon Noel, born in London in 1788,

was better known by what title and surname?

Well, the surname threw me a bit to start with,

but I think it's got to be Lord Byron.

It is Lord Byron.

Back to you, Kate, Sudden Death.

What is the surname of Pa, Ma, Tom, Al and Noah

in John Steinbeck's novel the Grapes Of Wrath?

I don't think I know this one, Jeremy.

I think I might have to take a guess.

I'm going to guess something quite generic, unless...

it's maybe a..

It might be a Spanish name.

I don't know any common ones, so I'm going to guess...

White. I don't think it's right.

No, it's Joad.

It's the Joad family going from, I guess,

the dust bowls of Oklahoma to California.

Joad, J-O-A-D.

Steve, for the round.

What was the name of the bemusement park created by

the artist Banksy and opened in Weston-Super-Mare in 2015?

It's Dismaland, Jeremy.

Dismaland is the right answer.

You probably knew that, Kate.

-I did.

-Sorry, knocked out by our Egghead, there,

but you played so well.

Come back to us, both of you.

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

Well done, Steve. Did I have a memory that you had 10,000 books?

-Yeah.

-Really? And where are they all stocked?

-Well, a few more now, I bought a few more yesterday.

-Did you?

I've just got one bedroom devoted to them,

so it's like they're reaching up to the ceiling now,

so I really need to come up with plan B.

And is the ceiling below bowed?

I try to avoid that room, to be honest.

JEREMY LAUGHS

OK. So, Strip The Willow have lost three brains,

so this is, I suppose, in dancing ceilidh terms,

it's where it's going perfectly well,

then in the backline somebody falls over.

Yeah. Perhaps we need to rewrite the dance now.

I think maybe just even speed up the music.

-That will fool them.

-Yeah, I think it's not what they expecting.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far

and the last subject for you before we play the final is music.

That's good, isn't it?

-That's me then, is it?

-That's good.

-That's Claire.

-OK, Claire. Against which Egghead, Claire?

-Who would you like?

-Barry?

-Let's go with Barry.

-Try Barry.

So Claire from Strip The Willow

is going to play Barry, on music, from the Eggheads.

And, for the last time, please go to our Question Room.

So, Claire, you're a barmaid in Leigh-on-Sea.

Well, I actually work in a town nearby in Rochford

at the Cherry Tree, yes.

Oh, OK. And the Cherry Tree, tell us what kind of pub that is.

It's a kind of gastro-pub out in the middle of nowhere,

it's a destination pub, it's a listed building.

It's really quite beautiful, actually.

And any famous people that you have served there?

Not in the pub, no.

We haven't had anybody famous through the doors as yet.

Wasn't there Christmas dinner with Rowan Atkinson or something?

-Tell us about that.

-Yeah.

I used to work with Piers Fletcher, who's now the producer for QI.

I worked in the city with him

and he asked me to help out at a friend's Christmas lunch.

And when I got round to his house,

it was Emma Freud and Richard Curtis's house

and there were quite a famous bunch of friends,

including Angus Deayton, Rowan Atkinson and Howard Goodall.

What a great line-up.

It was a cracking evening, really funny evening.

That's like a TV show right there, isn't it?

It could have been a whole sitcom, I think.

All right, good luck in this round.

Music against Barry, Claire. Would you like to go first or second?

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

And here we go. Let's try and get you through to the final here.

Lulu sang the theme song to which James Bond film?

Well, I know that The Spy Who Loved Me was Carly Simon,

Diamonds Are Forever, I'm sure was Shirley Bassey

so I'll go for Man With The Golden Gun, please, Jeremy.

Yeah, brilliant work.

The Man With The Golden Gun it is.

With Christopher Lee, wasn't it, Barry?

-It was indeed, yes.

-And Scaramanga and all that.

Here's your question.

Bye Bye Love was the debut UK hit single from which group?

Oh, I grew up listening to this group

and I love their music to this very day.

It was the Everly Brothers.

The Everly Brothers is quite right.

Claire, back to you.

The Heavy Entertainment Show is a 2016 album by which singer?

I'm not sure about this one,

but I'm going to rule out Robbie Williams, I think, and Tom Jones.

I'll go Ed Sheeran.

His main ones have been the plus sign and multiply sign

and all of that on the cover.

Let's see if your team-mates know this.

Kate, not your thing?

-I don't know.

-Barry, do you know?

-It's Robbie Williams.

-Oh.

-Yeah.

Robbie Williams.

He's always big on entertainment -

Let Me Entertain You and all that - that's his kind of thing.

Robbie Williams is the answer,

so Barry has a chance to take the lead.

Andy McCluskey is the lead singer with which band

formed in the late '70s?

It's not Yazoo and it's not Soft Cell,

it's Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

Very good, Barry. Didn't know you followed them.

I've heard one or two of theirs.

I couldn't name any at the moment,

but I have heard some of their work.

Oh, I love them.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is quite right.

Well done. OK.

So, third question to you, Claire.

You need to get this right to stay in.

The 20th-century piano virtuoso Arthur Rubinstein

was born in a city that is now part of which country?

I don't know this one, so it's going to have to be an educated guess,

but Rubinstein sounds possibly German.

I will go Germany, please, Jeremy.

Poland is the answer, Claire. Sorry, no way back in this round,

so Barry has taken the round and will be in the final.

And, if you both return to your teams,

we will play that final round for £19,000.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our final round.

As always, it's general knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

are not allowed to take part in this round.

So that's Kate, Claire, Alexandra and Bob,

all from Strip The Willow,

I'm afraid I have to ask you to please leave the studio.

Jeff, I know you're a scientist.

-Yes.

-A degree in marine biology and a PhD in lugworms.

-That's right.

-Hopefully, that will come up.

-I would love a lugworm question.

We are overdue, aren't we, actually?

You are playing to win Strip The Willow £19,000

and your team behind you,

I know it hasn't quite gone to plan but, believe me,

they are cheering you on.

Barry, Steve, Pat, Chris and Beth,

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

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

they are all general knowledge.

I usually say you may confer, but obviously that's a bit difficult!

The real question here, Jeff,

is whether your one brain can take down these five mega-brains.

It can be done, it's been done relatively recently.

Would you like to go first or second?

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

OK. Here we go, good luck.

In the TV sitcom Only Fools And Horses,

what was the name of Boycie's wife?

Right, well, in Only Fools And Horses, I haven't heard of...

They are probably in it, Raquel and Cassandra, but Marlene,

it's a long time since I've watched it,

Marlene does ring a bell so I'll go for Marlene.

Marlene is right.

Well done. That would be an easy one to go wrong on.

-The other two names are in it as well.

-Right.

-OK, Eggheads.

Edward is the real first name of which children's character?

-Winnie-the-Pooh.

-I think he's Edward Pooh.

-Edward Bear.

Yeah?

We think that's Winnie-the-Pooh.

Winnie-the-Pooh is quite right.

OK. Level. £19,000 we're playing for.

Jeff, you can do this.

Here's your question. Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record

for the first time in which decade?

I'm just wondering whether they were doing that land speed record

out in Arizona. Would it have been out there?

Now I need to work out when he actually lived.

1960s seems a little bit late to me.

Whether it's the 1920s or the 1940s.

1960s is too late.

Certainly a lot of racing going on in the 1920s.

Malcolm Campbell...

Let's go for the 1920s.

Malcolm Campbell, when he broke the land speed record,

he touched 146mph,

he did it in the UK, but he did it in the 1920s,

so you are absolutely right. Well done.

OK. Eggheads, your question to catch up.

What was the medieval trebuchet designed to do?

-Fire projectiles.

-Yeah, massive...

It was time to get out of the way.

It was a giant catapult that fired projectiles.

It did fire projectiles, you're right.

No signs so far of them breaking into a sweat, is there?

I didn't think they'd get that one wrong.

No, that's the kind of word they love.

They sometimes just throw it into conversation!

So your third question, get this one right and, who knows,

you may not have to do any more work today.

£19,000 we're playing for, big jackpot.

So, Jeff, here is your question.

Samuel Morse's famous 1844 telegraph message

was sent on a line connecting which two cities?

There's the famous one about catching a criminal.

I can't remember whether that's connected to that,

but he was on the ship, wasn't he,

going to America and they had to cable back and arrested him?

I don't think that is going to be that one.

Samuel Morse, I need to think about where he was from.

Morse code. Morse code, then.

Aberdeen and Edinburgh... So, Morse,

Edinburgh and Aberdeen is about 50 miles apart, Paris and Lille,

that's French, France and Belgium. Washington DC and Baltimore,

that's a bit further apart.

Um... Tricky.

We'll go for the Scottish connection, I think,

Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

I think the murderer you're referring to was Dr Crippen

but I'm not sure when that was.

-That was 1910.

-1910, so it's much later.

Was this sent inside France or Scotland or the USA?

Let us see. Eggheads, do you know?

-Washington and Baltimore.

-It's Washington DC and Baltimore.

-OK.

-Jeff...

-The message he sent was, "What God hath wrought?"

-He was American, was he?

-Mm-hm.

So once you know he is American, then you can go to the cities.

So, Eggheads, with this answer you can take it.

What is the traditional starting point for the

London to Brighton Veteran Car Run?

Hyde Park.

No arguing with that.

I'm not arguing with you, Chris.

-Hyde Park, yeah?

-Hyde Park.

-We think that's Hyde Park.

Chris, you were straight there. You've seen it start, have you?

I've seen Genevieve umpteen times on the telly.

-She one of the cars, is she?

-Yeah.

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

And they are playing very, very well.

Three questions in the final round, Eggheads, three correct answers,

Hyde Park is the answer.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won!

And the message that Samuel Morse sent, you're very nearly there,

Barry, "What hath God wrought?"

-I got the two words transposed.

-Yeah. You were pretty much there.

That's how they are playing at the moment, I'm afraid.

I almost feel like I should apologise.

But the thing is, the jackpot is high and that's the joy of the game.

-Yes.

-Jeff, well done. Sorry about Samuel Morse.

Yes. If I'd known the nationality, I would've have got it right, I think.

Well, you never sent an SOS out during that round.

You played well. In the end, they've just edged it, these Eggheads,

as they tend to do. They've done what comes naturally to them.

This winning streak continues.

Barry, I think we need the jazz hands.

Oh, last time, then!

Woo-ooo!

Well, it marks the moment where we go into a £20,000 jackpot.

It does mean the Challengers don't go home with the £19,000,

we roll the money over to the next show.

Eggheads, who will beat you?

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

to defeat the Eggheads, with £20,000 to play for.

This is getting exciting.

Till then, goodbye.