Episode 22 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.

-Feeling brainy?

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-I hope so.

-Usually.

And challenging our resident quiz champions today are

the Sussex Harriers.

This family team from Midhurst

share a passion for running.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Ruth and I'm a management consultant.

Hi, I'm James and I'm a public health doctor.

Hello, I'm Simon and I'm a business development manager.

Hi, I'm Celia. I'm a senior practice nurse.

Hi, I'm Ed and I'm an engineer.

-So, Ruth and team, hello.

-Hi, Jeremy.

-Hello, Jeremy.

-Nice to see you.

And Ruth, mainly, you're runners, is that right?

That's right.

Normally we enter events which test our physical endurance,

but today we have gone for an event which is testing us mentally.

Good stuff. Tell us about the running first of all.

What sort do you do?

So we normally go for shorter distances,

so 10km, but Ed actually has entered into an ultra,

which is coming up this year.

And what's an ultra?

It's longer than a marathon, so it's actually...

His one is two marathons in length.

What?! You're going 56 miles?!

56.2, I think.

Is it? What, in one go, without stopping?

Without stopping, hopefully.

-Maybe a few breaks, but...

-Is that humanly possible?

Well, lots of people do it, so...

Well, tell us about the quizzing, Ruth. What's going on there?

We've each quizzed, like, pub quizzes and things like that,

but we've never actually tested all together, at the same time,

but we cover quite a lot of topics,

so we think we'll actually do all right, so...

OK, good. Well, it's excellent to see you all. Good luck, Challengers.

Every day there is £1,000 of cash up for grabs for our challenging team.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show, as you know.

And Sussex Harriers, the Eggheads need to be stopped,

cos they've won the last seven,

so they're getting that slightly smug look about them.

And that means there's £8,000 for you to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes, please.

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

You can choose Judith, Chris, Pat, Barry or Steve.

Well, Dad, you were going for this one, weren't you?

I think by process of elimination, yes, nobody else is coming forward.

HE CHUCKLES

I am that volunteer.

OK. Simon, against which Egghead?

Steve knows everything. Let's take him out early.

OK. Let's go for Steve, then.

OK. Good thought, actually. He does know a lot.

Simon from the Sussex Harriers taking on Steve from the Eggheads,

and just to ensure there is no conferring,

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

Well, Simon, I know the stakes are high here, because this is a family team, isn't it?

And I'm kicking off. Opening the batting here.

Right, you're on History, Simon, against Steve,

and would you like to go first, or second?

I think I will bat first on this one.

Here we go. Good luck.

David Lloyd George became UK Prime Minister in what year?

Was this...

Ah.

I'm pleased with this question,

because I know the answer to this one.

I knew it before you gave me the options, so...

Yes, Lloyd George took over -

I think it was from Asquith - in 1916.

1916 is correct.

Steve, your question. The US civil rights leader

born Malcolm Little adopted what letter in place of his surname?

That's X, Jeremy.

X is correct. Malcolm X.

Back to you, Simon.

The Roman road, the Fosse Way, ran from Exeter in the south

to which city at its northern end?

I think it's the A38, isn't it?

I'm tempted to go Lincoln.

I don't think it went as far as Newcastle.

I'm going to stick with my first gut reaction and go with Lincoln.

Lincoln is your answer.

Let's see. Eggheads, is he right?

-Yeah.

-Lincoln is the correct answer.

Well done to you.

Puts Steve under a bit of pressure here.

The Mamluks, the rulers of Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517,

derive their name from the Arabic for what?

Mamluks.

Yeah. I don't actually know from the word,

but I've got a feeling that they were slaves of the Egyptians

who then overthrew them to become the rulers.

So, purely on the basis of that, I will say slave.

Very good quizzing, you're right. Slave it is.

OK, Simon, back to you.

Third question. In which country did Johann Friedrich Struensee,

the royal physician, become the queen's lover

and take effective control of the kingdom?

Ooh...

This is a baffler, Jeremy.

I feel as though Netherlands and Denmark,

they didn't have territories of note.

I'm going to go the Austro-Hungarian type feel to it.

So I'm going to go with Austria.

It's Denmark.

-Oh, dear.

-Which gives Steve clear sight of a seat in the final round.

Which of these African nations

received its independence from the UK first?

Choose between...

I know Uganda and Kenya were in the '60s, but when was Egypt?

Don't know.

Try Kenya.

Uganda and Kenya were in the '60s, Steve.

Egypt was 1922.

-Right.

-So it was even before the Second World War.

-Yeah.

-So that's a let-off for you, Simon.

Equal after three questions.

-I'm back in it.

-Back in it.

Sudden Death, now, though.

Gets a bit harder. I don't give you multiple-choice options.

Which Scottish Protestant reformer,

born at Giffordgate in Haddington around 1514,

and author of The History Of The Reformation In Scotland,

described Mary Tudor as the "English Jezebel"?

I don't know many Scottish reformers.

There is nothing coming to mind.

I will say...being pushed, it cannot be him,

but William Wallace.

OK. Steve, do you know?

-Is it John Knox?

-John Knox is the right answer.

Oh, yes. That makes sense.

OK, Steve, for the round.

French protestants were deprived of all religious and civil liberties by

Louis XIV's revocation of which document on October 18, 1685?

Right. I know what I want to say, I'm just...

The Edict Of Nantes.

The Edict Of Nantes is quite right. Well done. You've taken the round.

Sorry, Simon. Knocked out in Sudden Death.

-They are good, these Eggheads, aren't they?

-They're very good.

I wouldn't have got that one, either.

So I think I have lost to the better man here.

That's very sporting of you.

Return to us, return to your family, and we'll see what happens next.

So, as stands, the Sussex Harriers

have lost one brain from the final round.

Good round, though. The Eggheads have not lost any,

and the next subject for you is Arts & Books.

So, Ruth and team, who wants this?

-Oh...

-Arts & Books.

That was the one we were trying to avoid.

Really? I don't believe it.

-Yeah.

-I don't believe it.

-Is it me?

-It's yours, yeah.

Mother, I think that's yours.

Choose an Egghead, Celia. Who do you want to take on?

Maybe... Let's try Judith. Let's try Judith.

-Judith.

-OK.

Celia from the Sussex Harriers

versus Judith from the Eggheads on Arts & Books,

and please go to the Question Room.

Arts & Books, Celia. Do you want to go first, or second?

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

All right, good luck. Here we go.

The author Agatha Christie was born in which century?

I think she was born in the...

Er, 19th century.

Let's just see. Eggheads, help us?

Start with when she died, Eggheads.

I think it was 1976.

So '76, OK.

As she was in her 80s when she died?

-Yes.

-So that takes us back.

Well done, Celia, to the 19th century.

Absolutely right. 1890 in fact.

Judith, which of these artists is best known for working with paint?

Barbara Hepworth is a sculptress.

Damien Hirst spent his life chopping up calves and pickling sharks.

So Jackson Pollock was well-known for rolling about in paint.

Jackson Pollock is quite right, well done.

Back to you, Celia.

Which female author set her 2012 novel NW

in northwest London?

Um...

I...don't think it was Margaret Atwood.

And I don't know Anne Enright, which is probably dreadful.

I think I will go Zadie Smith.

Well done. Zadie Smith is right.

-Good play.

-Gosh!

OK, Judith, your question.

Who is the narrator of the 1955 Nabokov novel Lolita?

-Oh, that is Humbert Humbert.

-It is Humbert Humbert.

-Yeah.

-OK, Celia.

Which abstract dance choreographer had a long-standing professional and

romantic partnership with the avant-garde musician John Cage?

Gosh, I haven't... This is a real guess.

Um...

I think I will go George Balanchine.

I don't know why.

But I'm going that way.

Let's just see. Eggheads, help us?

-Merce Cunningham.

-Merce Cunningham is the answer.

Celia, this gives Judith a chance

to take the round on Arts & Books.

Your third question, Judith.

What metaphor for the divide between the USA and Mexico

forms the title of a 1995 novel by TC Boyle?

The one I like the best - and I really don't know,

cos it could really be any of them, I think -

I just like the idea of the Tortilla Curtain,

so I'm going to say the Tortilla Curtain.

I guess it echoes the Iron Curtain,

which is a Churchill phrase, wasn't it?

-Maybe that's the thing that's going on here.

-Yeah.

The Tortilla Curtain is quite right.

-It is?!

-Gives you three out of three.

Sorry, Celia.

Beaten by our Egghead and, as a result, not in the final round.

So Celia and Judith, please return to your teams.

OK, this is tricky now for the Sussex Harriers.

They have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads are still all sitting there.

-Running shoes on now.

-Yeah.

-All right, this is the key moment.

And Music is your subject.

So who would like this?

Well, there is not many of us...

LAUGHTER

Ruth, James or Ed?

You and Ed have strengths in other rounds, don't you?

-As well, so...

-So you're going to sacrifice yourself?

-Yeah, I think it's...

-Well, let's not talk like that.

Our captain is there.

Well, she can still control strategy even if she's out,

but she may well not be.

Find an Egghead. You can have Barry, Pat or Chris.

I was thinking maybe Barry.

Barry looks as though he could have been a Bay City Roller in his time.

THEY CHUCKLE

-That's true enough.

-That is true.

-Yeah. Go for Barry.

-OK.

Cos I'm sure there won't be any Bay City Roller questions.

OK, I'll go for Barry, then.

Ruth from the Sussex Harriers versus Barry,

who struggles with hip-hop, it's true, from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

-So, Ruth, you took Music.

-Yes, I did.

And is that because it is your passion?

I follow a little bit of music,

but I wouldn't say I'm an expert on the subject.

Good stuff. Well, good luck on Music against our Barry,

and would you like to go first, or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

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

Which of these girl groups was not formed on a television talent show?

Well, Girls Aloud definitely was formed on a talent show.

I'm pretty sure it was the Sugababes,

which wasn't formed on a TV show.

Just because I...

Like, Little Mix is a little bit too, um...

..too modern, if that makes sense.

I don't think the Sugababes were, so I'm going to go with Sugababes.

I hope I've got that right.

You're absolutely right. Sugababes is the right answer.

Here's your question, Barry.

Which artist won the Mercury Music Prize in 2013

with his album Overgrown?

2013? I'm trying to remember when James Blunt

came to the fore.

Was it more than three years?

Three years?

No, I'm going to go for James Blunt.

OK. Steve's got his head in his hands.

James Blunt.

When you say came to the fore, it was over ten years ago.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

Goodness me, how time flies!

James Blake is the answer.

So you've messed up very slightly there, Barry.

Ruth, this is good, now.

We've got a little bit of daylight.

We can see our way through to the final. Hang on in there.

Which song was the subject of a legal case in 2015,

which ruled that royalties no longer needed to be paid for its use?

So...um...

As far as I'm aware, Happy Birthday To You

is not a royalties song.

It's whether we go for the funeral or the wedding, isn't it?

Um...

I am trying to think of, like, things which I've actually seen

in movies now and how often you actually hear

Here Comes The Bride in movies with weddings in them,

and you don't hear it very often.

So...for that reason, I think I'll go for Here Comes The Bride.

Here Comes The Bride.

I know why you have done that, but it's wrong.

It's actually the one you ruled out.

-Oh!

-Happy Birthday To You.

Barry, your question.

In musical notation, what term is used to indicate

that a piece should be played fairly loud?

I always thought forte was loud,

so mezzoforte must mean fairly loud.

Mezzoforte is fairly loud.

Back to you, Ruth.

Your third question. You're equal.

When they were formed, which of these bands had the most members?

Because I felt like The White Stripes had three or four,

which doesn't sound like that many.

Um, Black Keys, I haven't heard of.

And Simply Red...

I think that's quite a low number, but I could be completely wrong.

I going to go with the one I actually know,

so I'm just going to go with The White Stripes.

OK. The White Stripes are an unusual band,

because they only have two people in it.

-Oh!

-So the guitarist is Jack White,

the Black Keys also had two.

So it's Simply Red with six.

Oh. OK.

-OK?

-Yeah.

So, Barry, you have a chance here to take the round

with this question.

Although his birthplace was in Germany,

the composer Johannes Brahms spent much of his life and died

in which city?

Now this is a question. So I should know the answer immediately.

And yet I don't.

So this is interesting.

I wouldn't mind, but he's one of my favourite composers as well,

so I am amazed that I don't know this.

But I have something at the back of my head that says Brahms lived his

last years in France, so I'm going to go for Paris.

I thought you would do this one in your sleep.

-And you got it wrong!

-Oh!

-It is Vienna.

-Oh...!

So...that's so unusual, because...

What is happening today?

That is... That's the sort of question you love.

So one out of three for you both. We go to Sudden Death.

Ruth, here we go. I don't give you options here.

OK.

Benny and Bjorn were the male members of which chart-topping band?

Oh, I think that's Hanson.

-Hanson?

-Yeah.

-No, no, it's Abba.

-Oh! Whoops!

Barry, for the round. Which number

follow the words "Heaven" and "East"

in the names of hit bands of the 1980s and '90s?

Goodness me, one I actually do know!

It must be...

..17.

Heaven 17 and East 17. Well done, you are right, Barry. It is 17.

-Sorry, Ruth.

-I apologise, Ruth.

I don't feel I deserved to win this.

So come back to us. We've got one more round to play.

The Sussex Harriers have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

This is the moment now to get an Egghead out.

And it is Sport.

So who would like Sport?

You're very sporty, all of you.

-Yeah, I'm very happy to go for it.

-Ed on Sport? OK.

Against which Egghead? And you've got either Pat or Chris.

-I will take on Chris, please.

-Good stuff. Chris likes sport.

"Chris likes sport", one of the great fallacies of the 21st century.

LAUGHTER

I wanted to see how you'd react to that.

Ed from the Sussex Harriers versus Chris from the Eggheads,

who may or may not like sport.

To ensure there is no conferring, please, for the last time,

take your positions.

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

First, please, Jeremy.

All right, good luck. Which of these football stadiums is furthest south?

Er, I should get this one.

Old Trafford is Manchester, so...

Anfield's Liverpool, whilst White Hart Lane is in London,

so I'll go White Hart Lane.

White Hart Lane, the home of Spurs, is in London.

Well done. OK. Chris.

In 1996, the rower Steve Redgrave memorably said

that anyone who saw him go anywhere near a boat again

had his permission to do what?

Er, yes, he'd had a bellyful of the whole business, hadn't he?

So he said anybody who sees him go near a boat again

had his permission to shoot him.

Shoot him is correct.

Back to you, Ed. At the Sochi Winter Olympics,

Jenny Jones became the first Briton to win an Olympic medal

in which event?

I think this was...

She was a trick boarder,

so I think snowboarding.

Yeah, well done, snowboarding is right.

Chris, in American football,

the winners of the Super Bowl are awarded what type of jewellery?

Do you know, I haven't a clue?

Since they are the most unisex of the three,

and Americans do tend to go in for wearing that sort of thing,

I would say a ring. Rings.

Rings is right, actually.

Yeah. I thought you might go bracelets, there.

OK, two each.

Ed, back to you. This can be important,

this third question.

In December 2016, AB de Villiers stepped down as Test captain

for the South African cricket team

to be replaced by which player?

My dad would know this one. So that's...

I don't think it is Vernon Philander.

It was when Jacques Kallis had retired then...

What year was it, sorry?

In December 2016.

December 2016...

Oh, I think Jacques Kallis had retired then,

so I'll do du Plessis.

Let's see whether Simon does know it. Is he right?

Faf du Plessis, yes, definitely.

Faf du Plessis is quite right. Your father has confirmed it.

So you got three out of three on Sport. That's really good.

Now, can you stay in, Chris?

Prior to his retirement in 2012,

how many times did Stephen Hendry win the World Snooker Championship?

Quite a lot.

But not that many.

Five.

-Quite a lot but not that many is five, is it?

-Mm-hm.

Eggheads?

-Seven.

-Seven is the answer, Chris. You've been knocked out.

Well done. Maybe the tide is turning for our Challengers?

Ed, you've taken on an Egghead and emerge triumphant.

You will be in the final round.

And gentlemen, if you both come back, we will play it.

So this is what we have been playing towards,

it is time for our final round, as always, General Knowledge.

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

but not be allowed to take part in this round.

So, Ruth, Simon and Celia from the Sussex Harriers,

and also Chris from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

James and Ed, you are playing to win the Sussex Harriers £8,000.

Steve, Barry, Pat and Judith,

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

which is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

You can confer.

So, Sussex Harriers, the question is

can your two brains defeat these four super-sized ones?

And would you like to go first, or second?

We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

All right, good luck. You can do this, guys.

Do it for the Harriers.

First question, on which day of the week does the Queen traditionally

distribute money to pensioners?

I don't know too much about this one

but what is the meaning of each one, each day?

So, I've got this memory of, when we were younger,

you would go out on the street and people would be spreading pennies

on the street, but I can't remember whether it was...

-So you've got...

-What day was associated with it?

Good Friday is the bank holiday, so would it be that one?

Well, it would be...

I mean, that's Jesus's death, isn't it?

So it'd probably be unlikely to...

Give out pennies on that day, because it is like a mourning day.

You wouldn't be in the streets, that's what I'm saying.

You wouldn't be in the street.

I think we should go down the middle.

Down the middle it is, then.

We will go with Maundy Thursday.

Right. Let's just check with your parents.

Are you relieved back there?

-Yes.

-Yes, we are.

Maundy Thursday it is.

Oh, my goodness.

That was close to disaster there.

Well done.

I don't know what the logic was there, but it worked for you.

Eggheads, in the Superman comics,

what is the occupation of Superman's love interest Lois Lane?

-Reporter?

-I think she is a reporter.

-Isn't she?

-Definitely.

-I think so.

-For the Daily Planet.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

We think she is a reporter.

Reporter is correct.

One each. Back to you, Challengers.

In which year did Samuel Cody

make the first controlled powered flight in Britain?

Controlled powered flight.

So...

Did they have them in the World War?

That is what I was thinking.

For them to have been in the First World War, it'd have to be 1908.

Yeah. That's what I would agree.

They had planes in the First World War, didn't they?

I would think so.

-I guess so.

-1908?

-Yeah.

We'll go with 1908.

1908 is the right answer.

Well done. The next question is for the Eggheads.

Which of these computer games was released first?

-Donkey Kong.

-No idea.

Donkey Kong is the late '70s, I think.

-Well, it's early '80s.

-Early '80s.

-Yeah.

-I can remember at university,

I saw it on a little...

Sonic's much later.

Grand Theft Auto is most recent.

Did Donkey Kong turn into Super Mario?

-Yeah, eventually.

-That were a character in it. Jumpman...

-He became...

-So it's definitely Donkey Kong.

-Yeah, a gorilla.

-I've got Donkey Kong for the Atari, so I know...

-Throwing barrels at a target.

-Yeah, yeah.

We think that's Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong is the right answer.

I was wondering when you'd ever get a gaming question.

I think one of those is going to trip you up one day.

OK, so it's two each.

We're playing for £8,000 here.

Here we go. In Scottish mythology,

the creature known as the selkie takes which form when in the water?

And this is S-E-L-K-I-E.

All I know is that the kelpie is a horse.

I don't know about the selkie.

If it's mythology, then maybe more of a serpent.

I would... Serpent was my first thought.

Salmon and seals aren't really mythological

kind of creatures, are they?

-Yeah. Let's go with serpent, then, shall be?

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

We will go with serpent, please.

And where are you from originally, James?

I'm from Edinburgh. Along the road.

Edinburgh, so you would know.

THEY LAUGH

-Eggheads?

-It's a seal.

-A seal.

-Seal is the answer.

The Eggheads can end it with this question if they get it right.

A boy named Hogarth is a central character

in which work of children's literature?

-Hogarth.

-It's not Northern Lights.

-It's not Northern Lights.

-Not Northern Lights at all.

-It's not Northern Lights.

I've watched The Iron Man

and I don't remember the kid being called Hogarth.

And I've not read Stig Of The Dump.

I'd go Stig Of The Dump.

I'd be inclined for Stig Of The Dump.

I don't know for definite.

I've nothing to base it on.

I think... Yes.

From what Steve says about it not being in The Iron Man...

Don't take what I say as gospel,

by any means.

It's definitely not Northern Lights.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-We're pretty unsure here, Jeremy.

But we are hoping it's Stig Of The Dump.

I don't know what you were watching when looking at Ted Hughes,

cos...Hogarth is in there.

It's The Iron Man by Ted Hughes.

-Sorry, team.

-Oh, dear.

So you're two each after three questions.

£8,000 you're playing for.

And we go to Sudden Death.

Gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternative options.

Here's your question. Tyger Drew Honey,

Daniel Roach and Ramona Marquez

found fame playing the children in which TV comedy series?

-Tyger Drew Honey.

-Is it called...

-Sounds like American names, does it?

-Yeah, true.

Is it like The Cosbys, or something?

Oh, I was thinking of English comedies.

They don't sound like British names.

No.

-No, I haven't got anything.

-What shall we go for?

What was your answer?

The only thing I could think of was The Cosbys, but I don't know.

Let's go with that, then.

OK. We'll go with The Cosbys.

The Cosbys is your answer.

-Eggheads, do you know?

-Outnumbered.

-Outnumbered.

Outnumbered. Closer to home.

-I would never have got that.

-Closer to home.

-OK.

Eggheads, you can take the contest with this.

Which man who went on to be President of France

married Yvonne Vendroux in 1921?

Oh, de Gaulle.

Yes, Yvonne was Yvonne de Gaulle.

Dates fit - yeah.

We think that's Charles de Gaulle.

All right. We have been playing for £8,000 here.

If you have got it right, the contest is over.

The correct answer is Charles de Gaulle.

You are right, and we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won!

They gave you a bit of daylight.

-They did.

-The first three questions.

-We had a chance.

Needed a right answer there. I am really sorry.

You played well and you got them to Sudden Death in the final.

Commiserations to the Sussex Harriers.

It has been lovely to see you all. Thank you for coming.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

this winning streak continues.

It's really quite impressive now.

It does mean that the Challengers do not go home with the £8,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congrats. Who will beat you?

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

have the brains, finally, to defeat them.

We're heading towards a five-figure jackpot.

There is £9,000 to play for next time.

Until then, goodbye.