Episode 24 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 Britain. They are the Eggheads.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today

are the Glasgow Alphas. This team are all members

of Glasgow's first inclusive rugby club,

who promote equality and diversity in team sports.

Let's meet them. Hello, my name is Munro, and I am a business student.

Hi, my name is Adam, and I'm a rugby coach.

Hi, I'm Matt, and I'm a hairdressing student.

Hi, my name's Jamie, and I work in hospitality.

Hi, my name's Barry, and I'm an aseptic pharmacy technician.

Munro and team, hello. Hello. Welcome.

So tell us, Munro, first of all, about the rugby club,

and what defines it. Basically, we create a comfortable environment

for anyone to come and try the sport. Just alleviating that bit of

stress, particularly that you get sometimes in the LGBT community

when it comes towards sport. And you play it yourself?

You all play? Yeah, we all play. OK, in different positions?

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

And which teams do you play?

We play mostly friendlies.

So there's a lot of inclusive LGBT teams around the country and around

the world. So we play a lot of them,

but we also play a lot of friendlies locally.

And hopefully, next season, we'll be joining a league, so we'll get

more regular matches. Really exciting. So, are you quizzers?

Do you quiz together? No, we haven't. I think we've all quizzed.

You quiz separately?

Yeah, we have. Does that mean you've had to patch together a battle plan,

rather like your rugby strategy?

Yes. Which means someone's the number eight, someone's the hooker,

someone's going to run with the ball when they get it?

Yeah, and someone just has to muck in when we need it as well.

Yeah. And someone's going to take down Kevin and make it as bruising

as possible. Yeah! All right, listen, good luck to you.

Great to see you all. Every day,

there's ?1,000 cash up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, that money rolls over.

So, Glasgow Alphas, the Eggheads are doing rather well -

they've won the last nine. There's ?10,000 to play for.

Do you want to try? Definitely.

Good. The first head-to-head battle is on Film And TV.

You can choose between Judith, Kevin, Pat, Barry and Steve.

So who are we going for on Film And TV?

I think you had that bagsied, did you not? If you want.

Are you going to go for it? Yeah.

You in for...? No, I think we're going to hold us back a bit.

Yeah, OK, I'll go for it. Barry, OK. Against which Egghead?

Any one of the five.

Don't be scared. I think I'll go for Judith.

Everybody happy with that? Yeah.

Right, so, Barry from the Glasgow Alphas,

versus Egghead Alpha, Judith.

Is that too much of a build-up?

No, no. I could do with a build-up.

To ensure there's no conferring,

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

Barry, you're a pharmacy technician?

Yeah, that's right, Jeremy. And what does that entail?

I make up chemotherapies for people with cancer.

And also I make up parenteral nutrition bags for people that are

unconscious and can't eat. Wow, that's serious stuff.

Thanks. Do you find time to watch movies?

Yeah, usually when I'm not at training.

OK, good luck against Judith, Barry.

Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go second, Jeremy. Ladies first.

You ready for this, Judith? I am.

Aljaz Skorjanec, Oti Mabuse and Katya Jones

have all featured in which television show?

Well, I'm sure you know this too, Jeremy.

It's Strictly.

Strictly Come Dancing is quite right.

We've got to get you on that, Judith.

No! I'm stiff as a poker, I couldn't do it.

Oh, but even just to see you moving around.

OK, your question now, Barry.

Which of these songs won an Oscar for the 1984 film, The Woman In Red?

I'm not really sure, Jeremy, so I am just going to guess this one,

and I'll go with I Just Called To Say I Love You.

Yeah, it's a good guess, because Summer Nights was Grease,

and Bright Eyes was... Erm, was that Watership Down, or...

What was that, Judith? Watership Down.

Yeah, so, I Just Called To Say I Love You is quite right.

Judith, Anton Karas famously played the music to which 1949 film

on a zither?

Well, The Third Man - tremendously atmospheric film.

And music on the zither was very much a part of it,

so I think it's The Third Man.

The Third Man is right.

Barry, which British actor plays the husband and manager of

Meryl Streep's title character in the 2016 film

Florence Foster Jenkins?

I'm not really sure again, Jeremy.

Pretty sure it's not Stephen Fry or Hugh Grant,

so I'm going to go with Ray Winstone.

No, you've got it wrong, it's actually Hugh Grant.

OK. Hugh Grant was the answer.

Gives Judith a chance here.

Which actor wrote screenplays for both the 2015 film Sicario

and the 2016 film Hell Or High Water?

I have absolutely no idea.

I haven't seen either of the films,

or know anything about those names.

So, it's a guess.

Charlie Hunnam. Charlie Hunnam.

Eggheads? Taylor Sheridan.

Taylor Sheridan, says Kevin. Oh. Taylor Sheridan is the right answer.

Still, you do need to get this one right, Barry, to stay in.

Which silent film actor starred in the 1926 film The General?

So, it's 1926.

Well, it's bit before my time, Jeremy,

and the only silent actor I know is Charlie Chaplain,

so I'm going to go with Charlie Chaplain.

It's Buster Keaton. OK. Buster Keaton is the right answer.

Buster Keaton, he only did silent movies,

or did he move into spoken movies?

Well, he was in some later on,

but tended to be more cameos, really, than anything.

Barry, sorry, you've been knocked out by Judith.

Please return to us, and we'll play on.

So, the Glasgow Alphas have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are still all there, sitting...

Well, sitting pretty might be an exaggeration, but they're all there.

The next subject is Music.

So, Munro and team, who wants this?

It's... Matt, will you be going for this one, yeah?

Want me to take it, then? Yeah. Yeah, go for it.

Yeah, I'll take Music. OK, Matt, a hairdressing student.

Against which Egghead? Anyone but Judith.

I think, purely for the bright shirt angle,

I'm going to have to go against Barry.

Good stuff. So, Matt from the Glasgow Alphas,

taking on Barry from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

So, what's your ambition, Matt,

when you've finished doing the hairdressing studies?

I'm looking to eventually go and study to be a special effects

make-up artist. Oh, right, for movies and stuff?

Movie, films, doing all the sort of prosthetics and making people look

as horrible as they can.

Well, I suppose, these days the complexity of all that is immense,

isn't it? It is. There is a lot of different techniques

that I have to get myself to learn and get nailed down.

But once I've got those, I am pretty confident that I can get myself

a big enough name in the business.

Do you like watching the old movies?

Definitely, yeah. My favourite films are the ones with wobbly sets and

when the monsters are made of papier-mache,

but the actress is still screaming her head off.

Good! So, you're on Music, Matt, against Barry.

Would you like to go first or second? I think I'll...

I'll go second.

Barry, what is the fourth word in the national anthem of the

United Kingdom?

That's, "God save our gracious Queen." So it's gracious.

Yeah, gracious is right.

Back to you, Matt. The band Mumford And Sons became associated with the

reported revival of which genre of music?

Mumford and Sons, was it...

Erm, not my favourite band,

but I know definitely they have got that very folky feel to them,

so I'm going to say folk.

Yeah, completely, folk is right.

Barry, The Flaming Lips are a rock band that was formed in 1983

in which city?

Let me read it again - The Flaming Lips are a rock band that was formed

in 1983 in which city?

Goodness me. I have heard of the band.

And I'm tempted to say Salford, so I'll go for Salford.

Yeah, I'm not sure whether we're giving you options from different

countries or what. Is Kalgoorlie in Australia, or what?

That's Australia, yeah. OK, so there's a UK,

an Australia and an American option.

So I suppose we're just asking which country is the band from?

And they're American. Ah. Oklahoma City is the answer.

All right. So you have a chance now to take the lead, Matt.

Which band's first live album was called Live At Leeds?

Ooh, erm...

Live at Leeds...

It's probably going to be a stab in the dark with this one.

I'll go with Oasis.

No, before that - The Who.

All right. I've never heard that album, I bet it's brilliant.

It is indeed. I've heard it a number of times.

Really? Barry, your third question.

Josephine Barstow was created a dame in 1995,

following her success in which capacity?

I've not heard of her as a ballerina.

And I've not heard of her as a composer.

I think she might have been an opera soprano.

Opera soprano is correct, Barry. Well done.

So, he's got two, you've got one, you need this one, Matt.

Here it is. Giovanni Roncalli are the middle names of which singer?

Giovanni Roncalli.

Oh...

I honestly can't really think of this.

I'd have to eliminate Michael Ball,

because they sound very Italian names.

I'm going to take it wild stab in the dark, I'll go Bryn Terfel.

Bryn Terfel, no. It's Alfie Boe, I'm afraid to say.

Is that...? Eggheads, let me just check, is that because he's Italian?

He's from Lancashire, I think. He's from Lancashire?

Is Giovanni Roncalli a person?

First name/surname, are those two names taken after one other person?

Giovanni Roncalli was the real name of, I think, of Pope John XXIII.

Oh, that's interesting. And Alfie Boe, in terms of his age,

that could be the case that possibly he was named after...

I don't know.

And I'm sorry, Matt, with that, you've been knocked out by Barry,

who will be in the final round. Well done, Barry.

Bit of divine assistance there, Barry.

Yeah, had to be after that Flaming Lips answer!

Come back to us, both, we'll play round three.

The Glasgow Alphas have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far,

and the next subject for you is Food Drink.

Now, I know we have a hospitality person here.

Or maybe it's not you, Jamie, is it? Yeah.

It is you. I was... Are you still wanting it?

It would be between you and Adam.

Would you be with, like...? It could be anything.

It could be anything, though. If we're thinking for the final...

Because, Adam, you were the one that was better at food and drink

when we practised.

I'll do it, but then, if Arts Books comes up...

I was thinking that. So we'll go with Jamie then?

Yeah, go with Jamie. Sure? Yep.

Who would you like to take on, guys?

You can have Steve, Pat or Kevin.

I think Kevin. Shall we go for that, then?

Yeah, just go for Kevin.

We'll go for Kevin. Brilliant stuff.

Jamie from the Glasgow Alphas,

raises the stakes by taking on Kevin from the Eggheads.

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

So, Jamie, you're in hospitality,

which means you handle a lot of food and drink?

Yes, I do. Good stuff.

And what kind of work do you do?

So, mainly waiting tables, I do a bit of bar work well.

So I should hopefully get some cocktail questions, if they come up.

Cocktails come up a lot, yeah.

OK. And do people say to you, "What's in this, what's in that?"

And you have to explain how the chicken's done, that kind of thing?

Pretty much, yeah, or go find the big book of cocktails,

if I don't know myself.

Hopefully I've spent enough time studying that book.

Food Drink, Jamie, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Good luck. Which of these French wines is a style of sparkling wine,

reputedly older than champagne?

OK. Doesn't help that we don't serve this

where I'm working at the moment.

So what was the question?

Which is a sparkling wine that predates champagne?

Exactly, sparkling wine, reputedly older than champagne?

Erm... Don't really have any kind of way of working out

which would be the oldest. I'll just have to take a guess,

and go with Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

It's Blanquette de Limoux.

No problem.

OK, your question, Kevin. Traditionally, arborio is

the most common rice variety used in which dish?

Well, arborio is, I believe, an Italian variety of rice,

and the Italian dish there is risotto.

Risotto is correct. Well done.

Back to you, Jamie. Which of these cuts of lamb is taken from the neck

of the animal?

Which of these cuts of lamb is taken from the neck of the animal?

The only one I've really heard of is lamb shank.

Where it comes from, I couldn't tell you.

Scrag end, I would assume would be one or t'other end of the animal.

I guess, on what little reasoning I have, I'll go with chump.

Chump. Let's go through this with Kevin.

What is shank, first of all, Kevin?

The leg. The leg.

What is chump then, is this right?

I was trying to place it, I think it's scrag end.

It's not chump, it's not shank, it's scrag end, Jamie,

I'm afraid. Gives Kevin a chance to take the round.

Which of these plant varieties has been named as the world's

hottest type of chilli pepper?

As far as I recall, Arran pilot is a variety of potato.

Blue Danube, I'm not too sure, but the one I recognise there

as being a particularly fearsome type of chilli pepper

is a Carolina Reaper. So that's my answer.

You're absolutely right, it is the Carolina Reaper, and by the way,

the pilot and the Danube are both potatoes.

BOTH potatoes, OK. Yeah, so, Reaper is the chilli, and I'm sorry,

the chilli has ejected you, Jamie.

Bit too spicy for me, I suppose.

Yeah, got a little bit burned there.

But don't worry, Kevin is a very good quizzer,

many have been this way and many have fallen.

Please return to us, and we'll play one more round before the final.

We were struggling a little bit with animal parts there,

and the lamb. I have drawn one, OK?

A lamb? Yes, a lamb, Judith, actually, before you laugh at me.

I'm sorry!

This is just so you guys could see.

It's a sad-looking lamb. The neck area there,

that's the scrag end there, round the neck.

And then if you put a belt around it, that would be the chump.

A saddle on the belt, that would be the loin position.

And the shank, I should say, is the leg, just down there.

Can you see? That's all perfectly clear.

Perfectly. We will know that next time.

All right, that's settled.

As it stands, the Glasgow Alphas have lost three brains from the

final round. The Eggheads looking a little bit too confident,

and a little bit too cocky. And this is the moment, guys -

take one of them down, rattle them, and then they fall apart

in the final, and you win ?10,000. The next subject is Geography.

OK, Munro, who would you like to throw in on this?

I think this is going to have to be me,

by the look of Adam's face there.

OK. Not my forte. I will try my best.

OK, Munro. You can take on either Steve or Pat.

Both very wily quizzers.

I think I'm going to go for Steve. Our newest Egghead.

Munro from the Glasgow Alphas taking on Steve from the Eggheads

on Geography. Let's hope you can find your way to the Question Room.

On Geography, Munro, would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go second, please.

So, against Steve.

And your first question, therefore, Egghead.

Which two colours appear on the national flag of Japan?

It's white and red, Jeremy. White and red is the right answer.

Munro, which of these cities is a British port on the North Sea?

Well, being Scottish, it would be a bit ridiculous

if I got this one wrong. It's Aberdeen.

Aberdeen is correct.

Steve, Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains,

is located in which country?

The answer I was thinking before the answers has come up, fortunately,

so I will say Morocco.

Morocco is correct.

OK, Munro, your question.

If the shape of Italy is described as a boot,

which of these cities is located on its heel?

Well, it's not Venice, because Venice is in the north.

I'm not sure where Genoa or Taranto is.

But if...

I think Taranto's speaking to me, so I'll just go for that.

It's speaking to you? Yeah.

What's it saying? Hopefully, that it's right.

It is right, well done. Taranto is correct.

Steve, which of these cities is the principal seaport of Yemen?

Yeah. Aden, Jeremy.

Aden is right.

Man of few words. As long as they're right.

Yep, OK. Now we go to you, Munro.

He's made quick work of that.

Get this right, and we go to Sudden Death.

Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea and which other country?

I don't think it's Burkina Faso,

because I'm pretty sure that's over to the east of Africa,

whereas Sierra Leone, I think, is slightly more west.

So it's going to be between the other two.

I'm just going to have to guess Liberia.

Is he right, Eggheads?

Yes. Absolutely right, well done, Liberia it is.

So, three questions each you've had, and we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a bit harder - I don't give you alternatives.

And Steve, here's your question.

Lake Nipigon, which is 1,872 square miles in area,

and about 80 miles north-east of the city of Thunder Bay,

is in which country? Let me read it again - Lake Nipigon,

which is 1,872 square miles in area and about 80 miles north-east of

the city of Thunder Bay, is in which country?

Right. I could quite easily come unstuck here.

But because it's quite a big lake,

I think it's got to be quite a big country.

So I'll say Canada.

Canada's correct.

You been there, Barry? No, not yet.

Wow, really? BARRY LAUGHS

If you get this wrong, Munro,

there's going to be just one person in the final.

Between the town of Monmouth and the Severn Estuary,

the border between Wales and England is mainly formed by which river?

Could you repeat the question, please?

Between the town of Monmouth and the Severn Estuary,

the border between Wales and England is mainly formed by which river?

You need to get this right. I'm not sure.

I can't think of any rivers that are in Wales.

My mum might be a bit annoyed - she's half Welsh.

I am not sure at all. I'm going to have to...

Because there's a river that I know...

I think it's the longest river in England?

But I can't remember the name, so I'd guess that. But...

I'm just going to say the Severn.

Not the Severn. Have you ever heard of the big book festival at Hay?

No, I haven't, no.

OK, it's a town called Hay-on-Wye.

Ross-on-Wye. The river is Wye.

OK. W-Y-E.

Wye. Sorry, Munro. Knocked out by Steve, our Egghead.

If you return to us, we'll see what happens next.

So, this is what we've been playing towards, it is time for

our final round, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid that those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't be

allowed to take part in this round. So, it's Munro, Matt, Jamie

and Barry, from the Glasgow Alphas, I'm sorry,

but would you please now leave the studio?

So we have the rugby coach playing now, Adam, is that right?

Yep. OK, good luck, you're playing to win the Glasgow Alphas ?10,000,

which I gather would go to the club? Yeah, yeah.

It would probably go towards things like equipment or

training facilities or extra coaches.

All right, brilliant. Steve, Barry, Pat, Kevin and Judith,

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

which is the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, they're all General Knowledge,

and you are allowed to confer.

I'm sorry that doesn't help you, Adam, as you're on your own.

The question is, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

And would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go second, please.

And here we go. Eggheads, the model Jelena Hadid, born in California

in 1995, is better known by what name?

Gigi. Gigi, then. There is a Gigi Hadid.

How do you spell the first name, there, Jeremy?

J-E-L-E-N-A.

Jelena. There is a sister.

There is a sister, yeah.

But she's not either of those, is she?

I think it's Gigi.

It must be Gigi.

Happy with that? Yeah. We think that's Gigi.

Gigi is correct.

To you, Adam. Which singer had UK hit singles with All Cried Out

and That Old Devil Called Love in the 1980s?

I'm probably not going to go with Adam Ant.

I'm not his greatest fan, but I know the music was a little

bit punk-rockier than what the titles of the songs sound, anyways.

I'm probably going to go with Annie Lennox.

It's Alison Moyet, I'm sorry.

Eggheads, in 1984, he said, "It's not a fashion parade,

"it's not a gentleman's club, it's not a bankers' institute -

"it's a place where the people are represented," after complains

about his clothing?

'84? In 1984?

It's got to be Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn could have had complaints about his clothing.

Well, David Cameron wasn't in...

Well, are they referring to Parliament?

Could it be something like Bullingdon?

I know what you mean, yeah.

I would imagine it's referring to Parliament.

Shall we have it again? In 1984, who said, "It's not a fashion parade,

"it's not a gentleman's club, it's not a bankers' institute -

"it's a place where the people are represented,"

after complaints about his clothing?

Sounds promising for Jeremy Corbyn, doesn't it? I've got a feeling

it's Jeremy Corbyn. It's got to be Jeremy Corbyn.

Makes sense. I assume it's referring to Parliament,

because here's been there since...

Yes, exactly.

And in 1984, I mean, Cameron...

Very young. Nick Clegg about the same.

We don't know it, but we'll have to go with Corbyn. Yeah, must be.

If it's not, it should be. Yeah. We don't know this, Jeremy,

but we are going to go for Jeremy Corbyn.

Jeremy Corbyn's quite right.

He was new in Parliament and, in those days,

it was even more fusty-dusty than it is now, and people said,

"He can't dress like that."

Around the same sort of time Michael Foot got into a lot of trouble?

Yes, that's right, with the Cenotaph.

Donkey jacket. OK. Your question, Adam.

They've got two - you must get this right to keep the contest alive.

Which team won the FA Cup five times in the first seven seasons

in which it was held?

Could you repeat the question again?

Which team won the FA Cup five times in the first seven seasons

in which it was held?

I'm veering away from Oxford University.

I'm not sure what it was like when the FA Cup was beginning,

but when I played University rugby,

usually they have separate leagues for the university teams.

Football really isn't my forte either.

I'm kind of veering towards Wanderers.

Is that your answer? Yes.

Wanderers. This is to stay in the contest.

Eggheads, do you know? Yep, I think it's Wanderers.

Wanderers is right. Well done. Still alive.

But the Eggheads can take the whole contest with this one question.

In the 1990s, Eggheads, Jo Salter became the first woman

in the UK's Armed Forces to do what, operationally?

Did she captain a ship? I thought she was a pilot.

Oh, that's it, then. Right.

In the '90s?

The captaincy of the ship, the warship, came later, didn't it?

I think she was an RAF pilot. Yeah.

I'm not 100% certain, but I think she was. I've just got memories

of somebody captaining a ship, but that must be more recently.

There was quite a bit of publicity about it at the time, I think.

Right, yeah. I may be wrong, I may be wrong,

but I don't think it's anything to do with the SAS.

No. Yeah, I think she's a...

It's quite a long time ago. The '90s.

No objections to that. Jet, fly a jet.

We'll go with fast jet. Mm.

We're going to go with fly fast jets.

If you've got this right,

you've got three out of three in the final round.

And you have been pretty unstoppable today, I must say.

The contest will be over.

Kevin said the key word, pilot, yes,

she did become the first woman to fly fast jets.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Did you know that one, Adam? I actually had no clue either.

It was quite tricky that one, because it guessably could have been

any of them. But thank you for playing, good to meet the team.

Thank you. Hope you've enjoyed it.

Loved it, loved every minute of it. I'm so relieved!

I'm sorry you've caught them on such good form.

It's all right, these things happen, you know?

We came to have a bit of fun, we had some fun.

Commiserations to the Glasgow Alphas, the Eggheads have done

what comes naturally to them, and their winning streak continues.

It does mean you won't be going home with the ?10,000 to the club,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done. Who will beat you?

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

to defeat the Eggheads. They're looking at winning ?11,000.

Till then, goodbye.

Princess Diana's been killed in a car crash.

The tragedy that affected so many of us...

Mum died at the same time.