Episode 42 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 Challengers pit their

wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

And before we start, Pat, you have a question for the viewers at home?

I have. Which animal has a scientific name that translates as

Harris's meat lover?

Harris's meat lover?

All right. Want to think about that at home,

Pat will have the answer for you later on.

OK, let's get on with the contest.

Taking on the might of the Eggheads today are Burnley Is Babylon,

from Lancashire. Now,

this team of friends share a passion for quizzing and often attend a

weekly quiz held by team captain Andy at the Bridge Pub in Burnley.

So let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Andy, and I'm a paralegal officer.

Hi, I'm James, and I'm a legal finance worker.

Hi, I'm Bodie, and I'm an artist and designer.

Hello, I'm Benny, and I'm a library assistant.

Hi, my name is Kieran, and I'm an IT manager.

So, Andy and team, hello.

-ALL:

-Hello!

-Welcome.

Burnley, great footballing town.

And I'm guessing you're all fans of the team, are you?

-We are, yes.

-No.

-Ooh, we've got...?

I'm an armchair Liverpool fan.

Oh, gosh, OK. I shouldn't have mentioned it.

So what brings you all together, Andy?

I run a local pub quiz every Wednesday night,

and a few of us attend there on quite a regular occasion,

and we're locals in the pub.

-So, yeah.

-And the pub is called the Bridge, but Burnley Is Babylon,

the team name, is based on something else?

Yes, it was an obscure Russ Abbott hit from the early '80s.

We think round about 1984.

And we think it's probably the only top-40 hit that has featured Burnley

in the title. We thought it would be quite fitting.

Challengers, good luck to you.

Every day, there is £1,000-worth of cash up for grabs for our Challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to our next show.

So, Burnley Is Babylon, the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means there's £4,000 to play for today if you beat them.

Do you want to try?

-Yeah!

-Oh, yes!

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

It's going to be one of you against either Dave, Beth, Barry, Pat or Chris.

-I'd say James.

-I'll have a crack at that.

-James?

-So we're going to put James forward.

-James, yeah.

-And who against?

Not Dave, because he's a taxi driver, he'll know his geography.

He knows where he's going. So, rule out Dave.

Same goes for Chris, ex-train driver, he knows where he's going,

-doesn't he?

-Well, he can't steer if he's driving a train, but, yeah,

you're right.

-Go for Beth?

-Beth, maybe.

-Go against Beth at Geography.

-I love the logic.

So, Dave - taxi driver, they're saying?

No, I'm not a taxi driver.

-Oh, dear!

-You need a driving licence to be a taxi driver,

I don't have one of those!

OK. But Chris definitely is a train driver.

So, James from Burnley Is Babylon,

is going to be playing Beth from the Eggheads,

she's definitely not a taxi driver.

And to ensure there's no conferring,

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

Have you travelled a lot, James?

I've travelled quite a bit, yeah.

Throughout Europe, Africa, India.

-Yeah, I love travelling.

-Any one place you still want to go to?

Out of anywhere, I'd say Tokyo.

I'd love to go to Tokyo.

I'm a record collector,

and apparently they have some of the best record shops in the world in

-Tokyo, so...

-Well, good luck against Beth here.

It's Geography, James.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

James, here we go, your first question -

which of Spain's borders does it share with Portugal?

I think that's west, Jeremy.

It is west, well done.

Beth, which of these island groups lies in the Indian Ocean?

Well, when we were going to our honeymoon in Sri Lanka,

we had a stop off in the Maldives.

That's on the way to Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean,

so it's the Maldives.

Maldives is right, Beth, well done.

James, Chichester is the county town of which English county?

That's a tricky one.

I don't think it's West Sussex.

I'm torn between Hampshire and Dorset.

I'm going to say Hampshire.

It's funny this, as soon as it said Chichester, I thought Dorset.

What do you think, Beth? I think it's West Sussex.

I've actually sung in Chichester Cathedral.

It is West Sussex, James.

-Oh.

-Beth, your chance to take the lead.

Which of these Californian cities lies furthest to the south?

San Francisco's quite up far in the north.

And, funnily,

I was looking at something to do with Donald Trump's wall for between

America and Mexico,

and noticed that San Diego was relatively close to the border,

which would put it right down in the south.

-So, San Diego.

-Yes, San Diego's right.

OK, so, James, that means you need to get this one right.

What is the official currency of Cambodia?

Ooh, again, I'm struggling with that one.

Currency's not something I know a lot about.

I'm going to guess at the riel.

All right, the riel.

Now, currencies, quizzers love.

Just before you say the answer, lempira, where is that, Eggs?

-Honduras?

-Honduras.

-Dinar?

-That's countries like Jordan.

Yes, I've heard of it quite a lot, the dinar, yeah.

-And so it's the riel, is it?

-Yes.

It's the riel, James, well done.

That's a hard old question.

But Beth can take it with this - what is the highest peak in Antarctica?

Hmm.

This isn't something I readily know.

I was expecting something else to come up, and it hasn't.

That's put my Antarctica geography out.

So, let's do Judith's magic right, the Vinson Massif.

Vinson Massif is quite right.

Oh! Thank you, Judith!

It does sound like the sort of gang that Ali G is in, doesn't it?

But, no, it's the highest peak in Antarctica.

Well done, Beth, you're playing well at the moment,

you're winning a lot of rounds. Sorry, James, you've been knocked out.

Come back to us, early days, we'll play on.

So, as it stands, Burnley Is Babylon have lost a brain from the final

round, the Eggheads have not lost any.

But, as I say, it's early days,

and there's plenty of time to power back here, guys.

The next subject for you is Science.

Where's the scientists?

Does somebody want to die on the sword on this one?

This is one we were hoping wouldn't come up.

Yeah. Do you want me to do Science?

-It's you or I.

-Do you want to take a punt?

All right, who are you picking?

OK, Bodie, is it?

All right. Against anyone but Beth.

I'll go for... I think I'm going to go for Dave.

-The taxi driver?

-The taxi driver.

Bodie from Burnley Is Babylon versus Dave,

Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads,

please now go to the Question Room to face those questions on Science.

Well, I can see there's a common theme in your team, Burnley,

because James was talking about his record collection and you're a DJ as

-well?

-This is true, yes, and have been for some time now.

Good luck, Bodie, on Science, against Dave, the taxi driver.

Would you like to go first or second?

First, please, Jeremy.

Here is your first question, Bodie, good luck.

What type of diet does an elephant have?

I would say...herbivorous for this.

Yeah, just eating greens, you're right, herbivorous is right.

-OK.

-No meat.

Dave, which Australian bird

is the second-largest in the world after the ostrich?

I associate kiwis with New Zealand, associate rhea with South America.

So I'll go with emu, please.

And the emu is quite right, well done.

OK, over to you, Bodie.

Which of these is a contagious skin infection that causes sores and

blisters?

Hmm. I'm not entirely sure.

I think I'll go down the middle with impetigo.

Impetigo's the right answer, well done.

Thank you.

Dave, on the periodic table,

the names of how many chemical elements begin with the letter P?

Good question. Phosphorus and platinum and plutonium.

Let's see if we can go further!

See if we can get another one.

Right, sorry, Jeremy, I'm not going to get there.

I can't think, the brain has gone.

-Three.

-Three, OK.

You're some way off, it's nine.

OK, who's going to do this?

-Barry, Beth?

-Platinum,

polonium, promethium.

I'll shout them out so Dave can hear - platinum, polonium, promethium,

-phosphorus...

-Palladium.

-Palladium.

Is it pro...?

-Protactinium.

-Protactinium.

Oh, Pat. Showing off now.

Can't remember how many we've got now.

-We're above six.

-We got above six, anyway.

So, nine is the answer, Dave.

Back to you, Bodie. You can take the round with this.

Which Nobel Prize was Yoshinori Ohsumi awarded in 2016

for his discovery of mechanisms of autophagy?

Hmm, tricky one.

I think I'm going to rule out Physiology or Medicine.

Chemistry and Physics, I'm torn between.

I think...

Yeah, I'm going to go with Physics, please, Jeremy.

It's actually Physiology or Medicine.

So, Dave has a chance to come back in.

Dave, your third question.

Bariatrics is the branch of medicine which deals with

the causes, prevention and treatment of what?

Bariatrics.

No, I'm not getting anything.

Not getting anything, I'm going to go with obesity.

You're right, Dave, well done, it's obesity.

Well, well...

It's also the word for when Barry gets three questions right in a row.

A Barry hat-trick. THEY LAUGH

OK, three questions each, we go to Sudden Death now, Bodie.

You're playing well.

And it gets a bit harder, because I don't give you alternatives.

Here's your question - which manned Apollo mission was the first to land on the moon?

My instinct's saying 13, but there's also nine

in there as well.

16's appearing as well for some reason.

I'm going to go Apollo 16.

Apollo 16, OK.

Let me just ask your team-mates here.

-Team-mates?

-We think it's 11.

Yeah, it is 11.

Oh!

Apollo 11 is the answer.

Let's see whether Dave can capitalise.

Dave, for the round -

which planet in our solar system is closest in size to the Earth?

It's either Venus or Mars.

Right.

No real authority, I'm going to go Venus, please.

Venus is the right answer, Dave.

You've taken the round on Sudden Death. Sorry, Bodie.

Come back to us, we've got the third round to play.

Do we want the list?

-Yes.

-All the Ps.

This is meat and drink for them.

Potassium, palladium, phosphorus, platinum, plutonium, polonium,

praseodymium,

promethean and then your one, Pat.

Protactinium.

Protactinium. As it stands, Burnley is Babylon have lost two brains from

the final round, but you're giving us a great game here, guys.

The Eggheads have not lost any,

and you can see the uncertainty on this side.

So just keep pressing.

The next subject for you is Sport.

-Who wants this?

-I think that's got to be you, hasn't it?

It's got to be Kieran, I think.

Yep. Kieran, all right, team manager.

Which Egghead? Can't be Beth or Dave.

-I'll take Chris on.

-Kieran from Burnley Is Babylon takes on Chris

on Sport from the Eggheads. Please go to the Question Room now.

All right, Sport, Kieran, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Good luck. Which tennis player won his 18th Grand Slam singles title at

the 2017 Australian Open?

I think it was Roger Federer.

It was Roger Federer.

Chris, what name is given to the power-lifting exercise

that involves a loaded barbell being picked up from the ground?

Hmm.

Well, since you'd have to go down on your hunkers to pick it up off the

ground, I'll say it's a squatlift.

I would think the same, but you are wrong, my friend.

The word is deadlift.

Uh-huh.

Deadlift is the answer. This is good, Kieran.

See if we can get you into the final here.

In February 2017,

who became the first non-league football team to reach the quarterfinals

of the FA Cup for 103 years?

Well, since they beat Burnley in the quarterfinals, it's Lincoln City.

I am so sorry to remind you of that.

That's very, very awkward.

Very awkward, but at least it meant it stuck in your mind.

Lincoln City is the right answer, that came in handy.

Chris - and you need this, Chris -

which Australian driver finished third in the 2016 Formula 1 World

Championship?

I think that was Mark Webber.

I know it doesn't look like it's Daniel Ricciardo,

because it looks like an Italian name, it looks like Ricciardo,

but he is actually the answer, Chris.

-Is he?

-Well done, Kieran, turned it around for your team.

Nice work, 2-0.

And you will be in the final round.

Return to us, gentlemen, one more round to play before the final.

So, a fightback now by Burnley Is Babylon.

What's happening here, Eggheads?

They have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggs have lost Chris and the next subject is Film And TV.

So, see if you can level it here, guys.

-Who wants this?

-Benny.

-Yeah, it has to be me.

OK, Benny, a library assistant, against which Egghead?

You've got either of the two gents here, Barry and Pat.

I'll go for Pat, please.

All right, Pat. So, it's going to be Benny from Burnley Is Babylon -

a lot of Bs today!

-All the Bs.

-Doing something here.

Versus Pat from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring, please, for the last time,

take your positions.

So, Film And TV, Benny, would you like to go first or second against Pat?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here we go. Which genre of film is La La Land,

starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone?

I know that for a fact is musical.

-You're sure it's not a war film?

-I'm pretty certain it's not a war film.

Quite right. Well done.

Pat, which Oscar did Casey Affleck win in 2017 for his work on the film

Manchester By The Sea?

He's an actor, very good, he was in the Jesse James,

The Assassination Of Jesse James, he was really good in that,

and he was in Manchester By The Sea.

-Best actor.

-Best actor is correct.

Back to you, Benny. The TV talent show Let It Shine sees contestants

competing to star in a musical based on the songs of which group?

It has to be Take That,

because they had a single called Shine, so Take That.

Yeah, that's right, and good old Gary Barlow is part of the show.

Take That.

Pat, what is the profession of Keanu Reeves' character in the John Wick

film series?

I know he becomes enraged when his pet dog is kidnapped or killed or

something and takes disproportionate revenge.

What is he? Hmm, he could be a policeman.

I have a faint memory he's a retired hit man and foolish people don't

leave him alone but go and torment his pet and pay a heavy price.

A hit man.

-You like that, Benny?

-Yeah, he's got it spot on, yeah, hit man.

Hit man is right. OK, Benny, over to you.

The BBC TV series Taboo, starring Tom Hardy, is set during which century?

I don't know why,

but for some reason, the 1920s popped into my head,

and I can't fully explain why.

But because that's my gut instinct,

I'm going to go for the 20th century.

OK, 1920s would be 20th century, is it the right answer?

Team? Do we know?

I think it's the 19th century.

It's the East India Company, yeah.

The East India Company.

19th is the answer we were looking for, Benny.

-Never mind.

-So Pat has the chance to take the round, here we go.

Who played the geneticist Yvonne Carmichael in the TV drama series

Apple Tree Yard?

I watched this series, it was quite good.

And it was Emily Watson.

OK, we've broken our long tradition of getting questions that involve

Vicky McClure wrong here, because you have got the right answer.

Emily Watson it is, Pat, three out of three.

He's a hard man to beat, Benny.

Yes, very hard, yes. I've learned the hard way, haven't I?

But, having said that, you could still win, your team.

Come back to us, we'll play the all-important final round.

So, this is what we've been playing towards,

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

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

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

So that is James, Bodie and Benny from Burnley Is Babylon.

All the Bs. And Chris from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Well, great game so far, and here we are, Andy and Kieran,

you're playing to win Burnley Is Babylon £4,000.

Dave, Beth, Barry and Pat,

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

which is the Eggheads' towering reputation.

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

they're all General Knowledge.

You can confer, gentlemen, so, the question is,

can your two brains defeat these four over here?

I'm sure it's possible.

Andy, Kieran, do you want to go first or second?

We had a chat about it, we're going to go first,

we're going to stay with what we've done so far.

So, first, please, Jeremy.

All right, good luck to you both.

Here we go, first question -

which of these comedians was knighted in the 2017 New Year's Honours list?

Right, right.

-Right, it's not Rowan Atkinson.

-I'm going over to you on this one.

It's not Rowan Atkinson. It's definitely not John Cleese.

-So it's Ken Dodd.

-I've bowing to Kieran's superior knowledge here,

and we're going to say that it's Ken Dodd.

Ken Dodd is the right answer.

Sir Ken.

Eggheads, Sean Spicer was selected by Donald Trump for which role in

December, 2016?

-Press Secretary, everyone?

-Yeah.

Donald Trump's Press Secretary.

Yes, you're right, White House Press Secretary.

Back to you, Challengers.

Who became the Metropolitan Police's first female Commissioner in 2017?

-Well...

-The name that jumps out at me is Cressida Dick.

That's right. Leanne Wood is nothing to do with the police.

OK, Cressida Dick, we know is a high-ranking police officer.

-That's right, yeah.

-We're not totally sure,

but we certainly know that she's a high-ranking police officer,

so we're going to go for Cressida Dick.

Cressida Dick is right. So you go ahead.

Eggheads, to catch up - in Greek mythology,

which of these was a centaur?

-Chiron, everybody?

-Yeah.

-Chiron.

Orthrus was a two-headed dog,

and Echidna was a monster of some description.

But the centaur was Chiron.

Chiron is your answer.

You're correct.

Your question, Challengers -

see if you can get three in a row and the pressure will be on,

we've seen them collapse before.

Which musicians featured on the Clean Bandit hit, Rock-a-bye,

which spent nine weeks at the top of the UK singles chart?

Right.

I'm wishing we had a couple of our other members still with us.

I don't think it's Halsey and MO.

I don't think it's Sean Paul and Anne-Marie.

That's the one I would go for.

Oh, right. OK. Go with your gut.

-You're happy for me...?

-Yeah, yeah.

Not certain whatsoever.

We think we've ruled out Halsey and MO.

-And my gut feeling is Sean Paul and Anne-Marie.

-OK.

I don't say that with any conviction.

And all the record collectors are at the back.

Let's check with them, what's the answer here, guys?

-Bodie, what is it?

-We've gone for Sean Paul and Anne-Marie, too,

so hopefully we're right.

You're all right, Sean Paul and Anne-Marie it is.

Well done! Very tricky when you lose your music fans

and you get a music question.

Now, Eggheads, here we are.

£4,000 they are playing for,

and you need to get this question right or you have been given

a clobbering.

Which of these authors was born first, Eggheads?

-Hmm.

-They're all...

-Nasty.

-Michael Crichton was born in the '40s. '42-ish.

I thought Grisham was the '50s.

Stephen King is in his, what, 60s?

Stephen King must be the youngest.

His first novel was, what, '70s?

'74, five?

Yeah, I think Crichton was writing before that.

Oh, Crichton was writing before that, but...

I think he was born in '42, or something like that.

My gut feel must be Michael Crichton, out of those.

You think Crichton's '42?

I think he was around...

We can't put Stephen King further back than that?

I don't think so, no.

-He's younger than that.

-I think he's younger.

OK, so we're all happy with Crichton, then?

As you realise, Jeremy, we found this was quite a tough question, but

we've come to the conclusion that the oldest of those and therefore

the one that was born first would be Michael Crichton.

There's 13 years between the birth year of the first and the last-born.

The youngest is John Grisham, or the one born latest, I should say.

So, 1955.

Stephen King was born in 1947.

Michael Crichton, 1942.

-Well done.

-So you got it right.

'42, straight in...

Beth said '42 as well, which was absolutely brilliant.

-Well done, Beth.

-Helps if you do him for Mastermind.

Is that right?

I did his novels.

-Brilliant, Beth.

-Ah, OK, right.

After three questions, the scores are level, we go on to Sudden Death.

And to make it that bit harder, you don't get alternative options.

Here we go, Challengers.

Cantabrigian is a noun that refers to a member or a graduate of which

English university?

-Can you spell it, please, Jeremy?

-Yes, of course, it's all one word.

C-A-N-T-A-B-R-I-G-I-A-N.

Cantabrigian. All one word.

I've seen it sometimes when people have it after their name,

you'll see Cantab.

And, now I think about it, it may be Cambridge rather than Canterbury.

It sounds like Canterbury, but that would be the obvious one.

But I'm not sure if there is a university, necessarily,

in Canterbury.

So I think it's actually Cambridge.

-I think I've probably talked myself into that.

-Yeah, erm...

Go with Cambridge.

Yeah.

We think, again not with much certainty,

it's Cambridge.

You did exactly the right thing there, yes, you're right.

-Because that Cantab is the one you've seen after...

-Yes.

-..the Cambridge graduates.

It sounds more like Canterbury, but it's not.

So Cambridge is right.

Sudden Death, here we go, Eggheads, you need this to stay in.

The middle names of Princess Charlotte, born in 2015,

are Elizabeth and what?

-Diana?

-Diana.

-OK?

OK. Well, I think she was named after the famous Princess Diana.

Diana is correct.

Well done. Beth, again.

Back to you, Challengers. Who won the British Male Solo Artist

and British Album of the Year awards at the 2017 Brit Awards

just over a year after his death?

-Bowie?

-Yeah, well, the Brit Awards are around about February-time, aren't they?

David Bowie died, I think it was January, towards the end of January.

So, working on that basis...

Yeah. David Bowie passed away in January, I think it was,

the year before. So on that basis, we'll go for David Bowie.

David Bowie is right, well done.

Eggheads, The Midnight Gang is a bestselling 2016 children's book

by which author?

Get this wrong, you've lost.

Jacqueline Wilson?

I don't know.

I was going on the Jacqueline Wilson end.

-We don't know? Do you actually know?

-No.

-Nobody's got an idea.

It's not Julia Donaldson.

If we stick with Jacqueline Wilson,

because she's more likely to have written older books, like

the Tracy Beaker ones, doesn't she?

Walliams' titles are more way out.

Like Gangster Granny.

All I'm saying is that Tracy Beaker, a gang, it could be,

-it could tag in.

-We're grasping at straws, really.

Yeah, we are, clutching at straws. Yeah, go on.

OK, well, as you can tell, Jeremy, we're all at sea at this.

So we're going to go for probably one of the most popular of all children's

authors, and we'll go for Jacqueline Wilson.

OK. I understand the title thing,

I understand that sounds like more of a Tracy Beaker kind of title

than, say, David Walliams is.

Do you know this, by any chance?

No. We would have said David Walliams.

You would have been right.

You've got it wrong, Eggheads, it is David Walliams.

We say congratulations, Challengers, you have won!

There we go, you did it.

Nice, methodical play.

Told it in the final.

That was the key thing. Well done. Congratulations to Burnley Is Babylon,

you've won £4,000.

-How are you feeling about that?

-Speechless!

Yeah.

You're officially cleverer than the Eggheads,

they're going to have a big inquiry now about what went wrong.

You've proved that they can definitely be beaten on children's books,

who would have thought it? Oh, and I mustn't forget, Pat,

your question that you asked at the beginning.

Which animal has a scientific name that translates as Harris's meat lover?

Brilliant question, what's the answer?

It's the Tasmanian Devil.

He became an object of interest to George Harris in 1807,

and he thought it was an opossum that looked like a bear

and gave him a name. That name was then ruled out,

because the common wombat had taken that name.

And in fact, about 30 years after Harris's death,

a Frenchman called it Sarcophilus harrisii,

so it lives on in his honour.

Brilliant. Join us next time on Eggheads to see if a new team of Challengers

will be just as successful.

Well done, Burnley.

Everyone's cheering in Burnley tonight.

Until we meet again, goodbye.