Episode 46 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, the giants of quizzing.

-Oh, massive.

-Yeah?

-Huge.

-Well, before we go on, we will have one of them pose us a question,

shall we? So, Chris, you've got a teaser.

I have indeed, Jeremy.

If Sir Frederick Banbury came second

and Solario came fourth,

what came third?

So, think about it,

and Chris will give us the answer, won't you, at the end of the show?

Challenging our resident quiz champions today

are the Auchlochan Giants.

The team either work or live

in the Auchlochan Garden Village

retirement community in South Lanarkshire.

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Cliff, and I'm a regional chaplain.

Hi, I'm Ellen, and I'm a geography student.

Hello, I'm Will. I'm a housing care manager.

Hello, I'm Fionnaigh, and I'm a chaplain.

Hello, I'm John, I am retired from local government.

-Cliff and team, hello.

-Hello!

-Good to see you.

So, tell us about the retirement community.

We live on 50 acres, or we work on that 50 acres,

or we volunteer in that area.

It's a retirement community, a huge one,

with 400 residents and almost as many staff.

Sounds wonderful. And the giants are on the land, as well?

Yes, we have a collection of giant redwood trees.

We're very proud of them,

and they tend to be jaw-dropping to visitors who come to us.

-Sounds like a wonderful place to live.

-It is.

-OK.

How does it feel, taking on these five?

We're up for it, we're excited.

They're lovely people,

we've enjoyed watching them, and now it's our turn.

OK. Good luck, Challengers.

Every day, there is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for the team that comes in. If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to our next show.

So, Auchlochan Giants,

The Eggheads have won the last three games.

They're getting a little bit of steam in the engine now.

So there's £4,000 if you can stop them in their tracks.

-Would you like to try?

-We would, yes, please.

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

So, one of you against either Lisa,

Steve, Chris, Chris, Kevin or Judith.

THEY CONFER

-John?

-Yeah?

-Looks like John, I think.

Yes, er, I'd like to take on Lisa, please.

Right, straight to it there.

So, John from the Auchlochan Giants,

to take on our quizzing giant, Lisa.

LAUGHTER To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

So, John, you live on the... in the community?

-Yes, I do.

-In the Auchlochan community.

-Indeed.

I'm trying to avoid calling it a retirement community, or whatever.

It just sounds like it's a nice place.

It's a beautiful place, Jeremy. It is a retirement community.

We have independent living,

as well as care, and it's a splendid place.

I never regret moving up from Cornwall to be here.

How wonderful. Lisa, what do you think?

Sounds both absolutely lovely

and worryingly geographically wide-ranging.

Yes, that's true, cos we are on Geography here.

So, John, would you like to go first or second?

May I go first, please, Jeremy?

Of course you may, and here we go.

In which ocean is the Yemeni island of Socotra located?

The Yemeni island of Socotra.

Well, I've sailed past it many times, Jeremy.

It's in the Indian Ocean.

Yes, it is the Indian Ocean. Do you do a lot of sailing?

I was in the Merchant Navy when I was young

and sailed round the world on my first voyage.

This is looking worse and worse for you, Lisa.

-I'll get my coat!

-Yeah! JEREMY LAUGHS

Every single answer makes it look worse.

All right, well done. So, first of all, Indian Ocean is right.

Lisa, your question.

Herne Bay is a seaside town in which English county?

I had an idea it was the south-east.

I'm now panicking in case it isn't the south-east.

I had sort of Sussex way in mind.

Er...

-Kent.

-Kent is right.

All right. Your question, John.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, usually known just as Carmel,

is a resort in which US state?

Ah, now...

-Carmel.

-I don't think it's Maine.

Between California and Florida...

Erm, I haven't heard of it in Florida.

So I think I'll go with California.

Yes, California's right. Well done, John. 2-1.

Back to Lisa.

Chinese and which other language are the official languages

of the special administrative region of Macau?

I had an idea it was Portuguese.

Erm, it's possible it is French.

No, I'll go first instinct and go Portuguese.

You're right. Portuguese is correct.

Anyone help us with Macau? What do we know about it?

-Was it a Portuguese colony?

-It was, yeah.

-But it was near China?

Yes, quite close to Hong Kong,

-close to Hong Kong.

-And so, it's still, rather like Hong Kong,

-it's gone back to China?

-Yeah, yeah.

-OK, John.

Your third question.

Spithead is a part of what body of water?

I bet you know this.

Well, it's certainly not Morecambe Bay.

And I know it's not the Wash,

but I'm certain it's the Solent.

Yeah, very sure-footed. The Solent it is.

APPLAUSE

You've been everywhere in that ship of yours!

Lisa, to stay in,

the flag of Haiti mainly consists of two horizontal bands,

one red and one of which other colour?

I can't remember! Oh, no!

Oh, my flags used to be really good.

And they've all just gone completely to pot. It's awful.

Often, you find these things go in sort of clusters, almost.

Like, in Africa, you can find an awful lot of flags that are green,

yellow and red.

You get a lot of black over in the Pacific Island...

I'm just trying to think around...

Caribbean.

I will plump...

..very reluctantly, and with no confidence at all, for blue.

-John, do you know this?

-Well, I would've said blue.

Blue is right. LISA EXHALES DEEPLY

So, three questions each, the scores are level,

we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a little bit harder here, John,

cos I don't give you alternative options.

Which African mountain has several namesakes throughout the world,

including one in Powys, known in Welsh as Crug Hywel,

and others in Wyoming, the Catskills and County Wicklow?

Erm... Well, I'm not sure,

and with not a great deal of certainty,

but is it Table Mountain?

It is Table Mountain, well done.

Well done. That was very, very good. APPLAUSE

Lisa.

Tristan da Cunha is a volcanic island

in which of the world's oceans?

I think Tristan da Cunha is one of those, er...

..little random fellas in the Atlantic.

Or do I go with Judith and when in doubt say Pacific?

No, I think it is the Atlantic.

The Atlantic.

All islands live in the Pacific, that's Judith's rule.

-Right.

-However, on this one occasion, you are correct.

-That's nice to know!

-The Atlantic.

OK. John, your question. Sudden Death.

Which shipping forecast area

around the British coast has a name beginning with V?

-Viking.

-Viking's right.

North Utsire, South Utsire. APPLAUSE

I feel like it's imprinted on me!

I don't even know what they are or how they're spelt or anything.

Viking is the right answer. OK, Lisa on the ropes here.

Which landlocked country in Western Europe has a population

of approximately 576,000?

Half a million people.

Pick a country.

Any country.

Hope it's landlocked.

Andorra.

How funny. I was thinking I would go for Andorra on this,

but I think that might be smaller.

Yeah. I've nothing to sort of base it on, so...

Well, this probably would've been your second choice -

-Luxembourg.

-OK.

-Luxembourg is the answer. Well done, John.

You're in the final round.

Nicely done. Very, very good play on Geography, my goodness!

So, come back to us, John and Lisa, and we'll play on.

As it stands, the Auchlochan Giants have not lost any brains.

Good play by John. The Eggheads have lost a brain from the final round.

Let's see what's going to happen next. It's Music for you now.

So, who would like Music?

This is the one we've been dreading, Jeremy.

Oh, really?

Music. What are we going to do here?

-Ask Fionnaigh?

-Fionnaigh?

-Yeah.

-Fionnaigh.

-Fionnaigh on Music, OK.

And which Egghead would you like to play, Fionnaigh?

Well, if I'm going to lose, I might as well do it well.

I'll have Kevin, please.

All right. Well, that's a good argument.

And Kevin's had his off moments recently, so we'll see.

So, Fionnaigh from the Auchlochan Giants

versus the Grand Master of the Eggheads, our Kevin.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Fionnaigh, you've got a lovely musical connection

-with the wedding of Charles and Diana?

-Yes, yes.

I was in the Bach Choir.

-So does that mean you were in the cathedral, singing?

-Yes, yes.

We accompanied Kiri Te Kanawa.

We were the choir, singing behind her...

That must have been an incredible experience for you.

It was, extraordinary one, yes.

OK. Well, good luck on Music, playing the great Kevin.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

And here is your first question.

Which song by the Beatles refers to cellophane flowers

and newspaper taxis?

-Well, it's not Help!

-SHE LAUGHS

Though I could do with some.

Erm...

I'm really not sure,

so I'm going to go with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Yes, that's absolutely right.

OK, Kevin.

Knowing Me, Knowing You

was a UK number one single for ABBA in which year?

Hmm...

At least they're reasonably spaced.

That's something. I was worrying,

because they had so many of their number one hits

in a three or four year period.

That would be 1977.

Of course. 1977, Quite right.

Amazingly, in the same year that punk basically broke out.

Fionnaigh,

which of these songs appears in the musical Gigi?

Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

You're quite right,

Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

OK. Kevin...

Pharrell Williams has been the lead singer and drummer

for which of these bands?

Right.

Trouble is, there's so much calibration

that goes on between different groups and acts.

I don't know, so I'll go with the first one.

-N*E*R*D.

-Yes, N*E*R*D is the right answer.

-Mm.

OK, so you're level.

Fionnaigh, in the 1960s,

which of these singers became a temporary member of the Beach Boys,

filling in for Brian Wilson when he became unable to tour?

I haven't got a clue.

Um...

SHE SIGHS

I've no idea, so I'm going to say Glenn Campbell.

-Glen Campbell's right.

-Oh!

Playing really well. APPLAUSE

OK, Kevin.

The Humming Chorus comes at the end of Act Two

of which of Puccini's operas?

It takes a while sometimes before you can identify

that it's actually happening.

I suppose that depends on the performance,

-but it's Madame Butterfly, anyway.

-Yes, it is Madame Butterfly.

So, here we go again, three questions each,

the scores are level once again,

we go to Sudden Death once again.

And Fionnaigh, it's your question.

No alternatives, remember.

Kiss and Make-Up, published in 2001,

is the title of a memoir by which rock singer and musician?

SHE SIGHS

Again, I have no idea.

Um...

Kiss and Make-Up...

Ozzy Osbourne. I have no idea!

The... No, it's not that. The sort of clue is in the title, slightly,

cos the word Kiss is the key, the key word,

cos it's the band Kiss.

Well, I wouldn't have known that either...

It's Gene Simmons,

who's the bass guitarist and co-lead singer.

OK, Kevin, you can take the round now.

"Up to mighty London came an Irishman one day,

"all the streets are paved with gold, sure, everyone was gay,"

are the opening lines of which song,

which became very popular with British troops

during the First World War?

Well, er, with the Irish connection there, I don't...

Funnily enough, I don't recognise the...

the lines, but I'm assuming It's a Long Way to Tipperary.

Kevin, you got it.

You got that right.

-Sorry, Fionnaigh. On Sudden Death, knocked out.

-OK.

So it's level, and it's an intense contest, this one.

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

So, as it stands, the Auchlochan Giants

have lost a brain now from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost one as well,

and the next subject is Arts & Books.

Intake of breath!

I think that sounds like it's going to be a sacrificial lamb on the end.

OK, Cliff, our chaplain,

against which Egghead?

Er, I think I'm going to go for Steve, please.

Right, so, Cliff from the Auchlochan Giants.

Steve, are you up for this?

-Yeah, course I am.

-Good.

Steve from the Eggheads, please take your positions, gentlemen.

So, Cliff, up against Steve, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, please, Jeremy.

OK. The Egghead starts.

Steve, Little Miss Whoops is the sister

of which of Roger Hargreaves' original Mr Men?

I Think that's Mr Bump, Jeremy.

Mr Bump is right.

OK, Cliff.

In which century was JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

first published?

Mm...

And we were watching this just the other night.

Er, all three, we'd watched, one after the other,

and I think it was first published in the 20th century.

Very good, yes. 20th century.

Cos it sounds like it was before that.

Anyone give me a year, Eggheads?

I think, as a trilogy, '55?

OK, Steve.

Self-Portrait With Yellow Christ,

painted in the late 19th century,

is a famous work by which French Post-Impressionist artist

and sometime friend of Vincent van Gogh?

Well, I did have an idea in my head anyway before the options come up,

but the extra little clue about Vincent van Gogh

steers me towards Paul Gauguin.

Paul Gauguin is the right answer.

And we go back to you, Cliff.

For what did the letter P stand

in the name of the detective novelist PD James?

One of my favourite authors.

Erm, certainly not Patrick, because she's female.

And I'm pretty sure it's Phyllis.

It is Phyllis, yes.

OK, Steve.

By what name is the artist Jerome van Eycken better known?

He's very well-known for his absolutely bizarre paintings.

It's Hieronymus Bosch.

It is indeed Hieronymus Bosch, well done.

They're good, aren't they, Cliff?

They are. They're very good.

So, cos you went second,

he's got the slight advantage now. You've got to get this right, OK?

Which reclusive American poet wrote,

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul,

"and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all"?

Now, that's a tough one.

I'm not great on American poets, erm...

Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman...

Walt Whitman was a very strange-looking character, so...

Looked a bit like Chris, I think, so...

Lots of hair, a bit of beard, I think.

So could've been a recluse.

Allen Ginsberg... I'm going to go for Walt Whitman.

OK.

On the basis

that he looked a bit like Chris,

and therefore could've been a recluse!

We'll... I'll sort that out with Chris later on.

JEREMY LAUGHS Actually, it's Emily Dickinson.

-Oh...

-Bless her.

-OK.

-Great, great poet.

And she is the answer, and therefore, Steve is in the final.

Sorry, Cliff.

Playing well there. I thought you were going to make it through.

So, come back to us, and we'll play one more round before the final.

OK, so the Auchlochan Giants

have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost one, and the next subject is Film & TV.

Who would like this?

-Oh, boy.

-It could be.

-Not me!

-Yeah, OK.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-That'll be Ellen, I think.

-Ellen on Film & TV.

And which Egghead would you like? You can have Chris or Judith.

Er... Chris the recluse... LAUGHTER

I think we'll go for Judith.

So, it's Ellen from the Auchlochan Giants

versus Judith from the Eggheads, Film & TV.

Let's see what happens. Please go to the Question Room.

We're on Film & TV,

and Ellen, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Ellen, which sport does Cuba Gooding Jr's character Rod Tidwell

play professionally in the film Jerry Maguire?

I have no idea, cos I haven't watched it.

Erm... So it's going to be a complete guess.

We're going to go down the middle with American football.

And you're quite right!

APPLAUSE Well done.

-Is that...? That's the film with Tom Cruise, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Judith...

Nurse Gladys Emmanuel is a character in which sitcom

that had its first series broadcast in 1976?

I think that might be...

There's a large nurse in Open All Hours, isn't there?

I think it might be Open All Hours.

Open All Hours is right. Well done.

Back to you, Ellen.

Which comedian stars alongside his mum

in the TV series Asian Provocateur?

Erm, again, I don't know,

so it's going to be a guess, so the last one, Sanjeev Bhaskar?

Now, he was in the Kumars, wasn't he?

Not this, though.

Sanjeev is not the answer.

-Romesh Ranganathan is the answer.

-Mm.

OK, Judith, you can take the lead.

What type of character is Hank, voiced by Ed O'Neill,

in the 2016 film Finding Dory?

Voiced by who?

Ed O'Neill.

Ed O'Neill. Right.

-Hank.

-Hank.

What would I call one of those Hank?

I think it might be a manta ray.

Anyone on the table know? Eggheads?

There was definitely an octopus in it.

I know there's something that teaches all the fish,

-but I can't remember.

-Yeah. Lisa, you've seen this?

I haven't, actually. I'm floundering around.

Anyone know? Competitors? Challengers?

-No? It's an octopus.

-Octopus.

-Mm-hm...

That's good, Ellen.

A little let-off there.

Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka

were characters in which TV series of the 1970s and '80s?

Ellen, was it...

Erm...

Complete guess, again.

Erm...

I'm going to go with the first one, Raise the Red Lantern.

-No, the answer is Monkey.

-Mm.

So, Judith, a chance to take the round.

The TV series Veep is the creation of which writer and producer?

Veep, V-E-E-P.

Veep.

Erm, well, it's not... I'm sure it's not Ricky Gervais.

I'm just wondering why it should be Armando Iannucci,

but I have a sort of feeling that it is.

Erm... OK, Armando Iannucci.

Yes, you're right. Armando Iannucci is the answer, Judith.

Well done. So, Ellen, sorry, knocked out by our millionairess,

who will be in the final. And if you come back to us, both of you,

we will play that final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round,

which as always is General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads

are of course not allowed to take part.

So, Cliff, Ellen and Fionnaigh from the Auchlochan Giants,

and also Lisa from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Well, welcome to the final, Will and John,

and you are playing to win the Auchlochan Giants £4,000.

Handy jackpot today.

Steve, Chris, Kevin, Judith, you're playing for something that money,

I guess, can't buy, which is the Eggheads' reputation.

And of course, you love to get above 10,000 as well, don't you,

for the jackpot?

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

They're all General Knowledge. You can confer.

So, gentlemen, the question is, can your two brains

defeat these four over here, in a famous victory for Auchlochan?

Would you like to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please.

Here we go. First question.

Which city became the capital of Nigeria in 1991?

-I think it's Abuja.

-Abuja?

Yeah, OK. We'll go for Abuja.

Abuja is correct.

Abuja's right. People often think it's Lagos,

but it's... Abuja is the administrative capital.

OK. Eggheads.

-Which city became the UK's Capital of Culture in 2017?

-Hm...

-We were talking about this earlier!

-Yeah.

Hull. Sunny Hull. Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. That's Hull, Jeremy.

Hull is the correct answer.

OK, Challengers.

Which disc jockey

was the first presenter of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1967?

-Breakfast Show.

-Oh, '67.

John Peel...

He was doing it then, but Blackburn was fairly early too, wasn't he?

-He was.

-Erm...

-I think instinctively I would've gone with...

-Tony...

-I thought John Peel, but...

-Yeah.

-..I think Tony Blackburn.

-Well, could be, yeah.

-Yeah, OK.

Stab in the dark. We'll go for Tony Blackburn.

Yeah, it is, it's Tony Blackburn.

Quite a famous radio moment, he played...

First record?

-CHRIS:

-Flowers in the Rain.

-Flowers in the Rain by The Move.

1967.

Eggheads,

which novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1934,

features the protagonist Tony Lost?

Is this...

-Scoop?

-A Handful of Dust.

-No, I think it's Boot of the Beast.

I think it's A Handful of Dust, isn't it?

It's A Handful of Dust. He ends up, up the Amazon.

That's right, he goes up the Amazon, doesn't he?

Cos Vile Bodies is the bright young things of the '20s.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Handful of Dust?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-That's A Handful of Dust, Jeremy.

OK. Tony Last is in A Handful of Dust, you're right.

Didn't get derailed there. So, 2-2.

JEREMY LAUGHS

Bit tense, isn't it?

Here is your question. Which major US city is served by

and features in the names of daily newspapers

known as the Sun Times and the Tribune?

I've a feeling, the Sun Times,

I'm thinking California.

-Yeah, but I think there's a Chicago Tribune.

-Oh, right.

Chicago Times?

I wouldn't have put Chicago Sun together, so...

I would be looking towards

Los Angeles, but I could totally be wrong.

-The New York Times, OK...

-Yeah.

The Sun Times. I would go...

That would be my choice, but...

-What, Los Angeles?

-Yeah, but you make your mind up.

Sun Times...

I'll leave it to you.

OK. We'll have a stab at Los Angeles.

-No, it's the Chicago Sun Times.

-Oh!

-And the Chicago Tribune.

-You were right with that.

-Chicago is the answer.

I think it's not so much to do with the weather,

it's to do with maybe the fact that maybe a Sun newspaper

and a Times newspaper were amalgamated at some point.

Yeah, yeah. Sorry.

OK. Eggheads, to take the contest,

which British sitcom actor opened the world's first cash machine

in Enfield in 1967?

-THE EGGHEADS LAUGH

-Oh, for goodness' sake.

-What a question!

-That is...

Why are you laughing?

-It's such a ridiculous question!

-THEY LAUGH

Yes, this was my old stamping ground, Jeremy,

and it was Barclays Bank in Enfield Town, and it was Reg Varney.

Blimey. You actually know that!

-Yeah.

-Reg Varney, yeah. It's one of those...

-It's one of those...

-The sheer volume of rubbish in your brains

is amazing. That's a quiz fact, is it?

-Yeah, basically.

-Well, Reg Varney lived

up in the north of Enfield anyway.

That goes into our list along with

who invented the collapsible opera hat!

Yeah, well.

The British sitcom actor

who opened the world's first cash machine in Enfield...

was Reg Varney.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

APPLAUSE

I almost want to apologise...

Did you know it was Reg Varney?

-Yes.

-Oh, you did!

-Yes.

-Oh, OK, cos your...

I lived in Potter's Bar, which was very close to Enfield.

You lived there, as well?

Well, what can I say? The Eggheads, they do it.

-They do.

-That's how they do it.

They've had some bad times recently, so they're glad to be

taking off again, I think we can say. Well played, Eggheads.

-But bad luck to you.

-Thank you.

Commiserations. Auchlochan Giants, great name.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

They still reign supreme over Quiz Land.

They're just getting a bit of a swagger on here.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £4,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Before we go, Chris, that question, I nearly forgot.

If Sir Frederick Banbury came second

and Solario came fourth,

who or what came third?

The answer is Flying Scotsman,

the third A1 Pacific to emerge from Doncaster Works

between Sir Frederick Banbury

and the one that was eventually named Solario.

Thank you, Chris.

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£5,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.