Episode 50 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 quiz Challengers pit their wits against

possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain. They are the Eggheads.

Now, Beth has a teaser for you at home to ponder through the show.

-Beth?

-Yes.

How many male solo artists have performed James Bond themes?

Right, so that's going to be just a number for the answer.

Ooh, and, I would like the films, too.

OK, you think about that at home and then Beth will tell us

the answer at the end. Now, introducing our Challengers,

hoping to get one over on our quiz champions today, are...

This team are members of the Florians Drama Club,

based in Inverness.

-So let's meet them.

-Hi, my name's Trevor and I'm a records manager.

Hello, my name's Jenny, and I'm a retired teacher.

Hello, my name's David, I'm a retired telecoms manager.

Hi, my name's Fiona and I'm a project officer.

Hi, I'm Brian and I'm a technical support specialist.

So, Trevor and team, hello.

-Hello.

-Lovely to see you.

Tell us about the Florians, Trevor.

The Florians Drama Club were formed in 1944 to entertain the troops.

We have our own theatre in Inverness

and we do plays and musicals and have been pretty successful

over the years.

We also participate in the Scottish Community Drama Association

-Festival of Plays.

-Yeah.

So, you do serious drama, you do comedy,

you just do everything, do you?

We do all sorts of drama and, as I say, we do musicals as well.

Do you quiz? That's the key question.

Well, some of us do.

I think Jenny and Fiona certainly do quite a bit of quizzing.

Brian and I used to do a bit of quizzing as well.

-Right.

-Pub quizzing.

OK. I wish you well, Challengers.

-Thank you.

-Good luck. How does it feel to face these five?

-The fearsome five.

-Terrifying.

They're actually rather nice.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over.

Now, Go With The Flo's, the Eggheads are doing really well.

They had a bad patch a couple of weeks ago,

but they've won the last seven games now,

so there's £8,000 for you to win today.

-Would you like to try?

-Absolutely.

Brilliant. The first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of Geography.

And so it's one of you against either

Dave, Beth, Barry, Pat or Judith.

-I don't mind doing Geography.

-Do you want to do Geography?

-You go for Geography.

-Get us off to a good start.

OK, Jenny on Geography. Who do you want to go against?

You can have any one of the five.

-Who do you think?

-I think Dave looks quite confident,

-I think that might be a bluff.

-Oh, dear.

I think he's hoping you don't pick him.

-All right.

-It could be.

-OK, then.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Dave.

-Right, Dave's name coming through loud and clear.

So, Jenny from Go With The Flo's against Dave from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Jenny, you're in the Drama Club yourself?

-I am, yes.

-And tell us what you've appeared in?

With this drama club, The Diary Of Anne Frank, Calendar Girls.

Ooh, lots of things.

And Cabaret, Fiddler On The Roof?

Oh, that was Manchester.

Oh, right, so you've been in other drama clubs?

Yes. I've been on the stage for 55 years.

So what did you used to teach?

The obvious answer is children...

-OK.

-..because it's primary school,

but I was responsible for music and drama.

Very good. So we're not quite at Geography,

but I know you've travelled as well.

Or at least worked at an airport?

I have. Inverness Airport.

OK, Jenny. Good luck,

let's see if you can add this to your tally of experiences,

knocking out Dave on Geography.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

And here we go with your first question. Good luck.

The town of Bolton is located roughly ten miles northwest

of which city?

That was Manchester.

This question was written for you, wasn't it?

-It was.

-Were you born in Bolton?

-I was.

-OK.

You'll probably have a question about Inverness Airport next.

THEY CHUCKLE

Dave, the Longstone Lighthouse,

historically associated with the heroine Grace Darling,

is off the coast of which English county?

Right, I think - could be very wrong here -

but is it the Farne Islands,

where Grace Darling was?

And I thought it was up in the north,

so I thought it was Northumberland.

OK. Northumberland, you say.

Any of the Eggheads know this story, Grace Darling?

What do we know about her?

Yes, I think the SS Forfarshire hit some rocks and foundered

and the lighthouse keeper saw they were foundering in a storm

and went out with his daughter to rescue the crew of the ship.

She managed to rescue them successfully,

and I think she might have been given a medal for doing so.

And is Dave in the right part of the country?

Absolutely!

Northumberland is the right answer, Dave, well done.

Good old Grace Darling, we know the story now.

-I'm sure you knew that, Jenny.

-Yes, I did.

-OK.

So, your question - what is the approximate population of Cuba?

I'll go down the middle with 33 million.

Ah, too much.

It's 11. That's a bit of a stinker, isn't it?

OK, Dave - how many British Overseas Territories are there?

I've never thought about this at all.

Well, let me try and apply some logic to this.

So, you've got Gibraltar, you've got Tristan da Cunha,

got St Helena.

I could go too high here.

I think it's more than four.

Just trying to think where else they've got overseas.

I'm going to go 44, but absolutely no idea on this at all,

because it's just trying to judge what an overseas territory is.

An overseas dependency.

OK, 44 is your answer. Eggheads don't like that. Eggs?

I don't think there's more than four.

-The answer's 14.

-Oh!

So I was wrong!

So, that's quite handy, Jenny.

One each. Your third question -

the Drake Passage separates Antarctica

from which other continent?

I think...

I think it's South America.

All right, let me check with your team-mates - is she right?

-We think so.

-They like that. It is right.

Well done, Jenny, South America it is.

OK, Dave, to stay in -

at 2,720m high,

Tiffindell is which African country's only ski resort?

Can you spell it for me, please?

Tiffindell, one word - T-I-F-F-I-N-D-E-L-L.

Yeah, I've got to go with South Africa.

On the basis of...?

Just the sound of the language.

South Africa is the right answer, well done.

Equal after three questions.

Gets a bit harder now, Jenny, I don't give you alternatives.

This is known as Sudden Death.

Glenrothes is the administrative headquarters

of which Scottish council area?

Would that be Fife?

Fife is correct.

Playing well. Dave, to stay in -

which European capital city is served by Schonefeld Airport?

Can you spell it for me, please?

S-C-H-O-N-E-F-E-L-D

Could conceivably be Vienna or Bern, but I'm going to go with Berlin.

Berlin is correct.

Sudden Death, back to you, Jenny.

The North Sea resort of Knokke is in which country?

I've been there, that's in Belgium.

Belgian's right. Well done, you!

All right, Dave. She's good, isn't she?

-She's very good.

-OK, so your question -

Anjouan and Moheli are two of the main islands

of which sovereign country located off the east coast of Africa?

Right, let's have a think.

We've got Comoros, Madagascar

and Seychelles, which is sovereign.

But I thought the Seychelles were more English.

The other one's Mauritius...

..which is French.

I'm going to go the Seychelles.

-No, it's Comoros.

-Right, fine.

Dave, you've been knocked out by Jenny.

So, Jenny, you're in the final round, well done.

You played a good game there.

So, you'll be helping your team in the final.

That's very good start for our Challengers.

Please return to us and we'll play on.

So, as it stands,

Go With The Flo's have not lost any brains from the final round,

because Jenny was storming it there.

The Eggheads have lost one.

The next subject is Sport.

Who would like this?

Yes, it's one of you two, so Sport or Science.

-I'll do Sport.

-OK.

OK, Brian, our technical support specialist.

Who looks like they've got no technical support on Sport?

BRIAN CHUCKLES

I know Judith often wins at Sport cos she's quite good at guessing.

So I think we'll go with Beth, please.

-What a shock.

-OK.

There we are, your reputation for winning at Sport is now nationwide.

So, Brian from Go With The Flo's to play Beth

from the Eggheads on Sport.

Please go to our famous Question Room.

OK, Sport against Beth, Brian. Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Which of these horse races was won by One For Arthur in 2017?

I think it was the Grand National.

It was indeed the Grand National, well done.

One For Arthur. OK, Beth, your question.

Which European golfer won the 2017 US Masters?

Oh, this was a long time coming.

It was Sergio Garcia.

Yes, indeed it was Sergio Garcia.

Back to you, Brian.

The inaugural women's football World Cup was held in China

in which year?

I think women's football has been going on for quite a while,

internationally.

I don't know if it was as far back as 1963.

I think it was probably 1978.

OK, it's wrong though, it's 1991.

-Oh.

-More recent, yeah.

Beth, to take the lead -

which of these Spanish sportsmen is a multiple world champion

in motorcycling?

Motorcycling?

Yes, a multiple world champion in motorcycling.

Well, Alberto Contador is a bicyclist, so not a motorcyclist.

Feliciano Lopez...

Have I got him in down as a boxer?

I think that's the right sport for him.

So I think this is Marc Marquez.

Marc Marquez is right.

Lopez is tennis.

-Oh, tennis! OK.

-Marc Marquez it is.

So she takes the lead here, Brian.

Awkward. You need to get this one right.

In 1971,

who was the captain of the first British and Irish Lions

rugby union team to win a Test series in New Zealand?

The only one of them I'm fairly certain

would have captained the Lions around about that time...

..probably Mike Gibson.

Mike Gibson. Dave?

-John Dawes.

-John Dawes is the answer!

Sorry, Brian.

Beth has taken it. Beth is in the final round.

So, tricky times for our Challengers.

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

As it stands, Go With The Flo's have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost one.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

So who would like this?

-That is not me.

-Arts & Books.

I think that's me, Jeremy.

Team captain, Trevor, records manager.

Against which Egghead?

Any of the three on the right. They all look pretty menacing.

Hmm, they do, don't they?

-What do you think?

-Try Pat.

-Pat or Judith?

-Pat.

Go for Pat, please, Jeremy.

OK, Trevor from Go With The Flo's plays Pat from the Eggheads

on Arts & Books. And, please, again, go to the Question Room.

Well, good luck playing Pat on Arts & Books.

And would you like to go first or second?

Could I go first, please, Jeremy?

So, here we go. Which character features in the title of the novel

that starts with the line, "You don't know about me,

"without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer"?

Well, Jeremy, I think I can discount Robinson Crusoe and Oliver Twist.

I think Tom Sawyer was a character in Huckleberry Finn.

Huckleberry Finn is quite right.

OK, Pat - in Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet,

the line, "Oh, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?",

appears in a famous scene that is known by which name?

I think the term Juliet Balcony has actually entered actor terminology.

I think it's the balcony scene.

You know it's the balcony scene.

Thank you, Pat, well done.

Trevor, which French term refers to

an artwork created from any materials that come to hand?

Well, I may be wrong about this, but bric-a-brac comes to mind...

..as being bits and pieces,

so the logical answer would seem to be bricolage.

So I think I'll go with bricolage.

It is bricolage, well done.

So, two out of two.

Pat, in which year was the Stephen King novel It first published?

Oh, dear.

He's been going for a long time and he's very prolific.

So there's no problem with him producing a book

in any of those years.

I'm not sure about this.

I think I'll have to plump for 1976.

No, actually 1986 is the answer.

Ten years later. Well, that's handy, Trevor.

This could be very interesting now.

If you get this right, you're in the final round,

joining Jenny and maybe another, who knows?

Who wrote the play Cell Mates,

that became known for the temporary disappearance of cast member

Stephen Fry from a 1995 West End production?

Hmm, now.

This is a tricky one.

Being from a drama group, I should know this.

My gut feeling would be to go with Alan Bennett.

Should I go for Simon Gray?

I think I'll go with Alan Bennett.

All right, it's Simon Gray.

So it gives Pat a way back in in this round.

Pat, you need to get this right.

Which of these structures is visible in the background

of Leonardo Da Vinci's painting known as the Mona Lisa?

Yeah, it's slightly indistinct rolling countryside, I think,

disappearing behind the sitter.

I think in recent times,

they suspect it may be somewhere near the present-day town of Bobbio.

I want to say bridge. I'm just double-checking.

I suppose I should say bridge on the basis that a castle and abbey could

look very alike. So it's slightly hazardous going for either of them.

One could easily be confused for the other.

I think I'll go for bridge.

I can see Barry likes that.

-I like that a lot.

-Yes, good logic on the abbey and the castle.

It's just behind her left shoulder, the bridge in Mona Lisa.

Right, three questions each, scores level.

Did you let him off the hook too easily there, Trevor?

Let's see. We go to Sudden Death and it get a little bit harder.

Which author's 2011 book Zero Day was the first in a series of

best-selling novels, centred on a military investigator

called John Puller?

Well, I'll just take a punt at Andy McNab.

It's not Andy McNab. Pat, do you know this?

I'd be guessing.

Somebody like Baldacci, maybe?

It is Baldacci, yeah. It's David Baldacci.

OK, Pat, you can take the round on this.

What is the name of the fictional professor who lived at

27a Wimpole Street in the works of George Bernard Shaw?

Let's see, was Henry Higgins a professor?

He was a linguist and an elocution fiend, was he a professor?

Was he Professor Higgins?

I'll go with Henry Higgins.

If you've got this right you're in the final round.

Sudden Death. It is Henry Higgins.

Sorry, Trevor, knocked out by Pat,

and you won't be in the final.

If you return to us, we have one more round to play before the final.

Go With The Flo's have lost two brains,

the Eggheads have lost just the one.

Can you level it up? That's the question.

And it's Music.

That's good, isn't it?

-That's a good one.

-That's the whole Florians thing.

-I bet you can guess who's taking it!

-Well, we had the discussion.

We agreed, yes, that's going to be me.

OK, Fiona, a project officer, on Music against...?

Well, it's either Judith or Barry.

Play against Judith, please.

Very good. So, Fiona from Go With The Flo's plays Judith

from the Eggheads on Music. To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

Fiona, I was fascinated to read about your mum.

Yes, she was a world-ranked snooker player in the 1970s.

Men playing snooker was quite unusual on TV then,

but women was really unusual.

Yeah, I remember my first clear memories are about '76 or '77,

going to Middlesbrough for the World Championship.

There was maybe a dozen women and that was it.

How incredible.

So, she's almost a quiz answer, isn't she?

She probably is, cos she actually appeared on television

playing snooker as an extra for somebody's hands.

OK! So, we're on Music, Fiona.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll follow my team-mates and go first.

OK, good luck against Judith. Here we go.

Let's hope you can level it up for your team.

Which Queen song starts with the line,

"Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise, playing in the street,

"gonna be a big man some day"?

If I tell you Queen is one of my favourite bands,

would it surprise you that I know it's We Will Rock You?

It is absolutely We Will Rock You.

I think everyone's favourite band.

All right, Judith.

Which member of ABBA was born with the surname Andersson?

Agnetha Andersson, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Andersson.

I've no idea!

I don't know. This is a pure guess.

Agnetha.

Oh, Judith.

Because my memory is that it says Andersson and Ulvaeus.

Is that right? And those are the two men, who are the writers.

-So Bjorn must be Ulvaeus.

-Yeah.

-And we're on Benny here, are we?

-Yeah.

Yes, the Eggs confirm, it's Benny.

-It's Benny.

-So that's not the best start, Judith.

-No.

-Don't worry, just gather.

Back to you, Fiona.

Which American musician played keyboards

on the Beatles hit Get Back?

Well, Ray Manzarek was in the Doors, so I don't think it was him.

And I'm pretty certain, because I'm also a Beatles fan,

that it's Billy Preston.

This is falling well for you, isn't it?

-It certainly is.

-It is Billy Preston, well done.

All right, Judith.

Well, this is tricky, you need to get this one right.

"Don't you love farce? "My fault, I fear.

"I thought that you'd want what I want, sorry, my dear,"

are lines from which Stephen Sondheim song, Judith,

to stay in the game?

Can you do it again?

"Don't you love farce? My fault, I fear.

"I thought that you'd want what I want, sorry, my dear."

I think it's Send In The Clowns.

Yeah, that was a title they considered for this show.

THEY LAUGH

Send In The Clowns is right.

All right. Never write her off, Fiona.

Be careful here. If you get this right, you're in the final,

and you will have brilliantly levelled it up. Here we go.

In which musical genre did Miranda Lambert find fame as a vocalist?

I'm discounting heavy metal,

cos the only heavy metal group I can think of is Girlschool.

I'm going to go country, and it's a complete guess.

Yeah, I think that's probably where the percentage would be.

Let's just see, Eggheads?

-Yeah.

-Country.

-Was she in a band or on her own?

-No, generally solo.

-Solo. So country's right.

Miranda Lambert is country, you got three out of three

and you're through to the final, there we are.

And made it look very easy.

Sorry, Judith, just that one question again.

So you're out, I'm afraid.

Come back and we'll play the final round for £8,000.

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

it's time for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

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

to take part in this round.

So, Trevor and Brian from Go With The Flo's,

but also Judith and Dave from the Eggheads,

would you please leave the studio.

OK, Jenny, David and Fiona,

you are playing to win Go With The Flo's £8,000.

Quite a jackpot. And Beth, Barry and Pat,

you're trying to defend the money

and make sure it survives this game,

goes on to the next.

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

They're all General Knowledge, you may confer.

So, Go With The Flo's, the question is, can you, with your three brains,

defeat these three over here?

Something the Florians and their fans will talk about for centuries to come.

Would you like to go first or second?

We'd like to go first.

I wish you all the best.

Persimmon and atomic tangerine are shades of which colour?

I think persimmon is like a shiny orange.

-Yeah, I think orange.

-Orange, orange?

Yeah, orange.

We think orange, Jeremy.

-Orange is right, well done.

-Well done, guys.

First one to you. OK, Eggheads.

In golf, where are explosion shots normally played?

I would guess they would be in bunkers, aren't they?

-Pat, you happy with that? Bunkers?

-I think it's in bunkers.

Yes, you have to play a lot of energy in a bunker.

We think, because of the force

needed to get a ball out of a bunker,

it has to be in a bunker, an explosion shot.

In bunkers is right.

Over to you, Challengers.

The European Court of Human Rights is part of

which larger organisation?

-That has to be the Council of Europe.

-Council of Europe.

Because Nato's the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

You guys go for it, I'm quite happy with that.

-Unicef is a United Nations thing.

-Yeah.

-It's the Council of Europe.

-Yeah.

The Council of Europe, Jeremy.

David, that's quite right - Council of Europe.

Two out of two. Playing for £8,000.

Will the Eggheads go slipping and sliding?

Let's see.

Which Friends actor admitted to beating up the future Canadian

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whilst at school?

Well, it won't be...

I think Matthew Perry...

Do you think it's Matthew Perry? I think he's...

It's not Courtney Cox, it's a man. I've heard him talk about it.

Is Matthew Perry Canadian?

I've got it in my head that he was Canadian.

-I think Matt LeBlanc is New York or something nearby.

-Yeah.

-I think it's Matthew Perry.

-Yeah, I think it's Matthew Perry.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-All right.

We think the only one of those three who is Canadian is Matthew Perry.

So on that basis, we'll go for Matthew Perry.

Matthew Perry is correct.

-Well done.

-So, 2-2.

And your third question. Get this one right, Challengers,

and that may be all the work you have to do today.

Girl Shy, The Freshman and Why Worry?

were successful silent films of the 1920s starring which famous actor?

Do you have any idea?

I think it's Harry Langdon.

I don't think it's Chaplin.

I don't know. I don't watch silent movies.

I was...

I would have gone for either Harry Langdon or Harold Lloyd.

I don't think it's Charlie Chaplin.

No, I don't think it's Charlie Chaplin.

Harry Langdon had a very shy face.

Harold Lloyd wore the glasses.

-Harold Lloyd, he hung off the clock face, didn't he?

-Yes, he did.

Harold Lloyd was more slapstick stuff.

Let's go for the middle.

-Harry Langdon?

-Yeah.

We think it's Harry Langdon, Jeremy.

Harry Langdon is your answer.

The answer is Harold Lloyd.

Eggheads, you can take the contest now on this third question

in the final round.

Who played Harry Potter in the 2016 West End production of

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child?

Jamie Parker rings a bell.

Yeah, it does for me as well.

Jamie Parker, did he win an Olivier Award?

I think that play hoovered up quite a few awards.

If I had to answer just on reflex, I would say Jamie Parker.

But I don't know it, I really don't.

Shall we go for Jamie Parker, then?

Well, if it's right, then hooray.

If it's not, we get another go.

-All right.

-I have a feeling it's Jamie Parker.

Well, we're very uncertain on this one.

Jamie Parker rings a sort of bell

with two of my colleagues,

so on that very tenuous

piece of knowledge,

we'll go for Jamie Parker.

OK. £8,000 we're playing for here.

You get another chance, as you say, if you've got it wrong.

I thought this would be meat and drink for you quizzers,

knowing this person straightaway.

It is the correct answer, Jamie Parker.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Matthew Perry, American, but raised in Canada.

-Ah.

-So you were on the right track there.

And his mum was Pierre Trudeau's press secretary.

-Oh.

-Ah, of course!

-So there's all kinds of connections there.

Well, Eggs, you got there.

-Just about.

-Yeah, you got to the finishing tape.

Sorry, Go With The Flo's.

-It's all right.

-They're good, they've got a lot of knowledge

in there. They're not always modest about it, either.

THEY LAUGH

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

This swagger is starting to show, isn't it?

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £8,000, Challengers.

Sorry. So we roll that money over to our next show and we will add to it.

Eggheads, congratulations.

Are they going to get to 10,000, I wonder?

Ooh, Beth, that question?

Oh, yes. I asked you how many solo males have sung Bond themes

and the names of the films as well.

-Right.

-So, we've got Matt Monro, From Russia With Love.

Tom Jones for Thunderball.

Though not commonly associated with a proper theme,

Louis Armstrong with We Have All The Time In The World,

from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

And then a long gap up to Chris Cornell

with You Know My Name from Casino Royale.

And the most recent one,

Writing's On The Wall by Sam Smith for Spectre.

-So I count five.

-Five.

Five is the answer. Thank you very much, Beth, good question.

Hope you enjoyed trying to solve that one at home.

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

to wipe the smiles off their faces.

There will be £9,000 to play for.

Until then, goodbye.