Episode 58 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.

Here they are, the Eggheads!

Oh, Judith, you've got a teaser for people watching at home.

Yes, I have, it's another mnemonic.

It's - mugwumps eat mutton again voraciously and enthusiastically.

And it's to remind you of which line of monarchs?

We will find out the answer at the end of the show.

You'll be here to tell us the answer?

-I hope so.

-OK.

Taking on our awesome quiz champions today are One Steps Beyond from

Tyne & Wear. This friends-and-family team quiz regularly at The Steps pub

in Washington, where team captain Percy is the quizmaster.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi, I'm Percy and I am a civil servant business analyst.

Hello, I'm Phil,

I'm a retired civil servant for the Department for Work and Pensions.

Hi, I'm Emma, and I'm a civil servant with the Valuation Office Agency.

Hi, I'm Dave, and I work in business customer services.

Hello, I'm Alan, and I'm a civil servant.

So, Percy and team, hello.

-Hello!

-Great to see you.

Now, I know Washington, Tyne & Wear, because it's near Durham, where I

went to university, so, yes, tell us about it.

Well, it started out as a very small village.

The ancestral home of George Washington and it's over the years

expanded and expanded, pretty large town now,

between Newcastle and Sunderland.

So we get from Washington in Tyne & Wear, we get George Washington

and then we get Washington, DC, so you are...

-The originals.

-We can trace it back.

-Can we?

-Yes.

-So, tell us about your quizzing, Percy.

I've been on the quiz in The Steps now for three years

and these poor people are my victims there.

I run the quiz in The Steps in Washington village, next to

George Washington's ancestral home.

I'm guessing The Steps pub is called The Steps pub because there are some

steps somewhere in it, are there?

-Or not?

-There are a couple of steps up to it.

-There are, like, two.

-It's one of the oldest pubs in Washington,

very small pub but, yeah, a lovely local, in a small village.

Brilliant. Dave, what do you think?

I'm visiting.

LAUGHTER

-On me way.

-More than welcome.

-Taxi's already been booked.

-More than welcome.

-We can hear the draughts pouring.

-Yes, we can.

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show,

as you know. So, One Steps Beyond, the Eggheads are now doing it.

They're on a roll. Five in a row, they've won.

So there is a £6,000 jackpot.

Would you like to try and win it?

Yes, please.

-Yes.

-Definitely.

-Since you're here!

OK, the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Science.

And you can choose one of you to go against either Dave, Pat, Beth,

-Kevin or Judith.

-Science?

What do we know about Science?

-Do you want to go?

-Shall we...?

-Yeah.

-Put David in?

-Absolutely fine to go.

-OK, Dave,

business customer services, against...

..any one of the five, Dave.

I will take on Pat.

Good thinking. Known as the shark - because he operates silently.

Dave from One Steps Beyond to take on Pat from the Eggheads and just to

ensure there is no conferring, would you please take your positions in

our legendary Question Room?

So, Dave, you're doing a Star Wars podcast?

I do. Every fortnight,

with a couple of guys I met actually at a Star Wars celebration in London

a couple of years ago. Randomly, in a queue.

And we decided that we liked talking about it so much, we'd...

Get on air and do it, so, yeah, we do a Star Wars, the Ones With The Force,

the Star Wars podcast every fortnight on YouTube.

How brilliant. So, oh, YouTube, so it's in vision?

It's in vision, we do have the audio version, as well, available on many

platforms but, yeah, it's...

It's a passion, so it's...

-It's something I really enjoy doing.

-Well,

that's sort of fantasy, and I suppose science fiction, and maybe we're in

the science round with Star Wars, I don't know.

-Maybe, we'll see.

-Maybe. Maybe there's a connection.

Good luck against the great Pat.

Would you like to go first or second?

Could I go first, please?

You can, and here we go.

Which of the snakes found in the UK usually has a zigzag pattern on its

scales and a V or a X-shaped marking on its head?

Oh...

My knowledge on snakes is not great but that...

That's fine, let's go through them and...

..see what we can take out here.

I think...

..looking for markings,

and for some reason the V is taking me towards adder.

So I'm going to go with adder, yes.

Adder is the right answer, well done.

Good start for our Challengers.

Pat. The metallic element lanthanum, first discovered in 1839,

has which chemical symbol?

I don't... I'm not sure there is an

Lm. Lu, I presume is lutetium.

And La I think is...

Should be element 57.

Should be lanthanum. I think it's La.

La is quite right.

Your question, Dave. Dwindling global reserves of which gas used in

MRI scanners and in rockets, were boosted by a significant find in

Tanzania in 2016. Is this...

Rocket power, so it's space, you would think this would be my area.

But let's have a look.

Oxygen...

Helium, it's not balloons, so...

I'm going to go dead centre on this, I'm going to go with hydrogen.

No, it's helium. Actually.

It does float you up, you're right.

I don't know which... Yeah.

Yeah... Help us with this, Pat, how would it...

Why would it not be hydrogen?

Well, you wouldn't really have a global shortage of oxygen

or hydrogen because you can just do electrolysis, you know,

if you had a desperate need, you can simply manufacture it using

electricity. You can split water and produce the two gases.

But helium...is pretty scarce,

the Americans have the biggest stockpiles in Texas, but it is

scarce stuff because every time another novelty balloon pops,

up it goes and doesn't come back, so...

It's quite scarce and they found a big reserve in Tanzania, so...

Everybody who needs helium is pleased and the people who held

the existing stockpiles are probably fed up.

Interesting. So, helium is the answer and we go back to Pat.

In the name of the condition known as IBS, what does the I stand for?

I think that's irritable bowel syndrome, so it's irritable.

It is irritable, well done. So, Pat pulls ahead.

Dave, you need to get this one right.

In April 2017,

Nasa declared which moon of Saturn to be capable of supporting life,

due to fluid vents that were observed jetting into space?

These are the moons and I'm sure this is their names...

In all honesty, it's not something that...

Yeah, I'm not sure, but let's have a look.

My idea was to go to Callisto.

I've got no reason behind that,

as I say, it's not something I know,

so, yeah, I'm going to go with Callisto.

It is difficult, isn't it, to go between the three, there?

It's Enceladus.

Is the answer. So, sorry, Dave, beaten by Pat, our Egghead,

and knocked out. Pat will be in the final round but it's early.

Please return to us, we'll play round two.

As it stands, One Steps Beyond have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

It's now time to fire up the engines, guys.

The next subject is Film & TV.

-So who would like this?

-That's me.

-Are you going to go to it?

-Let's go for it.

-Let's do it.

-Well, Dave cannot go...

-That's me.

-OK, Emma, a civil servant, against anyone but Pat.

Who do you think?

-You like Dave, don't you?

-I do.

-Yeah. I'll go for Dave.

-Very good,

so Emma from One Steps Beyond taking on Dave from the Eggheads and please

go to the Question Room, now.

Emma, anything you're watching on TV or in the cinema

-that you're enjoying?

-I'm a very big reality TV fan,

much to the disgust of all my team-mates.

So, I'm into Big Brother, Love Island, at the minute.

Really, gosh, I don't think...

That could be very handy, Dave, couldn't it?

It could be very good. It's a big area of TV at the moment.

All right, well, I'm praying they come up for you, Emma, it's brilliant,

we've never had someone say that before.

So would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Which British actress

stars as Belle in the 2017 film Beauty And The Beast?

I saw this film recently and absolutely loved it.

I know Karen Gillan was in Doctor Who,

but I know the answer is definitely Emma Watson.

Emma Watson is correct. Well done, your namesake.

Dave. The 1954 3-D black-and-white monster horror film starring

Richard Carlson and Julia Adams is entitled Creature From where?

The only one of those I've heard of is The Black Lagoon,

so that's my answer.

The Black Lagoon is correct and it's worth looking it

up now, I was showing it to my daughters,

it is one of the funniest things you can ever see.

Because it is basically - it seems to be a bloke in some sort of

plastic outfit swimming after people.

All right!

The Black Lagoon, well done.

All right, Emma, your question.

Which 1967 film, based on a Neil Simon play, starred Robert Redford

and Jane Fonda as newlyweds?

To be honest, I've never heard of any of them, so I'm a little bit

struggling here.

Going to be a complete shot in the dark...

..and I will go for...

..Two For The Road.

Do you know this, Dave?

Yeah, Barefoot In The Park.

Barefoot In The Park is the answer.

OK, Dave, your question, to take the lead.

What is the first name of the eponymous star of the courtroom

reality series Judge Rinder?

Right, let me get this right.

One of the Strictly alumni, I think.

Yeah. Richard Rinder, no.

Russell Rinder, no. I think it's Robert Rinder.

It is Robert Rinder, well done.

Emma, you need to get this one right.

In 2016, Cherish Finden became a judge

on which television cookery show?

Trying to work out if this is one of the ones you'd watch.

I don't think it's Bake Off.

I'm just going to, rightly or wrongly, discount that one.

I know Celebrity MasterChef kind of had a few new judges brought in.

I'm not sure about the Great British Menu.

But it could possibly be Great British Menu.

I think I'll go for Celebrity MasterChef.

Let's see, Judith?

Do you know this? Beth, do you know this?

It's actually Bake Off: Creme De La Creme.

Even though Bake Off has...

The Great British Bake Off has moved from BBC to Channel 4,

this is a spin-off for professional bakers, in the same vein as

professional MasterChef type thing, and she is one of the judges on that.

The answer is Bake Off: Creme De La Creme.

Sorry, Emma. So Dave has taken the round.

Emma beaten by our Egghead,

and it's looking difficult for the Challengers,

they need the comeback to happen now.

Let's see if they can bring it on in round three.

So, One Steps Beyond, yes,

they've lost two brains from the final round,

yes, the Eggheads are still sitting there looking a bit too smug

but now is the time and yes, you can win.

The next subject is Food & Drink.

Who would like this?

-Food & Drink?

-I think you should go.

-Me?

-I think...

That's going to be...

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I'll take it. I'll leave you two...

I'll take that one, Jeremy.

All right, Phil. And which Egghead would you like?

Any of the three nearest to me.

-Kevin...?

-Yeah.

-Go for Kevin.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

I think I'll have a crack at Kevin, Jeremy, please.

Phil from One Steps Beyond versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

Please go to our famous Question Room now.

So, Phil, Food & Drink against Kevin.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, Jeremy, please.

All right, which of these dishes,

Phil, is a variation of cheese on toast?

I've never heard of blind Scouse.

But I'm fairly sure that's Welsh rarebit.

It is indeed Welsh rarebit, well done, Phil, first one to you.

OK. Here we go, Kevin.

Which of these styles of beer traditionally has the greatest

alcoholic strength?

I'm not a...

..I'm no longer an alcohol drinker, anyway, so...

I think, well, I think barley wine is supposed to be pretty strong.

So, yeah, barley wine.

Barley wine is the right answer.

All right. Phil, your question.

What name refers to the hierarchy of roles in a commercial kitchen that

was developed by the chef

Auguste Escoffier?

Mm...erm...

No real clues on this one.

Obviously, battery system...

..doesn't...

..to my mind link with anything that way.

Bayonet system would...

Again, doesn't seem to fit the criteria.

Just on the pure basis of a brigade having different ranks within it,

I'll go with Brigade system.

It sounds right and it is right, Brigade system.

Nicely done, two out of two.

Kevin, the term "Grenache" refers to a type of what?

I'm assuming that's G-R-E-N-A-C-H-E?

Yes, it is.

There's definitely a wine grape called a Grenache, so, wine grape.

Yes, there is, wine grape is right.

Phil, back to you for your third question.

Can be crucial. The rice with peas dish called risi e bisi is a speciality of

which Italian region?

Italian geography is not...

..a strong subject, certainly not on the rice side of things.

I've got nothing at all, really, to work on with that one.

So it's just going to be a pure guess.

I think I'll go with Liguria.

It's Veneto.

Oh.

So is this Kevin's moment on Food & Drink?

Which of these sauces, Kevin, is often used to make a macaroni cheese

or mac and cheese?

The mac bit refers to the macaroni pasta.

So the cheese must come from the source and the one there

that is cheese, a cheese-based sauce is Mornay, so, Mornay sauce.

If this is right, you're in the final.

Do you think he's right, here, Phil?

I would guess so, yes.

Yes, you're right. And you've knocked out Phil.

So one more round to play before the final.

Please return to us, gentlemen.

Still not a crisis but looking...

..grave. One Steps Beyond have lost three brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost any so far.

This is the moment, Challengers.

The next subject for you is Politics,

so one more before the final.

Who would like this? It's going to be either Percy, the captain, or Alan?

-Yeah.

-Take it?

Take it.

-Yeah?

-Go for it.

-I'll take that.

Alan, OK. Against which Egghead, Alan?

And it's going to be either, well, either of the ladies.

-Beth.

-Beth, very good.

So, Alan from One Steps Beyond taking on Beth on Politics.

Not for the first time, we've had that recently.

Yeah, in fact, in the celebrity episode, I beat Clive Myrie at Politics.

Oh, brilliant, I'd forgotten that, fantastic!

Please go to the Question Room for the last time.

So, Politics, Alan, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Alan, here's your first question.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen became Prime Minister of which country, Alan,

in 2009?

Well, I don't think it's Germany.

I think I'll go for Denmark.

Denmark is right.

Beth, which colours are typically on rosettes worn by Ukip candidates in

General Elections?

Ukip rosettes are purple and yellow.

Purple and yellow is quite right.

Back to you, Alan.

In the early '50s, Operation Ajax was a successful attempt

by the British and American governments

to topple the government of which country?

Well, judging by the early '50s,

I would take Iran out and either say South Africa or Nicaragua.

I'll go for Nicaragua.

I see your logic, but it's Iran, actually.

Can we get some history here, Eggheads?

They wanted, the Prime Minister, at the time, in Iran, Mosaddegh,

wanted to nationalise the oil industry,

or at least to get a better deal out of the oil companies that were

essentially taking Iran's oil.

And so that didn't go down too well with both...

The States and Britain had substantial oil interest

in the country at the time, and so they engineered

a coup and he was forced out of power.

And was that when the Shah took over or...?

No, I mean, the Shah was already there

but he knew which side his bread was buttered, from then on,

and Mosaddegh has become a...

..a sort of a rad... A sort of an icon for nationalists ever since.

OK. Iran is the answer.

We go to Beth.

Beth, James Mattis, nicknamed "Mad Dog",

was appointed to which office in the government of the United States in 2017?

Oh...I should be all over these American...appointments.

No, I don't think he's...

..Secretary of State.

I thought that was Bannon.

I'm torn between State and Defense.

I wonder whether he's a mad dog because he would be good in Defense.

Yeah, I'm going to go with that.

Secretary of Defense.

Secretary of Defense is quite right.

Oh! Lucky for me!

Let's just do the other two, Eggheads, if we can?

-Secretary of State?

-Rex Tillerson.

Rex Tillerson, and Secretary of the Treasury?

Is it Steven Mnuchin?

-Mnuchi?

-Mnuchin.

-All of the names have bypassed me,

-for some reason.

-OK.

So...we go back to you and you need to get this one right, Alan.

To stay in. Alexander Haig served as Secretary of State under which

US President?

Just trying to work out the years.

I've heard of him.

I'm going to go...for Ronald Reagan.

Yes, you're absolutely right, well done.

OK, so you can take the round with this, Beth.

Dennis Skinner first won his seat in the House of Commons in a

General Election in which year?

Dennis Skinner.

Oh, Dennis Skinner, he's been around for a very long time,

very long time.

He's...

..a Labour politician.

Don't think he was elected in the year I was born.

That's 1979. 83...

I'm...

I'm pretty sure he's one of the longest...

He is still there and he's been there

for an exceptionally long time,

so I'm going to go with 1970.

1970 is correct. Well done.

So help us out here, Eggs, because I...

They recently said Kenneth Clarke is the Father of the House,

meaning he's the longest-serving MP,

and I'm thinking how can he have been in there

longer than Dennis Skinner?

-He took the oath first.

-Yeah, it can be that close.

-Oh, is it alphabetical?

-Whoever takes the oath first.

I see, OK. Because that...

Would that have been the same election, Kenneth Clarke?

Yes, yes, 1970.

-Michael Meacher, Kenneth Clarke, Dennis Skinner and...

-Kaufman.

They were all there at the same time and it should have been alphabetical

but apparently Gerald Kaufman

said, "I've got an engagement,

"let me through," and he sort of jumped the queue,

and that's why he became Father of the House earlier than he might

-otherwise have been.

-OK.

You're right. Anyway, that's the main thing.

Beth, 1970 is right. Sorry, Alan, beaten by our Egghead.

And as a result, not in the final round.

So if you come back to us, both of you, we're going to play the final,

for £6,000.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our final round.

As always, General Knowledge.

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

to take part in this round, so that's Phil,

Emma, Dave and Alan from One Steps Beyond.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Percy, good luck, you are playing to win One Steps Beyond £6,000.

Dave, Pat, Beth, Kevin and Judith, you're playing for something ...

Well, it's invaluable.

It's your reputation. As usual, I will ask

each team three questions in turn.

They're all General Knowledge. You are allowed to confer.

I'm sorry, that doesn't help you, Percy.

The question is, can your one brain take down these five?

Something they'll talk about in Washington for decades to come.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go against what everybody else has done,

since it hasn't really worked. I'll go second, please.

OK. So, Percy going second, and Eggheads, your question.

Carolina Herrera, born in Venezuela in 1939,

is a famous name in which field?

-Fashion.

-Fashion. Is it fashion?

-Fashion.

-I don't know.

-Fashion. Definitely.

-Good.

Fashion.

-Fashion.

-Fashion. Is right.

Percy, which of these is another name for the plant alfalfa,

whose seeds are often eaten after sprouting?

Alfalfa.

None of them...

..mean anything instantly.

Can you repeat the question, Jeremy, please?

Yeah. The plant is spelt, A-L-F-A-L-F-A.

Alfalfa. Which of these is another name for the plant alfalfa

whose seeds are often eaten after sprouting?

With nothing to go on at all...

..I don't like Como, I don't know why.

I'll go for Constance, please.

Constance is your answer.

-Let me just check with the Eggheads. This is a tricky...

-Lucerne.

It's Lucerne, is it? What sort of a plant is it, then?

I think it is used a lot for...

It's in the health, very much a health shop.

-Health shop plant?

-Yes.

Yes, and animal, as you said, animal feed as well.

-Yes.

-Used a lot for animal feed.

-Yeah, alfalfa.

-Alfalfa is Lucerne.

OK. Eggheads, your question.

Thomas, Henry and Albert Pierrepoint were all family members who held

which position for various periods between 1901 and 1956?

-Executioner.

-Executioner.

Executioner.

Executioner is the answer.

It's absolutely right.

Unbelievably so, but that is right.

The Eggheads have got two, and you need to get this one.

The monarchs of which Asian country, Percy, wear the Raven Crown?

The Raven Crown.

Again, there's nothing springing to mind immediately but...

I suspect if it was Thailand, I would have known that.

And I haven't heard of the Raven Crown.

I'll go Bhutan.

Bhutan is the right answer.

OK, Eggheads, your third question.

And you can win it with this, because Percy let you go first.

The Algerian athlete Noureddine Morceli won three consecutive World Championship

gold medals in which athletics event in the 1990s?

-1,500.

-It was 15, 1,500.

-1,500 metres,

-yeah.

-Yes, definitely?

-Yeah. Miler.

-Middle-distance runner.

-Yeah.

-And better at the longer...

-1,500 metres, definitely.

-So, 1,500 metres?

OK. 1,500 metres.

The correct answer is 1,500 metres.

We say - congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Sorry, but so difficult when they get three out of three

-and they go first.

-Yeah.

-Because you're just on the back foot.

So... And also playing alone.

-Too true.

-But thank you so much for playing.

-Thank you.

-Hope you've enjoyed it and hope The Steps are enjoying it too.

Watching it back in Washington.

-I'm sure they will.

-Commiserations, One Steps Beyond.

Good to have a Madness song title referred to, as well.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

with some very strong performances lately, Eggheads,

you've steam coming out of your ears, here.

I'm afraid it means you're not going home with the £6,000, Challengers,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, well done.

Looking unbeatable, nobody even in the sin bin today!

Oh, before we go, Judith asked you a question at home

and remind us of the question.

The question was mugwumps eat mutton again voraciously

and enthusiastically.

And it's meant to remind you of the crowned Queens of England,

the Queens of England having been crowned in their own right.

-So go through it, Judith. Mugwumps?

-Mugwumps, Mary Tudor.

-Eat?

-Elizabeth I.

-Mutton?

-Mary.

-Again?

-Anne.

Voraciously?

-Victoria.

-Enthusiastically?

And that's Elizabeth II.

Well. That's a very, very good question.

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

to defeat them, try and knock them off their perches, here.

£7,000 says they can't do it!

Till then, goodbye!