Episode 68 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.

Taking on our quiz champions today are Back to Life from London.

Now, in facing off against the Eggheads,

this friends-and-family team are fulfilling a very special promise

they made to team captain Clive.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Clive, I'm a retired consultant.

Hello, I'm Charlie, and I'm a software engineer.

Hi, I'm Emma, and I'm a PhD student.

Hi, I'm Steve, and I'm a security officer.

Hi, I'm Martin, and I'm an NHS manager.

-So, Clive and team, hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Good to see you. And, Clive, tell us about this promise, then.

I was in intensive care...

..having had three heart attacks in one day,

and friends and family gathered around me,

and at that point I said,

"If I survive this, will you come on Eggheads with me?"

And now they are here to fulfil that promise.

Well, we need a round of applause for that - you're back!

Back at the races.

We're chuffed that we were the first thing that

occurred to you in that situation.

Did you watch Eggheads a lot before your heart attacks?

Oh, constantly. And since.

Good stuff. I wish you well.

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

for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, this is pretty good for you and the team, Clive,

cos the Eggheads have won the last 15,

and there'll be £16,000 for you if you win today.

Would you like to give it a go?

-Yes, indeed.

-Fantastic.

So, Clive and team, the first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of Film & TV.

One of you against either Dave,

Beth, Barry, Pat or Judith.

Who wants to do Film & TV?

-You're a good candidate, right?

-Do you think? Do you want me to?

-Yes.

-OK. Yeah.

-Everyone happy with that?

-Yeah.

OK, Emma, against which Egghead?

-Who do you think? I don't mind.

-Film & TV.

Who looks like they haven't been in a cinema for a while?

-Could go with Judith.

-Judith, OK.

-We'll go with Judith, please.

-Very good.

Emma from Back to Life versus Judith from the Eggheads.

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

in the legendary Question Room.

All right, good luck, Emma, against Judith.

Film & TV. Would you like to go first or second?

First is fine.

Here we go.

Who played the role of Bet Lynch, or as she was later known,

Bet Gilroy, on Coronation Street?

My mum is a massive Coronation Street fan.

I have very little knowledge of it,

but Julie Goodyear is ringing a bell,

so I think I'm going to go with that one.

Julie Goodyear is right. Well done, Emma.

OK, Judith, in which year

was Fawlty Towers first broadcast on British television?

-Fawlty Towers?

-Fawlty Towers.

Well, not in 1985.

Was it as long ago as '65?

And there were only 12 made, weren't there?

I-I... Oh, dear, I'm torn between '65 and '75.

I'm trying to think of the clothes.

I think it was '75.

Yes, it was '75...

-Phew. I so nearly went '65, and then...

-How did we get there?

There are quite a lot of references to car strikes in it.

-Oh, were there?

-Yeah.

-I was thinking of sideburns and things,

and that's more '70s than '60s.

1975 is correct. One each, back to you, Emma.

Rory Reid and Chris Harris have co-presented

which of these TV series?

Um, I've never watched Top Gear.

I have seen The Great British Bake Off

and I'm pretty sure they're not on it,

so I'm going to guess Gardeners' World.

I might have gone that way too, but it is actually Top Gear.

OK. So Judith has a chance

to take the lead on the second question.

Judith, who provided the voice of the adult Elsa

in 2013 animated film Frozen?

I've absolutely no idea cos I haven't seen it.

Kristen Bell.

No, it's Idina Menzel, famously referred to

by John Travolta by accident as "Adele Dazeem"...

-Oh...

-..when he misread her name at the Oscars.

So it's still one each.

Emma, On Days Like These,

written by Quincy Jones and performed by Matt Monro,

is the theme song to which Michael Caine film?

Uh...

Again, I haven't seen any of those films.

Although I have kind of a vague sense of The Italian Job.

Um...

I think I'm going to go with...

..Funeral In Berlin.

It's The Italian Job.

And Judith, you have a chance to take the round with this question.

Emmanuel Lubezki, born in Mexico City in 1964,

has won multiple Academy Awards in which field?

I can never do these things.

I'm going to say cinematography and hope for the best.

OK, cinematography.

I'm just wondering if he's the guy who did Birdman. Was he?

I think he is. I think he's an associate of Inarritu.

Yeah, cinematography is the right answer, Judith,

well done, you've taken the round.

Emma, sorry, beaten by our Egghead,

not in the final. Judith will be there.

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

So, Emmanuel Lubezki, who you rightly said was a cinematographer,

three films, three Oscars in a row,

hadn't happened in that category before.

It was...Gravity...

-Yeah.

-..then Birdman....

-..then The Revenant.

-Really?

Yeah. So he's very good.

As it stands, Back to Life have lost a brain from the final round,

so they're just biding their time on the Challengers' side.

The Eggheads are all still there.

The next subject for you to have a tilt at is Arts & Books.

Who would like this?

What do you think, guys?

Anyone...want Art & Books?

I don't think anybody particularly wants it.

Is anyone prepared to do Arts & Books?

THEY SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER

-OK, I can do it.

-Sure?

-Fine, yeah.

OK, Charlie, against which Egghead?

-Can't be Judith.

-I will take on Dave, please.

-OK.

Charlie from Back to Life taking on

Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads.

Please, both of you, go to the Question Room now.

Well, good luck on the Arts & Books round.

I know you're a software engineer. You're up against Dave here.

Would you like to go first or second?

Uh... First, please.

And here we go. Long John Silver is a character in which book?

Charlie, is it...?

Er, I hope I remember this rightly from my childhood.

I read this book on holiday, two or three times,

and I think it's Treasure Island.

Treasure Island is correct. Well done.

OK, Dave, over to you.

The land of Lilliput, inhabited by tiny people,

is the creation of which writer?

Lilliput is Gulliver's Travels, so Jonathan Swift.

That's right, Jonathan Swift.

One each, and we go back to you, Charlie.

The birthplace of the artist Titian is in which modern-day country?

Um, I seem to recall very vaguely

maybe seeing some of his work when I was on holiday in Italy,

so I think that's the most likely option,

so I'm going to say Italy.

Italy is correct.

You're steaming along here.

Dave, the Beat Generation

was a literary movement based in which country in the 1950s?

Thinking of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, so USA.

USA is correct.

Two each, nothing to choose

between you so far.

Charlie, third question could be crucial.

Which French writer,

whose works include La Henriade and Oedipe,

was imprisoned in the Bastille for 11 months in 1717,

after writing satirical verses about the aristocracy?

OK, yes, not quite my field.

But I do have some memory that Voltaire is generally a bit of

an iconoclast, so...

..on the balance of probabilities, I'm going to go for Voltaire.

Voltaire is the right answer. Well done.

Three out of three, very good.

Dave, to stay in.

Bertram, Helena and Parolles are all characters

in which of Shakespeare's plays?

-Bertram... Helena?

-Yeah.

And Parolles. Oh, dear, I'm in trouble here.

Let's go for...

Not going to end well, but All's Well That Ends Well.

No, it's ended well, or it's not ended.

All's Well That Ends Well is the right answer.

Well done, 3-3.

So the scores are level, and we go to Sudden Death, Charlie.

Gets a bit harder, I don't give you different options.

Here we go.

In a famous 1939 novel, which character says of himself,

"I was neat, clean, shaved and sober and I didn't care who knew it.

"I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be."?

So, I am a fan of the detective story,

and I'm not sure I can fish this one out. Um...

No, I think I'm confusing it with the actor,

but I'm going to say Jack Lemmon.

Yeah, Jack Lemmon is the actor.

It's The Big Sleep, and it's Raymond Chandler's book,

and it's therefore Philip Marlowe, OK?

So Philip Marlowe is the answer.

You're not gone yet.

Dave has to get this right to win the round.

Rosalind Howard, who was born in 1845

and was known as the Radical Countess,

was the inspiration for one of the main characters

in which play by George Bernard Shaw?

-Rosalind Howard?

-Yes.

Radical Countess...

Could be blindingly obvious... and I'm just not getting there?

I'm going to go Major Barbara.

Major Barbara is the right answer. Well done, Dave.

You got it. Good quizzing.

And, sorry, Charlie, bad luck with your Philip Marlowe.

You're beaten by our Egghead.

Return to us, please, we'll play round three.

So, a little bit tricky for our Challengers Back to Life.

They have lost two brains from the final round, and the Eggheads,

well, they are in good form at the moment - they haven't lost any.

The next subject for you is Sport.

Who wants to take on Sport?

-I will.

-OK, Clive, the team captain, against which Egghead?

And you can have any of the three in the middle.

-I'll go with Barry.

-Very good.

-How's that, Barry?

-Could be better, but we shall see.

Clive from Back to Life to take on Barry from the Eggheads on Sport.

Please, gentlemen, take your positions.

So, Clive, how was it that you swapped jackets

with Keith Moon of The Who?

I was waiting outside a Slaughter & The Dogs concert in 1977,

and around the corner came this very well-dressed guy in a tuxedo,

looking very smart, and he walked up to me and said,

"I would like to go into this gig, please,

"but I can't go in dressed like this. Can I swap jackets?"

And I was wearing a very nice zipped leather jacket at the time,

and I said, "Yes, of course, but providing that you sign the jacket."

It was Keith Moon of The Who.

JEREMY CHUCKLES

So he couldn't go in in a white jacket

cos it was a punk gig, I suppose.

Exactly, he was embarrassed.

Was that...? Were you working in the whole punk music zone then?

Yes, I was. I was working with a lot of the bands around at that time,

mainly in merchandising, but also promoting bands and publishing.

And I worked for NME as well, as a journalist for a while.

-Was it as good as I remember?

-Oh, absolutely.

-Real music.

-Best years of my life.

-Yeah, brilliant.

OK, well, good luck here, taking on the great Barry, Barry the brain,

on Sport, and Clive, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first.

Here's your first question, Clive.

As of September 2016, what is

the capacity of Anfield football stadium?

Well, I don't think it's going to be 34,000.

I've been there several times...

..and they've got a very large Kop there.

Um, 2016...

I'm just wondering whether they were doing any...

..ground repairs or anything.

Definitely not 34.

I'll go with 44,000.

-Do you know this, Barry?

-Well, I would've gone for 44,000.

Yeah, but then again, I think when they rebuild, they usually put

another 20,000 in, don't they?

So it's 54.

OK, Barry,

how many times did Pete Sampras win the Wimbledon men's singles title?

Pete Sampras.

Oh, it's not three.

Pistol Pete. Trying to remember.

I think five is too few. I'm going to go for seven.

Seven is the right answer, Barry.

So Barry takes the lead. Clive,

try and get this one right.

Which snooker player, known for his fast play,

was nicknamed the Maltese Falcon?

I don't think it's Kirk Stevens

cos he was quite a relaxed sort of player.

Tony Drago is very famous as a pool player

as much as a snooker player.

Pool players tend to play very fast.

There may be a link to Malta in his name, as well.

I will go with Tony Drago.

I love your logic. Tony Drago is quite right.

OK, Barry, to take the lead.

In early 2017, it was announced that which British athlete would receive

an additional Olympic bronze medal after athletes who finished ahead

of her at the 2008 Olympic Games were belatedly disqualified?

I think that was Kelly Sotherton.

It was Kelly Sotherton. Well done.

So he's got two and you've got one. You must get this one right, Clive,

to stay in. Here's your question, third question.

Which Italian football club has won more Serie A titles than any other?

Well, they've all won the title a lot of times.

Juventus is certainly the team on the up -

I think they've won it for the last four years.

But historically, they've also been winners multiple times.

Inter, probably less so.

I'll go with Juventus.

Juventus is the right answer.

Over 30 times, actually, so they've done very, very well.

Barry, your question. You can take the round with this,

cos you haven't got one wrong.

Which English Test cricketer announced his retirement

from the game in April 2017 at the age of 25?

Oh, my goodness me, this one passed me by completely.

25 is very young to retire from cricket.

Normally the cricketers go on till their late 30s.

So I really don't know on this,

and it's...apologies to my contestant

if I'm lucky enough to get it right, but with no idea whatsoever,

I think Ben Duckett is still playing, so I'll go for Jake Ball.

You've just gone the wrong way.

Zafar Ansari is the answer.

Went into a career in law, Barry - that is what he was thinking of.

Oh, right.

So it's two each after three questions - level.

We go to Sudden Death again and, Clive, it gets

that little bit harder cos I don't give you alternative options.

Which golfer, nicknamed Slamming Sam,

won the US Masters on three occasions between 1949 and 1954?

Sam Snead.

Sam Snead is the right answer.

He won in '49, '52 and '54.

Well done. That's a good answer.

Now, Barry, to stay in, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov,

nicknamed the Tashkent Terror,

was a prominent name in which sport during the 1990s?

The Tashkent Terror...

I don't know, something's telling me that he might have been

a cyclist, so I shall go for cycling.

Cycling is the right answer.

-Oh!

-Well done.

So, level, Sudden Death.

And we go back to you, Clive, team captain. Fighting well.

Which Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer and nonprofessional golfer

holed a putt of over 150 feet

at a pro-am tournament in Scotland in 2012,

widely reported as the longest televised putt of all time?

Well, I'm trying to think of a big swimmer.

Most of them are big.

Ian Thorpe is the one that would come to my mind

as having huge arms.

I'll go with Ian Thorpe.

No, it's even... It's, in a way, even more obvious than that.

-Michael Phelps.

-Oh.

All right. Barry, to take the round,

in which year did the Russian gymnast Alexander Dityatin

win eight Olympic medals?

Russian gymnast, eight Olympic medals...

I don't know...

..so I shall go for the obvious year when the Olympics were held

in Moscow, and I'll say 1980.

1980 is the right answer, Barry. You've taken the round.

Sorry, Clive, you've been knocked out there,

beaten by our Egghead.

Come back to us, please, both of you.

One more round to play before the final.

As it stands, Back to Life have lost three brains now

from the final round,

and the Eggheads are still all there, in a manner of speaking.

The next subject is Geography.

So just this round before the final.

-Who wants this?

-Better be me.

-It's you, isn't it?

-Martin.

-Martin. OK.

Our NHS manager, against either Pat or Beth.

-Who do you think, Clive?

-Beth.

Beth.

Right, Martin from Back to Life versus Beth from the Eggheads.

Let's see what happens in this last round before the final.

Take your positions, please.

So you're doing the rear defence here, aren't you, Martin?

-Seems like it.

-And people often say you look like Ed Miliband?

Uh, yeah, sadly!

Well, with or without the glasses, I'm just trying to work it out.

-Does he wear glasses?

-Want to have a quick look?

Yeah, maybe that's right. What do you think, Beth?

Yeah, a little bit, without.

So Geography, Martin - would you like to go first or second?

Oh, let's go first.

And your first question -

the city of Chicago is in which US state?

Ooh. Um, well, I've got a friend who is a lecturer at

the University of Illinois,

and I recently missed his wedding because I've just had a child,

and he told me to fly to Chicago, so I'm going to say Illinois.

Illinois is the right answer.

Beth, what is the approximate population

of the Republic of Ireland?

4.6 million doesn't seem like very many at all.

I think you always think there's slightly more people...

..than there are.

Let's go with 24.6 million people.

24.6, wow.

Erm, you know, this will really surprise you -

it's 4.6.

Really? I am very, very surprised, yeah.

-So you've...

-Out by...

-..added another 80%. Yeah.

Martin,

Douglas is the capital of which British Crown dependency?

Oh, I went to university with a lady from the Isle of Man,

so I think it's the Isle of Man.

Isle of Man is quite right. Well done.

So you've got two.

Beth, if you don't get this right, you'll be out, in the sin bin.

-Mm-hm.

-Which is the most populated Nordic country?

From those, I think it must be Sweden.

Sweden is correct, Beth, well done.

So one to Beth.

You can end it if you get this right, Martin.

Which Asian country is known as the land of a million elephants?

Oh...

I know it's not Japan...

..cos that's the land of the rising sun.

So it's between Cambodia and Laos.

I'm going to go for Laos and kick myself if it's Cambodia.

Laos is the right answer. Well done, Martin,

you've won the round, so you are in the final.

So a bit of a comeback now. Beth, knocked out.

Return to us, both, please, both of you,

and we'll play the final round for £16,000.

So a very exciting moment, this is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for our final round, and as always, it's 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 it's Clive,

Charlie and Emma from Back to Life, and Beth from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio.

OK, Steve and Martin, and then there were two.

You are playing to win Back to Life £16,000.

Really good jackpot at the moment.

Dave, Barry, Pat and Judith, you're playing for something

that money can't buy, which is the Eggheads' reputation

and just to keep this run going.

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

They're all General Knowledge.

You can chat about your answers before you give them.

So, Back to Life, the question is,

can your two brains destroy these four?

And would you like to go first or second?

Erm, I think we'll go first, actually.

OK, Steve, Martin, all the best.

In terms of television viewing technology,

if HD stands for high definition,

for what does SD typically stand?

-That's got to be standard definition, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

We'll go for standard definition.

Steve, that's absolutely right, standard definition. Well done.

Eggs, here is your question,

your first question.

Which of these words can mean decency or honesty?

-Probity.

-Probity?

-Yeah.

-Probity?

-Probity.

We think that's probity.

Probity, it is. Well done.

Here's your question, Challengers.

A lawyer called Tulkinghorn appears in which Charles Dickens novel?

-Do you have any idea?

-No...to be honest.

I'm trying to think.

My first thought was David Copperfield,

-but I have no confidence in that.

-If he's a lawyer,

I'm guessing some sort of plotline around inheritance and...

I have not done Dickens, so I'm looking at you.

No, I'm pretty much guessing, so...

Shall we go with David Copperfield?

-Shall we?

-Well...

-Go on, then.

-..one of three.

We'll go for David Copperfield, Jeremy, please.

David Copperfield. Shall I check with them and see if they know?

Do you know Tulkinghorn?

It's Bleak House, which incidentally is the only Dickens novel

that's narrated by a woman - Esther Summerson.

So it's Bleak House.

OK, Eggheads, you have the chance to take the lead.

Since 1990, what has been the sole official language of Namibia?

-Must be English.

-Got to be English.

-I don't see any reason...

The Chinese have heavy investments, I believe, in Namibia,

-but it's not the official language.

-Would they make it...?

-I don't think there's any Danish connections.

-No.

Maybe, was that German...?

In south-west Africa, yes, but I'm pretty certain it's English.

It must be English.

-Yes, I would say so.

-I'm sure. It must be English.

We're not certain, but we think it should be English.

English is correct.

2-1. It means you must

get this one right, Challengers, to keep the contest alive.

Olga Khokhlova, Marie-Therese Walter and Fernande Olivier

were muses of which painter?

I think that's Picasso.

I think so as well.

I know it's not Dali, cos it doesn't sound...

-He wasn't renowned for doing...

-No.

-..portraits.

-And I don't think it's Van Gogh.

-Yeah.

I went to the Picasso Museum in Antibes last summer,

but I don't remember seeing any of the names.

-But I think it's Picasso.

-Picasso seems... Yeah.

We're going to say it's Picasso, Jeremy.

Picasso is your answer.

If you've got this right, we play on.

If it's wrong, the contest is over.

It is Picasso. Well done. You got it right.

Still in there, drawing level with the Eggheads.

Eggheads, you've got a question in hand.

If you get this right, the contest is over.

The American Roy Halston Frowick, who died in 1990

and was commonly known as Halston, found fame as what?

-Fashion designer.

-OK.

-Yeah?

-Nothing there. Never heard of him.

Very good.

I'm advised by Judith he was a fashion designer.

If you're right, the contest is over and you've won.

If you're wrong, we go to Sudden Death.

The correct answer is fashion designer.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Well, there we are, Clive. We had the contest.

Yes, we've had a wonderful experience,

and I think we got quite close at some stages.

Yeah, indeed, and with two in the final, it can certainly happen,

and it's always just the odd question.

I hope you enjoyed it, Clive.

We've all had a wonderful day.

Thank you very much for coming, Clive.

Thank you, Steve and Martin as well.

It's tough in the final, isn't it?

Particularly with four of them there.

You know, their brains are working,

the steam's coming out of their ears,

and they do love to quiz, these Eggs.

So commiserations to Back to Life,

but one of the best stories we've ever had in the studio from Clive.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £16,000, though,

so the money rolls over to our next show,

and the Eggheads will defend it.

And I wonder who will beat you, Eggheads.

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

can finally win this money,

cos there's going to be £17,000 to play for!

Until we quiz again, goodbye.