Episode 72 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!

And bouncing back at the moment, yeah?

-Yes.

-Finally.

-Taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are the Amazing Graces from London.

Now this team are all members of the Graces Cricket Club.

The only lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cricket club in the UK.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Jonathan, and I'm an English teacher.

Hello, I'm Phil, and I'm head of forestry insurance.

Hi, I'm Sam, I'm a programme director.

Hi, I'm Colin, and I'm a bus industry manager.

Hi, I'm Stuart, and I'm an independent financial adviser.

So, Jonathan and team, hello.

-ALL:

-Hello!

-Great to see you!

It's all around the cricket club, this, Jonathan. Yeah?

That's right, yes. It's our 21st season, this year.

Started with like-minded colleagues

who answered an advert many years ago

who were interested in cricket.

And then we realised we had enough people to get a team together,

and then we played and the ball kept rolling and rolling.

Fantastic! So you're based in West London,

but you move around and you play lots of matches elsewhere?

Yes, all around Greater London.

We've been on tour to Spain and Malta in the last couple of seasons.

So, always looking to expand our horizons.

And I'm assuming cricket is pretty seasonal.

You need good weather for it, don't you?

Yes, we start in May and finish in September.

Although we've been having some good summers recently, so nothing rained off.

Well, I hope this is part of your good summer here

and that you take the Eggheads down.

Good luck, Challengers.

-ALL:

-Thank you, thank you.

Everybody, there's £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for the challenging team.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Amazing Graces, the Eggheads have won just the last game.

They had a bit of a slip and a skid a few games ago.

and that means there is £2,000 for you to win today.

So, shall we try?

Oh, yes, yes, yes!

OK! The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of geography.

So one of you, please,

against either Lisa, Steve, Barry, Kevin, or Chris?

-I think it's...

-You want to go for it?

-Yeah, you should go...

OK, I'll take this one.

Jonathan? OK. Our English teacher against which Egghead?

Steve, should we go for Steve?

Well, we'd like to choose Steve.

They sound quite determined, this team of challengers.

Jonathan, from Amazing Graces, takes on Steve, from the Eggheads,

in the first round. Please, both of you,

go to our legendary Question Room.

Well, Jonathan, you've obviously travelled a lot.

Yeah, when I get the opportunity, I love to travel, Jeremy.

And you've been to Hawaii and shark diving?

Yeah! I think for most people that's on the bucket list of things to do.

I came back with all my fingers and toes,

so that was a great experience.

-I'd like to do it again.

-Did you see a shark?

Yeah, there were about 15 swimming around the cage.

Some of them about three metres long.

Oh, so it was like the film Jaws?

You actually have to go down in a cage?

Yeah, only on the surface, but they're there.

And we we're told, don't touch them.

-Don't touch them.

-OK, well, the same rule for the Eggheads.

LAUGHTER

So, geography, Jonathan, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first please, Jeremy.

And good luck. The city of Cardiff is located in which part of Wales?

I've been to Cardiff a couple of times,

and I would say it's definitely in the south.

South is correct.

Steve, Myanmar is a country in which continent?

-That's Asia, Jeremy.

-Also called?

-Burma.

-Burma. You're right.

Asia's correct. Jonathan,

what is the approximate population of South Korea?

Well, I actually have Korean students at my language school,

so I think they will be pressurising me here.

I know it's smaller than the UK.

But I think more than 11.

I think, Jeremy, I will go...

..for 51 million.

I'm so glad you did, you're right!

Well done! All right, Steve.

Which of these countries lies on the Red Sea?

I think that Eritrea, Jeremy.

It is indeed Eritrea.

On the right-hand side of Africa

when you look at the map, you're right.

OK, level. And, Jonathan, the third question could be crucial.

What are the pamperos of South America?

The pamperos.

And it's P-A-M-P-E-R-O-S.

Right. My Spanish is very limited.

I know they've got glaciers in Argentina.

I think I'm going to go for winds, Jeremy.

What do we think, team-mates?

-We like that.

-He's right.

They like it a lot! Winds is correct!

Three out of three, Jonathan. Well done!

Well done! OK, Steve.

To stay in, what is the highest point in the Chilterns?

There's only one I've heard of.

Well, that's dangerous.

I'm going to have to go to with the one I've heard of.

It could very possibly be somewhere else.

But I'll say Cleeve Hill.

Anyone help us where Cleeve Hill is, Eggheads?

I thought it was that.

So Kevin thought it was that?

Butser Hill's in Hampshire.

Cleve Hill is actually the highest point of the Cotswolds!

Butser Hill, South Downs.

Haddington Hill was the answer, Steve.

You've been knocked out. Well done, Jonathan.

There we are, guys!

You made it look easy!

3-2 in the first round, Jonathan is in the final!

-Please return to us, we'll play on.

-Wow!

Great start for our challengers, wasn't it?

Amazing Graces have not lost any brains from the final,

the Eggheads have lost a brain.

And the next subject for you, Challengers, is music.

Who wants this?

Colin, Colin should do it.

-OK.

-I can't, I can't do music.

Phil, what about you doing music?

-Yeah, you can do music.

-It could be anything?

It could, but go for it.

-Go on.

-Phil, you're our fall guy.

-Yes.

-I...

Oh!

Great! I'm the fall guy!

OK, Phil. Well done.

If I was to choose a subject, this wouldn't be it.

Let us, let us have a go.

OK, against which Egghead?

Anyone but Steve.

-What do you think, guys?

-I've never seen Chris do music on the show.

OK. Should we go for Chris?

OK, yeah, we've chosen Chris.

Right, well you might be in luck there.

Cos you have your moments on music, Chris, don't you?

I do? Depends on what you mean by music, of course.

Exactly. So Phil from Amazing Graces,

versus Chris from The Eggheads.

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

All right, so music, Phil, would you like to go first or second?

I will go first please, Jeremy.

Good luck, Phil. Here we go against Chris.

Traditionally, musicians from which part of the world are most likely to

use maracas?

Well, I was wondering maracas sounded like a country to me,

but I think certainly not East Asia.

And, not North Africa as I've been there a few times.

So I'll go for Latin America.

Latin America's right.

Chris, your go now.

"Hell is gone and Heaven's here, there's nothing left for you to fear,"

are the opening lyrics to which Robbie Williams song?

Ah, a local lad from Stoke, that's Let Me Entertain You.

Let Me Entertain You's quite right.

Phil, over to you.

Who wrote the 1832 play, Le roi s'amuse,

upon which Verdi's opera, Rigoletto, is based?

I think it is...

..Jean-Paul Sartre.

Let's check with the Eggheads, is he right?

No, I think it's Victor Hugo.

Victor Hugo is the right answer.

Le roi s'amuse, The King Amuses Himself.

OK, Chris has a chance to take the lead now.

The Ukrainian-born musician, Isaac Stern,

was best known for his skill with which instrument?

Chris...

Ah... Well, it's not flute.

Isaac Stern...

..was a violinist. So violin.

How did you do that by just staring at me really intensely?

Going in my mind through the sleeve notes

of my collection of classical records.

Find the names, seeing what he did.

Well, amazing brain you've got!

Violin is the right answer.

So he's ahead, Phil.

This is tricky. Get this one right, and you are still alive.

Which singer featured on the UK top ten singles,

Never Forget You and the Lush Life?

Jeremy, this is, this is a bit of a challenge.

But, I think I'm going to go for Zara Larsson.

OK, Phil. Your answer is Zara Larsson.

If you've got it right, you're still in it.

Zara Larsson is the right answer.

OK, Chris.

The keyboardist Jeff Nichols, who died in 2017,

was a long-time member of which of these bands?

If you get this right, you're in the final, Chris.

Oh, keyboard.

Heavy metal, not my thing.

Unless we're talking engineering.

Yeah, I have to go AC/DC.

It's not AC/DC or Led Zeppelin.

It's Black Sabbath.

So, after three questions each, the scores are level.

We go to Sudden Death.

Phil, it gets a little bit harder.

I don't give you different options, OK?

Here we go. Sonatas and Interludes is a collection of piano pieces

composed in the 1940s by which American avant-garde composer?

1940s composer.

I think perhaps Leonard Bernstein?

No, John Cage.

Chris, for the round.

Maxine Chrisman, also known as Lefty Lou,

was an early radio partner of which US folk singer born in 1912?

That would've been Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie is the right answer.

Chris, you've taken the round on music.

Phil, sorry beaten by our Egghead there, please return to us,

and we will see what round three holds.

As it stands, Amazing Graces have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost one, too.

So, we're perfectly level going into round three.

And it's film and TV.

Who would like this?

-Colin.

-It's definitely you.

-I'll go for it.

-We'll go Colin.

-Colin.

Colin. A bus industry manager, against which Egghead?

It can't be Chris or Steve, so...

Barry is always going to be difficult.

We're going to go for Barry.

Yeah, difficult is one way of describing Barry, for sure.

The only way.

Colin from Amazing Graces takes on Barry from the Eggheads,

please, gentlemen, take your positions.

Film and TV, then, against Barry.

Colin, would you like to go first or second?

Think I'd like to go first please, Jeremy.

Good luck. At the 2017 Oscars ceremony,

who incorrectly announced La La Land

as the winner of the Best Picture award?

Ah, I remember there was a lot of fuss about this in the newspapers.

There were two presenters,

but I don't remember Diane Keaton being involved.

And I'm not so sure...

..about Jane. Can I go for Faye Dunaway, please?

Faye Dunaway is correct, yeah.

Well done, Colin. Barry,

which of these Tom Hanks films was released first?

Oh, goodness me. Oh!

That's another one where I'm all at sea.

I'm not sure on this at all.

I'm going to go for Big.

-Big is right.

-Oh!

He looks vulnerable here, Colin.

-I think you can take him.

-We have just got to try.

The TV medical drama ER was set in a fictional hospital in which US city?

Oh, my first choice isn't even on the list.

So, that's interesting.

I don't somehow think it was San Francisco.

And somehow New York doesn't want to jump in, so,

I think I'm going to go for Chicago.

What was your first choice?

My first choice, for some reason, I was thinking Baltimore.

But I must be confusing TV shows.

Yeah, that's The Wire, isn't it?

-Ah, The Wire.

-Chicago is the right answer, well done.

I'm just pleased Baltimore wasn't up there.

-Cos it would've...

-It would've thrown me.

It would've thrown you. Well done, two out of two, Colin.

Playing well. Barry,

what is the profession of Will Smith's character in the 1998 action film

Enemy of the State?

Oh, I've not seen this one,

so, again, I'm struggling.

Enemy of the State.

I don't know, but I'm going to discount soldier.

Perhaps it seems a bit obvious, but I don't think that.

You could argue a case for both a lawyer and a reporter

being classed as an enemy of the state.

But I'm going to say reporter.

-Eggheads?

-I think he's a lawyer.

Lawyer is the answer.

Again, wrong choice!

-Come on.

-Now,

rather interestingly poised, you can take the lead as a team.

And, Colin, you can go into the final with just this question.

The actress and singer Dale Evans

was married to which of these actors?

Dale Evans.

Well, that's a difficult one,

because I must admit I've got no idea who Dale Evans is.

For some reason I just have an inkling that it could be Roy Rogers.

Because for some reason I think John Wayne and Clint Eastwood had higher

profile named wives, where as Dale to me is nothing I can register.

So, I'm going to take Roy Rogers.

Roy Rogers is the right answer.

Well done. All right, we say well done, Colin.

You took on an Egghead, you emerged triumphant.

Barry has been in a bit of a sticky phase recently, haven't you?

Yes, but it will end soon.

It will end soon, he's always positive.

Come back to us. One more round to play before the final.

So, as it stands, Amazing Graces have lost one brain from the final round,

whilst the Eggheads have lost two. This is actually looking good.

Jonathan, you are skippering it well here.

Yeah, I'm really pleased with the team.

We're flying the flag, flying the flag, Jeremy.

OK, the next subject for you is history.

So, this subject then the final.

-Who wants history?

-Oh.

-One too soon.

-OK, it's going to be me.

-I think...

-It's not my strong point.

Um, yeah, Stuart is going to take this one on.

OK, Stuart, our independent financial adviser.

And you've got Lisa or Kevin left.

-Not easy.

-I'll take on Lisa.

I think we're thinking... Have Lisa, please.

Stuart from Amazing Graces versus the amazing Lisa from the Eggheads.

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

go to our Question Room.

So as well as the cricket, Stuart, you play squash as well.

Oh, I'm an avid squash player.

I love it, actually. Yeah, I play quite a lot.

Cos they say... I know you're not 40 yet,

but if you get to 40 and you're playing squash,

you've got to play twice a week or never.

Well, at the moment, I'm playing twice a week,

and I'm only a couple of weeks away from being 40,

so I've got to keep it going, I guess.

It's an explosive sport, isn't it?

It is, it can be pretty rough on the knees, but it keeps you vaguely fit,

so that's the advantage.

And you went to the first LGBT squash tournament in Cape Town?

The inauguration.

It was a great event in Cape Town, just a couple years ago,

and it's absolutely brilliant.

I loved it, and I hope we do it again soon.

You're against Lisa on history, and if you get into the final,

you really will have discombobulated the Eggheads completely.

-I hope so.

-So good luck here, Stuart,

would you like to go first or second?

We've all gone first so far and we seem to be in a relatively strong

position, so I'm going to stick with that and...

Give me the first question.

And here is your first question, good luck.

Which English king summoned the so-called short Parliament of 1640,

the first Parliament to be summoned for 11 years?

Oh, dear me.

It might just be a little stab here, let's see if I can...

..find the right one.

So 1640, let's go down to the right, I'm going to go Richard I.

It's not Richard I, let's ask Lisa this.

-Lisa?

-Yeah, it's Charles I.

He's the only one who worked on the dates.

Charles I is the answer, Stuart.

-Of course.

-Lisa.

The Battle of Arnhem was a major battle

in which 20th-century conflict?

OK, I think we can say fairly safely shelve the Korean War

and then it's a straight fight between the other two.

Honestly, I can never keep these straight in my head.

Quick think.

I can't remember. I can't remember. World War II.

Let's go to, Chris.

Chris? This is the bridge too far, isn't it?

It's the bridge too far, yeah.

Airborne assault basically to capture the bridges over the Rhine.

They went for the bridges at Arnhem not knowing that in the immediate

vicinity, there were two SS Panzer divisions refitting.

I wouldn't say it was a turning point in the war,

but it was a bold attempt to seize the bridges over the Rhine.

OK, World War II is the right answer, then.

Your second question now, Stuart.

The 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which 69 demonstrators were killed

by police took place in which country?

Sharpeville doesn't sound particularly Irish to me.

A massacre in the US, I'm not entirely sure.

I'm going to stick with right again,

I'm going to go South Africa on this one, Jeremy.

Indeed, South Africa is right.

OK, Lisa, your question.

Where was the explorer James Cook born in 1728?

I even remember seeing the monument and I thought,

"I must make a special note of this because it will remind me

"where James Cook was born."

And now, for the life of me, I can't even remember where it was. So...

Yorkshire is niggling me.

I'll go for Yorkshire.

Well, you've got a fellow Yorkshire person at the desk,

-Barry, are you...?

-I'm very happy with that answer.

It's OK, you're fine, he was on the edge there for a moment.

Yorkshire is the right answer, well done.

All right, Stuart, your question.

-You need to get this one right.

-Yup.

What was the value of a groat,

an English coin taken out of circulation in the 17th century?

A groat.

I haven't even a point of reference.

There was a six penny piece,

was that a nickname called a groat, maybe?

Um, I haven't really heard of a coin for a four pence,

so I'm going to stay away from that one.

Groat implies it's something smaller than two,

however maybe a six pence might...

..be the coin. I think I'm going to go with...

ooh...

Groat implies is very small, but I really want to go the six pence.

So I'm going to go the six pence, actually.

OK. The answer is four pence.

Oh, dear, both wrong!

Sorry, Stuart, knocked out by Lisa, who will be in the final.

Please return to us, we'll play that final round for £2,000.

So this is what we've been playing towards -

it is time for our final round,

which, as always, is general knowledge,

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

allowed to take part in this round.

So, that's Phil and Stuart from Amazing Graces,

and also Steve and Barry from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

So here we are, Jonathan, Sam and Colin,

you are now playing to win Amazing Graces £2,000.

Lisa, Kevin and Chris, you're playing for something that money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

this time they're all general knowledge.

And you are allowed to confer.

So, Challengers, the question is

can your three brains defeat these three Eggs over here?

And would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first, Jeremy.

OK, Sam, Jonathan, Colin, good luck.

And here we go with your first question.

Which woman married the multimillionaire hedge fund manager James Matthews

in June 2017?

-I think it's...

-Yeah, it was quite a big society wedding.

Definitely not Geri Halliwell.

-Yeah.

-No, this was very recent, it can't be those other names.

-It was Pippa Middleton, isn't it?

-It was a big society wedding.

We're going to go with Pippa Middleton, Jeremy.

Pippa Middleton is the right answer.

Well done, first point to you.

Eggheads, the adventurer and author Sir Ranulph Fiennes

was once a member of which of these military outfits?

..regiments, would be SAS, wouldn't it?

That's a sort of a logic...

It would fit with his talents, wouldn't it?

Yeah. It would, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

-Or is that what we're meant to think. I'd say, yeah.

OK.

I would have gone with the SAS left to my own devices.

Yeah. OK. That's fair enough.

We'll try, we're not certain, Jeremy, but we'll try the SAS.

It's the correct answer.

Well done, you didn't overthink it.

Second question to our challengers.

Charlotte Bronte wrote under which pen name?

OK, I saw that...

I saw that dramatisation. And it was Currer Bell.

So I'm pretty sure it's Currer Bell.

-You sure? Sure?

-I think we should go with Currer Bell.

We're going to go with Currer Bell, Jeremy.

Currer Bell is right.

Back to you, Eggheads.

Which Premier League football team did the PFA Player of the Year N'Golo Kante

represent during the 2016/17 season?

It's Chelsea.

He moved from somewhere, didn't he?

Well, he moved from Leicester.

That's why I've got Leicester in my head.

During the Leicester City's amazing season of 2015-16,

he was a member of that team, but then he moved on,

he was bought by Chelsea. So Chelsea.

Chelsea is the right answer.

OK, third question to you.

You're playing well, Challengers.

What does the S stand for in the computing abbreviation USB?

-Serial, serial, serial.

-I'm not sure.

-Serial, serial.

-Serial, serial.

-What would the B stand for?

-I think serial.

-Universal serial board?

-Or something?

-Yeah, I think it's serial.

I'll go with your choice.

OK, we'll go with serial, Jeremy.

Serial is your answer.

Do you know it stands for, Eggs?

Universal serial bus.

Yeah. Universal serial bus.

-Well done, well done.

-Serial's the right answer.

Three out of three, is it enough?

If they get this wrong, you've won.

£2,000, we're playing for.

Here's your question, Eggheads.

To the nearest million,

how many votes the Donald Trump receive in the 2016 presidential election?

And obviously Hillary got a bit.

3 million more, didn't she?

But if he got, let's say he got 93, and she got 96.

That brings you up to a little bit under 200 million.

A bit under 200 million.

Which is about two thirds of the entire population voting.

If he got 63 and she got 66, then you've got about 130.

That's less and half the entire... Was the turnout that...

..that low?

Well, as you say, basically, it depends what proportion

of your voting population is part of your total population

to start off with, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-So if you assume that of that 300 million

there is maybe 50, 50-100 million that are kids, or...

...naturalised citizens or whoever who can't vote.

Yeah. We are inclining towards the lowest one here?

That would be my reasoning.

-Yeah.

-On that mathematical basis, but it's pretty...

-..it's pretty tenuous.

-It's tenuous, yes, it's always...

66 sounds about right.

I mean, it's roughly about 130 all told.

-OK?

-Yep.

-63.

-And be damned.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-We're going to go for the lowest one, Jeremy, 63.

63 million is the right answer.

-Well done, Kevin.

-He got there very methodically,

so scores level after three questions, we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a bit harder, I don't give you alternative answers.

So, Amazing Graces, here is your first Sudden Death question.

In 2017, the 62-year-old Lubiana Himid

became the oldest person nominated for which £25,000 prize?

-£25,000.

-A 25,000 prize,

it would be something significant but it's not...

..it's not an earth-shattering...

Could it be in literature? Literature, perhaps?

Then again, age doesn't... Age isn't really a factor.

-It sounds like somebody from an Asian background.

-Yeah.

Would it be something to do with peace-making or something courageous?

For £25,000.

It could be the books, or it could be the peace prize or something.

-Could be...

-I think I'd like to go with the Man Booker prize, but I'll leave it to you.

Um, what about the Nobel...?

-Nobel, yeah?

-Yeah, I'm really struggling here.

And what about the movies or something?

-You need to know which category...

-But that's not financial, is it?

It's going to be... So, Nobel Peace Prize?

Do you get nominated?

Yeah, you get nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I'm not so sure, it's a panel.

-So Booker's?

-I think the Man Booker Prize.

-Yeah?

-OK. I really have...

-We are going to go with the Man Booker Prize.

-The Man Booker Prize.

OK. So for this prize, the age limit of 50 was scrapped in 2017,

that's why this is interesting. Do you know it?

-I think it's the Turner.

-Turner Prize.

Oh, the arts.

The art prize. I was listening carefully for it to see whether it just

would pop up in your discussion, but it didn't quite...

I suppose Man Booker is heading that way, isn't it?

No, it stumped us, Jeremy.

-Stumped us.

-Isn't it surprising that with something like art there would be age restrictions?

Yes, it is, and I see how you got into a corner on it.

OK, you're not out yet.

But if the Eggheads get this right, the contest is over.

On a standard QWERTY keyboard, there are three rows of letters,

how many letters are there on the bottom of these three rows?

Z, X, C, V, B, N, M.

That looks like a seven to me.

-I think that's right.

-OK.

We think that's seven, Jeremy. Seven letters on the bottom row.

Seven is your answer, and Lisa named Z, X, C, V, B, N, M.

That is the correct sequence and the number is seven.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

APPLAUSE

Commiserations, Amazing Graces.

That last surprise one...

Although, I suppose the Eggheads knew that, so that's,

that makes it easier to bear.

But that was a tough old one without the information.

So the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

they still reign supreme over Quizland,

you're building up a little bit of steam again, Eggs.

It does mean our challengers don't go home with the £2,000,

so we roll the money over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations.

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

to give us as good a game as we've had today.

£3,000 says they can't win.

Till then, goodbye.