Episode 84 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.

-Are you ready for action?

-Definitely.

-Yes.

-Brilliant.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today are the Bar Staff.

Now, this team all work together

in the education department of a prison in the South West of England.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi, I'm Viv, and I'm a hospitality lecturer.

Hi, I'm Nigel, and I'm a maths lecturer.

Hi, I'm Ian, and I'm a soap tutor.

Hi, I'm Nigel, and I'm an art tutor.

Hi, I'm Katie, and I'm a careers adviser.

-So, Viv and team, hello. ALL:

-Hello.

-Great to see you.

-So, you're all together in a prison, Viv?

-That's right, yes.

-OK.

And you're doing education and that kind of thing?

We all work in the education department now.

I'm a hospitality lecturer, so I do some cooking lessons

-and food hygiene qualifications and things like that.

-OK.

We've got a variety of subjects available.

On the basis that getting prisoners skilled up

-so they can get jobs in the outside world?

-On release, yes.

-OK. So, do you quiz together?

-No, we don't.

I'm probably the most regular quizzer.

-I go to a pub quiz.

-Oh, do you? Well, that counts.

But we've never quizzed together before.

But you had a little quiz-off in the prison

-to see who we had with us today?

-Some of my colleagues -

the other teachers - decided we wanted to do it

so we got some quiz books and read out some questions at lunchtime

and kept scores, and this is the result.

-Brilliant.

-The best of the best!

-Is there a chance

the quiz will be on in the prison and people will be cheering?

-I should imagine they will be watching it, yes.

-OK.

-Well, good luck, Challengers.

-Thank you.

Every day, there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers. However, if they don't win,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, Bar Staff, the Eggheads are on a roll, no question.

-They've won the last ten games.

-Ooh!

So, the prize is a good one -

£11,000. And they love it when it gets

into five figures, so they will defend it to the utmost.

-Won't you, Eggs?

-Mm-hm.

-Would you like to try and win?

-Absolutely.

-Yes.

-Very good.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Music,

so it's one of you, please, against either Dave,

Steve, Beth, Kevin or Judith.

Right, Music, then... Katie, I think that's you.

-That's me.

-Who would you like to take on?

-Dave, yeah?

-Katie to take on Dave.

-OK, brilliant stuff.

So, Katie from the Bar Staff taking on Dave -

Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads - on Music.

He's very good on the early '80s. To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

So, tell us what you do in the prison first, Katie.

I am a careers adviser.

So, helping people take a step outside?

Yeah, I do an assessment and find out their learning needs

and try and get them onto the appropriate courses for those needs

-to help them find work when they leave.

-And away from work,

you're a massive fan of the Manic Street Preachers.

Oh, humongous fan of the Manic Street Preachers!

-Really? Have you seen them live?

-Yeah, 20-plus times.

Oh, wow. OK, well, good luck. Music is your choice.

-Katie, would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

Here we go, against Dave.

Which famous song ends with the following lines -

"That stood against him Proud Edward's army

"And sent him homeward tae think again"?

And "tae" is spelled T-A-E.

I don't think it's The Skye Boat Song,

and I don't think it's Scotland The Brave.

I think it's Flower Of Scotland

because that's sung at international matches.

Very good. It is Flower Of Scotland. Well done.

Cos it would have been easy to go wrong there.

OK, Dave, your question. Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie

have both been members of which of these rock groups?

A rock group with a colourful history,

to say the least.

Fleetwood Mac.

Fleetwood Mac is quite right.

OK, one each.

Here's your question, Katie.

When was the singer Ellie Goulding born?

It's not 1976. She's not older than me.

I don't think it's 1986 either cos that would make her 30.

I think it's 1996.

-She's 1986.

-Oh!

-Sorry.

OK, Dave, your question to take the lead.

The singer Iggy Pop is most commonly associated with which band?

Three of my favourites.

I love The Cramps - Got Good Taste and all that business.

Don't think it's that.

The Miracles with Smokey Robinson - brilliant.

But I think he, still way into his 60s,

jumped into the crowd with The Stooges.

The Stooges is correct. Iggy Pop and The Stooges.

So, that means you need to get this one right to stay in, Katie.

Under what name did the singer Bernard Jewry

have top-ten singles in the UK during the 1970s and '80s?

So, Jewry is J-E-W-R-Y.

Erm...

I am taking a guess

at Captain Sensible.

Now, he was in The Damned.

What was his real name, Dave?

-Ray Burns.

-Ray Burns.

-Meat Loaf, Dave?

-Marvin Lee Aday.

Yeah, it was Alvin Stardust, Katie, who was Bernard Jewry.

So, Katie is knocked out by our Egghead. First round only.

Dave will be in the final. Please return to us

and we'll see what the next round holds.

Mention of Iggy Pop being in his 60s -

he actually turned 70 in 2017.

-Unbelievable.

-Born in 1947.

-Same year as Bowie.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-Of course, they worked together all the time.

-That's right, yeah.

As it stands, the Bar Staff have lost a brain from the final round.

No cause for panic yet, but we need to break out soon.

The Eggheads have not lost any. The next subject is Film & TV.

So, which of our prison staff want this?

OK, who fancies that?

Nigel? How do you feel about Film & TV?

-I don't mind doing it.

-Nigel B, our art tutor,

against which Egghead? And it can't be Dave.

-Who would you recommend?

-Kevin.

OK, I'll go for Kevin, if that's OK.

Brilliant stuff. So, Nigel B from the Bar Staff

versus Kevin from the Eggheads. To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in our legendary Question Room.

-So, Nigel, good luck. Film & TV.

-Mm-hm.

I thought you might have gone Arts & Books

cos I know you love painting.

Well, it's a bit of a gamble, really. It'll probably come up next!

Well, yes, of course, it may not come up - that's the thing.

-Do you paint yourself?

-Not as much as I'd like to now,

cos I've got small children and that,

and when you've got children,

you don't get time to do anything, really!

Yes, I noticed that myself!

And you have painted seascapes of Cornwall, particularly?

Seascapes, yeah, and I usually paint with my fingers and sticks, as well,

which sounds quite bizarre,

but it's quite a direct way of putting paint on.

And also just spending a morning doing that must be really relaxing,

-as well.

-Yeah, it goes on to the afternoon, evening.

You lose track of time.

You've also won a prize for throwing a Wellington boot at a school fete.

-Yeah, I did.

-Just to show we've done our research here.

-Well done!

-Yeah, it's all about technique, it is.

-Yeah.

Well, if you've got one with you, you can hit Kevin with it

-if he gets too far ahead.

-I've got my shoe or something.

Yeah, exactly. That's perfect! So, Film & TV, Nigel -

-would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

Nigel, good luck getting in the final. Here we go.

The classic film Casablanca is set during which war?

OK. I've got it at home on DVD.

Have I watched it? No.

It's got a few classic lines.

I'm going to go World War II.

Very good. World War II is right.

Brilliant film. Your question, Kevin. Natalie Portman

received an Oscar nomination in 2017

for her portrayal of which real-life figure?

Yes, I saw this. She played Jackie.

She played Jackie Kennedy, and it didn't go down well

with a lot of people, I think, who were expecting it to be about

the assassination or her life afterwards -

a proper biopic - whereas it's focused very closely,

very narrowly, on just the few days

succeeding the assassination and how she coped with that.

But a fantastic performance.

Jackie Kennedy is the right answer.

Back to you, Nigel. What is the name of

the seedy landlord played by Leonard Rossiter

in the TV sitcom Rising Damp?

OK, I think I know this one.

He wasn't Fletcher. Wasn't Boswell.

-He was definitely Rigsby.

-Yeah, Rigsby's right.

You and I are the same age. We know that.

-Miss Jones!

-That's right! LAUGHTER

Kevin, to catch up, in which city

is the 1949 film The Third Man set?

I actually made a point of seeing it when I went there.

It's in Vienna,

and there's a cinema on the Ringstrasse there

which shows it regularly.

But to see it in the place where it was filmed,

and very recognisable locations, is great. It's Vienna.

Vienna's right. Very good.

OK, so, over to you, Nigel, for your third question.

Who provides the voice for the title character

in the 2017 animated film The Boss Baby?

Tricky. I haven't seen the film.

I'm tempted to go Tom Hanks.

He's done a lot of animations, as well.

Got a very recognisable voice.

Erm, Tom...? Would it be Tom Hanks?

Yeah, I have to go with Tom Hanks.

-It's actually Alec Baldwin.

-Oh, OK.

It's the kind of thing he would have done, you're right,

but it's Alec Baldwin.

OK, Kevin, for the round, who was the host

of the 2017 TV BAFTA Awards?

No, I mean, I saw who some of the main winners were,

but I didn't see who the host was.

I'll rule out Olivia Colman on the basis that

she's always up for every award going anyway

because she does so much.

Why would Jennifer Saunders do it?

I mean, the one who performs hosting duties more often

of those three, I would say, is...

Maybe it's a trap, but I would say

it's probably Sue Perkins, so I'll try Sue Perkins.

-Let's see. Eggheads?

-We like that.

-Yes, they like that!

Sue Perkins is the right answer. Three out of three.

Kevin is in the final. Nigel, sorry.

I'm just hoping Arts & Books doesn't come up now...

-Me too!

-..cos you'd be so cross. So, Nigel's beaten by our Egghead.

Please return to us and we'll play the third round.

So, as it stands, the Bar Staff have lost

two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any, and the next subject is History.

Viv and team, who wants History?

-OK.

-This is the one we were talking about, wasn't it?

-It was, yeah.

-I don't fancy it.

-You don't fancy it?

-Not at all.

-OK.

-I don't either.

-LAUGHTER

We do sometimes have this situation. I don't know.

-Go on, Nige.

-Have a go. We trust you.

OK, Nigel, it's you. The captain has decided.

Nigel, who do you want to take on?

Or, Viv, who do you want Nigel to take on?

Let's see - Steve, Beth, Judith.

I think maybe Steve?

-Yeah.

-Is that OK with you?

-Yeah.

OK, Nigel from the Bar Staff taking on Steve from the Eggheads,

known as the Man With 10,000 Books.

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

Well, Nigel, no easy options at this stage of the contest.

-No, you're right there.

-I'm sorry,

you're a maths lecturer and you've got History.

HE CHUCKLES It can happen.

It's not my best subject, but I'll give it a shot.

History it is. Nigel, good luck.

Would you like to go first or second against Steve?

I'll go first, thank you.

And here's your first question.

In 1790, which US president was nominated to choose the exact site

of the new capital city of the United States?

Well, we've been doing a whole lot of American president swotting up,

and this wasn't one of the questions.

I'm going to rule out George Washington.

I'm going to go on the basis that it happened after Lincoln's time,

so I'll go for Ulysses S Grant.

George Washington is the answer cos the city is called Washington.

-Right.

-Eggheads, help us here with our dates.

I always have 1865 in my mind for Lincoln.

-Is that when he died?

-That's when he was assassinated.

-Ulysses S Grant?

-He was afterwards.

-Yeah.

-He was next but one after Lincoln.

-I see.

End of the 1860s to the late 1870s.

The sequence on the screen is actually...

-The chronological sequence, yes.

-The chronology. All right.

And you can go from the city's name, Washington,

-straight to George?

-Yes. Yes.

-OK.

I think it was easier than it looked, that, Nigel.

Steve, your question.

Which of these battles took place the most recently?

Well, I think you've done the chronological thing again, Jeremy.

One succeeds the other. So, it's the Battle of the Bulge.

-Yeah, Battle of the Bulge is quite right. Second World War?

-Yeah.

OK, Nigel,

the ruler Vlad III,

who became known as Vlad the Impaler,

ruled Wallachia in which century?

And Wallachia is W-A-L-L-A-C-H-I-A.

I'm just going to go on the basis that

I don't think it would be the 19th,

so I'm going to go for the 17th rather than the 15th.

Viv, do you know this one?

I think I'd have gone slightly earlier.

It was a very cruel way of disposing of people.

I think I'd have gone early, to the 15th century.

15th is the right answer.

Vlad the Impaler was the 15th century.

So, if you get this right, Steve, you're in the final round.

The Eighty Years' War eventually saw the Netherlands

secure its independence from which country?

I think that's Spain, Jeremy.

You're straight there. Spain is the right answer.

You're in the final, Steve. Sorry, Nigel. I know, not your subject.

Knocked out by our Egghead. Please return to us.

We've got one more round to play before the final.

OK, the Bar Staff have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads are still all there. They haven't lost any.

And the last subject before the final is Science.

-Oh!

-Now... So, it's going to be Viv or Ian.

I think that's definitely going to be Ian.

-He likes science.

-Oh, that's good.

All right. So, it's going your way now.

So, Ian against either Beth or Judith, one of the ladies.

-Who do you think?

-Maybe Judith?

-Judith?

-Judith.

-We like science, don't we, Judith?

Yes, as long as it's flowers and animals and things.

LAUGHTER Not the periodic table.

And not the beastly periodic table!

Ian's very good at the periodic table.

Well, that'll be interesting.

OK, so, Ian from the Bar Staff to take on our Judith.

Please go to the Question Room now.

Ian, you're the only person in the UK

who's been trained to swim using small bowls of water.

-That's correct. Yes, I am.

-How does that actually work?

Well, I work with people with...

Well, mainly adults with fear and phobia of water,

and the last place those people want to be is in the water.

So, the method goes back to the 1950s.

And if you fill a bowl of water

and then have the person sat at that table...

When you learn to swim, it's not your elbow or your leg or your back.

It's your mouth and nose

that are the two main key elements to learn to swim.

So, by using a bowl of water in a relaxed environment,

you can actually get that person prepared for the water

-without being in the water.

-Brilliant.

I want to mention your soap-making, as well,

because this is really interesting.

With prisoners in the jail where you work,

they will come and they will learn to make soap with you.

That's right, yes. They learn different techniques

and I take them through a four-week course,

and out of the end of that four-week course,

they'll know how to make soap.

And some of them go on and start their own soap businesses

on the outside, which is really great.

-That sounds great, Judith, doesn't it?

-Yes.

-What's the best flavour?

-Oh, crikey!

You're asking the wrong person about fragrance

and essential oils and things like that.

My nose isn't very good. I've spent a lot of my life in water!

So, what's your favourite flavour, Judith, of soap?

I don't know. I like rose geranium very much.

I like chocolaty, cocoa, coconut ones.

-Oh, edible ones?

-Well, the ones that seem like

they should be edible, but aren't.

Yes. So, you want to be eaten.

Yeah! Science, Ian - would you like to go first or second?

I would like to go first.

And here we go.

In the UK, the RSPB categorises the European robin

or robin redbreast as belonging to which family of birds?

I don't like the woodpeckers.

I sort of... My gut, although I don't know the answer,

went straight to pipits and wagtails,

so I'm going to go with my gut feeling

and go with pipits and wagtails.

OK. Viv has a slightly worried look here.

-Viv?

-I'm not sure.

I think I'd have gone chats and thrushes,

but no particular reason for knowing that.

Well, Judith knows all about small birds. Judith?

Well, they sing absolutely beautifully,

so I think they're probably chats and thrushes.

Yeah, it's chats and thrushes, Ian.

Judith, your question.

Which of these is a less common name

for the black and white North American skunk?

Well, I think polecats stink, don't they?

And you said it was a skunk, so I think it's a polecat.

Polecat is the correct answer.

OK, Ian, back to you. In which year

did the Apollo 12 space mission land on the moon?

I think it's going to be the same year as Apollo 11.

That was July.

They go again in the same year.

I don't think they would have waited until '72.

I'm going to go for 1969.

-Let's check with the Eggheads here. Eggheads, is he right? ALL:

-Yes.

Yes, and, Eggheads, is the Apollo 12...?

Is that the one with Armstrong and Co?

-No, that was 11.

-That was 11, but it was the same year?

-Yeah.

1969 is correct, Ian. Well done.

Judith, your question.

Which scientist did the physicist Mileva Maric marry in 1903?

Well, not Pierre Curie cos that was Marie Curie.

Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison.

I don't know whether Albert Einstein was married or not.

I really don't know. I'm going to say Thomas Edison.

I suspect that the issue here is that Mileva Maric

is a Russian-sounding name and Einstein was...

Was that where Einstein was before he went to America?

No, he was German in origin,

and then he lived in Switzerland for quite some time

before he went to the States.

But she was from, as you guessed from the name, Eastern Europe.

But it is him - it is Einstein.

And there are some people who claim that

she did a lot of work that fed into

what he did, but that's very controversial.

-Albert Einstein is the answer here, Judith.

-Oh.

I thought he looked as if he was the sort of person

-who might not be married.

-LAUGHTER

And what do they look like, Judith?

Well, I mean, he looks like a mad scientist, doesn't he?

He's everybody's idea of a mad scientist.

I see what you mean. All right, one each.

This is good, Ian. You're back in it.

Here's your question. The chemist Joseph Black

isolated and identified which gas as fixed air?

Can you repeat the question, please?

The chemist Joseph Black isolated and identified

which gas as fixed air?

I'm going to go for...

..carbon monoxide.

The correct answer is carbon dioxide.

Judith, you have a chance

to take the Science round with your third question.

What is the literal meaning of the name of the Psittacosaurus dinosaur

when translated from the Greek?

-And could you spell it?

-Of course.

P-S-I-T-T-A-C-O-S-A-U-R-U-S.

I think that is a parrot lizard

because a parrot disease is called psittacosis, so...

And that's to do with parrots, so I think it's a parrot lizard.

With your knowledge of parrot diseases, you've won through.

You are in the final. Parrot lizard is the right answer.

Sorry, Ian. They are playing well.

Not just today, but all the time at the moment.

You've been beaten by our Egghead.

If you return to us, we'll play the final round for £11,000.

Well, we had the first mention, I think,

in the history of Eggheads of, Judith,

-what you called a parrot illness.

-Yeah.

-BOTH:

-Psittacosis.

And, Beth, it's not just parrots?

No, it's pigeons, as well, and birds like that.

It causes like a pneumonial-type disease.

There we go. So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is 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, it's the two Nigels and it's Ian and Katie

from the great Bar Staff.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Viv, you are playing to win the Bar Staff £11,000.

They're all rooting for you back there, aren't you?

-ALL:

-Yes!

-Dave, Steve, Beth, Kevin, Judith,

you're playing for something money can't buy,

which is to keep this amazing run of yours going.

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

They're all General Knowledge.

Viv, normally, I say you can confer, but, sadly, you're on your own!

No question that you can do it. Take down these five.

Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go second.

Here we go. The first question, then, to the Eggheads.

In which year was the actor Will Ferrell born?

I would have thought '67.

-Yeah, he's not as old as 60, is he?

-Not as old as '57.

A bit older than me.

He's not as old as 60, and he's not as young as 40.

-No.

-I would have said '67.

I would have thought he was around about...

I would have thought '67 is probably the best.

He's only really been on the scene...

-What does he look?

-Around about 50.

-50. So, that's '67.

-DAVE:

-Go with '67.

-OK.

-JUDITH:

-He's 50.

So, process of elimination,

we don't think he's as old as being in his 60s,

and we don't think he's as young as him being in his 40s,

so that would bring him to 1967.

-1967 is correct.

-Well done.

Challenger, Gordon Brown

and which other politician held an infamous dinner meeting

at a London restaurant called Granita in 1994?

Right. So, Gordon Brown was Labour.

I do vaguely remember reading something about that in the paper.

So, I think I'm going to go...

..Tony Blair.

Tony Blair is absolutely right.

The next question is for the Eggheads.

In 1535, who became the first person to translate

and print the entire Bible in English?

-Was it Coverdale?

-It's Coverdale.

-Coverdale is the famous name there.

-Yeah. Is it Coverdale?

-I've not heard the other names. Have you, Kevin?

-Not really, no.

I mean, I think John Overall rings a bell from somewhere,

-but they're not...

-No.

-Nothing like as well-known as Miles Coverdale.

-I thought it was Coverdale.

-And Coverdale certainly did...

-He did the translation.

-He did this translation, yes.

-I mean, I'd be quite happy with that.

-Yeah.

We believe the translator is Miles Coverdale.

Miles Coverdale is correct. Good answer, and they're ahead.

Viv, here's your question.

The journalist Lester Bangs

was best known for his writings on which subject?

Could you just repeat the name for me, please?

The journalist Lester Bangs -

B-A-N-G-S -

was best known for his writings on which subject?

I'm not familiar with that name.

So, it sounds like quite an arty-type name.

It's probably not a real name. I'm not sure.

Think I will go with rock music.

I haven't heard this name before and I love rock music.

-Is it rock music?

-Yes, it is.

-Is it? Where was he writing for?

-Rolling Stone, that sort of thing.

-Oh, I see.

Lester Bangs, rock music is the right answer.

Well done, Viv. Very steady.

Eggheads,

there are approximately how many licensed black cabs in London?

-Right, it's not 210,000, is it?

-No, it can't be that many.

-Right. Now...

2,100... Because, I think, in Manchester, it's about 1,500.

-Is it?

-Yeah, around that.

Black cabs for covering a city that's a lot less.

-It's less than you think.

-Are we going with the middle?

-I'm inclined...

-I'm inclined for the middle.

I'm inclined to go middle because, as I said, 2,100 is

-low to cover...

-Doesn't seem many at all, does it?

-Black cab there...

-2,100 isn't enough.

-2,100 all over London?

-Not enough.

-You see them all over the place.

-Yeah.

-It's a turkey shoot,

-but I'd go 21,000.

-Right, 21,000?

-Same.

-Same?

Yeah, I think, really, if you go higher than that...

I think it's... I think, you know, 21 sounds good.

-21. Judith?

-Yes, I think 21, too.

-OK.

Right. We don't think that 2,100 is enough for the whole of London.

But, equally, we think

210,000 is far too many, so we think 21,000.

I remember, about 20 years ago, seeing an article saying

that there were 16,000, so there's more now.

21,000 is right. Well done.

21,000. They've got three out of three.

Would have been nice if they'd got one wrong,

but they're not in that kind of form at the moment.

So, Viv, your third question.

Chapman Pincher, who died in 2014 at the age of 100,

was a renowned figure in which field?

Well, I'm not familiar with the name.

Chapman Pincher.

I really don't know.

So, I think I'm going to do a Judith and go down the right

and say Egyptology.

Egyptology is your answer. So, we're playing for £11,000.

If you've got this right, we will go to Sudden Death.

If you've got it wrong, the contest is over.

He is familiar to me and I've got some sort of security services

-connection with him. Is that right?

-Yes.

-Why is that?

-He exposed some spy things.

-I think he wrote about...

-Espionage.

-Espionage. So, what was his field?

-Journalism.

-Journalism is the answer, Viv.

I'm sorry, we have to say congratulations, Eggheads.

You have won.

Good defence, Viv. One against five - very difficult.

-I did my best.

-Yeah, I hope you enjoyed coming.

-I did. We've enjoyed it. Thank you.

-Brilliant.

Well, commiserations to the Bar Staff.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them at the moment.

And they've got this winning streak going, and it is impressive,

so it means the Challengers don't go home with the £11,000.

We'll roll that money over to our next show.

Eggheads, five of you,

I'm just wondering if you will ever lose a round again.

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

have the brains to take them down. There'll be 12,000 to play for.

Until we quiz again, goodbye.