Episode 9 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.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today

are Getting On With The Grindrods from Gloucestershire.

Now, this family team share a passion for quizzing,

and siblings Jumbly, Chris and Tom regularly quiz together

at the Oakford Social Club in Reading.

So, let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Pete and I'm a mathematician.

Hi, my name's Chris and I'm an accountant.

Hi, my name's Sophie

and I'm a postgraduate student in media and communications.

Hi, my name's Jumbly and I'm a PhD philosophy student and lecturer.

Hi, my name's Tom and I'm an English literature student.

So, Pete and team, hello.

-ALL:

-Hello!

-Thank you so much for coming in.

-And, Grindrod is the family name, that's what you're all called.

-Yes.

And Pete, you are the father here.

Yes, indeed. And these are our four children.

Brilliant. And you are a mathematician.

Yes, I am, I'm a professor of mathematics.

Does it mean you spend a lot of time thinking about prime numbers

and triangles, and so on?

I think about triangles and graphs and that kind of thing, yeah -

but very much with applications in mind to media and social media.

OK - and have your children here...

I know your dad doesn't have to answer on your behalf,

but let's ask him - have they branched into

lots of different areas in life?

Yes, none of them wanted to be mathematicians!

THEY LAUGH

-My dad is a mathematician...

-Great.

-..and I ended up doing broadcasting,

so maybe I'm an example of that as well.

-He spent all his time thinking about prime numbers.

-Yeah.

Which I guess you would see the excitement with.

-There are worse vices!

-LAUGHTER

Good luck, team.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if the Challengers fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, Getting On With The Grindrods,

I can tell you that the Eggheads lost the last game.

They have a terrible time, it seems,

with the editors of national newspapers.

It keeps causing trouble, so they were taken down.

It means there's £1,000 to play for today.

The good news is they're probably a little shaken, still.

-Do you want to start?

-We're ready.

-All right.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Geography.

You can choose between Beth, Kevin, Chris,

Steve and Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

-I think it's Chris.

-I think we're going to pick Chris.

I'm solid, I'm really confident on geography.

Solid on geography, Chris? Good.

Our accountant against any one of the five.

Um, I will go for Chris.

-This could get confusing!

-LAUGHTER

We'll do it by shirt colour, OK?

Chris from Getting On With The Grindrods

versus the other Chris from Getting On With The Eggheads -

and just to ensure there's no conferring, would you please both

take your positions in our famous Question Room?

Here we are with Geography, and Chris the Challenger,

you can choose whether you go first or second.

I would like to go first.

Here we go.

San Bernardino, Long Beach and Anaheim

are all cities in which US state?

OK, well, I believe that Long Beach...

Well, I believe that's a beach, and so...

and California has a very long coastline,

and so I'm going to go with California.

Long Beach, California, yes, you're absolutely right. Well done.

OK, Chris.

Which of these Scandinavian cities is furthest north?

It's Tromso, right up in the north of Norway.

Yeah, very snowy there. Chelsea played a game there once.

Tromso's right. That's how I know everything geographical,

"Have Chelsea played there?"

One each.

Chris, the Challenger, your question.

Where can the megalithic monument Maeshowe be found?

Maes is M-A-E-S, and Howe, H-O-W-E.

Maeshowe.

Well, I do believe there's some very, very old monuments

up in the far north of Scotland.

Not so sure about Canvey Island and Anglesey

with the same kind of history.

So, on that basis, I'm going to go with Orkney.

Orkney is correct, well done.

It would have been easy to go wrong there.

-Chris Hughes, you've seen that?

-Been there, yeah.

-Been there?

-Yeah.

-Had a look at it?

-Yeah.

It's a Neolithic tomb

that was robbed out by the Vikings some time around 900AD.

There's Viking graffiti inside which apparently translates as,

"If you're looking for treasure, we've already nicked it"!

LAUGHTER

OK, Chris Hughes, your question.

Which of these countries is the ninth largest in the world by area?

The ninth largest.

Hm.

Well, it's not France.

Egypt's quite large, it's got large lumps of desert in it.

But, ninth largest,

I think we're looking at Central Asia, so it's Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is correct, Chris, well done.

It's not an easy question at all.

Third question to you, Challenger.

Trains to Spain depart from which of these railway stations in Paris?

OK, well, I have been to Paris.

Unfortunately, I haven't been to Spain from Paris.

Well, judging that they're going to go in a southeasterly direction,

er, south-westerly direction, I'm going to rule out Gare de l'Est.

And I'm going to go with Gare Saint-Lazare.

Let's see if your team-mates know.

I've been to Gare de l'Est,

but I don't know which trains go from there.

Well, he's right to rule out Gare de l'Est.

It's actually Gare d'Austerlitz. THEY GROAN

So you were on a 50-50, you went the wrong way.

Let's see if Chris Hughes can take advantage.

For the round, Chris.

In which state is the almost-deserted town of Centralia

where underground coal seams have been burning

since being accidentally ignited in 1962?

Ah, I saw a documentary about this. It's a strange place, actually,

quite apart from the coal mines being on fire.

It's in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is the right answer.

You've taken the round - sorry, Challenger.

Lost out to Chris on that one question.

Please return and rejoin your team-mates.

As it stands, Getting On With The Grindrods

have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still there, and need a bit of dislodging,

I think, Challengers.

The next subject for you is Music. Who wants this?

I think I'm going to take on Music.

-You're strong on this.

-Strong knowledge there.

-Jumbly, OK.

-Which Egghead should I take on?

-You can choose anyone but Chris.

-Um...

-Do any of them look like they don't want it?

Kevin's looking a bit disconnected there, I think.

THEY LAUGH

-Shall we try for Kevin, then?

-Yeah, let's do it.

So, Jumbly from Getting On With The Grindrods

has identified that Kevin looks a little bit out of sorts.

-Who knows?

-Who knows?

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

So, Jumbly is your real name - but you were born James.

Yeah, so, Mum and Dad called me Jumbly from the off

and it stuck at school and everyone that I knew,

so eventually I changed it to Jumbly to sort of have it in print.

-So you made it an official thing?

-Yes.

-Right.

Would you like to go first or second on Music?

Can I go first, please?

Your first question, Jumbly.

"When the rain is blowing in your face

"and the whole world is on your case"

are the opening lines to which song?

Well, I'm pleased to say I know all three of those songs,

um, and in particular I know those lines.

I think Adele sings it quite famously,

but originally it's a Bob Dylan song.

And so I'm going to go with Make You Feel My Love.

You're right in every respect, Jumbly, well done.

Kevin, which 1997 hit single features the lyrics

"I get knocked down

"but I get up again, you're never going to keep me down"?

Well, I think that was Chumbawamba's Tubthumping.

-Quite distinctive.

-Very distinctive, and you're right, Tubthumping.

OK, back to you, Jumbly.

Gregorian chant is a style of music named after

a Pope who came into office in which century?

Well, Gregorian chanting, I don't know a lot about Gregorian chanting.

It strikes me as something quite medieval.

Now, even with that, I'm not sure whether to place it...

It's definitely not the 20th century.

But between the sixth and the 14th, I'm honestly not sure.

I'm going to go with the 14th.

-It is very old, it's even older than you think, it's the sixth.

-Ah.

Ranging far and wide, here.

Kevin, your question, to take the lead.

What's the profession of Jenny Lind, the 19th-century musical star?

She was nicknamed The Swedish Nightingale

because she was a soprano singer.

She was indeed, soprano singer.

Jumbly, to stay in.

The influential jazz musician Dexter Gordon was famous

as a soloist on which instrument?

So, I don't know Dexter Gordon.

Um, so this is going to have to be something of an estimate.

I'm going to go with, um, tenor saxophone.

Tenor saxophone is quite right.

-Yes!

-Well done. Two out of three.

Is it enough to take Kevin to Sudden Death?

Let's see. Kevin, get this right, you're in the final round.

The name of the viola da gamba refers to it being held

by which part of the body whilst it is played?

Well, it was a largish instrument

which was played by placing it between the legs

so it would be placed upright between the legs, bowed.

It's rather like a sort of a smaller cello, in a way.

So, between the legs.

The answer is between the legs, you've got three out of three.

Sorry, Jumbly.

Knocked out, beaten by our Egghead.

Similar to the Chris round, as well, before that.

Time for a comeback, now, from our Challengers.

Please return to your team.

So, the Challengers in a little bit of difficulty

but the last game this happened and they won.

This is maybe the time to just hit the plan.

-What plan?

-THEY LAUGH

I assume you've got some equations...

All right, so, Getting On With The Grindrods

have lost two brains from the final round.

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

Who would like this?

-Um, I'm happy to take this one.

-Yes, I think you should.

Sophie, OK.

Against which Egghead? You can have either Dave, Steve, or Beth.

-Any ideas?

-I reckon Steve.

-Steve?

-Yeah.

-Steve fancies... He's looking away.

-Yeah.

-Smiling.

-It's a habit.

-All right then.

OK. I'll take on Steve.

Sophie from Getting On With The Grindrods

to play Steve from the Eggheads,

and please take your positions now.

Sophie, I should ask you about the team name.

Getting On With The Grindrods, that's your family name,

but it's based on a TV show?

Yes, we are, we're big Kardashian fans.

And their show is called?

-Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

-Of course.

Film & TV, would you like to go first or second?

Um, I think I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck to you.

Who presented a series of his Toy Stories

in which he attempted to build a full-size model Spitfire

and the world's longest model train set?

Yeah, I think I know this one.

It was on not too long ago and I think it was James May.

Very good, James May is the right answer.

First point to our Challenger.

Steve, who came second to Will Young

in the original series of Pop Idol in 2002?

Yeah, I think the other two came quite a way after.

it's Gareth Gates.

Gareth Gates is right.

Over to you, Sophie.

In which of these TV series did Penelope Keith appear first?

OK, um...

Not quite sure about this one. Um...

I think I will go with The Good Life.

You were born in the '90s, I'm thinking.

-I was, yes.

-This is some way earlier, I remember this as a child.

You've got it right, though, The Good Life.

Your dad was... You remember it, Pete, right?

-Yeah, that's history, not...

-LAUGHTER

It's a very long time ago.

OK, Steve.

Which actor played Seymour Krelborn

in the 1986 film musical Little Shop Of Horrors?

Well, the only one of those I remember being in it

was Rick Moranis, so that's my answer.

It's the correct answer, Rick Moranis is right.

2-2 is the score, so, level.

Third question coming your way now, Sophie.

Which British actor played the crooked French policeman

Captain Louis Renault in the 1942 film Casablanca?

OK, um...

I...am not entirely sure.

Um, but I think I'm going to go with Claude Rains.

You've got it right, actually. Well done.

-That really is before you were born.

-Yeah.

Brilliant. Three out of three. Is it enough?

Steve, your question. Who directed

the 2002 science-fiction film Minority Report?

Ooh, right.

I'm not sure. Minority Report.

For some reason...

..and no doubt I'm going to be proved to be wrong,

I think it was Stephen Spielberg, so that's my answer.

OK. Let's check this with Beth. You know, Beth?

-Yes, it is Stephen Spielberg.

-Beth confirms it is Stephen Spielberg.

Well done, Sophie, you've held him off so far.

Gets a bit harder now we go to Sudden Death.

I don't give you alternative answers here, OK?

-OK.

-Which Blue Peter presenter had the famous catchphrase,

"Get down, Shep"?

OK. um, yes. I think that this was...Matt Baker.

Pete?

-It was John Noakes.

-It was John Noakes.

OK.

Again, we're slightly pre-Sophie with that question.

OK. It's a great question, actually.

Steve, for the round, Sudden Death.

The name of which history presenter completes the titles

of the TV programmes, Six Wives With...

and A Very British Murder With...?

Mm.

I'm not sure, but I think that might be Lucy Worsley.

Lucy Worsley is the right answer.

Well done on Sudden Death. You've won it, Steve.

Three rounds now to our Eggheads.

Sorry, Sophie, beaten by our Egghead and knocked out.

They are playing well.

Often happens after a defeat, they come back strongly.

Please rejoin your teams. One more round to play.

So, as it stands, Getting On With The Grindrods

are not quite keeping up with the Eggheads at this point,

but you've still got time.

They've lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

The next subject is History.

-Who would like this?

-OK.

-Tom, you said you wanted History.

-Tom likes history.

-Really like it.

-Yes.

-Tom?

-Yeah.

Against which Egghead? And you've got one of the two on the end,

-Beth or Dave?

-Beth or Dave, what do you think?

-Not easy.

-No.

-I reckon Beth.

-Yeah?

OK. I'll take on Beth, then.

Great, so, Tom, from Getting On With The Grindrods,

takes on Beth, on History, from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room for the last time.

So, Tom, History, first or second?

I'd like to go second, please.

So, first question goes to Beth.

Shortly after an invasion in 43AD, Beth,

who were the first to establish London as a major settlement?

-Is that 43BC?

-43AD.

-Oh, 43AD.

Er, well, that would be the Romans, then.

Romans is correct.

Over to you, Tom.

Which of these terms relates to a historical bravery award

in the British Armed Forces?

Um, well, I think you have dispatches from the front,

so I'd go "mentioned in dispatches".

It's right, somebody's mentioned in dispatches, they've done very well.

One each. Beth.

Historically the term "knob-thatcher"

referred to which profession?

Ooh, er...

SHE SIGHS

I don't think it was a brewer...

..but your hair is often commonly referred to as your thatch,

so I'll go with wig maker.

Wig maker is right, I think thatch is the clue, yeah.

OK, Tom.

Which year saw the Battles of Brentford, Turnham Green,

and Powick Bridge, among others?

OK, well, I know Brentford,

it's around London so it's quite far south,

so I'm guessing this is English Civil War, so I'd go for 1642.

Let's just check here with Kevin. Is that right, first of all?

-It is, yes.

-1642 is correct -

and Turnham Green is my nearest Tube stop.

-That's the site of the battle, is it?

-Yeah.

-West Londonish?

Yeah - I mean, that was the year the Civil War started

and these were early battles.

I mean, the first major battle of the war

was at Edge Hill in Warwickshire.

Powick Bridge was a skirmish in the same area.

But then the forces of Charles I

tried to force their way into London coming from the west,

and they were held back at Brentford and Turnham.

OK, local history to me, really useful, thank you.

So, your third question, Beth.

What was the name of the nurse who survived the Titanic sinking,

the sinking of the sister ship, Britannic,

and was on board the other sister ship, Olympic,

during a major collision?

Never travel with this person!

SHE SIGHS

Ooh, this isn't something I immediately know.

I bet the guys are sitting there going, it's certainly such-and-such

and there's me scrabbling about in a bit of the dark, really.

Erm...

None at all, it's going to be

a one-in-three stab in the dark, I'm afraid.

I'm going to go for Dorothy Gibson.

Dorothy Gibson is your answer. Tom, do you know this?

-I've no idea.

-It's a hard question.

-Violet Jessop is the correct answer.

-Oh!

Lucky lady.

Does anyone know how she actually did die in the end?

-Old age.

-Old age.

-Old age!

-She was a survivor.

Maybe you do, maybe I'm wrong, you do travel with her.

Yeah, well... SHE would survive!

Yes! 83 years old she was when she died, amazingly.

Right, Tom, you can get into the final with this question,

this might be a crucial moment here.

Which social reformer became known for her report on conditions

in the concentration camps set up by the British

during the Boer War of 1899 to 1902?

Right, um,

yeah, Boer War, wow.

Not...

I'm not a big military history buff,

so, I mean, I got away with the first one.

Er...

Mary Seacole, Emily Hobhouse, Henrietta Barnett...

They don't ring a bell,

so, which one sounds best? They're all great names.

I'm going to go for Mary Seacole.

No, it's Emily Hobhouse.

So, level after three questions.

We go to Sudden Death.

-Let off for you there, Beth.

-Yeah, thank you.

It's your question. I don't give you alternative options here.

Prince George of Denmark was the consort of which British monarch?

Um, Queen Anne?

Queen Anne is right. Well done.

Tom, to stay in.

The site of the 1777 Battle of Brandywine

is in which modern country?

1777?

I'm going to guess, purely because of the date, the United States.

United States is quite right, yeah.

OK, Beth, on to you, Sudden Death we're on.

Which future King was known as Prince Albert

when he served aboard HMS Collingwood

at the Battle Of Jutland?

Yes, King George VI's original name was Albert,

so, George VI.

George VI is quite right.

Tom, you need this to stay in.

The Royal House Of Bruce supplied how many kings of Scotland?

HE EXHALES

Kings of Scotland.

Well, unfortunately, my knowledge of the House Of Bruce

probably is entirely in Braveheart.

Again, this is going to be a guess.

I'm going to go for...five.

The answer was actually two.

It was Robert I, Robert The Bruce, and David II.

So, Beth has taken it on Sudden Death and she will be in the final.

Tom, sorry, you've been knocked out.

Return to us, both of you. We'll play that final round.

This is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for our final round. As always it's General Knowledge.

I'm afraid those who lost your head-to-heads

are not allowed to take part, though.

So from our Challengers, it's Chris, Sophie, Jumbly and Tom.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Pete, you're playing to win Getting On With The Grindrods £1,000.

Dave, Steve, Chris, Kevin and Beth,

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

which is the Eggheads' reputation and to get yourselves back on track.

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

This time they're all General Knowledge.

You may confer. I'm sorry that doesn't help you, Pete.

The question is, can you with your one brain defeat these five?

So would you like to go first or second?

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

Good luck to you.

Which date in the calendar is also known as Pancake Day in the UK?

Well, it's a Tuesday and it's Shrove Tuesday.

It is indeed Shrove Tuesday, Pete, well done.

Back to the Eggheads. All five of you are here.

The pre-decimal two shilling coin continued to be used until 1993

as which decimal UK coin?

-10p.

-10p.

-That's two bob, 10p.

-10p, yeah.

We believe that is 10p, please, Jeremy.

10p is right, Dave.

Pete, back to you.

Irina Shayk, born in 1986 in Yemanzhelinsk in the Urals,

became famous in which field?

Irina Shayk, spelt I-R-I-N-A.

Well...

Uh...

I don't know this immediately.

Um...

Born in 1986?

Yes.

Uh... So she's young for a...

politician.

So, thinking about sport.

Yeah, I can see her as a...

as a sportswoman...

..and I have a great and abiding interest in fashion

and I'm not sure if she's involved in fashion, so...

Um... I'm going to go for Sport, Jeremy.

OK, let's see if the Eggheads agree. Eggheads?

-I don't know the name but I would have gone fashion.

-Fashion.

-I would have gone fashion.

-Yeah, they default in to fashion a lot

because if you haven't heard of them, it's fashion.

-Is that your rule? Your unofficial rule?

-Yes.

I don't know about a rule, but between those choices,

I think we'd probably have heard of her if it was the other two.

-Yeah, Fashion is the answer.

-Oh.

So, Eggheads have a chance to take the lead.

Which type of bird can be referred to by the term tercel?

Male falcon, yeah?

-Male falcon, yeah?

-Yep, definitely.

We're going to go for male falcon, please, Jeremy.

You didn't hesitate - and it is male falcon.

Well done. You've taken the lead, Eggheads.

That means, Pete, you need to get this one right to stay in.

Which of these devices is used to measure angles

between facets of gemstones?

Oh, I don't know this.

Um...

A limnometer sounds like something that might measure

angles and...

um... edges, natural clines in...media.

Actinometer?

Actino-meter.

Oh, it doesn't sound attractive, I don't think.

Well, I can't think of words with those prefixes which really...

..pull me towards...

..gems and cut facets and those sorts of things.

So I think I'm going to go with my gut, which is my first thought,

which is

limnometer.

Limnometer is your answer.

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

Let's see whether the Eggheads know this.

It's goniometer.

-Gon-iometer? Or go-niometer?

-It's to do with angles and inclines,

particularly with reference to crystals,

so that's where the gemstones thing comes in.

Limnometer sounds like it might be something to do with fresh water.

Yes, limnometer is a tidal gauge.

And actinometer, actinome means "rays",

so that would be something to do with radiation.

Yes, you're right, Kevin, again, amazingly.

Actinometer is to do with the heating power of radiation -

but the answer we wanted there was goniometer.

So, we have to say, congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

APPLAUSE

You gave that last one a lot of thought, Pete, my goodness.

And now we're "goni"! So...

JEREMY LAUGHS

Goniometer's a measure of being gone in Eggheads, yeah.

Thank you for playing. It's been great to meet you.

Commiserations to the Challengers today.

The Eggheads have got themselves back on track, as they often do.

They reign supreme over Quizland once again.

It does mean the Challengers don't go home with the £1,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, well done.

Are you on course for another victory in the next game? We'll see.

Join us then to see if a new team of Challengers

have the brains to defeat this famous team over here.

£2,000 will be on the table for them.

Till we quiz again, goodbye.