Episode 100 Eggheads

These five 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.

You might recognise them,

as they are Goliaths in the world of TV quiz shows,

they are the Eggheads.

and taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Cross Foxes from Prestatyn.

Team captain Les in the landlord and quiz master at the Cross Foxes pub,

and the rest of the team is made up of some of his regulars.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Les, I'm 54 and I'm a publican.

Hi, I'm Tim, I'm 49 and I'm a travel agent.

Hi, I'm Bob, I'm 43 and I'm a DJ.

Hi, I'm David, I'm 72 and I'm a retired engineer.

Hi, I'm Mark, I'm 45, currently unemployed.

So welcome, Cross Foxes.

Hello Jeremy.

-Les, you've been in pubs all your life?

-Yes, over 35 years, yes.

Am I looking here at the best quiz players that come through your pub?

Very possible, yes, Jeremy. We'll see later.

OK, well I wish you all the best playing the Eggheads.

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.

So, Cross Foxes, the challengers won the last game,

proving it can be done,

that means £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

The first head to head battle

will be on the subject of film and television.

Challengers, which one of you wants to play,

and which Egghead do you want to play against?

It's not me, I know that much.

Chris?

Yeah?

Yep.

That'll be, Bob's taking it on Jeremy.

-Who are you going to play?

-Chris.

Chris, OK. Bob from the Cross Foxes versus Chris from the Eggheads.

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

in the Question Room.

Bob, we're doing multiple choice questions, film and television,

you get to choose the first or the second set of questions.

Right, I'm under orders to go first please.

You're under orders, are you?

I am indeed, yes.

Bob, what role did Ian McCaskill perform on TV

during the 1980s and 1990s?

Was he a newsreader, a chef or a weather presenter?

I remember this, I think,

because did he not predict that we were going to have a small storm

when we had the massive hurricane?

He was a weather presenter.

Bang on, it was a weather presenter,

although not the man who predicted the storm that wasn't.

-It was Michael Fish.

-That was Mr Fish.

-That's right.

Anyway, point to you.

Chris, in which 1975 film did Roy Scheider play the role

of police chief Martin Brody?

Taxi Driver, Rocky or Jaws?

He's the police chief in Jaws.

He is indeed, with the famous line?

"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat!"

-"You're gonna need a bigger boat" or something.

-Yeah.

Ad-libbed that line apparently.

One point apiece.

Question two for you, Bob.

Richard Briers played Martin Bryce in which 1980s TV sitcom?

The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles or Monarch of the Glen?

That's a difficult one, because I believe he's been in all of those,

but I think The Good Life is '70s,

Monarch of the Glen I've only seen briefly,

so I'll plump for Ever Decreasing Circles.

Quite right Bob, well done.

Well done, Bob.

Chris, which Academy Award-winning actress wrote the screenplay

to the 1995 film Sense and Sensibility?

Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson or Gwyneth Paltrow?

Well, I don't think Kate Winslet's ever written anything,

and I think Gwyneth Paltrow was too busy,

but Emma Thompson has written scripts in her time,

so I'll say Emma Thompson.

Spot on, well done!

Two points each, your third multiple-choice question, Bob.

Which actor narrated the 1970s' historical documentary,

The World at War?

Laurence Olivier, Peter O'Toole or Richard Harris?

Phew, I think they've all narrated things at one time or another.

Erm...

But I'll go for Laurence Olivier.

Was that a guess?

It is.

-It's a good one, you've got it.

-Well done, Bobby!

So pressure on Chris now.

If you don't get this, you're out of the final round.

Here's your question,

what was the name of the television series made by Edgar Reitz

which charted the lives of ordinary Germans

from 1918 to the turn of the new century?

Was it Heimat, Hermann or Heidelberg?

That was Heimat.

It was indeed, how do you know that?

I saw bits of it actually,

because Heimat just means home environment, home town.

You're right, three points apiece to the Eggheads and challengers,

scores level so we now go on to Sudden Death,

and just to make it that bit harder,

these questions will not be multiple choice. So Bob, are you ready?

I am.

Let's see what comes up now.

Which actress played Magz in the TV series Saxondale

and Myfanwy, the barmaid in the Little Britain Daffyd sketches?

Ruth Madoc?

Close, it was Ruth Jones.

So Chris, for the round,

which Hollywood actress

often credited with being the first to throw a custard pie onscreen

is the subject of the Jerry Herman musical Mack and Mabel?

That is Mabel Normand.

Quite right, Mabel Normand.

Roughly what year are we talking about there?

Oh, early '20s I would think, going way back certainly.

Well done, Chris. Bob, you were beaten by our Eggheads,

so as a result you won't be able to help your team in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

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

the Eggheads have lost no brains.

The next subject is history.

Who from our challengers would like to play in this round,

and who would you like to play?

-I'll take it.

-Off you trot, David.

-I'll take it.

-Who are you going to challenge?

-Kevin?

Kevin, I think I'll try, yes.

-I think I heard Kevin?

-Kevin please, Jeremy.

So David from the Cross Foxes versus Kevin from the Eggheads,

and to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room.

Kevin, your teammates are telling me you've never lost in this category,

but not only that, you've never even got a single question wrong in this category.

Can that be true?

It's true, but there's always a first time.

It's a long time since I've done it.

David, don't feel intimidated here!

You're not, are you?

Very much so, yes.

I wish you well,

and David, you can choose the first or the second set of questions.

-Which would you like?

-The first set, please, Jeremy.

David, people in the Stone Age typically used tools and weapons

made of which material?

Gold, flint or copper?

Well, it would have been later

when they were using metals as a material,

so that probably rules out copper, and to a certain extent gold,

but I know there's a local site where they've got a lot of flint axes,

and so my answer would be flint.

Flint is correct, well done.

Kevin, in which year did Robert Peel set up

the Metropolitan Police Force in London?

Was it 1429, 1629 or 1829?

It was early 19th century, Jeremy, it's 1829.

Correct, it was. Bang on.

But that was not the question to end your winning run in History.

No.

See if we can find it.

David, in September 1944,

Allied forces were defeated in which battle of World War II?

The Battle of Arnhem, the Battle of El Alamein

or the Battle of the Bulge?

I suspect it was too late for Alamein,

and possibly Arnhem was earlier,

but I think there was a setback in the campaign

and I think it was the Battle of the Bulge.

So your answer is Battle of the Bulge?

I'm sorry David, that's the wrong answer. It's the Battle of Arnhem.

Advantage to the Eggheads.

Kevin, in 1267 Henry III officially acknowledged which man

as the Overlord and Prince of Wales?

Hereward the Wake, Owain Glyndower or Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd?

It was -

let's have a go - Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd,

who lasted for about another 15 years

and then was killed, I believe?

Well done, Kevin, you're right, it was the person you just referred to.

Well, you could do the pronunciation on this side.

So third question, and David, you need this.

Which London market was the site of the execution of William Wallace in 1305?

Covent Garden, Smithfield or Billingsgate?

Mmm, not very sure of this.

Smithfield being a meat market,

Billingsgate is a fish market.

I think I'll go for Covent Garden...

Covent Garden.

That's the wrong answer, David, I'm sorry to say,

it was actually Smithfield.

-Kevin, would you have got Smithfield?

-Yes, I would.

Why was he executed?

-He'd annoyed Edward I, basically.

-That's all you need to do?

He was one of the leaders of the Scottish independence movement,

but eventually he was captured, brought to London

and suffered a very lengthy and nasty execution as an example to others.

David, as you can tell, you are up against a history ace here!

Commiserations to you. Well done, Kevin.

David, you were beaten by our Eggheads,

so you won't be able to help your team in the final round.

Both of you please now come back to the studio.

As it stands, the challengers have lost

two brains from the final round,

while the Eggheads have lost none.

The next subject is Sport.

Who from the challengers will be playing?

Who would you like to take on?

There's only three of us left.

It's cut and dried, you're doing it, aren't you?

-Obviously can't be Kevin or Chris.

-Who do you want?

-Tim have a go at sport. Tim's going to do it.

-All right.

And you're going to take on who?

I think because of our colours, I'll take Judith on,

because we have the same colour on.

-We clash, I wouldn't... I think we clash.

-Do you?

It's up to you, that's the thing,

so Tim from the Cross Foxes against Judith from the Eggheads,

please go to the Question Room to ensure there's no conferring.

Tim, you get to choose the first or the second set of questions.

I would like to go first please, Jeremy.

What name is given in gymnastics

to a circular sideways handspring with the arms and legs extended?

Is it a handstand, a cartwheel or a flyaway?

With the arms and legs extended would imply cartwheel.

It's not a handstand.

I will go for cartwheel if I may, Jeremy.

Yep, no trick in the question, absolutely right, cartwheel.

Judith, which former world darts champion

was known as the Crafty Cockney?

Was it John Lowe, Phil Taylor or Eric Bristow?

I think it's Eric Bristow.

He's the Crafty Cockney.

Eric Bristow is the Crafty Cockney indeed. One point apiece.

Back to you, Tim.

The Finn, Tommy Makkinen, was a four-time world champion

in which sport in the 1990s?

Squash, rallying or canoeing?

I'm not 100% sure on this, Jeremy,

but I really think I should dispel squash.

My two sons both play squash for the country,

so it would be, if I get this wrong, I'm in trouble.

Um...

Canoeing, I think I can dispel as well,

because I'm pretty sure he's a rally driver.

-That's your answer?

-So rallying is my answer.

He is indeed a rally driver. Well done!

And your two sons play international squash?

They both are ranked in the top ten in Wales in their age category, yes.

-Gosh!

-Wow!

We'll see if a squash question comes up.

-You can't get it wrong if it does.

-Hopefully not.

Judith, which rugby union player went on five tours

with the British and Irish Lions playing in a record 17 test matches?

Willie John McBride, Gavin Hastings or JPR Williams?

I don't quite know... Does that... You can't tell me, can you?

British and Irish Lions, does that mean the whole of Great Britain?

You know that I can only put the question, you're being very naughty!

I'm not naughty, because I don't actually expect an answer.

So you were just asking a rhetorical question?

It's a rhetorical question, it's wasting time while I think.

I think it's either Willie John McBride or JPR Williams.

But JPR Williams is Welsh, isn't he?

That was why I asked the question out loud.

I think I'm gonna say Willie John McBride, praying!

-Praying?

-Yes.

Your prayer has been answered!

-Has it?

-Yes!

-Oh, God is good!

-You're right! Well done. Two points each.

Tim, this is harder than you might have thought it was gonna be!

Cracking the Egghead!

For which cricket club did Sir Len Hutton play

for his entire professional career?

Surrey, Yorkshire or Essex?

It's a difficult one again.

Again I think at this stage I will dispel Essex,

and concentrate on Yorkshire and Surrey.

Um...

I think I will plump for Yorkshire,

because they seem to have a lot more loyalty amongst their players,

certainly in this day and age, maybe even also when Len Hutton was around.

-So Yorkshire's your answer?

-I will go for Yorkshire.

David looks pleased about that. You are?

Yes.

-Because you know it's right?

-Yes.

-And it is.

Well done, Tim, three points.

Judith, if you get this wrong,

bang, you're gone.

Which football team won the first English league title in 1889?

Fulham, Preston North End or Aston Villa?

1889?

1889.

Well, I don't think it was Fulham.

I have read this, because I once read a short and humorous book

about the history of football, trying to get into my head.

Was it very funny?

Not terribly.

I'm going to say Aston Villa.

Bang go the Eggheads' heads on the table.

Well, CJ's head has not completely hit the table, but it was close.

Oh, no!

You're wrong, it was Preston North End.

Well done, Tim. Well done!

You've lifted your team spirits here!

You won on your great subject of sport, you took on an Egghead,

you emerged triumphant, good news for our challengers, the Cross Foxes,

because it means Tim can play in today's final round.

So do both come back and rejoin us here.

So as it stands, the challengers have lost two brains from the final round,

whilst the Eggheads have lost one brain... Judith.

The last subject is geography.

Which of you challengers wants to take that on,

and against which Egghead?

Mark, are you OK to play?

It's either Les or Mark.

Mark's doing it, Jeremy, and he'd like to take CJ on, please.

So it is Mark from the Cross Foxes

versus CJ from the Eggheads on geography.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

So Mark, good luck, three questions on geography, multiple choice,

and Mark, you can choose the first or the second set.

Well, as per the rest of the team, I think I'm going first.

The cathedral city of Canterbury is in which English county?

Is it Hampshire, Kent or West Sussex?

Funny enough that, because last week I was down in Kent,

strangely enough,

and I did visit the cathedral in Canterbury,

so Kent's my answer.

And Kent is quite right. Well done.

What's the capital of Peru, CJ?

Lima, Caracas or Bogota?

In the English language, there are only three countries in the world

where the name of the country has four letters

and the name of the capital has four letters.

You have Togo,

whose capital is Lome,

you have Fiji, whose capital is Suva,

and you have Lima, whose capital is the capital of Peru.

Peru, whose capital is Lima, you're quite right,

and that was actually fascinating. Thank you!

Mark, your second question, here we go.

What is the capital of the American state of Delaware?

Mark, is it Portsmouth, Dover or Harwich?

I think, looking at all of them, they're all a strong possibility,

but somewhere in the back of my mind,

I don't know where it comes from, I think it's Dover.

The back of your mind is doing well this afternoon, it is Dover.

CJ, in which country of the UK are the Sperrin Mountains located?

Northern Ireland, Scotland or England?

I am no good at British geography.

I would have struggled with the Canterbury question.

Northern Ireland, Scotland or England?

Which is it, CJ?

I have absolutely no idea. They're in Northern Ireland.

You're absolutely right. Well done.

Ooh, Mark!

You thought he was off the edge off the cliff!

But he had one fingernail there.

Your third question, Mark,

Occitania is an ancient geographical area

comprising the southern part of which country?

Germany, France or Hungary?

Wow!

Er...

I've got to think my way round this one somehow.

Occitania...

I'm looking at any of them.

Occitania...

I don't think it's got any relevance to Germany.

France or Hungary...

I'm gonna have a stab at France.

France is my answer.

-France is your answer. Any Eggheads know this?

-It's France.

-The Pays d'Oc.

-Judith, you live in France?

Yep, it's the Pays d'Oc.

The Pays d'Oc, you're right, Mark, it's France.

Well done!

Playing a blinder here!

Pressure back on you, CJ.

The Molucca Islands are a part of which country?

Indonesia, Cuba or Chile?

I'm hoping...

He said and then changed his mind.

I'm hoping they're the ones near Malaysia.

I'm wondering if I'm confusing those with the Malaccas,

or if it's all the same thing.

I'm going to go with Indonesia.

You're going with Indonesia?

Possibly, I'm just confusing myself with something else there.

But you're right, CJ, it is Indonesia.

Wobbling, but still on his bicycle.

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

You've both got them all right, so we go to Sudden Death.

Just to make it that bit harder,

these questions are not multiple choice.

Here we go, Mark, good luck.

Which British cathedral city stands by the Menai Strait,

opposite the Island of Anglesey?

These questions are loaded for us in North Wales!

-I'm afraid it's Bangor, I think.

-Don't be afraid, you're right.

The luck of that draw, you're getting some local questions here.

CJ, the Babine Mountains are an area of natural beauty

in which country?

This I do not know.

I have not heard of them.

Time to fall on my sword with a blind guess, they're in Turkey.

You think they're in Turkey?

I don't think they're in Turkey,

but it's a choice of pick a country in the world.

It's Canada, British Columbia. That's close.

-Well done, Mark!

-What about that!

A very, very hard fought round, and very well played to you, Mark.

Well done, you took on one of the Eggheads, you emerged triumphant.

Good news, because it means you'll be able, Mark, to play in today's final round.

Congratulations, please both of you now come back

and rejoin your teammates.

So this is what we've been playing towards, it's the final round,

and as always it's general knowledge.

I'm afraid those of you who lost your head to heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round -

Bob and David from the Cross Foxes,

and Judith and CJ from the Eggheads.

Please can you leave the studio.

Les, Tim and Mark, you are playing to win the Cross Foxes £1,000.

I can tell you that the Eggheads have not got a great record against Welsh teams.

However, on only two occasions have they actually lost

two contests in succession, and they lost the last one, so...

Kevin, Daphne and Chris, you are playing for something

which money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation, which badly needs restoring at this point.

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

This time the questions are all general knowledge,

you ARE allowed to confer.

Cross Foxes, the question is, are your three brains

better than the Eggheads' three brains?

So Les, Tim and Mark, would you like the first set of questions

-or the second set? And good luck, by the way.

-Continue?

We'll continue as we have been Jeremy, we'll go first please.

Our final round, here we go.

In an Italian meal, which course is known as dolce?

Starter, main course or dessert?

Dolce, I'd go for dessert.

Dolce vita? Is that goodbye?

Are we all agreed on that?

-Yes.

-OK.

I think we'll go for dessert, Jeremy.

-And you're right.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Well done, chaps!

Eggheads, what colour is the cross on the flag of Switzerland?

Red, white or blue?

It's actually white,

and the red cross which is the international symbol,

is the reverse of it.

So the Swiss flag has a white cross, you say?

-A white cross.

-Correct.

Cross Foxes, in 1985 who became the first footballer

to be sent off during an FA Cup final?

It was your boy, wasn't it?

Was it Remi Moses, Kevin Moran or Arthur Albiston?

I was actually there!

-Tim assures us he was actually...

-You were there?

Well, I'm hoping I've got it right.

I agree with him.

I watched Kevin Moran getting sent off,

but my captain would like to give the answer.

We'll stick with that one, Jeremy, Kevin Moran.

-Who was he playing for?

-He was playing for Manchester United.

You're right, it was Kevin Moran. Well done, you're in the lead.

Eggheads, the Wallachia province,

ruled by Vlad the Impaler in the 15th century,

is now part of which modern day country?

Poland, Russia or Romania?

Romania.

That would be Romania.

Yes, it is Romania. Correct.

Two points all.

Get this right and keep the pressure on them.

Cross Foxes, who is generally believed to be the subject of the Chandos portrait,

the first portrait to be acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1856?

Was it Chaucer, Dickens or Shakespeare?

The first one.

-What date was it again, please, Jeremy?

-1856.

What do you reckon?

It was Will Shakespeare.

But if it was Shakespeare... I don't think it's Shakespeare.

Dickens?

I think it's... I think it's Chaucer, Geoffrey Chaucer.

-That's what I fancy. Are you happy with that?

-You think so?

That's what I'm happy with.

We're not too certain, Jeremy, but we're going for Chaucer.

Chaucer is wrong, guys, I'm sorry.

It's William Shakespeare.

Eggheads, who was Chandos?

That was the family that had held the portrait, I believe,

and then when the National Portrait Gallery was set up in 1856,

it came into... donated.

And that's the famous Bard portrait that we know?

It's probably the most familiar image,

obviously, the domed forehead and the goatee beard,

it's probably the one that's been reproduced most often over the years.

The domed forehead? Do you recognise yourselves in that?

Er, no.

He was an early Egghead, maybe?

If you get this question right, you've won. Here's your question.

The historic Anglo Saxon site of Sutton Hoo

lies close to the banks of which river?

The River Stour, the River Deben or the River Alde?

It's not the Alde, I've been there.

The Anglo Saxon site of Sutton Hoo lies close to the banks of which river?

The Alde, I think, is too far up.

The Alde's too far up.

-Sutton is on the east side of the estuary.

-Yes.

-If I had a first thought, it was the Deben.

-Yes.

I know that the Stour estuary is close by there as well.

-Shall we go Deben?

-Yes.

We're not at all sure, we don't think it's the Alde,

we're torn between the Deben and the Stour,

just have a feeling it might be closer to the Deben, so Deben.

-Your answer is, just to be clear?

-Deben.

It is the River Deben. Congratulations, you've won!

You had us on tenterhooks, all of us.

Commiserations, challengers, the Eggheads have got back to doing what comes naturally to them,

and they reign supreme over quizland once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £1,000,

which means that the money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, many congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if the new challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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