Episode 112 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 Cubbington Players. Now, this team share a passion

for the stage. And they're members of the same amateur dramatics group

in Leamington Spa. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Chris. I'm 62 and I'm a retired maths teacher.

Hi, I'm Tony. I'm 60 and I'm a professor of statistics.

Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm 34 and I'm a business analyst.

Hi, I'm Mark. I'm 38 and I'm a database analyst.

Hi, I'm Chris. I'm 64 and I'm a retired chartered accountant.

Welcome to the Cubbington Players.

Tell us about the dramatics?

Cubbington is a large village, just outside Leamington Spa.

And that's where the group was formed. We're not sure exactly when.

We think, probably, it was some time just after the Second World War.

Certainly, it's been going for more than 50 years.

And most of us lived in Cubbington, at some point.

And got dragged in by friends.

Sarah, what do you play when you take on these roles?

The last role I had was the Snow Queen in the pantomime.

Which was marvellous, because I could strut around the stage

and really shout. And I made...

I made a child cry on one of the nights, which was awful. But I couldn't...

You can't break out of character and say, "Oh, no, don't cry, please."

But that was really great fun.

-Relished that.

-OK, see if you can make this lot cry.

Because we'd like to see it happen. Everyday there is £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our challengers. If they fail

to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Cubbington Players, the Eggheads have won the last 12 games,

which means £13,000 says that you can't beat them today.

You ready to try?

-Yes.

-First head to head battle will be on the subject of Food & Drink.

Challengers, which one of you wants Food & Drink

and against which Egghead?

Well, I think it's going to be me.

-OK. Which Egghead?

-I'd like to play Kevin, please.

-Wow!

You've obviously been watching the programme.

Chris S, from the Cubbington Players,

versus Kevin, from the Eggheads, please take your positions in the question room now.

Chris, three multiple choice questions.

And you can choose the first or second set.

Think I'd like to go first, please.

Chris, in cooking, what name is given to the process

of gently mixing ingredients, using a large metal spoon or spatula,

in order to keep air in the mixture?

Well, I know it's not ripping.

That sounds very violent.

Don't think it's bending, either.

So, I'm pretty sure that it's folding.

It is, indeed, folding. Well done.

Kevin, here's your question. Dover is a common variety of which fish?

Dover sole, Jeremy.

Absolutely right. One all.

Back to our Cubbington Players.

Metaxa is a sweetened brandy that originated

in which European country?

No, I know that it's not Spain,

because I've been there recently.

It's not Italy, either, so...

I have drunk it in Greece. So, I'm pretty sure that it's Greece.

Drinking it in Greece was a clue.

Yes, Greece is right.

Kevin, what was the title of Delia Smith's 1987 recipe book

for the single cook?

Yes, that's tricky because she's very prolific, isn't she?

I know she did one called How To Eat, but how far back was that?

It's 20 years ago.

I mean, both the others are appropriate sounding titles.

But I don't know of them as being books of hers, so...

I know she did do one called, How To Eat. So, I'm going with that.

It's not How To Eat, Kevin.

-It's One Is Fun.

-How To Eat is Nigella.

-Sorry?

-Isn't How To Eat..?

-How To Eat is Nigella?

-I think so. Yup.

-So, doubly wrong.

Chris, if you get this question right, you've won the head to head.

Langues de chat, which literally means "cat's tongue", is what kind of food?

A fruit it isn't.

I'm pretty sure it's not a fish.

No, I think, I've actually made them at one time. They're a biscuit.

Biscuit's the right answer.

Well done. First round and you take out Kevin

from the Eggheads. So, he can't play in the final round.

Chris, you can. Do come back and rejoin your team mates.

The Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round

whilst the Challengers have not lost any.

Our next subject is Music. Now, which of you fancies music?

Which can be very new, or very old.

-Do you want me to do it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Yeah. I'll have a go, thanks, Jeremy.

Sarah. OK, you're going to be the Snow Queen here and make them cry.

-Which one?

-Chris.

I'd like to play Chris, please.

So, we have Sarah,

from the Cubbington Players, versus Chris, from the Eggheads, on Music.

And to ensure there's no conferring, please leave the studio.

Sarah, you get to choose. Multiple choice questions. First or second set?

I'd like to go first, please.

Sarah, what name is given to large overnight dance parties,

especially those laid on during the late 1980s and the early 1990s?

I never attended any myself, unfortunately.

But I believe they're raves.

They were raves. That's right.

You didn't go to many yourself, Chris, did you?

-No. I was too busy doing other things.

-Listening to rap music?

-Yeah.

In the song, Do-Re-Mi, from the Musical, The Sound of Music,

the note Re is described as a drop of golden what?

-Sun.

-Sun, yeah.

Your second question now, Sarah.

Puccini's opera, La Boheme, is set in which city?

I must admit, I don't know.

Puccini is Italian, I believe.

So, I guess then I'd have to go for Rome.

The logic is great, but the answer is wrong. It's Paris.

Rats!

Over to you, Chris.

Which member of the Sugababes... Ha-ha!

There's a running joke that this group comes up again and again with Chris. Here we go again.

Which member of the Sugababes was the most recent to join the group,

when she replaced Mutya Buena in 2005?

Yeah. I think, I THINK, that was Keisha Buchanan.

I love the fact you've been, because of this Sugababes thing,

-you've been mugging up on the group.

-No.

And still got it wrong.

-Eggheads, what's the answer?

-Amelle Berrabah.

-Amelle Berrabah.

Amelle Berrabah is the answer, Chris. Sorry.

Back to you, Sarah.

The Odd Couple, released in 2008,

is the second album from which musical duo?

I must admit, I don't know this one either.

Orbital have been around for a while.

So have Basement Jaxx.

Gnarls Barkley, I believe, are two people who look quite different.

So, I'm going to have to guess at them. Gnarls Barkley.

Gnarls Barkley's your answer, it's right. Brilliant!

Chris, who sang the theme song to the Bruce Willis, Cybill Shepherd TV series, Moonlighting?

I'm just running the end credits in my mind.

I think it was George Benson.

-Is that your answer?

-Mm-hm.

You're a goner. It was Al Jarreau.

Sorry, Chris. It's good news for the Challengers, Cubbington Players.

Because it means you'll be able to play in today's final round.

So, both of you please come back and rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands, the Eggheads have lost two Brains

from the final round, whilst the Challengers have not lost any.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Which of you wants this and against which Egghead?

Ah, that'll be me. And I will take on...

Judith.

I think Judith.

-Judith, on Arts & Books?

-Yes.

-And you're a database analyst?

Yes. But I do read.

I wasn't suggesting you didn't.

So, it's Mark from the increasingly confident Cubbington Players

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

please take your positions in the question room.

OK, well, good luck to you, Mark.

Arts & Books, multiple choice, three questions.

-First, or second set, Mark?

-I'd like to go first, please.

Serving you well so far.

What is the only wild animal to appear in the title of a Shakespeare play?

Well, I'm pretty sure that it's not The Taming Of The Badger,

or The Taming Of The Mole.

So, I'm going to say shrew, please.

Shrew, well done, you're right.

Judith, what is the collective name of the series of books,

featuring female characters, that accompany the Mr Men books?

Do you know, I don't know.

I only know the Mr Men books.

Well, I think it's probably either Little Miss or Little Lady.

I should think it's probably Little Miss.

-Is that your answer?

-Yup.

Phew! You got it right.

I really haven't seen them, funnily enough.

-They're lovely!

-You're back on your bike.

Your question, Mark.

Who published his autobiography in 1997, under the title, Moab Is My Wash Pot?

Well, it's a very unusual title.

I can't think that it's the sort of thing that Ben Elton would say.

Or maybe Angus Deayton. But it sounds like quite a sort of

highfalutin phrase that Stephen Fry might use.

So, I'd say Stephen Fry.

You're right. You take the lead again.

Stephen Fry is the correct answer.

Judith, which member of the Rolling Stones is a painter,

described by the art critic Brian Sewell as an accomplished and respectable artist?

That is Ron Wood.

One word at a time. You are right.

Two points each.

Mark, "Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold..."

is a line, from a poem, by which writer?

Oh, I really don't know, so, ah...

I don't think it's the sort of thing that William Wordsworth would write.

So, between the other two,

I have a feeling TS Eliot... didn't he write The Wasteland?

And it sounds like the, sort of, downbeat thing that could be in that.

So, I'm going to say TS Eliot.

Mark, I'm sorry, you're wrong. It was WB Yeats,

from The Second Coming.

So, Judith, this for the round.

Which of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels was re-titled as You Asked For It,

when it was first published in paperback in the USA?

I don't know.

I'm trying to think which of those.

Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger, Casino Royale.

What would Americans not understand?

I'll just literally have to guess.

I think Goldfinger.

-Goldfinger is the answer?

-Yeah.

That's wrong. It's Casino Royale.

We go now to Sudden Death. To make it that bit harder,

these questions are not multiple choice.

Here we go, Mark. In which London building is Charles Dickens buried?

Oh...

I'll say Westminster Cathedral.

Westminster Cathedral is wrong. It's Westminster Abbey.

And they are two very different buildings.

He's buried in Poet's Corner. Judith, this for the round.

In a story by Beatrix Potter, what type of animal is Mr Todd?

He's a fox.

You're right, Judith. He is a fox.

Mark, you can't play in the final round.

Please both of you come back, rejoin your team mates.

The Challengers have lost one brain now, from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost two brains.

The last subject is Film & Television.

Who would like Film & Television?

It's Chris or Tony.

Looks like the captain is going to be the sacrificial lamb.

Chris. Is that because you want to keep Tony in for the final round?

-Is that the strategy?

-It's because Tony doesn't want to do this.

He doesn't want to. Even simpler.

OK, so, which one of these...

Well, you've only got Daphne and CJ to choose from.

Which one of those two?

CJ.

OK. So, it's Chris versus CJ, from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

I'm going to ask each of you three multiple choice questions.

And you can choose the first or second set, Chris.

I'll go first, please.

Chris, the father and son, Harry and Matthew Corbett

were the hands behind which TV puppet?

Well, I used to watch this a lot as a child.

So, I'm pretty certain the answer is Sooty.

Sooty is the answer. Well done, Chris.

CJ, the TV documentary series, Horizon, first broadcast in 1964,

covers developments in which field?

It's a science programme, Jeremy.

Science is correct. Level pegging.

Chris, in which TV sitcom did Wendy Craig

play the slightly bored housewife, Ria Parkinson?

Well, it certainly wasn't Bread.

And it's another one I used to watch in my youth.

It's Butterflies.

Jolly good. It really is. You're right.

CJ, in February 2008, Nicholas Cage successfully sued Kathleen Turner

over her allegations that he'd stolen a Chihuahua

when they starred together in which film?

Oh, dear!

This is where not watching films, comes into a bit of trouble.

Because I'm not sure of which films they were in together.

You only read about films, don't you?

I just read about them. I don't watch the things. This is a guess.

Raising Arizona.

-I'm afraid you're wrong. The answer is Peggy Sue Got Married.

-No idea.

So, your third question.

Chris, which actress played the role of the femme fatale

Phyllis Dietrichson in the 1944 film noir, Double Indemnity?

I'm going to have to guess.

I know Barbara Stanwyck did a lot of femme fatale roles.

So, she is the one I'm going to go for.

Yeah, brilliant answer, you're right. Well done.

Well done.

You really are

very, very strong players, you Cubbingtons.

Chris can play in today's final round. Please come back to the studio.

This is what we've been playing towards - our final round here on Eggheads. General Knowledge.

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

will not be allowed to take part. That's Mark from the Cubbington Players.

But it's also Kevin, CJ, and Chris from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Chris P, Tony, Sarah and Chris S,

you are playing to win the Cubbington Players £13,000.

Judith and Daphne, you're playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

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

The questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

Cubbington Players, the question is, are your four brains

better than the Eggheads' two? There's got to be a good chance of that, right?

-Would you like to go first, or second?

-We'll go first, please.

Good luck.

Twin-tub was a common type of which everyday household item?

-My mother had one.

-It's a washing machine.

I had one of those.

Yes, it's a washing machine.

It is a washing machine. Well done.

Eggheads, in sport, a varsity match

is a competition between teams from what kind of establishment?

Universities.

That would be universities, Jeremy. Thank you.

That is correct. Thank you!

One point to you. Back to you, Cubbington Players.

What type of transport is the Canadian Komatik?

K-O-M-A-T-I-K?

Sounds more like a sledge than anything else.

-The K sort of makes you think kayak...

-Yeah.

..which is the canoe...

Komatik doesn't sound like it ought to be another one of those.

It's not a tricycle? No.

-It's not very Canadian.

-I don't think it's a tricycle.

-Shall we go with sledge?

-Yeah.

-Shall we?

-Yeah, let's do it.

-I think it's a pure guess, but we'll go for sledge.

You're right.

Oh.

Well done. Sledge.

OK, Eggheads. Try this one for size.

The Vizsla is a breed of dog, originally from which country?

Hungary.

The Vizsla. V-I-Z-S-L-A...

..is a breed of dog, originally from which country?

Well, they're from Hungary.

Apparently, during the Middle Ages, they used to be sold for great sums

because they were so good at herding sheep and cattle.

I never know how you know these things. You're right.

With such certainty.

Next question is for the Cubbington Players.

In which Scottish city was the bridge known as the Squinty Bridge opened in 2006?

-Don't know.

-Has anybody heard anything

about the Squinty Bridge before, ever?

It's a very Scottish word.

Hang on.

-Winking Bridge, but that's not the same.

-No.

-No.

-I'm sure if it was Edinburgh or Glasgow,

we would have heard of it.

-You reckon?

-Yeah, my instinct is to go for Perth.

-Yeah.

-It doesn't have to be a big bridge.

If we don't know, it's as good a guess as anything else, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Shall we go for Perth, then?

-Yeah.

We'll go for Perth.

Perth is your answer.

Do you know, Eggheads, where the Squinty bridge is?

-I would have said Glasgow.

-I would have thought Glasgow.

-Why would you say that?

-Well...

-It's sort of slangy Scottish.

Is it?

Yeah, it's Glasgow.

Sorry, you're wrong. It's not Perth.

So, to take the contest, Eggheads.

During World War I, so called dazzle camouflage was painted predominantly on the sides of what?

Light shimmers on water.

I think, you know...

I don't think it's tanks, because they came in late.

-Tanks are late in the war?

-Yes.

Aeroplanes are made of wood.

Yes, but I mean, why could you have dazzle camouflage that sort of...

if they're coming in through the clouds?

Well, I just thought of light on the sea, is very...

it's very, very bright.

But I don't know. It's just logic.

I don't know either.

Can we go for aeroplanes?

-On my head be it.

-Well, your instinct's a lot better than mine.

So, OK.

Well, we're going to go for aeroplanes.

With no certainty, whatsoever.

But simply because...

Daphne's instinct's better than my instinct.

-Are they shaking their heads?

-Who wanted which option?

-She wanted... Oh, don't say that!

-I wanted ships.

-You wanted ships?

-Yes.

-Daphne, you are an amazing guesser. I don't know how you do it.

-Oh, is it right?

-No, you're wrong.

-On this occasion, you are wrong.

-Sorry.

-It's ships.

-It is ships.

Ha! Do you want to breathe that sigh of relief in a very theatrical way?

-Let's see it.

-Ah!

-Ah!

Well done, for surviving multiple choice.

It doesn't get any easier now.

We go to Sudden Death with £13,000 in play. Here we go.

The 2008 internet phenomenon of Rickrolling involves luring users

into clicking on, seemingly innocuous, links which then,

instead, play a pop video of which singer's greatest hit?

Rick Astley. Yes. Rick Astley.

Rick Astley is the answer.

-Well done. Have you been Rickrolled?

-No.

Do you know the video in question by any chance?

-I presume it's one of his hits.

-Never Going...

Sarah, Never Going To Give You Up. Exactly. Well done.

Next question is for the Eggheads, here we go.

What type of bath, named after the family who invented it, was initially conceived in the 1940s

to ease the pain of people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis?

That's a Jacuzzi.

It is a Jacuzzi, you're right.

Next question to you, Cubbington Players.

Which English playwright wrote the screenplay for David Lean's film, Ryan's Daughter?

Which English playwright, Cubbington Players, wrote the screenplay for David Lean's film, Ryan's Daughter?

-Wasn't Robert Bolt was it?

-Huh?

-Robert Bolt.

-I need a first name and a surname.

We think it was Robert Bolt.

Chris, where does that come from, that name?

The only one I could think of was

A Man For All Seasons. And that was Robert Bolt, and just...

I don't know whether it's the right answer or not.

It's right.

-It's right.

-Well done, well done.

Eggheads, you need to get this question right.

In the US sitcom Taxi,

what was the name of the company for which the main characters worked?

-I think it was Sunshine Cabs.

-I don't know. I've no idea.

The only name I can come up with is Sunshine Cabs.

-Yes, that's correct.

-Phew!

OK, Cubbington Players.

In which European city would you visit the unusual Parc Guell?

P-A-R-C G-U-E-L-L.

Barcelona.

Barcelona is right.

Designed by?

-Gaudi.

-Gaudi. Oh, you know so much!

This is a tough team, here.

-I know.

-They're very good.

Which stage musical, Eggheads...

and if you get this wrong, they get £13,000.

Which stage musical first performed in the West End, in March 2005,

features the songs Electricity and Expressing Yourself?

-Expressing Yourself.

-No idea.

-You don't know?

-No.

OK, well, let's think.

Expressing Yourself. It's either new, or a revival.

Can be either.

Espresso Bongo, isn't that, isn't that...

-No, I don't think so.

-You just want the confusion to deepen now.

I think the only reasonably new one I can think of is Wicked.

-Is what?

-Wicked.

-That's about witches, isn't it?

Yes.

-Oh, you saw that?

-No, no.

I'm trying to think of new musicals and I just cannot think of any.

Well, would it have Electricity in it?

-Well, I don't know.

-No, there might. Witches, with wands and things.

Yes, but...

Casting spells.

-Yes.

-Expressing Yourself.

-OK.

-It's just, it could be, couldn't it? We can't think of anything else.

Well, as I said, our best guess is, with absolutely no conviction whatsoever, Jeremy - Wicked.

It's Wicked.

And you know that, if you get this answer wrong, you've lost.

The Eggheads have lost. It doesn't happen often.

-No.

-There's £13,000 goes to our challengers.

Wicked... It's wrong. It's Billy Eliot, the musical. Challengers, you've won.

-Oh!

-Fantastic!

-Well done!

-Well played!

And really well played, because you really were head to head there.

You pitched three of them out, took on the other two, and won. Congratulations. Fantastic.

What's the money going on? Have you had a think about that?

Some of it will go to Cubbington Players. Because we're always in need of new costumes, make-up, props.

How are you feeling, Mark? You happy?

I'm absolutely ecstatic.

-They did well, didn't they?

-They did brilliantly.

Well, great. You've won £13,000. Fantastic. What a great contest.

You are officially cleverer than the Eggheads. You've proved they can be beaten.

Join us next time on Eggheads, to see if the new team of challengers

will be just as successful.

Till then, while we recover from the stress, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]