Episode 10 Make Me an Egghead

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 - do you have the brains to join them?

Hello and welcome to Make Me An Egghead.

We've launched a nationwide search

to find the greatest quiz brains in Britain.

By the end of the series, two people will emerge as champions

and win the ultimate prize for quizzing enthusiasts -

a place on the most fearsome quiz team in history.

Here they are, the Eggheads.

So, they will sit amongst you. Yes. Gosh. Lucky them.

HE LAUGHS No, it is a prize, Judith, actually.

All right, let's meet today's contestants,

both hoping they've got what it takes to become an Egghead.

Hi. I'm Emma Laslett and I'm a disability information officer

from Milton Keynes.

Hi, I'm Frankie Fanko

and I'm a translator from Leicestershire.

Welcome, Emma. Welcome, Frankie, as well.

And I know you love your quizzing, cos, Emma, we've met before.

We have indeed. I was on Eggheads.

Remind me of the result.

It didn't go as well as I'd like to pretend.

I went out to CJ on the head-to-head.

I bet he was crowing over that, was he? Yeah, a little bit. Yeah.

So, you do a lot of quizzing otherwise. Yes.

Yeah, I've been on a few shows before and also I do

a lot of college-level quiz bowl, just taking part in tournaments,

and I run my own every summer. Terrific.

And, Frankie, speaking of college, you went to the brilliant

Hatfield College, Durham University. That's right, yeah.

Fellow Hatfielder like you, Jeremy. Yeah.

And out of that, that great institution, now doing what?

Translating, yeah.

So, I studied languages at Durham

and went on to become a freelance translator.

So, I translate from French, Spanish and Italian into English,

translating financial and legal documents.

Interestingly, you've both got a language thing.

You're a translator and, Emma, you know how many languages? I...

To a varying degree, about ten.

Wow. Really? Just bits of.

I mean, my only one I'm really fluent in properly is French

cos that was my degree, but besides that,

I've got passable Italian and Japanese,

bits of Russian, bits of Swedish, bits of Portuguese.

So, you must both have the same kind of language-loving brains.

Think so, yeah. Must do, yeah. OK, and the quiz loving as well.

So, your quiz pedigree, Frankie, remind us.

I play in the Quiz League of London.

My team has just got promoted to the second division,

so it's exciting.

OK, let's see how you go here. Good luck, both.

Contestants, this is where you prove you could be an Egghead.

It's pretty tough, this game, I must say.

Just like on Eggheads,

both of you will compete over a series of different rounds

where your knowledge will be tested on the regular Eggheads categories.

So, the first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of Sport.

I'm going to ask each of you

three multiple-choice questions on Sport in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round.

So far, so good.

The prize for winning a round on Make Me An Egghead -

and this is what's slightly different about it -

is that you can take one of those brains for yourself

to use in the final round.

Before the show, we tossed a coin, and as a result of that, Emma,

you have the option as to whether you want to go first or second.

I'll go first, please.

All right, here we go with your first question, Emma.

Who was the first British driver

to win the Formula One World Championship?

Now, oh...

Dreading racing coming up.

Really, I don't think it was Hunt. I think he was later.

I'm not totally sure between the other two,

but gut reaction is giving me Stirling Moss.

Stirling Moss is your answer.

Let's see what the Eggheads... Mike Hawthorne.

Mike Hawthorne, who's the least famous of the three.

Well, yeah, because he was a long time ago. When was he, then?

1958, I think. '58.

The later ones are the celebrity ones, is that right?

No, but Stirling Moss was still a celebrity,

just never won a world title.

OK. Runner-up on a few occasions, wasn't he?

Yes, he was. About four, was it? Four times. Four times, yeah.

They know their Formula One.

So, Mike Hawthorne is the answer.

Over to you, Frankie.

Which sports coach became famous as a champion for the theory

of marginal gains?

Um, well, it's not Pep Guardoila, the football manager.

Toni Minichiello, I think is the coach of Jessica Ennis-Hill,

but this is Sir Dave Brailsford.

Of course, famously helped Bradley Wiggins to become

the first Briton to win the Tour de France

through his theory of marginalised gains.

Right. And marginal gains meaning what?

Meaning... Those tiny increments.

Yeah, tiny increments in every aspect,

maybe not just the actual cycling.

But, you know, your attitude, preparation -

all of that adds up to give you an advantage over your competitors.

Brilliant. You're right. Dave Brailsford is correct.

Back to you, Emma. For which Brazilian

football club did Pele play for most of his career?

Um...

Right.

I wish I had some kind of logic here, but I'm just honestly...

A hunch, Vasco da Gama.

Do you know this, Frankie? Um, I think Santos rings a bell,

but I'm really not too sure.

Santos it is. Yeah.

Over to you, Frankie.

In 2016, Laura Massaro

became world number one for the first time

in which sport?

Um...

Yeah, it's...

We've got a couple of really good British squash players.

We've got Nick Matthews, the men's world number one,

and Laura Massaro is the women's number one at squash.

If you've got this right, the round is yours.

And you have got it right. Squash is the answer.

We say congratulations, Frankie. You've won the first head-to-head.

So, you gain an Egghead,

and there they are all staring in an intelligent way.

HE CHUCKLES

Who would you like to help you in the final round?

I think I'll go for Kevin, please.

Yeah, he's been a popular choice on Make Me An Egghead, I must say.

Can't think why.

Kevin, what's it like going into the booth back there?

You do feel under pressure a bit more than might be the case

in a regular game because there you're playing for yourself

or for the team.

Here, you don't want to let anybody down.

All right, so, as it stands, Emma has no Eggheads yet,

Frankie has one.

Early days. The next category is Politics.

Frankie, cos you won the last round, you can decide

to go first or second.

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

So, we are on Politics, Frankie, and this is your first question.

In which year did Kim Il-sung become communist leader of North Korea?

Um, so, he was the father of Kim Jong-il.

So, it's definitely not 1988. That's too recent.

So is 1968, I think, so I think it's got to be 1948.

The logic being that he has about 40 years in power

or something like that or...?

Well, I think so, cos I think the idea was that, you know,

he'd be in power until he died and then it would pass on down

the generations in the same way.

Anyone want to help us with this?

How long was he on the throne for, as it were?

Well, it was about 40 years. About 40 years.

1948 is correct.

OK, Emma,

let's get you on the scoreboard here.

Members are elected to the 60-seat Welsh Assembly

for terms of how long?

I don't think it's as long as five years cos I'm pretty sure

it's shorter than kind of national parliament.

I don't know. One year sounds short, but I kind of feel...

Yeah, I'm going to go with one.

No, I think that would be exhausting for people in Wales

to have an election every year. It's actually five.

Oh, right. Five years.

Which, I guess, these days under the Fixed Term Act

is the same as the national parliament.

Yeah. Five-year term.

OK. Back to you, Frankie.

In 1827, George Canning became British Prime Minister,

a position he held for how long?

Um...

None of those are very long, are they?

I think...

I don't think it's four days, for some reason.

I'll try four months.

Now, I don't know the story here. Can anybody help us?

He was ill. He was ill. Potentially...

So, not assassinated, not deposed in some way.

No, just didn't last very long.

Just took ill. Yes. Yeah.

Four months is right. Have you got a question wrong yet?

I don't think you have.

Don't think so, but there's plenty of time for that.

Oh, Emma, Emma. Got to get this one right

to stay in this round.

Who was serving as Irish Taoiseach, or prime minister,

when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998?

Now...

I mean, that's fairly recent,

so it kind of stands to reason it would be someone I've heard of,

and I think I've heard his name in connection with this.

I will go Bertie Ahern.

Bertie Ahern is the right answer. Well done.

Now, your third question, Frankie.

You can take the round on this.

What was the last cabinet post Andy Burnham held

before the 2010 general election?

Um, I'm pretty sure he's never been defence secretary

or home secretary, so...

But he definitely has been health secretary,

so I'll go for health secretary.

Yeah, I think he became shadow home secretary in opposition.

But health secretary is the right answer.

That was the last cabinet post Andy Burnham held. Congratulations.

You've won the head-to-head.

As a result, you gain an Egghead, Frankie, for the final round,

so you're going to have at least two.

You've chosen Kevin already. Can I interest you in one of the others?

I won't give you all their various positive qualities.

They're too many. I'll go for Pat, please.

OK. So, Kevin and Pat, known as Both Barrels.

LAUGHTER Well...

We'll get the T-shirts made up, Jeremy.

LAUGHTER They are fearsome pair, those two.

So, well done, Frankie. You've got two Eggheads in the final round.

Emma still has none.

Let's see, Emma, whether you can get one in this round. It's Science.

Frankie, you won the last round so you can choose

whether you go first or second.

I'll go first, please.

OK, Science round starts now, Frankie, with this question.

NH3 is the chemical formula for which gas?

Um...

I'm not too good on gases,

but I think that sounds like it might be ammonia.

Very good. Ammonia it is.

Emma, CERN -

C-E-R-N -

the name of the research agency based in Geneva

is an acronym of words of which language?

Well, I know they speak all of them at various places in Switzerland,

but I believe it's French -

Centre d'Etudes de something Nucleaire.

French is correct. Anyone spell it out for us?

Yep.

Well, it's the Council for European Nuclear Research

is what the letters originally stood for.

Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire.

All right.

Frankie, which part of a tree is the bole?

Bole is B-O-L-E.

B-O-L-E. Bole.

Not too sure on this one.

I'll try the trunk.

Trunk is right.

Two out of two.

You need a bit of daylight here, Emma. Yeah. Need her to slip up.

Here's your question, Emma.

For the first time in seven years,

in 2016 which bird was in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch top ten?

Sorry, could you repeat the start of the question again?

I'll repeat the whole thing.

For the first time in seven years,

in 2016 which bird was in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch top ten?

So, Big Garden Birdwatch is the name of it. Yeah.

I don't think it would be the magpie cos, I mean,

it seems unlikely that that would've been

out of there for that long.

They're quite common.

And I seem to remember something

about there being a resurgence in finches.

I'll go with goldfinch.

Goldfinch is your answer. Is that right, anyone know?

Judith, you big on your birds?

Well, there are a lot of goldfinches, but I don't know.

My instinct was for long-tailed tit. I don't know why.

Cos I suppose that the point about the Birdwatch

is that this is a bird... Has been absent...

Has been a bit absent, yeah. ..and come back in.

Yeah, I mean, I had goldfinches in my garden in London,

so they must be very common. Right.

And magpies everywhere. But I didn't have long-tailed tits. No.

Magpies are everywhere. OK.

So, based on Judith's garden, long-tailed tit is the answer. Yeah.

So, you can clinch it

with this question, Frankie,

and go into the final with three Eggheads.

In which part of the human body are the parietal bones?

So, we're spelling that P-A-R-I-E-T-A-L.

The parietal bones.

OK, well, I had a feeling they were in the skull

before the options came up.

I think there's also a parietal lobe, I think,

in the brain, so I'll go for skull.

I never know what the Eggheads' rule is.

Is it when it's bones, always go ankle?

No, skull, probably. Always go skull when it's bones?

Well, which has got the most bones? Well, exactly.

I thought it was the ankle had the most.

No, it's only got about two or three.

The skull has got the most. Yeah.

All right, we've got to remember that rule.

Skull is right. So, well done, Frankie.

You're ahead and you can't be caught in this round.

We say congratulations, you've won the final head-to-head.

You'll have three Eggheads in the final round.

You've got Kevin, you've got Pat. Well done.

Who else would you like? What a selection.

Well, I've already got two men, so let's even it up a bit.

I'll go for Judith, please. Thank you. Good stuff.

Emma, you haven't got any Eggs in the final round.

Frankie, you've got Kevin, Pat and Judith.

Let's go ahead and play that final.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time to find out who is one step closer to becoming

an Egghead and who will be eliminated from our search.

So, Emma and Frankie,

I'm going to ask each of you three questions in turn.

This time they're all General Knowledge.

In this final round,

you will have the backing of the Eggheads you've won

over the course of the show.

So, Emma, for you, you'll be going it alone.

And, Frankie, you've got Kevin and Pat and Judith back there,

which is rather handy.

You'll be able to call on your respective Eggheads

for advice before giving an answer to a question.

You can even use more than one for a question.

Once you've used them, however, they can't be used again.

So, got to use them wisely.

Let's go for it. Frankie, as you won the last round,

you get to choose whether you want to play first or second.

I'll go first, please.

And here we go with your first question.

Which saying originated from a tax collection theory

of a 15th century archbishop of Canterbury?

Um, not too sure about this one,

so I think I might need

to ask for some help.

You're going to call in one of your bazookas.

OK, which one do you want?

Who's going to know this?

I'll go for Kevin, please.

OK.

OK, Kevin. Here is your question.

Which saying originated from a tax collection theory

of a 15th century archbishop of Canterbury?

Yeah, it's...

The fork, the idea of the fork with the double tie-in

is that if you don't get people one way you'll get them another way,

so it was sort of a tax collection double trap, in a way.

And the archbishop in question was Morton.

It's Morton's fork.

Now, that is precisely what we need Kevin for, isn't it?

Absolutely, yep. You don't have to take his answer.

He did, I must say, on a level of Kevin certainty,

he sounded about nine or ten there.

Yeah.

I think he seems to know what he's talking about, as always,

so I'll go for Kevin's answer then, which I think was Morton's fork.

Morton's fork is the correct answer.

Well done.

And, Kevin, do you know his first name?

I was trying to remember that. Is it Thomas? I'm not sure.

I can't remember his first name.

I think it's John. John, OK. I think it's John.

Roughly, what are we talking about? 15th century, so...

Towards the end of the 15th century,

cos he was archbishop of Canterbury...

This was under the reign of Henry VII.

So, prior to Henry VIII and all of that stuff. Yeah.

So, it would be very much towards the end of the century.

1486 to 1500, I'm told. Just to show you're right.

Well, good use of an Egghead there, Frankie. Well done.

First point to you.

OK, Emma, I know you're playing alone, but you can do this. Yeah.

Here's your question, Emma.

Which sporting legend performed a DJ set at Block Festival

in Minehead's Butlins Resort in April, 2016?

Oh, I swear I heard about this at the time.

I don't think it would be Steve Davis.

It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing he'd do.

I'm torn between the other two.

I think I was erring towards Damon Hill from the start,

so I will go Damon Hill.

Damon Hill is your answer.

Let's just bang this off the Eggheads here.

Eggheads, ring any bells? It's Steve Davis. Steve Davis.

Steve Davis? He loves his music. He loves music. Mm.

Well, good luck to him. Steve Davis is the answer.

So, Frankie, your question now.

For what does the letter T stand in EPCOT,

the theme park in Walt Disney World Resort in Florida?

What's the acronym?

EPCOT - E-P-C-O-T. E-P-C-O-T.

Um...

EPCOT.

Yeah, I've heard of that. I'm not sure if I know what it stands for.

Yeah, I think I'll have to call on one of the Eggheads again.

That's all right. Might as well use them.

Yeah. I'll ask Pat, please.

All right, Pat, EPCOT, what does the T stand for?

I think it's something along the lines

of Experimental Community Of Tomorrow.

I think so. I think it's Tomorrow.

So, he's got a bit less certainty than Kevin had with the archbishop.

Mm. You've got to decide whether you go with that.

Still got a lot more certainty than I have, so,

yeah, I just don't know this so I'll go for tomorrow.

Yep. Tomorrow is your answer.

I was there a couple of years ago, actually, on holiday.

It's the one with the big golf ball.

You know, it's that very futuristic thing,

but then it could be technology.

You're nearly right on the acronym, Pat.

It's Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow,

so tomorrow is the right answer.

Well done, Frankie. Good use of your Eggheads.

Now, Emma, the situation that

we are in is that you have to get this right to stay alive.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature

in which decade?

I'm starting to take this personally,

cos on Eggheads I went out on a Nobel Prize in Literature question.

Really?

Right, Marquez.

I've read some Marquez. I should be able to pin it down to a date.

I don't think it was the '60s.

I think that would've been too early

cos I think a lot of his books were coming out around the '60s.

The '70s or '80s, really.

I think it would probably have been the '70s.

Now, I'm not sure whether it's for an individual book

or whether it's just for being... Yeah.

..Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Frankie, do you know this one?

I would've said '80s, although, I'm not 100%.

Cos Love In The Time Of Cholera is the one that I've read,

and that came out in the '80s.

Eggheads, any knowledge on this? 1982, I think. Ah.

1980s is the answer. Yeah.

So, you can't catch Frankie in the final round.

We say congratulations, Frankie. You have won. Thank you.

Commiserations, Emma. Bad luck. Yeah.

Just went the wrong way each time.

Just how it falls sometimes. I know you're a good quizzer.

There's no question about that. Well done, Frankie. Thank you.

You've proved winning comes as naturally to you

as it does to our Eggheads.

Eggheads, well done to you. We didn't call you in, Judith.

No, I know. Thanks goodness.

You were ready and waiting.

I was ready and waiting feeling rather nervous.

I know you would've known the archbishop.

I did know the archbishop, yeah. Yeah.

And the EPCOT one? No, that I did not know.

I was dreading being asked that.

OK, well, anyway, you weren't needed,

but you were there and I could see that you were very alert.

So, Frankie, you're one step closer to joining our quiz Goliaths,

but your work for today is not quite done.

We give you three points for each round you've won today,

so you've got a very, very handy nine points.

And you're going to get the chance now to add to those

by answering quick fire questions for two minutes.

Each correct answer, you will score a point for.

I've got to accept your first answer.

And we see where your final score

puts you on the all-important Eggheads leaderboard.

The top four places at the end of the heats will make it through

to the semifinal, so just have a look at the leaderboard.

You can see we've got four names on it already.

The question will be, can you displace one of them

and get into the all-important green area?

All to play for. Are you ready to play? Yes.

OK, Frankie, good luck. Your time starts now.

Which Canadian city was the official host city

of the 2010 Winter Olympics?

Vancouver. Correct.

In which US state is Elvis Presley's home

and final resting place, Graceland?

Tennessee. Correct.

Born in 1942, the footballer famously known as Eusebio

represented which country in international competition?

Portugal. Correct.

Which novel by Anthony Burgess

is centred around Alex and his gang of droogs?

A Clockwork Orange. Correct.

On which island was the painter El Greco born in 1541?

Crete. Correct.

The name of which European capital city featured in the title

of a 1981 Ultravox hit single?

Vienna. Correct.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet,

the name of which sport represents the letter G?

Golf. Correct.

On a standard cubic dice, which number is opposite the number four?

Two. No, three.

The Galapagos Islands form a province of which country?

Ecuador. Correct.

Nancy Sinatra sang the theme song to which 1967 James Bond film?

You Only Live Twice. Correct.

Which cocktail takes its name from the Spanish for strained pineapple?

Pina colada. Correct.

In British history, who was the last king of England

from the house of Lancaster?

Um...

Edward VI. No Henry VI. Oh.

Which Pulitzer Prize-winning play is known for the line,

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"?

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. No, A Streetcar Named Desire.

In which ocean is the island nation of the Seychelles located?

Indian. Correct.

Which Beatles song starts with the line,

"When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me"?

Let It Be. Correct.

What is the English word for the day of the week

called mercredi in French? Wednesday. Correct.

Which comedy double act had the catchphrase,

"And it's goodnight from him"? The Two Ronnie's. Correct.

For what does the letter J stand in the name of the author JD Salinger?

John. Jerome.

No, I've got to take John. Sorry. It's Jerome.

At over 1,000 miles long,

the Orange River is a major river on which continent?

Africa. Correct. In...

That was a good performance.

There was a question there

which just got you stuck.

It was Henry, wasn't it? Yeah, I just...

The trouble was... ..confused Henry VI with Edward IV,

and getting the letters wrong in my mind.

No, but I felt for you, cos I thought,

"Ah, you don't want to pass here." Yeah.

You want to go for it. You just got jammed. Maybe should've passed.

And I had to take your first on JD Salinger. I know.

I just realised... You were right with Jerome. Yeah.

You went, "John. Jerome." Just went in too quick.

No, but you did brilliantly there.

You scored 15 points,

so that gives you a grand total of 24 points.

Now, we will see the leaderboard,

and you're going to arrive rather dramatically here to the very top.

How about that?

And the nearest is Marianne and Kit, both with 20 points.

You're at the top there on 24, and it's partly that getting

all three Eggheads is really, really helpful to you.

How was that? A bit of a brainstorm? Yeah. Yeah, it was.

It's just hard to think when, you know,

you know you're under time pressure and it's...

Well, I loved your Galapagos/Ecuador moment,

cos that's the sort of one where you can just think,

"Oh, I don't know."

Well, yeah, when you do as many quizzes as I do,

you've got that one wrong before and won't get it wrong again. Yeah.

So, Eggheads, there we go. These are two great quizzers here.

They are. Absolutely are.

Any of those quick fire questions where you would've thought,

"No, can't do that"? Judith, anything for you?

Well, I'd have got...

Henry VI too, I would've had to think about that.

Yeah, the last king of the house of Lancaster, it was, wasn't it? Yeah.

That was quite a contest. Well done, Frankie.

You've actually not just won,

you've gone to the top of the leaderboard

in a very decisive way there.

And if you stay in the green, you will be in the semifinals.

And who knows?

Maybe you could book a place at that table before too long.

Join us next time to find out who else might have what it takes

to get on the leaderboard and maybe become an Egghead.

Until then, goodbye.

Then I won't. Won't what?

Let you catch me.

Expect fresh twists on BBC One.