Episode 11 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 with you lot over here.

And there is no higher prize, is there?

No. Let's meet today's contestants.

Both hoping they've got what it takes

to become an Egghead themselves.

Hello, my name's Steve Cooke. I'm a self-employed distributor,

and I come from Bolsover near Chesterfield.

Hello, I'm Clive Dunning,

I'm a semi-retired teacher from Stockton-on-Tees.

So, Steve and Clive, welcome, good to see you. Thank you.

Let's just talk about your quizzing background. Steve first.

Well, I'm probably not as distinguished as the person on my left,

but I've quizzed since I was 16 years old, going to pub quizzes,

sneaking in underage.

I've always read, I've always been interested in stuff.

Moving on from there,

I joined the Derbyshire Quiz League about five years ago.

I've since been Brain of Derbyshire twice, won Brain of Mensa

a couple of years ago when nobody else entered.

I heard you've got how many books in your house?

Cos the record so far is 6,000.

Now, I think it's ten.

You've got ten, OK, so this is the

"person with the most books in their house" competition.

I must start reading them!

Clive, what about you? Similar to Steve, really.

I began in pub quizzes about 20 years ago,

then work and life got in the way,

and I started quizzing seriously again about three years ago.

And I decided to have a go at Mastermind, not expecting to win it,

but I did win it. I've just kind of taken it from there.

And have you, in your quizzing travels,

met any of these Eggheads here?

Yes. Well, Dave and Kevin,

many times I've quizzed against them, yes.

Well, good luck to you both.

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

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.

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

I will ask each of you

three multiple-choice questions on music in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round.

Pretty simple, but the prize for winning a round

on Make Me An Egghead is rather special,

you will gain an extra brain for the final.

Not just any old brain, you'll gain one of these.

You can choose an Egghead to work with you in the final.

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

Clive, you have the option as to whether you would like to play first or second.

Like to play first, please, Jeremy.

Here is your first question, Clive.

In 2003, Spirit In The Sky was a UK number one single for Gareth Gates,

featuring which comedy group?

Right, OK. I think I know this one.

I don't think it's The League Of Gentlemen.

I don't think it's Armstrong and Miller,

I think it's The Kumars.

The Kumars is quite right.

Spirit In The sky.

Let's see if your spirit is backing you here, Steve.

Your question - Kevin Simm, the 2016 winner of The Voice UK,

is a former member of which group?

Right.

I don't know much about Stereo Kicks,

I don't think he's G4,

I'm pretty sure he's Liberty X.

Or was.

Liberty X is right. Good quizzing.

Back to you, Clive.

Who was the featured singer on Calvin Harris' 2016 single,

This Is What You Came For?

I'm not sure, but I don't think it's...

Rihanna.

And then it's a toss-up between the other two.

I will go for Kyla.

Kyla is your answer.

Let's see. Do you know this one, Steve?

It's Rihanna. Oh, you're sure about that? Yes.

And you're right as well.

Rihanna is the answer.

I'm sorry, Clive.

So, Steve has the chance to take the lead.

The duo Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian,

often joined by Rob Allum and Eddie Myer,

are collectively known by which name?

It's definitely not Muse, but for the other two,

I can't really narrow it down, to be fair.

Something's telling me Turin Brakes, so that's what I've got to go for.

Let's check with the Eggheads, do you know?

Spot on, it must be, cos Muse is a trio and The Kills

are Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, who used to be Mr Kate Moss.

Oh, so you've done it by elimination? Oh, yes.

Turin Brakes is right.

So, Steve is in the lead.

Clive, you've got to get this one right.

The role of Erda in Wagner's Das Rheingold

is for what type of voice?

Once again, I'm not sure on this one.

I'm going to take a dib at contralto.

Contralto is your answer.

If Barry was here, it would go straight to him.

Let's see, who's the person who knows this?

Well, yeah, Erda is basically Mother Earth in the Ring Cycle,

and it is a part for a contralto.

Contralto meaning very high voice, or...?

No, it's the lowest female voice really.

The lowest female voice.

And would you like to sing some of it now, Lisa?

Let's just go with no. No, OK, I thought not.

Contralto is correct.

So, it's level,

but Steve, you can take the round with this answer.

Which musical features a song called Corner Of The Sky,

a version of which was released by the Jackson Five in 1972?

Well, musicals is not really my thing, Jeremy,

but the Jackson Five most certainly are and I love this song,

and I know quite well it's from Pippin.

If you've got this right, you've got three out of three.

The answer is

Pippin, so three out of three in the first head-to-head,

Steve, well done. You've won that round.

So you get the first chance to choose an Egghead.

You have the pick of the bunch here.

Which one would you like?

Well, no disrespect to anybody because you're all fine quizzers,

but I think I'd be an absolute fool not to choose the world quiz champion.

Judith, step forward.

Are we talking Kevin here?

We may well be. OK.

So, as it stands, Steve has one Egghead to help him in the final,

and it's Kevin. Clive doesn't have one yet, but it's early days.

The next category is geography.

Steve, because you won the first head-to-head,

you can choose now whether to go first or second.

I'll go first please, Jeremy.

And here is your question.

Which Portuguese city lies on the estuary of the River Douro?

Right, the answer I was hoping for has come up

so I'm going to go for Porto.

Porto is correct.

So, Clive, you need him to get a question wrong at some point,

don't you?

Here's yours. Novaya Zemlya is a large Russian archipelago

in which body of water?

OK. Well, I think I can discount Pacific Ocean

and the Baltic, I'm going for Arctic Ocean.

That's interesting cos, Judith,

your rule is always choose cheese or the Pacific.

All islands live in the Pacific.

And you would have gone Pacific here?

Well, only according to my rule.

Yeah. Well, it would have been

wrong because you've got it absolutely right, Clive.

It is the Arctic, so one each.

Second question to you, Steve.

Wills Neck, at 1,260 feet, is the highest point

of which range of hills in southern England?

I have definitely heard of Wills Neck, but which one was it?

I could sit and look all day,

but I'm going to go with Judith's tried and trusted rule,

and go down the right and say Quantocks.

Quantocks. Who knows this?

I would have gone the Quantocks.

I don't think it's the Chilterns or The Cotswolds. So...

Yes, Quantocks is right.

So, Judith, suddenly your rules are being much quoted here, Judith.

Some of my rules work.

Some of them work, yes.

I always thought that was the least reliable one, but maybe I'm wrong.

Two points to Steve, back to you, Clive.

Guayaquil is the most populous city in which South American country?

Guayaquil, G-U-A-Y-A-Q-U-I-L, all one word.

OK. I'm pretty sure it's not Paraguay or Peru.

I think it's Ecuador.

Nice quizzing, you got it right.

Ecuador's right. So, it's a tight round.

There's two points each. Steve, back to you.

The Caribbean island of Curacao

belongs to which European country?

Yeah, I think it's famous for a liqueur.

It's the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is correct.

So you've got three out of three.

Not actually got a question wrong yet, Steve.

Don't tempt fate, Jeremy!

Making it difficult for Clive, here.

Stay in it with this question.

Which county has a local government district called Craven?

Right, I mean, the only thing I can go on here,

believe it or not, is rugby.

Because I know that Hull play at Craven Park,

but I could be completely wrong.

So I'm going to discount Cumbria and Lincolnshire

and go for North Yorkshire.

Do you know this one, Steve? I don't, to be fair, no.

No? Anyone here? Yeah. North Yorkshire.

Bang on. Yeah, North Yorkshire's the right answer.

Three out of three for you both.

Great quizzers. We go to Sudden Death, gentlemen.

OK, so it gets a bit harder.

I don't give you alternative answers.

Steve, your question. What is the capital of Uganda?

Kampala. Kampala is correct.

Sudden Death, over to you, Clive.

Which borough of New York City has the highest population?

Erm... I'm going to say Queens.

It's wrong. It's Brooklyn.

So, Steve there takes the round.

Well done. You've won a second head-to-head.

And you can choose again, Steve. You've already got Kevin.

Who would you like now? I'll choose Dave.

Dave. You had a great moment the other day on...

In one of the Make Me An Eggheads on a sporting question.

You knew every detail. Is it fair to say Sport is your key area?

I think Sport's probably the strongest one, yes.

And the music of Duran Duran.

Music of... No, not Duran Duran! JEREMY LAUGHS

More Aztec Camera and Heaven 17.

We see eye to eye on music. Yeah. Definitely.

All right, you've chosen well there, Steve.

So you have two Eggheads now to help you in the final.

Clive is still waiting on a win here.

So, see if you can get this round, Clive,

and get an Egghead off the back of it.

The next category is sport.

Steve, because you won the last one,

you can choose to go first or second.

Well, it's not my best subject, but I'll go first and get it over with,

please, Jeremy.

OK, good luck.

In Olympic gymnastics,

the horizontal bar, or high bar, is typically made of what material?

Hmm...

Good question.

Just because they like to throw themselves about a bit on it and

there's some big guys, I'll say steel with no conviction at all.

Yes, steel has got all the conviction!

It's the right answer.

So still waiting on this wrong answer.

It's got to come at some point.

Maybe it doesn't come?

Clive. Fairyhouse Racecourse is one of the premier horse racing venues

in which country?

OK. I do know this one. It's not Canada, it's not Australia,

it's Ireland.

Ireland is the right answer.

OK.

Here we go with your question, Steve.

In Graeco-Roman wrestling,

what must not be used in any way to obtain a fall?

Right.

I can't remember seeing much Graeco-Roman wrestling in my time,

so I can't imagine...

..how you can't use your hands in wrestling.

I'm just trying to picture that.

How could you force somebody down?

I think you're going to get the long-awaited

first wrong answer here, Jeremy.

You can't use your...

Legs. I've no idea.

Legs.

Yeah, I'm actually thinking about the logic of this of how you'd work

this one out. It seems it would be hard not to use hands or torso.

I think that's probably the best way to go about it.

It's just the only thing you could possibly ban would be the legs.

Yeah. Yeah, below the waist. You're right, legs.

So... Clive, you're in this position again, running to catch up.

The leading basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

retired from the game towards the end of which decade?

Right. Well, '60s is too early.

I'm split between the other two and I'm going to go for 1980s.

1980s is the right answer.

Well done. So two points each.

Back to you, Steve.

Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Swedish,

is a form of training most commonly used for what sport?

Fartlek, all one word, F-A-R-T-L-E-K.

I really can't get a handle on that at all.

Running, I don't know, seems too obvious.

I've probably just killed my chances there!

I will try...

Motor racing.

Now, Clive, do you know this one?

I know this one. It's running.

Yeah, it is running. So, your first wrong answer.

Too obvious. Yeah. Yeah.

Maybe lets Clive in, let's see.

Get this right, Clive, and you've taken the round.

Which skier achieved overall victory in the men's World Cup

five times between 1985 and 1993?

Right, I've never heard of Paul Accola, so it's...

I know Ingemar Stenmark is...

He's the really well-known name of the three.

But I don't know if it's just a little bit after his time or not.

I'll have to go for Ingemar Stenmark.

He's the best-known name, is he? Let's see. Eggs?

I'd go Girardelli.

I've only heard of Girardelli.

The answer is Marc Girardelli.

So you're equal after three questions.

We go to Sudden Death.

Gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternative answers.

Steve, we start with you.

Diego Forlan, who was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player at

the 2010 World Cup, played for which national team?

Well, as the song goes,

he came from Uruguay and he made the Scousers cry.

I'd say Uruguay.

Uruguay is quite right.

Clive, at the Goodwill Games in Moscow in 1986,

who became the first female athlete

to reach 7,000 points in the heptathlon?

I'm struggling with that one.

Erm...

I'm sure it's going to be somebody I've heard of.

But...

1980s...

No, I'm sorry, I don't know.

Pass? Mm-hm.

Just want to take a guess to save the round?

I can't. I haven't got a name.

OK, so you've passed. Steve, do you know?

I would have guessed Denise Lewis.

It's not her.

ALL: Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Oh, Eggs, you know.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, or Jackie Joyner, I could have accepted.

And the world record she set was 7148 points.

So... Sudden Death, and Steve has triumphed there.

Again, we say well done, Steve.

You've won the third head-to-head.

And you can choose a third Egghead.

So you've already got, let's see, Kevin and Dave. Who else?

Well, let's keep moving along the line and I'll choose Lisa, please.

OK, you've got the three Eggheads to the right of the line

there, Steve. You've got Kevin, Dave and Lisa in the final round.

Clive, you don't have an Egghead in the final.

Let's play that final round now.

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.

Steve and Clive, I'm going to ask each of you three questions in turn.

This time the questions are 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, Steve, you've got three there.

You've got Kevin and Lisa and Dave.

Clive, as you know, you'll be going it alone.

You'll be able to call on your respective Eggheads for advice

before giving an answer to a question.

Steve, you can use more than one for a question,

but you can only use them once.

Yeah. So use them wisely!

Steve, as you won the last round,

you get to choose whether you would like to play first or second.

Well, I might as well go first, Jeremy, please.

And here we go.

In December 2015, a legally binding agreement on climate change

was reached at an international conference in which city?

Right.

I daren't risk it. Now I've got these guys sat behind me, I'm...

I think I'd be a fool

not to use them.

And so, I'm going to hope that Lisa knows the answer to this one.

OK. Lisa, you're being called in here on this question.

In December 2015, a legally binding agreement on climate change

was reached at an international conference in which city?

Now, the way Steve said that makes me think he's got an inkling anyway.

So I'm hoping to sort of confirm it with my own inkling,

which I think is Paris.

OK, you say Paris.

You don't have to accept that, Steve. What do you reckon?

To be honest, I was leaning towards Paris.

And now that... I just hope we're not both wrong! Erm...

Paris.

Paris is your answer.

And Paris is right. Thank you, Lisa.

Well done, Lisa!

You have two Eggheads now, Steve.

Clive, onto you.

No-one to help you, but I know you're a great quizzer.

Which officer heads the judiciary in both Jersey and Guernsey?

Something's telling me that Deemster is to do with the Isle of Man,

so I'm going to discount that one.

I'm going to go for Bailiff.

And Bailiff is the right answer.

One out of one for you both.

Back to you, Steve.

What is the first name of John and Jackie Kennedy's daughter,

who in 2013 became a US ambassador to Japan?

Well, obviously, I know he's got a daughter called Caroline,

but whether that's the one...

And again, I'm getting so hesitant now.

I'm going to ask Kevin. All right.

So you're bringing Kevin in.

Kevin, the first name of John and Jackie Kennedy's daughter,

who in 2013 became US ambassador to Japan, please.

Same as you here, Steve.

I don't know of a Roseanne or a Susannah.

Caroline was what I thought before the answers came up.

I mean, I know she is JFK's daughter.

I simply don't know of a Roseanne or a Susannah,

so I would go for Caroline.

It's possible it's not right.

Thank you. Right, that's a pretty firm steer from Kevin,

but he's not 100% there.

Well, I mean, that's fine.

I've got to play percentages and go for Caroline.

It is Caroline. Thank you, Kevin.

The Eggheads playing well for you, here.

So, Clive, what type of creature is a royal blue tang?

I don't really know, is the answer, but...

Royal blue tang...

I'm going to discount butterfly,

discount salamander and I'm going to go for fish.

You're quizzing well, it is fish.

The next question is for Steve.

Still got Dave back there.

In which role has the Argentinian-born Marianela Nunez

performed on stage?

I don't really know, again. This is not going well at all.

So I'm hoping that Dave's feeling inspired, and I'll put it to Dave.

OK, Dave.

In which role has the Argentinian-born Marianela Nunez

performed on stage?

Of all the people to get this question of us three,

this is the worst one, Steve, unfortunately.

Yeah, not a problem. But...

Before the options came up,

I would have had a slight leaning for ballerina.

That's exactly where I'd have gone myself.

But, yeah, I can't discount soprano.

I've not heard of...

this lady as an actress.

I've not heard of her as an actress.

No, one of the other two, but

like you say, I have a slight leaning for ballerina.

Ballerina seemed...

Yeah. Argentinian born.

Yeah, ballerina was my inkling.

OK, Dave started to say that he didn't know, and then he's gone into

a faint inkling of something there and it seems to coincide with an

inkling you've got, does it? It does, yeah.

I mean, I don't know the answer and she could equally be any

of the three, but if my life depended on it,

which I think it does at the minute and I've got to pick one,

I would go for ballerina.

If you've got it wrong...

I know. Then Clive is through on goal here.

Despite the way you stacked up the Eggheads before.

That's the way the game works.

I know. If you've got it right, Clive has the chance to draw level.

You played well. Ballerina is right.

Thank you, Dave. Oh, well.

Well done, you three Eggheads.

You've done him proud there.

Right, Clive. You've got to stay in now with this.

After a successful modelling career,

Grace Coddington went on to build an international reputation

in which profession?

OK.

I wish I could say you can call in a Egghead.

Yeah, so do I!

Only got yourself to talk to.

OK, I'm going to go for photographer.

Photographer is your answer.

Do you know this one, Steve? I've never heard of her.

I would have gone photographer, but I don't know.

OK, I'm thinking, Lisa, this is your sort of area.

What do you think? I'm actually struggling a little bit.

I'd probably have gone magazine editor, but I can't be sure.

Lisa's right. She's a magazine editor.

So we say "Congratulations," Steve.

You have won.

Clive, well played.

The thing is, he only got one question wrong in the whole game.

Yeah, it's difficult to bat against that.

Well, Steve, well done. You came good there, Eggs.

Always nice! Yeah, well done, even on the ballerina, Dave.

I know. Steve, well done. You've proved that winning comes

as naturally to you as it does to our Eggheads,

and you are one step closer to joining our quiz Goliaths.

But your work for today isn't quite done.

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

so that's a very handy nine points,

and you're now going to get the chance to add to those points

by answering quickfire questions for two minutes.

We give you one point for each correct answer and we see where your

final score puts you on our leaderboard.

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

the semifinals. You can have a look at the leaderboard now.

You can see that already we've had one person fall out of the top four,

because we've got five names there.

You've got to get into the green and stay there.

So all to play for.

Are you ready to play? Yes.

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

In the UK, Saint Andrew's day is celebrated

on the 30th of which month?

November. Correct.

In which country is Mount Kilimanjaro situated?

Tanzania. Correct.

In which century was the painter Michelangelo born?

15th. Correct.

Which Charles Dickens novel features the death of Little Nell?

Old Curiosity Shop. Correct.

For what does the letter D stands in the medical condition DVT,

relating to the formation of blood clots?

Deep. Correct.

"The minute you walked in the joint" is a line from which song,

made famous by Shirley Bassey?

Big Spender. Correct.

In the Shrek films, what is the name

of the character voiced by Cameron Diaz?

Princess Fiona. Correct.

In pre-decimal British currency,

the florin was equal to how many shillings?

Two. Correct.

Which US state has the state capital Jackson?

Mississippi. Correct.

In which country was the four-time Formula 1 world champion

Sebastian Vettel born?

Germany. Correct.

On which classic children's TV programme was Professor Yaffle

a regular character?

Bagpuss. Correct. How many feet are there in a fathom?

Six. Correct.

How many gold stars are featured on the flag of China?

Five. Correct.

In Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream,

by what one word name is Robin Goodfellow also known?

Puck. Correct.

The statue of Liberty in New York was a gift to the people of the USA

from the people of which country?

France. Correct. Scalene and equilateral

are names for types of which shape?

Triangle. Correct.

Which classic novel coined the phrases Room 101 and Big Brother?

1984. Correct.

The men's national football team of which country won the FIFA World Cup

in 1978 and 1986?

Argentina. Correct.

Milwaukee Deep, also known as the Milwaukee Depth, is the name given

to the deepest part of which ocean?

Atlantic. Correct.

In 1968, in which US city was Martin Luther King assassinated?

Memphis. Correct.

Which small breed of dog is crossed with a corgi to make the dorgi?

Dachshund. Correct.

Which Rodgers and Hammerstein musical

features the song Happy Talk?

South Pacific. Correct.

The US TV series Joanie Loves Chachi was a spin-off

from which other comedy show?

Happy Days. Correct. The Atlanta Hawks,

Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic...

BUZZER

The question was the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic

are all teams in which sport, and I bet you know the answer.

I would have guessed basketball.

Yes, basketball would have been right.

Doesn't go towards your total, but well done.

You did very well there! You did not get a wrong answer.

You got 23 points, which I reckon

is more than anyone's done so far in the quickfire round.

You also had the advantage of getting nine points from

winning three rounds earlier, so that gives you, let's have a look...

A grand total of...

32 points.

All right?

You need a cold shower now?

I need something, yeah!

How about that, Clive?

Brilliant performance. Very good.

You've seen the strongest performance yet among the men,

but who knows?

I can't imagine you're going to fall out of the top four.

Oh, don't say that! But it might happen.

We could get, well, we could get four more players who all get

more than 32. I don't know. Kiss of death!

Thanks for playing, both of you.

Brilliant game. Join us next time to find out who else might have

what it takes to become a Egghead. Until then, goodbye.

BBC Radio 2, Live In Hyde Park.

Here we go again!