Episode 14 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.

Yes, Eggheads, I'm talking about you.

Good. Let's meet today's contestants,

both hoping they've got what it takes to become one of them.

Hi, I'm Janet French,

I keep a craft supply shop in Telford in Shropshire.

I'm Lou Wilson,

I'm a volunteer radio presenter and I'm from Cambridge.

Well, Lou and Janet, welcome.

So, Lou first of all, your best quizzing moment?

Beating Paul Sinha on The Chase.

Oh, right. And winning how much, can I ask?

?9,500.

Oh, lovely. Yes. So you really, properly beat him?

Yes, we did, yes.

Janet, I know we've met. In this studio.

Yes, indeed. In this studio, yes.

I was with a team called Stitches.

Was there a question about Metallica?

Oh, yes, you remember that. Yes, there was a question about...

Because you'd been to see them in concert, that's what's amazing.

Certainly, I have. Well, why is it amazing?

No, I suppose I didn't expect that.

Well, Judith, you've been to see Metallica, as well.

As if, Jeremy. See, there we go.

Janet was the hit of Twitter when that episode went out

because everyone was going, "How cool is this lady?"

Yes, exactly. Your moment when you referred to your Metallica concert

was a great moment, that's true.

Lou, you do a bit of radio and you do a bit of cycling,

so we've got a lot in common.

Yes, very much. And you're safe on your bike?

Definitely safe on my bike. I will weave, but safely.

If that makes sense. Save weaving.

There we are with you, with your craft shop.

A connection. It all fits together! Another sort of weaving.

Tell us about the craft shop.

Really people come in and talk about crafts - needlework, knitting,

lace-making - and I do a bit to pass the time

and talk to people about it.

OK. It's heaven, really.

Fantastic. Good luck to you both.

OK, contestants, this is where you need to prove

you could be an Egghead.

Just like our 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

between you both will be on Geography.

I'll ask you three multiple-choice questions on Geography in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round.

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

and this is rather special thing, is that you gain an extra brain,

one of the Eggheads themselves, who will help you in the final.

Before the show we tossed a coin. As the result of that, Lou,

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

I'll go first.

Good luck to you both, and Lou, your first question,

Laurel Canyon is a district of which US city?

I'm going to say Phoenix.

Purely because...

the Grand Canyon is there

and I'm hoping that maybe there's a branch of it.

Let's see, I haven't heard of this one. Any Eggheads know?

Los Angeles. Los Angeles. And why do we know it's Los Angeles?

It's famous for musicians.

Musicians? People like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young,

all those sort of people tended to have houses in the '60s and '70s.

OK. I'm afraid the answer is Los Angeles. OK.

Over to you, Janet.

The Meuse River rises in France

and eventually flows out into which of the following?

I've a feeling it goes through Germany,

so it would have to be the North Sea.

I wouldn't say I'm 100%, but North Sea.

North Sea is right. Oh, good.

Lou...

the coastal town of El Alamein,

the site of two major battles during World War II,

is part of which country?

Oh, hope I'm not... I think it might be Egypt.

Oh, am I wrong? I don't know.

I'm going to say Egypt.

Egypt is your answer. Well, I know who to go to on this.

Mr Chris? Yes, Egypt.

Oh, thank goodness for that.

Tobruk was Libya, wasn't it? Tobruk's Libya, yes.

OK, well done, Lou, you're on the scoreboard.

Back to you, Janet, see if you can take the lead.

Which Canadian city in the province of Quebec

was originally called Ville Marie, or city of Mary?

Is it...

This is something I've read and it hasn't stuck.

Because two of those are already in French or close to French,

I'll go Quebec City.

Montreal is the answer.

Oh. Even after two questions.

Back to you, Lou.

What name is given to winds that are created in a valley

when cool air reaches a warmed surface

and the warmed lighter air then rises upslope?

Oh, right. Mm...

It's... There's going to be a Greek connection here,

you know, with the words and everything, isn't there?

Or some sort of Latin or something. Um...

I...am going to say...

metabatic.

Metabatic. Or is...?

You know this one by any chance, Janet?

I would have gone for anabatic.

Why is that? Because I think I've heard the word before.

OK, Barry will know. Well, I know katabatic winds goes down slope

and I think the opposite is anabatic.

Is it? So I think the answer's anabatic. The answer is anabatic.

Oh... Let's see how you do now, Janet.

You could take around.

Which US river experienced a great flood in April 1927

when almost the entire levee system keeping it in check gave way,

forcing hundreds of thousands of people to become displaced?

Trying to hang it on the word levee. Mississippi.

She took my Chevy to the levee and the levee was dry.

Yes. Wet in this instance.

If you've got it right, you've taken the round.

The correct answer is Mississippi.

Good. Well done, Janet, congratulations,

you've won the first head-to-head.

You've taken the first round, you now gain an Egghead.

So you can look at these five super brains

and choose one to help you in the final.

Any of them would do me proud, I'm sure.

But on the tenuous link that I'm married to a Patrick,

I'll have Pat, please.

And he's an Irishman.

Janet has one Egghead therefore to help her in the final.

Lou doesn't have one yet. Let's see if you can change that now, Louise.

Next category is Music. So, Janet, because you won the last round,

you can decide whether you go first or second.

I'll go first please.

And here is your question. Of the original five members of Take That,

who was the eldest?

Mark Owen still looks about 14.

Um...

And I haven't got a clear picture of Howard Donald.

I'll go Howard Donald.

Lou? I know she's got that right. Yeah, you got that right.

OK, Howard Donald.

Lou, your question. In Band Aid 20's version

of Do They Know It's Christmas?, who sings the opening line?

If it was the original one, I'd know straight away! Um...

Because of his...

..notoriety... Because he's sort of I guess

the biggest of them, I'm going to say Chris Martin.

Eggheads? It's Chris Martin. Chris Martin, correct.

Janet, over to you. Of which fellow composer

is Mozart supposed to have said,

"One day he will give the world something to talk about"

after hearing him play as a teenager? Is it...

The only one I can remember both of the dates for is Beethoven,

which means nothing really

as I can't remember Mozart's just offhand.

Beethoven.

Beethoven is the right answer.

Oh. OK, Lou, to catch up.

Which of these musicals has music and lyrics by Kander and Ebb?

I think I'm going to rule Hello Dolly! out.

I've seen that and I don't remember it being on the credits.

I could be wrong.

It's the one I'm least familiar with. I'm going to go Godspell.

But I don't... Lisa's going to know this one, I'm sure.

I think it is Cabaret.

It is Cabaret, Lou.

Yeah. So you're behind.

And if Janet gets this one right,

she has another Egghead in the final round.

Which singer appeared in the 1940s films Something For The Boys,

Dollface and Words And Music?

I don't remember Perry Como doing many films.

Could even have been a bit young for that.

He did more television.

Paul Anka seems younger.

Bobby Darin, please.

Lou? I'd probably have gone with Bobby Darin for the same reasons.

The answer is Perry Como. Well, well.

Two points to Janet, one point to Lou.

Lou get this right to keep the round alive.

Please!

Excluding the three church parables, Lou,

what is the only one of Benjamin Britten's full length operas

to have an all-male cast?

I'm going to go with Billy Budd.

Cos I think... I could be totally wrong here,

I think that's set on the ships, I think.

So, Billy Budd is your answer. We can check probably Barry.

Yes, it is Billy Budd, it's set on a Royal Navy warship.

At least I got it right. You did get it right,

so Billy Budd is the right answer, so you're equal after

three multiple-choice questions, it gets a bit harder now.

We go to Sudden Death and I don't give you alternative answers.

Janet, the Dolly Parton song Nine To Five features the line

"I stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of..."

What?

Ambition.

Brilliant, it is ambition.

OK, Lisa, this is your moment.

# Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen

# Pour myself a cup of ambition

# And yawn and stretch And try to come alive. #

Yay! It's not Dolly. It's really good.

I was thinking it was cup of tea.

OK, Lou, to stay in,

what's the first name of the Girls Aloud member with the surname Coyle?

C-O-Y-L-E. OK, Nadine.

Nadine is right.

Janet, Peter "Biff" Byford

found fame as the lead singer of which 1980s heavy metal band

whose albums included Wheels Of Steel?

Saxon.

You're now trending on Twitter again!

Yes, it's right. Yeah.

So, over to you, Lou,

to stay in,

what was the title of Lieutenant Pigeon's 1972 UK number one single?

Or Lieutenant Pigeon's?

I actually just don't even have a clue.

Based on his name, I don't know, Trafalgar Square!

No idea.

It's pretty un-guessable. Do you know this, Janet?

Mouldy Old Dough? Mouldy Old Dough is correct.

It's got a very strange distinction. Yes?

It's the only number one single to feature a mother and son.

So, how bizarre. There we are.

Well, Sudden Death, Janet, you've taken it, congratulations,

you've won the second head-to-head.

And you can choose another Egghead. You've already had Pat,

who would you like now?

Looking for my weak areas and I don't honestly know,

but I'll have Barry, please. You can't go wrong with Barry.

So Janet now has two Eggheads to help her in the final,

Lou has still not got one, so maybe this is your round, Lou.

It's Arts and Books, the subject.

Janet, you won the last round,

you decide whether you go first or second.

First, please.

Here is your question, Janet.

How was the character Felix Holt described

in the title of a novel by George Eliot?

I don't know.

I'll go The Misanthrope.

No, you're wrong, it's The Radical.

Well... So, a chance for Lou to take the lead.

You don't give many chances, Janet.

Who wrote the novel Orlando - A Biography

and dedicated it to Vita Sackville-West?

I don't know.

I think I might rule Virginia Woolf out.

For me, the one that I've heard of least is Radclyffe Hall,

and for that reason I'm going to go for him.

Janet, do you know this one?

I'd have gone Virginia Woolf.

Would you? Let's see the Eggheads...

Virginia Woolf. It is.

Radclyffe Hall is a lady, by the way.

Virginia Woolf is the right answer.

Janet, your question - which of these animals

features in the foreground of George Seurat's pointillist painting,

A Sunday afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte?

I'm trying to call the picture in detail and I'm not...

I know the name and I can't remember it well enough.

Panther.

No, monkey. Mm.

Which classic novel

has the alternative title Virtue Rewarded?

I'm going to go with Emma.

Eggs? Pamela. By whom?

Samuel Richardson? That's right.

There you go. Pamela, it is.

No score yet in this round. Third question to Janet.

Jill Paton Walsh, famous for her children's books,

has also written novels featuring which detective?

This must be...

As all of those had original authors...

So this is something by agreement with the estate

to use the names again, presumably.

And I didn't think Father Brown

had had that attention, unless the television series provoked it.

Peter Wimsey, someone did try some extra Peter Wimsey books.

Hercule Poirot, I'd have thought would've been better left alone.

I'll go Lord Peter Wimsey.

Lord Peter Wimsey is your answer.

It's correct. Ooh.

Good logic there, actually.

So, Lou, you need to get this right to stay in the round.

The two well-known 1921 pieces of art, entitled Three Musicians,

each featuring harlequin, a pierrot and a monk,

were the work of which artist?

Well...

I think Henri Matisse was more a surreal artist.

I'm going to do a Judith here and just go down the right

and say Pablo Picasso.

I'm not 100% sure.

I'm going to say Pablo Picasso.

Eggheads, is it right?

Yes. Yes, it is right, Pablo Picasso it is, well done.

Your technique works, Judith! Thank you. It's the magic right.

It does work more often than you might imagine. When in doubt!

After three questions each, the scores are level,

we go to Sudden Death - I don't give you alternatives.

Janet, your question,

what is the surname of Hedda's husband

in the Ibsen play, Hedda Gabler?

Oh... So the obvious go at Gabler seems not to be the answer.

I really don't know.

I'm going to say Gabler.

You're going to say Gabler,

it would be terrible if it was Gabler and you hadn't said it.

It's not, it's Hedda Tesman.

Her married name is Hedda Tesman.

So, Lou, for the round,

what is the name of the Huron leader and main villain

of the novel The Last Of The Mohicans?

I'm sure there's lots of people screaming

the answer, um, including all the Eggheads.

Miguel. I don't know. Miguel?

No. Not actually far off, funnily enough. Is it not?

Magua. Oh, OK.

M-A-G-U-A.

So, Sudden Death, we're back to you, Janet.

The 1940 oil painting, Self-portrait With Thorn, Necklace And Hummingbird,

is a well-known work by which leading female artist?

It's the way you say "well-known"...

Yes, it's right. ..it does put one on the spot.

You're so right.

Is it Frida Kahlo?

Oh, that's what I was going to say.

Frida Kahlo is right.

So you have a chance, Lou, to stay in there.

Which artist's abstract expressionist painting Blue Poles,

or Number 11 1952,

caused a political outcry in Australia

when it was bought in 1973?

I'm going to say Jackson Pollock.

Eggheads? Jackson Pollock certainly numbered his paintings,

I would have gone for him.

Jackson Pollock is correct. Oh, thank goodness for that. OK!

Janet, your question, Sudden Death.

Which Indian-born novelist has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize

for her works Clear Light Of Day, In Custody and Fasting, Feasting?

Hunting for Indian-born novelists.

AS Byatt?

No. Anita Desai. Right.

Lou, who wrote the play, John, Paul, George, Ringo And Bert,

which was first performed

at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre in 1974?

The only reason I'm going to say his name

is because he's a Liverpudlian and he writes brilliant plays.

I'm going to say Willy Russell. Willy Russell is your answer.

And it's right.

Yay! JEREMY LAUGHS

Well done!

So you've won on Sudden Death, you've taken the final head-to-head.

Thank goodness for that!

Gets interesting. So you can choose an Egghead.

You can't have Barry or Pat, cos Janet's already got them.

You've nicked them. I'm going to go for Chris.

All right. So, Janet, you've ended up with Pat and Barry

in the final round - very good.

And, Lou, you started to pull it back at the end there

and you've got Chris. Shall we play the final round?

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?

Janet and Lou, 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, Janet, you've got Pat and Barry there.

And, Lou, you're going to have Chris helping you.

You can call on them, you can even ask,

in your case, Janet, both of them, to help with one question.

What you can't do is use them more than once,

so do bring them in wisely.

So, Lou, as you won the last round,

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

I'll go first.

OK, our final on Make Me An Egghead.

And, Lou, your question.

Which London museum is located on Great Russell Street?

See, this is a difficult one, cos I'm not entirely sure,

but it's a question of whether I ask Chris,

who I'm sure will know this...

or just take a crack at it and risk getting it wrong.

I'm going to say...

..British Museum.

Right. So you're not calling in Chris. No.

Let's just check, Chris, are you pleased with the way she's gone?

Yeah, she's right, Jeremy. Well done, Lou.

British Museum it is. That was very steely.

Janet, over to you.

Which Californian city is home

to the headquarters of the tech giant, Apple?

I know what I'd guess, but as I've got two lovely gentlemen,

I'm going to, um...

ask Pat, please.

Pat? Well, Modesto is in the north of the state

and I think it's sort of in wine country.

Fresno is deep inland, effectively in the desert.

But Cupertino is in...

roughly in the Silicon Valley area,

so I think Apple are headquartered at Cupertino.

He says Cupertino.

I think he is a good tech man and I will go Cupertino.

OK, Cupertino's your answer.

It's right.

Over we go, back to you, Lou.

In May 2016,

which UK seaside town voted for a proposal

to ban the building of second homes? Is this...

I'm going to say St Ives, because Cornwall have got a massive,

massive problem with people buying second homes,

so I'm going to say St Ives.

St Ives is correct. Oh!

You still haven't used Chris.

Janet, your question. Your second question

You've still got Barry there.

Cintura is the Italian word for which item of clothing?

A cinch is a girth on a horse's saddle,

so I'm going to go belt, please.

Belt is the right answer.

It's looking lively, this.

Lou, here is your next question.

Which of these designed the reverse side of the first UK pound coin,

issued in 1983?

I absolutely don't have a clue so, at this point,

I think I'll call on Chris.

I maybe would have gone Eric Sewell.

Go on, Chris. Well, I've not got a clue either, Lou.

I know Eric Sewell is, or was, a designer. Yeah.

So I'll go with Eric Sewell. Yeah.

Well, on that basis, I'll go Eric Sewell, because I...

That's the one I'd heard of

and I knew that he was a designer of sorts,

so I'll go Eric Sewell.

The answer is Eric Sewell. Oh! Thank goodness for that!

Janet, to stay in.

The Battle of Puebla was an important milestone

in the history of which country?

I think Barry's a history man.

What do you think, Barry?

Well, I think it's also known as the 5th of May,

which is a national day in Mexico.

So my answer is Mexico.

That makes sense to me, and I trust you, Barry!

Mexico. So you say Mexico.

If you get this wrong, the contest is over.

Mm-hm.

Mexico's the right answer.

BARRY CHUCKLES

Thank you, Barry! You're welcome.

We move from multiple choice to Sudden Death,

cos you're equal after three questions.

It gets a bit harder, I don't give you alternatives.

Here, Lou, is your first question.

For what does the first letter T stand

in the name of the proposed trade agreement known as TTIP?

Based on the fact that, normally...

..acronyms like that start with, I guess, the most important...

..part, if you like, as in who the trade might be between.

I'm going to say Transatlantic, but I don't know.

Transatlantic is correct. Oh, thank God for that. Well done.

So Janet, to stay in.

We're on Sudden Death here - you've got to get this right.

Which national newspaper, launched in 2016,

closed just two months after its launch?

Oh, I remember that happening.

And I can't remember the name of it

and I've got a graphic in my head of a...

large lower case "i" and I don't know whether that's from that

or something else completely, so I'll go with "i".

"i" is that offshoot from the Independent, isn't it?

But it's... Ah.

Do you know this, guys?

The, er... The New Day, I think.

Yeah, the answer is New Day.

Right.

So, I'm sorry, Janet,

but we say congratulations, Lou, you've won!

LAUGHING: Oh, my goodness me! Great.

Do you know, honestly, I would have gone with "i" as well.

Yeah. Cos that was the image I had in my head.

What a quizzer.

I did my best, but well done, Lou.

Well, you've shown how comebacks are possible in this game, Lou,

and you've proved that winning comes as naturally to you

as it does to our Eggheads,

and you're one step closer to joining our quiz Goliaths.

But your work today isn't quite done.

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

so you get three cos you've got Chris back there.

You're now going to get the chance to add to those points

by answering quickfire questions for two minutes.

We will give you one point for each correct answer and we'll see

where your final answer puts you on our leaderboard.

The top four places at the end of the heats

will make it through to the semifinals.

If you get above 25,

you cannot be dislodged from a place in the semifinals.

So all to play for.

Are you ready to play?

Yeah.

Good luck. Your time starts now.

In the human body, incisors and molars are types of what?

Teeth. Correct. Which Rodgers and Hammerstein musical

features the sinister farmhand, Jud Fry?

I don't know. Oklahoma.

In the Republic of Ireland, in which county is the Blarney Stone located?

Omagh? No, Cork. Oh.

In which century was the French queen Marie Antoinette executed?

Which century?

Er...

The...17th?

18th. 18th! Oh!

Which sport is played by the Miami Dolphins?

I think that is...

..American football? Correct.

In 1972, which group had UK number-one singles

with Telegram Sam and Metal Guru?

T Rex? Correct.

In the title of a 1975 book by Roald Dahl,

what is the name of the "Champion Of The World"?

Danny. Correct.

Which European country has Bratislava as its capital?

I know that. Oh, I do know that.

Um...

Oh, crikey.

Pass. It's Slovakia. Slovakia.

Which city is home to the world's oldest annual marathon,

first held in 1897?

Which country? Which city. Which city.

New York? Boston.

In which 1969 film

does Michael Caine play the part of Charlie Croker?

Charlie Croker? Er...

Not The Italian Job, is it? No.

Is that your answer?

Yeah. Correct. Oh.

Which Mediterranean island has the capital Cagliari?

Which...? Mediterranean island has the capital Cagliari?

Um...

Corsica. Sardinia.

Hercule Poirot first appeared in Agatha Christie's novel

The Mysterious Affair At...where?

Pass. Styles.

In 1965, which song became the only UK number one single for The Byrds?

BUZZER I don't...

It's Mr Tambourine Man.

So you scored 5. You got a grand total of eight points. Yeah.

You are on our leaderboard.

You're not going to be in the green. Nope.

However, you won today!

Yay! THEY LAUGH

I hope you enjoyed it. Yeah, it's been fabulous, thank you.

Very good. Thank you so much, Janet, as well.

Thank you. What a game.

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

to become an Egghead. Until then, goodbye.

Start the clock. Name this show.

BUZZER Top Class.

What is it?

BUZZER A new quiz show.

Which channel is it on?

BUZZER CBBC.