Episode 16 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 have 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, the Eggheads.

So, first of all, hello, Eggheads.

ALL: Hello, Jeremy. Are you ready to make way for somebody?

Absolutely. Absolutely. Very good. There's some really quality people coming through in this competition.

We are seeing some great people, and we've got two more today.

Let's meet them.

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

Hi. My name is Rachael Nyman, I'm from Manchester,

and I run a small independent record label.

I'm Beth Webster, I live in Watford, and I'm a health and safety advisor.

So, Beth, Rachael, welcome.

Thank you. Great to have you here.

And let's just firstly check who has done Eggheads before.

I have. Right.

And I always hate to ask, did it end badly?

It did, yes. It was right at the beginning, though, wasn't it?

It was. I think we were right at the end of the very first season.

So quite some time ago. More than a decade ago.

More than a decade ago, yes.

Gosh. So you were, Eggheads, at the time, very, very young and...

You weren't even born, Lisa.

Careful, careful. But I think you'd only have seen Kevin, wouldn't you?

I would, yeah. Kevin was the only one of the current panel that was there at the time.

Remarkable.

Rachael, you haven't done Eggheads but you've been a Mastermind

semifinalist.

Yes, three times.

And what was that like?

It's quite nerve-racking beforehand but, I think, once I got in the chair it was easier to focus then.

I was less frightened when I was actually sat in the chair.

And one of your specialist subjects was John Peel's festive '50s, is that right?

Yes, I was a huge John Peel fan.

Started listening to him when I was probably about 11 or 12.

So he formed my music tastes, pretty much.

And so, Beth, Mastermind, tell us about your specialist subjects.

I've done a variety of topics,

ranging from novels of Michael Crichton through life and works of a couple

of artists to the Muppet movies.

Oh, you did the Muppet movies as a specialist subject? I did... Yes, I did. How brilliant! Yeah.

I bet that made John Humphrys laugh, did it?

It did, and I actually managed to get a full house on my specialist

subject round, which I was very proud of.

Fantastic. Well, listen, lots of luck to you both, here.

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.

So the first head-to-head battle is going to be on the subject of Sport.

I will ask each of you three multiple-choice questions on Sport

in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round.

The prize for winning a round on Make Me An Egghead

is the exciting thing where you can select an Egghead to play with you

in the final - an extra brain.

Before the show we tossed a coin.

As the result of that, Beth,

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

I'd like to go first, please.

So, Sport. Good luck to you both.

And, Beth, here's your first question.

Students at Canada's McGill University formulated the rules of which sport in the 1870s?

Being that you asked about a Canadian university,

it takes me straight away down to ice hockey, that being, you know,

the sort of biggest sport in Canada.

They play a different form of gridiron football in Canada,

Canadian football.

But I don't... I think squash has been around a bit longer than that.

So I'm going to go for ice hockey.

Ice hockey is quite right.

Rachael, your question. The American Tony Hawk is best known as a major

figure in which sport?

Well, this is actually one I do know,

not really because I'm a huge fan of the sport he's involved in,

but because I'm a big fan of the radio panel show

I'm Sorry I Haven't Clue,

which the comedian Tony Hawks regularly takes part in.

And they make jokes about the fact that he's not the skateboarding

champion.

So I'm pretty sure that Tony Hawk is a champion in skateboarding.

You are absolutely right, yeah.

Beth, onto you. In feet and inches,

how tall is the former world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao?

Well, Manny Pacquiao is not a heavyweight,

so he's not a terribly tall boxer.

So I'm taking out the six feet and half an inch, already.

Looking at him on telly, I would put him a little taller than me.

So let's go for five foot six and a half.

Five feet six and a half is correct.

We are back with you, Rachael.

The footballer Diego Costa was born in which country?

I mean, it could be any of them.

I'm inclined to think, though,

that he would be more likely to have

come from a Spanish-speaking country. So...

I'm inclined to...

..go for Argentina,

being that it's the only one that has Spanish as its main language.

OK, Argentina.

Anyone know this?

Brazil. Brazil?

He was born in Brazil but he plays for Spain.

OK, so Brazil is the answer there, Rachael.

Beth, we go back to you. Get this right, you can win the round.

Paula Radcliffe's 2003 world marathon record of two hours 15 minutes and

25 seconds was set in which city?

Oh, this is a...

I've got it down to two.

I'm discounting Madrid. Berlin is known for the marathon that sets the

fastest times because of how the course is set out,

but I'm pretty sure she did it in London.

So I'm going to go with London.

London is indeed the correct answer.

So three out of three, Beth,

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

And, as a result, you can grab an Egghead.

Which one would you like to help you in the final?

Well, as he was here in my first time round,

I'm going to be picking Kevin.

OK. Classic Egghead on the end.

So, Beth has just got Kevin, Rachael yet to get an Egghead.

Let's see if we can change that.

Second head-to-head is Arts And Books.

So, because you won the first, Beth,

you can choose whether you go first or second now.

Let's go first again please, Jeremy.

And here is your question. What is the first name of Mr Rochester in

the Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre?

Oh, it's been a long time since I've read this book.

I read it for GCSE and I don't think I've read it again since.

Harry just seems like too much of a throwaway name for Mr Rochester.

So George, Edward...

As I don't know, and this is...

..more of a guess than not, I'm going to go for Edward.

You have not got a question wrong so far.

Edward is the answer.

Rachael, over to you on Arts And Books.

Which historical novelist is responsible for the Wars Of The Roses series of books?

Right.

I feel like... I feel like CJ Sansom is not...

I don't think he wrote...

Or she wrote the Wars Of The Roses books.

Conn Iggulden, I'm pretty sure has written some historical novels from

that period.

I don't think it's Bernard Cornwell. I think I'll go for Conn Iggulden.

Conn Iggulden is the right answer.

OK, Beth, back to you.

Which French playwright died in 1673,

shortly after being overcome by a seizure while acting in one of his own plays?

Well, I must say that French literature is not

a particular strong point of mine.

I'm going to have to really guess at this one, and say Moliere.

Eggheads, Barry, do you know this one? Definitely Moliere.

Moliere is right. Well done.

Still not got a question wrong.

Rachael, onto you. Captain Arthur Donnithorne is a character in which George Eliot novel?

Right. I've read Mill On The Floss but not for a very long time.

I've also read Middlemarch.

I don't think that he's in...

..Mill On The Floss.

Nor do I think he's in Middlemarch.

I think there is an army captain in...

..Adam Bede but I'm not sure it's him.

I'm going to go for Adam Bede.

That's really good quizzing. You're right.

Absolutely brilliant. This is a tight round. Back to you, Beth.

Which English landscape painter wasn't elected a full

member of the Royal Academy until he was 52 years of age?

Well, the pictures I've seen,

the paintings I've seen of Turner when he looked this rather young.

So I assume he probably was put into the Royal Academy, well,

admitted to the Royal Academy younger than 50...?

52. 52.

So Turner's out.

So John Constable, Gainsborough...

I'm going to go with Gainsborough, Thomas Gainsborough.

It was John Constable.

Oh, dear. So, Rachael, a chance for you. Get this right

and you can have one of the Eggheads to help you in the final.

Which of these artists who died in 1903 lived out his last days

in a house he named Maison du Jouir,

or the House of Pleasure?

Right.

I'm going to...

I'm going to eliminate van Gogh,

based on the fact that it doesn't seem likely

that he would have named his...

his house, House of Pleasure.

I think that,

based on the fact that

I think that Gauguin might have spent his last years

somewhere tropical, like Tahiti, I'm going to...

I'm going to have a stab at Gauguin.

Gauguin is the right answer. Well done.

And, therefore, you got three out of three.

So we say congratulations, Rachael, you've won that head-to-head.

You can't have Kevin but you can have anyone of the other four.

So you've got Dave and Lisa and Pat and Barry.

I think that, if I may, I will choose Pat, if that's OK.

Yeah, it's certainly OK.

Winner of ?1,000,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

And British quiz champion, Pat?

I have been, yes. I've won the world title four times.

That's nice. Wow. World title four times, Rachael.

You've chosen well. Yes.

Rachael has one Egghead to help her in the final.

Beth has one Egghead as well.

And the next category for you is Science.

So, Rachael, you won the previous round.

You can decide if you want to go first or second.

May I go first, please?

Here we go with your first question, Rachael. Good luck.

Which branch of chemistry deals with those elements and their

compounds that do not contain carbon?

Right. I think that...

..based on the fact that carbon is sort of the

element that's crucial to life, I think it's inorganic.

Inorganic is the right answer.

Well done. Beth, over to you.

By what name of the outermost layers of a flower bud on a plant called?

I think I might go first sepals, on the fact it kind of

sounds like petals.

The outermost layers of a flower bud on a plant are sepals.

You're absolutely right.

So one each. Second question to you, Rachael.

The order Coleoptera, consisting of beetles and weevils,

makes up roughly what percentage of all insect species?

It's spelt C-O-L-E-O-P-T`E-R-A and it's all one word.

Coleoptera.

Right, now, this is tricky,

cos I know there are a lot of varieties of beetles

and other Coleoptera.

I'm inclined to go for 80.

I think it is quite a big percentage.

Actually, it's 40. Oh.

Right. OK.

Moving back to you, Beth, for your second question.

See if you can take the lead.

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale rates the severity of hurricanes on

a scale of 1 to what number?

I think 21 is a bit too many for a scale of anything.

If I remember watching and hearing the weather reports,

I've heard of...

..type five, type IV, type III

storms and hurricanes and things like that.

So I'm going to go with five.

Anyone know this? It is five.

Five is right. You got two out of two.

So you need to get this one right to stay in, Rachael, in this round.

Which species of penguin is also called the jackass penguin,

for its donkey-like bray?

This is...

probably one I should get.

I've heard of all three varieties and I...

I like penguins. We see a lot of penguins in zoos but not African

penguins, as far as I know.

I'm trying to remember if any of the ones

we've seen made a noise while we were there.

I'm inclined to go for the...

..Galapagos penguin.

I haven't heard this fact about them but I think perhaps I'll discount

the African penguin. It's between Galapagos and Adelie.

On second thoughts, I think maybe I would have heard about it if it was

the Galapagos penguins, as I think I hear more about them.

So I'll go for the Adelie penguin, see if that's right.

Actually, it's not. It's the African...

Oh. ..penguin.

So no way back for you, Rachael, in that round.

And we say congratulations, Beth, you've won the third head-to-head.

So you can top up your supply of Eggheads now.

You've got Dave, Lisa and Barry who've not been chosen.

Kevin and Pat have gone already.

I think I might go with Dave, if I may, please.

Who's getting chosen in almost every game, Dave.

So, Beth, you've got Kevin and Dave in the final round.

Rachael, you've got Pat.

This is going to be interesting. Let us play the final round.

So, this is what we've been playing towards.

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

and who's going to be eliminated from our search.

Rachael, Beth, I will 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 Egghead set you've chosen

over the course of the show.

So, Rachael, you've got Pat, sitting there behind you,

with all that knowledge. And, Beth,

you'll have the double barrels of Kevin and Dave.

You will be able to call on them to give you advice before you answer a question.

You don't have to take their advice.

You can't use them more than once.

Is that all good? Yes.

All right. Beth, as you won the last round,

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

Let's go first.

And here we go. Good luck, both of you.

Beth, your question. Which of these is a 2016 action film starring Ben Affleck?

Ooh.

That isn't what I thought the question was going to be.

Isn't that funny?

Got your Eggheads, remember. Yes, I do. Right.

This seems... I don't know the answer to this one,

but I think this is something that Dave might be able to help me on.

So I'd like to call on Dave, please.

OK, Dave, you're being called in early, here.

I'm very, very sorry, Beth.

This one has passed me by.

All I can look at is The Salesman is he might be involved in some kind of

sales of...

Might be a smooth-talking salesman who...

in terms of dodging dealings or something.

So if I had a 10% hunch, Salesman sounds...

..better than The Accountant and The Bank Manager, to me,

as a title of a...

a film.

But I could be very wrong.

OK, so he's giving you his wisdom, rather than his knowledge, there.

You have to choose.

I was going through a similar sort of thought process to Dave,

and I ended up on The Salesman for similar reasons to Dave did.

So I'm going to go with The Salesman as well.

It's wrong. It's The Accountant.

OK, Rachael, you could take the lead with this one.

Which term, meaning a friendly embrace between two males,

was included in the Oxford English dictionary in 2016?

I wish I didn't know this.

I'm not really a big fan of neologisms,

but I'm pretty sure it's a bro-hug.

What would you have said, Pat, out of interest?

I'd have, probably... I wouldn't know, but

I'd have had a punt on bro-hug.

Yeah, cos we've got bro-romance as well, haven't we?

Bro-hug is right.

So, Beth, you've fallen behind.

You need to catch up.

Who composed the music Funeral March Of A Marionette,

which featured on the American TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents?

And you still, obviously, have Kevin waiting in the wings.

I think I might have to call on Kevin,

though I'm aware of all three of these composers.

And, in fact, Camille Saint-Saens was going to be one of my

Mastermind subjects...

Oh, really? But I didn't have to revise him.

Kevin, can you help me out here?

Before the choices came up, Beth, believe it or not,

I thought it either Gounod or Saint-Saens.

Which obviously helps a little bit.

I don't think it's Debussy.

My instinct is saying Gounod, but it's not anything like 100%.

If I had to answer it myself, Beth, I would go for Gounod,

but I'm not at all sure.

Well, we know an inkling from Kevin is a precious thing,

but it's up to you.

Well, an inkling from Kevin is more than an inkling from me,

so I will go with Gounod, Charles Gounod.

The answer is Charles Gounod.

Phew! OK.

This is a very interesting situation.

Beth has used both of her Eggheads to get her one point and to get your

one point, you haven't used one yet, Rachael.

So you have the advantage here.

Your second question. What type of equipment is an oklava?

Used in Turkish cookery, it's O-K-L-A-V-A, all one word.

I'm trying to think if I...

I have, I've had...

..Turkish food.

I'm just trying to work out...

I mean, it could be a spice grinder, the spice they use.

But I think I am going to have to...

..call on Pat, if I may, cos I'm not terribly good on...

I'm not much of a cook myself.

Pat, an oklava - have you come across this?

I have not. I am worried.

A rolling pin doesn't sound very promising.

A rolling pin's a very straightforward item.

Would you have a... I suppose you could have a special name for it.

A spice grinder - I mean you can have, like,

a pepper mill or you can have a mortar and pestle.

If I had to answer this question, and I had to take a guess,

I think I'd guess griddle, but I'd be very nervous.

I wouldn't have any confidence at all.

No, it does sound like good reasoning, though. I just...

I mean, there is grilling involved in Turkish cookery.

Yeah, I'll go with Pat.

I'll go for griddle. I really don't know.

So... OK.

Griddle we've gone for, on the basis of a sketchy sort of guess from Pat.

An oklava is a kind of rolling pin.

Oh, sorry. Sorry, Rachael.

No, it's fine. It happens.

OK. So, you're still one point each and every Egghead has now been used.

Your question, Beth, to take the lead.

Aldo Rossi, born in Milan in 1931, was best known as a what?

You've used your Eggheads.

Now, my first thought was a racing driver, but that's not an option.

For no other reason than I like pretty buildings,

I'm going to go for architect.

Architect is your answer.

I wonder if you would have known this, Kevin, Dave?

Architect. Architect is right.

SHE EXHALES

OK.

Which means Beth has taken the lead in this very tense final round.

And, Rachael, you have to get this one right...

Yes. ..to go to Sudden Death.

Here's your question. In 2012,

which city was chosen as England's first UNESCO city of literature?

Now, I feel like I've heard this fact quite recently.

And I think the reason it stuck in my head is because I have a

great fondness for this particular city.

But I'm pretty sure that I have heard that Norwich has recently been

named the UNESCO...

City of literature. Let me just have a second...

Yeah, yeah. Just in case I... That's fine.

I'm going to go for Norwich.

The answer is Norwich.

Well done. So, you've held Beth, the 2-2,

even though she had more Eggheads.

You're level after the multiple-choice questions.

It gets a bit harder now, and we go to Sudden Death.

I don't give the alternative answers.

Beth, we start with you.

In 2016, Royal mail unveiled a series of stamps celebrating 50 years of which rock group?

Now, this is very funny because I actually remember my father reading

the news article out to my mother, from the paper, the other day,

or very recently.

And I'm pretty sure the answer's Pink Floyd.

It is Pink Floyd. Well done.

What a band, as well.

The next question is to Rachael.

You need to get this right. Yeah.

All the Eggheads have been used up.

The drum-and-bass star Goldie played a character called Mr Bullion or

Bull, in which James Bond film?

I'm not very good on James Bond at all.

I mean, I presume it's got to be...

I would have thought it would have to be one from the noughties, maybe,

or the '90s.

I'm going to have a bit of a stab in the dark, I'm afraid.

I'm going to try...

Try Casino Royale. Casino Royale is your answer.

Is this your speciality, Beth?

I do like Bond films, yes. And do you know which one this is?

I think it's The World Is Not Enough.

It is The World Is Not Enough.

I'm so sorry, Rachael.

That's fine. The final has come to an end,

and Beth is ahead on Sudden Death.

We say congratulations, Beth, you have won.

Commiserations, Rachael.

What a quizzer. What a quizzer you are.

Thank you so much for playing.

Thank you. Congratulations, Beth.

Thank you very much. That was a tough old battle, wasn't it?

It was. Rachael gave me a very hard run.

Well, 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 is not quite done.

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

so that's six points for the two Eggheads,

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

quickfire questions for two minutes.

We'll give you one point for each correct answer,

and we'll see where your final score puts you on our all-important leaderboard.

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

through to the semifinals.

Just have a look at the leaderboard, then, as it currently stands.

The bit in green is the crucial bit.

Can you get into the top four?

Obviously, you need to be 20 points or higher to get in there.

So, all to play for.

Yeah. You ready?

No.

All the best. Your time starts now.

Which Asian country is popularly known in the West as the land of the

rising Sun?

Japan. Correct.

In 2006, which soap introduced the character of Michelle Connor,

played by Kym Marsh?

Coronation Street. Correct.

Which country is geographically situated between Lithuania

and Estonia?

Latvia. Correct.

The American resident Abraham Lincoln was born in which state?

New York. No, Kentucky.

In 2015, at which racecourse was the St Leger horse race run?

Epsom. No, Doncaster.

The University of Strathclyde is based in which Scottish city?

Glasgow? Correct.

In 1973,

David Bowie had a UK top 10 single

with the novelty hit The Laughing what?

Gnome. Correct.

In which sport to the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings

compete?

Baseball? No. Ice hockey.

In the Winnie the Pooh stories by AA Milne,

what is the name of Kanga's baby son?

Roo. Correct. In British history,

which King came to the throne at the age of 64, in 1830?

George IV. No, William IV.

At the start of a standard game of chess,

how many pieces does each player possess?

16. Correct.

Which English football team play their home games at the

Stadium of Light?

Sunderland. Correct.

The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Mediterranean Sea

with which ocean?

Atlantic. Correct.

In Greek mythology, who was the goddess of victory?

Nike. Correct.

In the 1990s, which group had UK hit albums with

Out Of Time and Automatic For The People?

REM. Correct.

In which English county is the tourist attraction the Eden project?

Cornwall. Correct.

On which island is Osborne House,

a favourite residence of Queen Victoria?

The Isle of Wight. Correct.

In which 1995 film does Tom Hanks play Jim Lovell?

Apollo 13. Correct.

For what does the letter F stand in the name of the president

John F Kennedy?

Fitzgerald. Correct.

What was the first name of the character played by

Helen Baxendale in Friends?

BUZZER

I've run out of time, there.

I know the answer to that as well.

Emily. Well done.

You did very well there. You did very, very well.

Beth, you scored 15 points.

That's very good. We add that to the six from the two Eggheads.

We get a grand total of 21 points.

Now, I said you need 20 or more to get onto the top of the leaderboard.

Have a look at what happens when we put your name in.

And you're in third place.

Now, this is very, very good,

because we only have two more names to arrive on that leaderboard.

So you have to hope that they don't both get above 21.

Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.

You played really, really well there.

You had a brilliant streak on the quickfire.

Well done. Rachael, great quizzing with you as well.

Nice to meet you. Great to meet you both.

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

to become an Egghead.

Till then, goodbye.

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