Episode 5 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.

Yes, a place on the most fearsome quiz team in history, the Eggheads.

So let's meet today's contestants,

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

Hi, I'm Rupy Jandu.

I'm from Leighton Buzzard and I'm a new business manager

for a property management company.

Hi, I'm Sam Roberts.

I'm from Liverpool and I own a mobile marketing business.

-Welcome, guys. So, both quizzers?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Let's start with you, Rupy. Tell us what you've done.

Previously, I've been on Eggheads.

I was on series two of "Are You An Egghead?".

And, then, after that, I was on The Chase.

And when you appeared on Eggheads, did you win?

No. We came second.

-But you won your round?

-I did win my round.

I beat Daphne on Film and TV.

Oh, bless. Bless the Daphne.

-And she was hard to beat. My goodness.

-She was.

And, Sam, how about you, quizzing history?

I've done quite a lot in a short space of time.

I started with Going For Gold Live.

I've done The Chase, Pointless, Two Tribes, Fifteen To One.

And you're also in the Bolton Quiz League?

I am, yes. Two of my team-mates are Anne and Jenny from The Chase.

All right. So I wish you both luck.

Contestants, this is where you need to prove 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 on the subject of Science.

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

on science in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round.

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

is that you gain an extra brain for the final.

Not just any old brain, you gain one of these brains over here,

one of the Eggheads.

Now, before the show, we tossed a coin.

As a result of that, Rupy, you've got the option

to play first or second.

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here is your first question, Rupy. Good luck.

In the human body, adipose tissue consists mostly of what?

It's... They're a type of cell that I have a lot of.

That would be fat cells.

I'm sure you don't, but fat cells is correct.

OK, Sam.

For what does the letter P stand in PWR,

the most common type of nuclear power plant?

I wonder if R has something to do with radiation. I don't know this.

Photon's to do with light. It could be pressurized.

I think I'll go for primary.

Primary is not right.

I'm thinking it's pressurized water reactor,

-is it, Eggheads? ALL:

-Yes.

-Yeah. Pressurized is the answer.

OK. We go back to you, Rupy.

In 1901, Jacobus Henricus Van 'T Hoff

became the first winner of which Nobel Prize?

It's not a name I've come across before.

I'd like to think I'd know them or I'd have heard of them

if they were physics or chemistry.

So I'm going to go for physiology or medicine.

Let's see if you're right. Eggs?

-Chemistry.

-It's chemistry.

-Chemistry is the answer.

So we go back to Sam.

The tooth-billed catbird,

also known as the stagemaker, is a type of which bird?

Well, cassowary is a very aggressive, large,

sort of ostrich/emu type of animal.

I'm not sure about bowerbird.

I'll go for lyrebird.

Lyrebird is wrong. It's bowerbird.

So, Rupy, you have a chance now to take the round with this answer.

What name is given to the hairlike bristles on a bumblebee?

Pile or down, I suppose, would be the obvious responses.

I'm going to go for pile.

Eggheads? Barry?

I think it's down.

-Judith, you'll know this.

-I think it's pile.

Judith's always right on this kind of question.

-The answer is pile.

-Ooh.

Well played. Judith knows a lot about botany.

Well, pile and carpets.

And if you think of what a bumblebee looks like,

it's more like a carpet than a duck or flock wallpaper.

-That was my reasoning.

-Absolutely.

That is Judith's pitch to be chosen as your Egghead, I can tell you.

Congratulations, Rupy. You've won the first head-to-head.

So, you now have the chance to gain an Egghead for the final round.

Which one?

Well, how can it not be Judith after our explanation

from the last question?

Thank you very much.

So, Judith, you'll be hoping that plants come up

or just the natural world.

-Birds and bees.

-Birds and bees. OK.

As it stands, Rupy has one Egghead to help him in the final.

That's Judith.

Sam has no-one yet. The next category is Music.

And, Rupy, cos you won the last round,

you can choose first or second.

I'll go first again, please.

So here we go. Music. Your first question.

Wham!'s UK number two single Last Christmas was released in 1984

as a double A-side with which song?

Wham! Um...

I know the song.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've bopped to it once or twice.

But I'm not sure what the other side of that would have been.

I'm Your Man I thought was released as a single in its own right.

Bad Boys, again, I thought had been released

as a single in its own right.

So I'll go for Everything She Wants.

-Everything She Wants is the right answer.

-Ooh!

OK, Sam. Your question.

An image of which fruit appears on the front of the 1967 album

The Velvet Underground & Nico?

Banana seems to be standing out for me.

I've got to learn to guess better. Is this it?

-That's my answer.

-Your answer is banana.

Yeah, you're right.

It must have been one of Warhol's bananas. Is that right?

-He was big-time in with Lou Reed and...

-Yes, yes, he was very much...

In The Factory.

OK. So back to you, Rupy.

Who composed the music for Riverdance,

the number first performed in the interval

for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest?

Unfortunately, none of those names are really jumping out at me.

I'm going to go for Barney McKenna.

Do you know this one, Sam?

I think it's Bill Whelan.

Bill Whelan, it is.

So, Sam, you have a chance to take the lead.

What note is on the bottom line of the bass clef?

I haven't really played much music.

I think it's "every good boy deserves favour".

But, then, I've seen it and it's not necessarily those letters.

If you're saying it's on the bottom...I better go for F.

But I don't know that much about notes and playing music.

It's actually G.

"Every good boy deserves favour" is the treble clef,

-is that right, Eggheads?

-That's right.

-So, it wouldn't have helped there, is that right?

-Yeah.

GBDFA.

-GBDFA.

-Is the bass.

-Is the bass. OK.

So you're equal. Third question now with Rupy.

Which composer was sometimes referred to as

the Dean of American Music?

The Dean of American Music.

So from that, I'd assume it was...

the older one, maybe.

Aaron Copland, I think, was more modern than the other two.

Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives...

I'm going to go for Charles Ives.

-It's Aaron Copland.

-Oh.

So, Sam, you have a chance now,

on your third question, to take the round.

Who composed the music for the 1892 opera Werther?

Spelt W-E-R-T-H-E-R.

I'm thinking from the name, it might be German.

Could go on the dates maybe?

1892.

I think Wagner died in 1883.

Mozart was earlier. 1791, I think he died.

So, by that logic, if it's 1892,

the year Liverpool FC was formed, by the way...

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Had to get that in.

..Massenet.

The correct answer is Massenet.

So well done. After three questions, Sam, you've won that head-to-head.

As a result, you're going

to be able to choose one of these Eggheads over here.

You can't have Judith,

but who would you like to help you in the final round?

I think I'll go for Kevin, if that's all right?

-Kevin.

-Yeah.

-Chosen again.

-Yeah.

It's tough back there, isn't it?

Yeah, you don't want to let anybody down,

so you wouldn't want to give them a wrong steer either.

-So that can be very tricky.

-Yeah. All right.

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

Sam also has one.

And the last head-to-head category

is Film and TV.

So, Sam, you won the last round,

would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Which playwright won an Oscar for his work on the screenplay

of the 1998 film Shakespeare In Love?

Won an Oscar?

I don't think it was Alan Bennett.

So it's between the other two. Um...

Part of me thinks maybe Tom Stoppard might have worked a bit more...

on films than Ayckbourn.

Definitely don't think it's Bennett.

So I'll go with Thomas Stoppard.

Eggheads, is he right?

-Yes.

-Yeah. Great moment in Mr Stoppard's career.

Tom Stoppard is the right answer.

OK. So you're ahead. We go to Rupy for your first question.

Which actress starred in the comedy films We're The Millers,

Horrible Bosses and Bruce Almighty?

Well, they're all Friends actresses.

The only one of those three films that I've seen is Bruce Almighty

and the scene that I remember is where Jim Carrey lassos the moon

and brings it down as a token of affection to Jennifer Aniston.

And so my answer is Jennifer Aniston.

You're right. Jennifer Aniston, it was.

Sam, which American writer, director and producer

created the television shows Alias and Lost?

Well, JJ Abrams has been doing a few films lately.

I think a bit of sci-fi.

David Chase I definitely recognise.

I think he might have done House or something.

It's tricky cos I'm not sure about the other things they did.

Because I don't know as much about him, I'll go Matthew Weiner.

Or WEIner .

It's not Matthew Weiner.

-It is...

-JJ Abrams.

-Yes. JJ Abrams is the answer.

So a chance for Rupy to take the lead.

The actor James Stewart graduated from Princeton University

with a degree in what subject?

HE CHUCKLES

Couldn't you have asked me about his films?

You know, Jimmy Stewart always came across

as such an avuncular character.

He always struck me as being...

..that sort of law profe...

He always had that sort of law professor look.

So I'm going to go for...

I'm going to go for law.

I like the logic. Has it served him well? Do we know?

-I would have gone law.

-Mm-hm. Yes.

Yeah, we think so?

-Architecture is the answer.

-Oh!

BARRY LAUGHS

So you're equal after two questions.

Sam, Carl Reiner's 1977 film comedy

"Oh, God!" features veteran comedian

George Burns as the title character,

alongside which singing star?

Yeah. I think Kris Kristofferson has done some acting.

I don't know about the other two.

I'm sort of drawn to Sonny Bono for something different.

Not John Denver. But maybe just for the acting.

I dismissed the director thing with JJ Abrams,

maybe I should go Kris Kristofferson and it'll be Sonny Bono.

I'll go Kris Kristofferson.

Yeah. He's probably the most famous of the three

as far as acting is concerned.

Not him. It's John Denver.

OK. So you have a chance now, Rupy, to take the round.

Your question - which of these actresses starred in her own

TV sitcom on US TV in the early 1970s?

Right. US TV in the early 1970s.

I'm not aware of the show, so I'm going to say...

..Honor Blackman.

No. It's Diana Rigg.

And it was called Diana.

All right. You've had three questions each.

The scores are level. We go to Sudden Death.

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

Sam, which British comedian who died in 2003 played Charlie Sage,

one of the main characters in the first Carry On film

Carry On Sergeant in 1958?

First thought is Bob Monkhouse.

It feels about right and I know he is obviously a comedian

and he's famous for being in Carry On Sergeant

in black-and-white.

So that's my answer, Bob Monkhouse.

Bob Monkhouse is quite right.

Sudden Death, we're on. Rupy, back to you.

Which musical theatre actor who won the BBC talent show

Any Dream Will Do joined the cast of Casualty

in the role of Ben "Lofty" Chiltern?

The only actor I can think of in Casualty is...

..the guy who played Charlie and it wouldn't be him.

I'm going to have to pass. I have no answer, I'm afraid.

If you pass, the round is over on Sudden Death.

You don't want to take a stab at it?

I have no name that would be...

..that would be more entertaining than "pass".

OK. Well, we're going back to the BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do.

You've passed. Eggheads?

-Lee Mead.

-Lee Mead is the answer. So that means Sam has won the round.

Well done, Sam. You've taken the final head-to-head.

And you can now choose an Egghead again.

Now, we've already had Judith chosen and Kevin. So who now?

I wish I could pick everyone but I will go for Barry.

OK. Barry. Barry, are you excited about being chosen?

-Yes. And I hope I can do you justice, Sam.

-Thank you.

And you've got lots of strong areas, Barry.

I always think you've got History, you've got Music.

-Very rare weak points with Barry.

-That's why I've picked him.

He reads a lot of books.

-And he's good at a lot of stuff I'm not so good at, so...

-Yeah.

So, Rupy, you've got Judith in the final round.

Sam, you've got two Eggheads, you've got Kevin and Barry.

Why don't we now 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.

Rupy and Sam, 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 no

longer be playing alone, however.

You'll have the backing of the Eggheads you've won

over the course of the show.

So, Rupy, you're going to have the help of Judith there.

And, Sam, you've got Kevin and Barry.

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

before giving an answer to a question.

However, you can ask each of your Eggheads for help only once,

so you must use them wisely.

Sam, as you won the last round,

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

It didn't help me for the last round.

Let's see if it helps this time. First, please.

Here is your first question -

in which year was Roger Federer born?

So '81...he'd be 35...

..'84, he'd be 32

and '86, he'd just be just under 30.

I don't think...

He's certainly over 30.

So it's not '86.

He's definitely not 35, 36. So, I'll go '84.

1984 is your answer?

You've not asked for Barry

or Kevin to help on this.

I'll save them for something,

hopefully, a bit harder.

OK. Kevin, you're good on dates, do you know the answer?

I'm not certain, actually.

But, I thought he was about 34,

so that would still make him valid if it was 1981.

I would have thought 1981, myself, but I may be entirely wrong here.

The answer is 1981.

So failed to score there. Rupy, onto you.

The twins, Sidney and Toots, are part of which gang?

They don't sound like a classical pairing,

so I'm going to discount The Secret Seven.

The Jets, I've not come across.

But in the back of my head,

Sidney and Toots sounds like they'd be members of The Bash Street Kids.

So I'll go for The Bash Street Kids.

The Bash Street Kids is the right answer.

So no-one has yet used an Egghead.

Sam, you've got two behind you there and no points as yet.

Here's your question.

Who won the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Award?

Well... I'm into my comedy but it's more sitcoms.

I don't know this.

I'm just trying to think which Egghead to use.

It's a tricky one cos they're both

very professional quizzers,

they will look up things like this.

I'm just wondering if it would suit Kevin more...

..than Barry. I'll try Kevin.

So, Kevin, you've been brought into play here.

Who won the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Award?

Is the question.

I'm sorry to say it is the sort of

thing we look up from time to time,

Sam, but in this instance, haven't.

So I honestly do not know the answer. I really don't.

And comedy is not one of my things.

It's not as though I have anything else to go on.

Right, but if you were on the spot and you had to go for one.

I'd pick a name but it is simply a one-in-three guess and, you know,

Sam should know that.

I don't know.

I might try Nish Kumar, but I have absolutely no idea.

Well, at least that was the name I was going to pick if I had to guess.

I don't know if I would have seen it, you know,

back of the mind sort of thing.

You've got the option of using the other Egghead.

I think that might be a bit...

I mean, he might know it,

and no offence, Barry,

but it just sounds like

it might be wasting him.

So I've obviously played it badly,

should have used it for the last one.

But I'll go for Nish Kumar.

Nish Kumar is your answer. OK. We've taken that.

Let's just see, Barry, did you know this one?

No. I would have been tempted,

with something at the back of my mind,

to go for Joseph Morpurgo.

OK. Well, nobody has mentioned the right answer so far.

It's Sam Simmons.

-THEY LAUGH

-My name, great.

This is an interesting contest. We go back to you, Rupy.

If you get this right, you've won.

Makaton is a form of what?

Makaton. Could you spell that for me, please?

Makaton is M-A-K-A-T-O-N.

Makaton is a form of what?

I have an idea, but I'm going to seek counsel.

So, Judith, over to you, please.

You seek counsel in the wrong place.

Barry, over to you, sir.

Barry is not yours. So what do you think, Judith?

My only thought was that if I was answering the question,

I would eliminate bridge, because I'm assuming it's the game,

and I don't think there's something called Makaton bridge.

But I may be utterly wrong and I have absolutely no idea

whether it's sign language or massage.

So that's really all I've got to say.

-I had assumed that bridge was the game...

-Yes.

-..as opposed to the structure.

-Yes.

When I heard the spelling, I thought it sounded vaguely oriental

and so I went for massage.

But maybe that says more about my pastimes than anything else.

So, ultimately, if Judith doesn't know,

I don't feel quite so bad

about not knowing either.

So, I'm going to go for massage.

No, once again, it's the one no-one has mentioned.

-It's sign language.

-Oh!

So this is interesting because you're now back in the game here,

Sam. But you do definitely have to get this one right.

Sam, what is an ebeniste?

Let me spell it for you. It's E, acute accent on the E,

B-E, same accent, N-I-S-T-E.

So, ebeniste.

Don't forget you've got Barry.

I don't know.

I've obviously got thoughts.

I've definitely got to pick Barry

and hope he knows.

Barry, you're on.

Well, this one, I'm on reasonably happier ground on

because I have heard the term.

I think it derives from the use of ebony in cabinet-making.

So I think an ebeniste is a cabinet-maker.

All right. Now, he sounds certain.

That was my thought and I'd be very foolish not to take his advice.

Cabinet-maker is the right answer.

Well done, Sam. Well done, Barry.

-Thanks, Barry.

-You called him in at just the right moment.

I thought I could see the twinkle in his eyes.

Maybe too late.

Well, let's see, because there is a chance for Rupy to win now.

Your third question -

which writer struck up a friendship with Lord Byron's wife Annabella

and wrote Lady Byron Vindicated,

giving one side of the controversial marriage?

So if it was someone who knew Lord Byron's wife...

..we're assuming it was a while ago.

I think Emily Dickinson is too young.

So we're back to Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Harriet Beecher Stowe...

Actually, Louisa May Alcott, I think, is American.

I'm not sure whether that's actually going to help me or not.

Let's go Harriet Beecher Stowe.

On the basis that...?

She's not American and she's old.

She's old and not American.

This is probably the kind of one that Judith would know,

-I think, Judith.

-Well, they're all American.

-Oh.

Louisa May Alcott was Little Women and all that.

Emily Dickinson was a poet.

And Harriet Beecher Stowe,

I can't remember what she wrote, that's so annoying.

But, it's whoever came to England, I think,

if she was going to be a friend of Lord Byron's wife.

I think Harriet Beecher Stowe might be right.

If it is right, Rupy, you've taken the contest.

The correct answer is...

Harriet Beecher Stowe.

And we say, congratulations, Rupy, you have won.

Sorry, Sam. It's that Roger Federer thing.

Yeah. It was bad tactics.

I think I miscalculated by a year, and, of course, you forget,

you watch him every year and you forget,

"Wait a minute, another year's passed by.

"He probably is about 34, not 32 any more."

Yeah, but Rupy, you've come through there. So, congratulations, Rupy.

You have proved that winning comes as naturally to you

as it does to our Eggheads.

You are one step closer to joining our quiz Goliaths.

But your work for today isn't quite done.

We give you 3 points for each round you've won today,

so that's 3 points you've got already.

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

by answering quickfire questions for two minutes.

We give you 1 point for each correct answer

and we're going to see where your final score puts you

on the leaderboard.

So let's just have a look. We've only got two names up there so far.

So there's a good chance you're going to be in the top four

at the end of today. Whether you'll still be there after we've got

all ten names up, we shall see.

-All to play for. Are you ready?

-I am.

Good luck. Your two minutes starts now.

In which Shakespeare play does the ghost of Banquo appear?

Much Ado About Nothing.

No. Macbeth.

In which year did the rower Steve Redgrave

win his first Olympic gold medal?

1984.

Correct. What was the surname of the British writer

with the first names John and Boynton?

Priestley.

Correct. In Greek mythology, who is the twin sister of Apollo?

Athena.

No. Artemis.

Which Puccini opera features the American naval officer Pinkerton?

Pass.

Madame Butterfly.

In which modern-day country was the statesman Simon Bolivar

born in 1783?

Bolivia.

No. Venezuela.

For which 2005 film did Reese Witherspoon win an Oscar

for playing June Carter?

Walk The Line.

Correct. In which card game is it possible to score "one for his nob"?

Cribbage.

Correct.

In which Charles Dickens novel does an escaped convict

named Abel Magwitch feature?

Bleak House.

No. Great Expectations. In British politics,

how many times did Benjamin Disraeli serve as Prime Minister?

Twice.

Correct. The mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary was born

in 1919 in which country?

New Zealand.

Correct. With which boyband did Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne find fame?

Maroon 5.

No. Westlife.

In which Italian city are the attractions the Pitti Palace

and the Boboli Gardens?

Milan.

No. Florence.

In 2006, Kirsty Young became the regular presenter

of which Radio 4 show?

The Today Programme.

No. Desert Island Discs.

Which US state is officially nicknamed the Sunshine State?

California.

-No. Florida.

-Oh.

In the 1981 Grand National,

which horse did Bob Champion ride to victory?

Aldaniti.

Correct. Which play by Arthur Miller has Willy Loman

as the central character?

Salesman. Death Of A Salesman.

Correct.

In which English county is the Royal residence

of Sandringham House?

Norfolk.

Correct. How many numbered symphonies did Beethoven complete

in his lifetime? BUZZER SOUNDS

Eight.

We're out of time anyway but the answer was nine to that.

-So, ooh, that was tough!

-That was tough.

And you got Aldaniti right in the middle of that,

which was a very hard one to get.

And a couple of others, I sensed that you absolutely knew,

-Macbeth, for example.

-Yeah.

-You know Macbeth.

-That was just a silly one.

Rupy, you've got 9 points there,

so you have a grand total of 12 points.

Let us see the leaderboard now.

You're going to be in third place behind Ian and Gareth.

We have to see whether you remain in the top four.

I'm not going to put much money on it.

It's really hard, the quickfire pressure, isn't it?

It is tough. It's tougher than I thought it was going to be.

-Well, listen, thanks for playing.

-Thank you very much.

-You did really well. Thanks, Sam, as well.

-Thanks very much.

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

to become an Egghead. Till then, goodbye.