Episode 15 Mastermind

The first contender to brave the black chair tonight

is Loretta Waters. She's a National Trust ranger from Swindon.

Her specialist subject, the films of Ewan McGregor.

Next, John Cockerill, a retired bank worker from Middlesbrough.

He's answering questions on British racecourses.

Sree Kanthamneni is a product manager from London.

His specialist subject, UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

And Ruth Russell-Jones is a university administrator

from Derbyshire, on CJ Sansom's Shardlake novels.

APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome to Mastermind with me, John Humphrys.

Tonight, four more contenders who have all applied to take part

and they've been able to choose their own specialist subject,

so they've only got themselves to blame for that.

But they have no influence over the questions

in the general knowledge round.

That is usually where this game is won or lost.

Tonight's winner will go through to the next round

and maybe all the way to the final,

where they can win the coveted title of Mastermind Champion.

So, let's get on with it and ask our first contender to join us, please.

In two minutes, the films of Ewan McGregor, starting now.

In which 1994 black comedy-thriller

does Ewan McGregor's character, Alex, say to his flatmate,

"But, Juliet, you're a doctor. You kill people every day"?

-Shallow Grave.

-What part does McGregor play

in the Star Wars prequel trilogy of films,

The Phantom Menace, Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith,

that were released between 1999 and 2005?

-Obi-Wan Kenobi.

-In Moulin Rouge(!), when Christian first visits

the courtesan Satine's room to perform his poetry,

-he serenades her with an Elton John hit. What's its title?

-Er...

-You Will Love Me.

-Your Song.

Which 2007 Woody Allen film stars McGregor and Colin Farrell as two brothers

who are hired by their wealthy uncle to commit a murder?

-Cassandra's Dream.

-In Brassed Off, McGregor's character, Andy,

invites Gloria out for some grub

and says they can go posh.

What is the name of the fish and chip shop he takes her to?

-In Cod We Trust.

-In which 2005 animated film does McGregor provide the voice

for a plucky little pigeon with big dreams,

who declares that what's important

is not the size of your wingspan but the size of your spirit?

-Valiant.

-McGregor won Best Actor at the 2010 European Film Awards

for his role in the political thriller The Ghost.

The film was adapted from a book written by which British author?

-Ron Brown.

-Robert Harris.

In which 1997 black comedy does McGregor star alongside Cameron Diaz

as a cleaner who takes his boss's daughter hostage

after he's replaced by a robot?

A Life Less Ordinary.

In the comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats, the New Earth Army manual

mentions three great imagineers of the past who should be followed.

Jesus Christ and Lao Tse Tung are two. Who is the third?

-Walt Disney.

-Which film, starring McGregor and Naomi Watts,

is inspired by the true story

of a tourist family in Thailand

who miraculously survive the Indian Ocean tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004?

-The Impossible.

-What is the name of the character, played by McGregor,

who sings duets with both Miss Woodhouse and Miss Fairfax

in the 1996 film Emma, based on the novel by Jane Austen?

-Frank Churchill.

-In Rogue Trader,

McGregor plays the Barings Bank employee Nick Leeson...

BEEP

..who uses a back office error account in Singapore

to hide his losses. What five-digit number does he assign to the account?

-88888.

-Yes, correct.

No passes, Loretta. You have scored ten points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

British racecourses in two minutes. Here we go.

Which racecourse, that hosted its first race meeting in 1859,

is the only course in Britain

that doesn't have a grandstand?

-Bangor.

-Yes, Bangor-on-Dee. On which Berkshire course, which is on raised meadow

and is well-known for its Monday evening meetings

that are held throughout the summer months,

did Richard Hughes ride seven winners on 15th October, 2012?

-Windsor.

-During the Glorious Goodwood meeting,

the six-furlong straight course is often known by the name of which race?

-The Stewards' Cup.

-Epsom Racecourse is served by three railway stations -

Epsom and Epsom Downs and another, which is named

after a local feature and a part of the racecourse. What's it called?

-Tattenham Corner.

-Bath Racecourse is the highest flat course in the country.

It was used as a landing strip by the Royal Air Force in World War II.

On which hill does it lie?

-Lansdown.

-Perth Racecourse, which hosts both daytime and evening meetings,

is the most northerly racecourse in Britain.

It lies in the grounds of which palace?

-Scone Palace.

-Which racecourse has a mile-long straight with a loop

to allow longer races, and hosted its first meeting in the 16th century?

Mill Reef had his debut win there in 1970, before going on to win

the Derby, King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe?

Salisbury.

The King George VI Chase, won a record five times

by the Paul Nicholls-trained Kauto Star, takes place at Kempton Park.

On what date is it usually run?

Boxing Day, 26th December.

Which course has the longest run-in in Britain,

with a distance from the last fence of approximately four furlongs,

and the winning post on a separate chute in the middle of the track?

Cartmel.

On which Northamptonshire racecourse do the horses have to run steeply uphill

for the last six furlongs? It makes it one of Britain's most demanding courses.

-Towcester.

-Ffos Las became the third racecourse in Wales in 2009

when it was opened on a site

that had formerly been used for what industrial activity?

-Quarrying.

-Coal mining. What is the name of the road

that is crossed on four occasions during the Grand National?

-Melling Road.

-Which racecourse

on Whitehawk Hill above the city,

made popular by the Prince of Wales in the late 18th century, has a horseshoe layout

that makes it one of the few tracks...

BEEP

..that doesn't actually complete a circuit?

-Brighton.

-Is correct.

No passes, John. 12 points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

World Heritage Sites in two minutes, starting now.

What is the traditional European name

of the huge red sandstone monolith, 9.4km in circumference,

that forms the centrepiece of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia?

-Ayers Rock.

-What is the name of Europe's largest stone circle?

It forms part of a World Heritage Site in Wiltshire that also includes Stonehenge.

-Avebury.

-In which American state is the Carlsbad Caverns National Park

that contains many intricate limestone caves?

-New Mexico.

-In which Japanese city is the Genbaku or Atomic Bomb Dome,

whose skeletal form was the only major structure

left standing after 6th August, 1945?

-Hiroshima.

-The Tower of Hercules in Galicia, northern Spain,

that dates back to Roman times,

and is one of the oldest working lighthouses in the world,

stands at the harbour entrance of which city?

-Bilbao.

-No, La Coruna. Which French city has an historic centre

that includes a papal palace

and the famous 12th-century Saint-Benezet Bridge?

-Avignon.

-The Wawel Cathedral that hosted royal ceremonial events

over many centuries, stands in the historic centre

of which Polish city and former capital?

-Krakow.

-Which national park in Tanzania,

designated a World Heritage Site in 1981,

is famous for its vast annual migrations of grazing animals,

especially wildebeest from the central plains

to waterholes on its western side?

-Serengeti.

-What is the name of the sacred mountain

on an Aegean peninsula in northern Greece,

which is a self-governing monastic republic

and home to over 1,000 monks?

Women and female animals are prohibited.

-Athos.

-Which baroque palace near Vienna was a residence of Hapsburg emperors

and has gardens that contain what is regarded

as the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752?

-Schonbrunn.

-The Angkor Archaeological Park,

that contains over 100 temples,

including the well-known Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, is in which country?

-Cambodia.

-Which Buddhist pilgrimage site in southern Nepal

is the place where, according to tradition,

Queen Mahamaya gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha?

-Lumbini.

-BEEP

That is correct and you're out of time.

You have no passes and you've got 11 points.

APPLAUSE

And our final contender, please.

In two minutes, starting now.

The Shardlake novels are historical mysteries

that follow the exploits of Matthew Shardlake, a 15th-century lawyer,

in the reign of Henry VIII. What physical deformity does he have?

-He's a hunchback.

-In Lamentation, Shardlake is sent to Smithfield

as the representative of Lincoln's Inn, when a woman, who's been found guilty

of preaching heresy, is burned at the stake there. What's her name?

-Anne Askew.

-What is the name of the tavern in Charterhouse Square

that's owned by the widow Ethel Bunce? She's found murdered there.

-The Green Man.

-Shardlake's household steward, William,

claims that the deep scar on his face happened at a battle

where he killed the King of Scotland. Which battle?

-Flodden.

-What play does Shardlake attend a performance of

in the Great Hall of Lincoln's Inn, which he describes as a "heavy-handed moral fable"?

-Pass.

-In Dark Fire, what does Shardlake eat to make himself vomit

and get rid of the poison which he realises

that he and his assistant, Barak, had been served by Goodwife Wentworth?

-Mustard.

-In Revelation, Shardlake witnesses a meeting

between St Thomas Seymour and Lady Catherine Parr

when Seymour steps forward to protect her from a beggar.

In which London building does this meeting take place?

-Westminster Abbey.

-Robin Singleton was the King's Commissioner,

who'd made Mark Smeaton confess to adultery with Anne Boleyn.

What is the name of the infirmary assistant who killed Singleton in the monastery?

-Alice Fewterer.

-How much did Nicholas Hobbey pay to buy the wardship

of Hugh and Emma Curteys after the death of their parents, in addition to the legal fees of £30?

-£50.

-£80.

In Sovereign, what animal is deliberately released from its cage

and chases Shardlake into St Mary's Church,

where it's killed by Kentish archers?

-A bear.

-What is the name of the horse, which replaces Shardlake's horse, Chancery,

after it's killed by the former monk and soldier Bernard Toky?

-Genesis.

-In Revelation, Henry VIII,

who's thought to be worried that Catherine Parr may want to marry Sir Thomas Seymour,

sends Seymour away as ambassador to which European territory?

-The Netherlands.

-In Sovereign, Shardlake has reluctantly accepted a commission

from the Archbishop of Canterbury to act as a lawyer for the King's petitions

when Henry VIII's progress to the north reaches York.

BEEP

What is the Archbishop's name?

-Cranmer.

-Yes, it is Cranmer.

You had just one pass.

That play that Shardlake attended the performance of

in the Great Hall of Lincoln's Inn, a "heavy-handed moral fable",

was The Trial Of Treasure.

-You have scored 11 points.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Well, a very evenly-matched set of contenders.

Let's have a look at the scores.

In fourth place, ten points, Loretta waters.

Joint second place, 11 points apiece,

Sree Kanthamneni and Ruth Russell-Jones.

And in first place, 12 points, John Cockerill.

APPLAUSE

It's the general knowledge round now

and if there is a tie at the end of it,

then the number of passes is taken into account

and the person with the fewer passes is the winner.

And if they're tied on passes as well, there will be a tie-break.

And it is possible for a runner-up tonight

to get through to the semifinal as well,

as the six highest-scoring runners-up will qualify.

So, let's get on with it and ask Loretta to join us again, please.

And, er...

You start out with ten points,

with your knowledge of Ewan McGregor's films.

You've got two-and-a-half minutes to set a...

..Earth-shattering score with your general knowledge. Here we go.

Which 1992 chart-topping song, covered by Whitney Houston,

begins "If I should stay, I would only be in your way"?

-Bodyguard.

-I Will Always Love You.

The Egyptian goddess Bastet or Bast,

was typically represented in the form of which animal?

-A dog.

-A cat. In the name of the American President Lyndon B Johnson,

the B stood for his mother's maiden name. What was it?

-Baxter.

-Baines. What name is given to the flexible stick with tightly held fibres

that is used for playing instruments of the violin family?

-Bow.

-In the 1870s, Joseph Glidden of Illinois invented the first

commercially successful form of a type of fencing that is still in use today

and is sometimes called the "Devil's Rope". What type of fencing?

-Barbed wire.

-Which author and broadcaster

was the original question master on University Challenge?

-Bamber Gascoigne.

-Which German won her first Grand Slam tennis title

when she beat Serena Williams

in the final of the ladies singles at the 2016 Australian Open?

-Pass.

-Which large amphibious rodent's fur is known as musquash,

an archaic name for the animal itself?

-The beaver.

-The muskrat.

At which London railway terminus was the gothic revival-style Grand Hotel,

designed by the Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott?

-King's Cross.

-St Pancras.

Which former Children's Laureate

wrote the novels Shadow and Kensuke's Kingdom?

-Pass.

-The lighthouse on the islet of Muckle Flugga,

Britain's most northerly building, lies off the larger island of Unst

at the tip of which Scottish island group?

-The Inner Hebrides.

-The Shetlands.

Who became Britain's first official international space station astronaut

in December, 2015? He spent a total of six months in space.

-Tim Peake.

-The Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea,

that lie off the coast of Siberia, are marginal parts of which ocean?

-The Arctic.

-What is the word for a hard, dark stone

used to test the quality of gold and silver

by the colour of the streak it produces when it's rubbed on them?

It's also a general term for a criterion by which any judgement is made.

-Pass.

-How many yards are in a chain in imperial length measurement?

It's a distance familiar to fans of cricket.

-12.

-22 yards. What name of Greek origin is given to the condition

that involves difficulty in acquiring and processing language?

It makes reading more difficult.

-Dyslexia.

-The oceanographic research ship Calypso

was commanded by a French underwater explorer, born in 1910,

who found fame in both television and cinema documentaries. Who was he?

-Jules Verne.

-Jacques Cousteau. In literature,

which henpecked husband falls asleep for 20 years

in the Catskill Mountains... BEEP

..and wakes to find his wife dead,

his house in ruins and his daughter married?

-Pass.

-Well, I can tell you it was Rip Van Winkle, poor chap.

Your other passes.

Touchstone is the word for that hard stone

that can test the quality of gold and silver.

Michael Morpurgo wrote Shadow and Kensuke's Kingdom.

And Angelique Kerber won her first Grand Slam tennis title

when she beat Serena Williams.

You now have a total, Loretta, of 16 points.

APPLAUSE

And now Sree again, please.

And you start out, Sree, with 11 points.

Let's see how you do with your two-and-a-half minutes

of general knowledge, starting now.

According to the proverb, a bird in the hand is worth...

-Two in the bush.

-By what nickname are Canada's national police force,

the RCMP, known?

-Mounties.

-Saraband, habanera and merengue are all types of what art form?

-Dance.

-The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Old Man And The Sea was cited

by the Nobel Committee when they awarded the prize for literature in 1954 to whom?

-Hemingway.

-The sword of which celebrated Devonian seafarer

was used by the Queen at Greenwich in July, 1967,

to knight the Devon-born round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester?

-Francis Drake.

-The Victorian artist Ford Madox Brown spent the later years of his life

painting the murals on the walls of the Great Hall

of a northern English city's town hall. Which city?

-Durham.

-Manchester. What senior position

in a regimental band is held by John Loveday,

according to the title of Thomas Hardy's 1880 novel?

-Mayor of Casterbridge?

-Trumpet Major.

What word comes after "Grizzled", "Dingy, "Lulworth" and "Silver-spotted"

in the names of species of butterfly native to Britain?

-Ladybird.

-Skipper. The historical regions of Bohemia and Moravia

are now part of which modern-day country?

-Czech Republic.

-What oil, obtained from the seeds of the bean Ricinus communis,

is used in the making of products such as lubricants and paints

and has been used as a laxative?

-Castor oil.

-Which Second World War de Havilland bomber

was nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder" because it was partly built of plywood?

-Spitfire?

-The Mosquito. How many hours ahead of GMT are Moscow, Baghdad and Nairobi?

-Four.

-Three. What name is given to a word

that is put before a noun or pronoun to describe an attribute of it?

-Adjective.

-Shirley Eaton plays Jill Masterson,

who dies after being painted from head to toe in which Bond film?

-Goldfinger.

-What name is used

at the head of a cathedral chapter and in academic circles

for the head of a university faculty or department in the Church of England?

-Rector.

-Dean.

The American television comedy series Mork And Mindy and Laverne & Shirley

were both spin-offs from which long-running series?

-Pass.

-Which area of rich agricultural land, watered by the River Avon

and centred on the Worcestershire town that gives its name,

holds an annual asparagus festival?

-Bath.

-Vale of Evesham. In snooker and billiards,

what name is given to a sequence of scoring shots that comes to an end

when a player makes a non-scoring shot or commits a foul?

BEEP

-Break.

-Yes, it's correct. You had one pass.

The American television comedy series Mork And Mindy and all that

were spin-offs from Happy Days.

You have a total now, Sree, of 21 points.

APPLAUSE

And now Ruth again, please.

And, er..

you also start this round with 11 points

and 21 is now the score to beat.

You have two-and-a-half minutes in which to do it -

or not, as the case may be. Here we go.

How many people rule in a triumvirate?

-Three.

-Which Little Britain star's books for children

include Awful Auntie and Gangsta Granny?

The latter was adapted for television with Julia McKenzie in the title role.

-David Walliams.

-Which mythical beast is used to symbolise the constellation

of faint stars in the northern sky called Monoceros?

-Dragon?

-Unicorn. The small Italian dumplings called gnocchi

are most commonly made from flour, semolina or what root vegetable?

-Potato.

-Under what name did the Austrian-born singer Johann Holzel

top the UK singles charts in 1986 with Rock Me Amadeus?

-Fred.

-Falco.

Which South American country has a border with Panama to the north-west,

Venezuela and Brazil to the east and Peru and Ecuador to the south?

-Uruguay.

-Colombia. What colour jersey is worn by the leader

in the Giro d'Italia cycle race? It is known as the "maglia rosa".

-Pink.

-The word "Flocculent" describes an item

covered with the material resembling or made of what natural substance?

-Wool.

-Which painter, who was born in Picardy in 1869,

became the leader of the short-lived group known as the "Wild Beasts"

because they used pure brilliant colour, applied straight from paint tubes?

-Pass.

-Who won her second Oscar playing Martha, opposite her real-life husband,

in the 1966 film Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

-Susan Sarandon.

-Elizabeth Taylor.

On new Ordnance Survey maps, a British mountain will be shown

to have a height of 1,345 metres, one metre higher than previously,

because of improved satellite surveying methods. Which mountain?

-Snowdon.

-Ben Nevis. What is the name of the Lone Ranger's

trusty Native American companion, who rides a horse called Scout?

-Tonto.

-What name is given to a Private Members' bill,

introduced in the House of Commons under Standing Order Number 23?

The name comes from the length of time its sponsor may speak.

-The Minute?

-The Ten Minute Rule bill.

What tragic heroine in a novel by Leo Tolstoy has an illicit affair

with the dashing young officer Count Alexis Vronsky?

-Anna Karenina.

-Who was killed on 30th January, 1948,

by Nathuram Godse, a young Hindu fanatic?

-Gandhi.

-Of which North African country was Idris the first king,

from the time of its first independence, in 1951,

until his overthrow in a military coup in September, 1969?

-Egypt.

-Libya. In mythology, which Greek youth,

who pined away after falling in love with his own reflection,

was turned into the flower that bears his name?

-Narcissus.

-What is the name of England's largest forest?

It's in Northumberland, has an area of 250 square miles.

BEEP

-Kielder.

-Kielder is correct.

You had one pass.

That painter, who was born in 1869. He led the Wild Beasts.

-His name was Henri Matisse. And you have, Ruth, 21 points.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And, finally, John again, please.

And you, John, start out with 12 points.

So, 21 the score to beat still.

Here we go, with two-and-a-half minutes of general knowledge.

Which actor played Chief Inspector Morse on television between 1987 and 2000?

-John Thaw.

-What type of hat is a recurring feature

-of the works of the surrealist painter Rene Magritte?

-Um...

-bowler.

-On which of the days of creation

did God make the sun, the moon and the stars, according to the Book of Genesis?

-The fourth.

-Which folk hero and frontiersman was portrayed by John Wayne

in the 1960 film The Alamo, and by Billy Bob Thornton in a 2004 film of the same name?

-Davy Crockett.

-What is the name of the yellow bird

who's Snoopy's best friend in the Peanuts cartoons by Charles Schulz?

-Marmaduke.

-Woodstock. Which metallic chemical element was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy

and has the chemical symbol Na? It comes from its original name "natrium".

-Sodium.

-Shelley's poem To A Skylark begins "Hail to thee..."?

-"Blithe Spirit!"

-What name is given to the design

that was introduced by Josiah Wedgwood in 1775

that was originally of blue stoneware with applied white relief decoration?

-Pass.

-Which Lakeland town is at the northern end of Derwentwater

and overlooked by the mountain Skiddaw?

-Keswick.

-Who was manager of Manchester United from 1945 to '69

and took over the team again from December, 1970, to July, '71?

-Matt Busby.

-Which 15th-century German printer devised a method of printing

from moveable type that wasn't significantly changed until the 20th century?

-Gutenberg.

-What is the only living species of deer,

in which females also have antlers?

-Reindeer.

-Dolores O'Riordan is the lead singer with which Irish rock band?

-Pass.

-Which queen was beheaded on the orders of her cousin, Elizabeth I, in 1587?

Mary, Queen of Scots.

What term for a second-year student at an American high school or college

is traditionally said to come from the Greek for "wise and foolish",

showing that the student is halfway between ignorance and wisdom?

-Pass.

-Which country's currency is known

in the international money markets by the abbreviation CHF?

-The Swiss franc.

-In which Californian city is Balboa Park,

which contains one of the world's largest zoos?

-San Diego.

-The name of which former prison in Southwark

has come to be used as a slang term for any jail?

-Um... Clink.

-What is the name of the train service

that most famously ran from Paris to Istanbul?

It featured in the title of a murder mystery by Agatha Christie.

-Orient Express.

-Which actor, who was born in Dudley in 1958, made his television debut...

BEEP

..when he won the talent show New Faces,

as a young comedian in 1975?

-Lenny Henry.

-Is correct. Three passes.

That second-year student is known as a "sophomore".

Yep. Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of The Cranberries.

And that design introduced by Josiah Wedgwood in 1775

is called jasperware.

However, John, you have 28 points.

APPLAUSE

So, no doubt about the winner there. Let's have a look at the scores.

In fourth place, with 16 points, Loretta Waters.

Joint second place, 21 points apiece,

Sree Kanthamneni

and Ruth Russell-Jones.

In first place, 28 points,

John Cockerill.

APPLAUSE

Which means, of course,

that John is tonight's winner and he goes through to the semifinals.

So, congratulations to him.

And if you would like to be a contender in the next series,

do go to our website.

And you can follow us at...

Do join us again next time

for more Masterminds. Thanks for watching. Goodbye.

APPLAUSE