Episode 19 Mastermind

Our first contender tonight is Madeline Grant,

a website manager from London.

She's answering questions on Harry Potter.

Peter Stiles is a teacher from Manchester.

His subject - the Battle of the Bulge.

Allan Cook is an actuary from Glasgow.

His subject - the scientist Rosalind Franklin.

And Nick Gunatilleke is a police officer from the Wirral.

He's answering questions on the Battle of Waterloo.

APPLAUSE

Hello, and welcome to Mastermind, with me, John Humphrys.

As ever, tonight's contenders face a daunting prospect

alone in the glare of the spotlight, no-one to confer with,

in the knowledge that the clock is the boss.

They get two minutes on the first round,

their specialist subject,

then two and a half minutes on their general knowledge round.

The winner will come back in the semifinals

and have to do it all over again.

So, let's ask our first contender to join us, please.

And your name is...?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

The Harry Potter books in two minutes. Here we go.

In what town in Surrey is 4 Privet Drive

where Harry Potter has lived with the Dursley family

since the death of his parents when he was 15 months old?

Little Whinging.

How does Harry think that his parents were killed

before Hagrid tells him the truth on his 11th birthday?

-Car crash.

-What animal is the Minister for Magic,

Rufus Scrimgeour, described as looking rather like,

with keen, yellowish eyes and a certain rangy, loping grace?

-Lion.

-A single word is needed

for the Summoning Charm that brings a nearby object

zooming towards the person who has cast it. What is the word?

-Accio.

-From which elderly witch does Tom Riddle

steal Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Salazar Slytherin's locket?

-Hepzibah Smith.

-In the game of quidditch,

what is the name of the ball that is used to score goals?

-Quaffle.

-Harry learns the identity of Tom Riddle's mother

when he views a memory in Dumbledore's Pensieve.

What is her name?

-Merope Gaunt.

-What is the name of the former teacher

who's persuaded to come out of retirement

to become the new potions master

for Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts?

-Slughorn.

-In The Goblet Of Fire,

Harry learns that England failed to qualify

for the Quidditch World Cup.

To which team did they lose by 390 to 10?

-Transylvania.

-Which unforgivable curse

puts the victim under the total control of the person

-who has cast the spell...

-Imperius.

..the defence against the Dark Arts teacher Alastor Moody

-demonstrated on a spider?

-Imperius.

In the garden of which cottage is Dobby the free elf buried?

Harry digs the grave without the use of magic.

Shell Cottage.

Nearly Headless Nick is a former pupil at Hogwarts,

and was executed by an incomplete decapitation

in 1492. What's his full name?

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington.

What spell did Harry Potter perform

to save his cousin Dudley from Dementors

shortly before the start of his fifth year?

He is summoned to a disciplinary hearing

at the Ministry of Magic as a result.

Expecto Patronum.

The Auror Nymphadora Tonks can change her appearance at will.

What name is given to a person with this magical ability?

Metamorphmagus.

What invention of Fred and George Weasley

causes Dudley Dursley's tongue to grow to a foot long... BEEP

..until it resembles a great, slimy python?

-Ton-Tongue Toffee.

-Yes, indeed it does.

No passes, Madeline. You got them all right. 15 points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is...?

Your occupation?

Chosen subject?

Battle of the Bulge in two minutes. Here we go.

The Ardennes Offensive, or Battle of the Bulge,

was the last major German campaign

on the Western Front in the Second World War.

What port, that had been liberated

by the Allies in September 1944,

did Hitler designate as its ultimate objective?

-Antwerp.

-Whom did Eisenhower appoint

as the commander of the American First and Ninth Armies

that were on the north side of the salient,

known as the Bulge?

-Montgomery.

-What name was given to the operation

headed by Otto Skorzeny in which Germans dressed as

American soldiers would infiltrate Allied lines?

Operation Greif.

Who commanded the American 37th Tank Battalion

that forced its way through German lines

to relieve Bastogne on 26th of December?

-Boggess.

-Abrams.

The warnings of an American First Army intelligence officer

about a possible German attack through the Ardennes

were ignored in the days before the offensive. Who was he?

-Dickson.

-What items did Allied troops borrow from the locals

to use as snow capes because of a lack of suitable camouflage gear

available in the snowy conditions?

-Sheets.

-The Ardennes Offensive was originally codenamed

Watch on the Rhine, indicating a defensive strategy.

It was renamed as what?

-Herbstnebel.

-Yes, or Autumn Mist.

84 American prisoners were killed by the SS unit

of Kampfgruppe Peiper on 17th of December.

The massacre is usually referred to by the name of what town?

-Malmedy.

-Which American major

was taken prisoner by Peiper's unit,

but managed to escape as the Germans ran into American patrols

while they tried to get back to their lines?

-Crown.

-Hal McCown.

What American transport aircraft were used to drop supplies

on Bastogne while it was under siege?

-DC-10.

-C-47. What was the name of the field marshal

who was nominally in charge of the German forces

during the Battle of the Bulge, although all command decisions were taken by Hitler?

-Model.

-Von Rundstedt.

Who commanded the British XXX Corps that was deployed

on the north bank of the Meuse ready to counterattack

should any German spearheads cross the river?

Brian Horrocks.

At which town did the American First and Third Armies meet

on 16th of January?

It effectively brought an end to the Battle of the Bulge.

-St Vith.

-Houffalize.

What one-word reply did Brigadier General McAuliffe

give to the German commander who'd sent an ultimatum that asked...

BEEP ..the Bastogne defenders to surrender

or face annihilation by artillery fire?

-Nuts.

-Nuts was the one-word reply. Absolutely.

No passes. Peter, you've scored nine points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is...?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

In two minutes, starting now.

The British chemist Rosalind Franklin is best known

for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA.

What's the title of James Watson's 1968 book

in which he caricatured her as Rosie,

who jealously guarded her data from colleagues?

-The Double Helix.

-Which Cambridge college

did Franklin attend during the Second World War

where she studied natural sciences?

-Newnham.

-Who invited Franklin

to build an X-ray diffraction laboratory

at King's College to study the structure of DNA?

-Randall.

-To what city did Franklin move in 1947?

She learned and improved upon X-ray analytical techniques there.

-Paris.

-What was the name of the head of the Agricultural Research Council

with whom Franklin had heated arguments

about the continued funding for her research team at Birkbeck?

-Slater.

-Which city hosted a world fair in 1958,

for which Franklin was asked by the Royal Institution

to build models to demonstrate

the chemical structure of viruses?

-Brussels.

-What was the name of the physicist

and noted polymath who ran the department at Birkbeck

where Franklin experimented on the structure of viruses?

-Bernal.

-Crick and Watson obtained crucial evidence

for their correct DNA model

from Franklin's clearest photograph of the B-form of DNA.

What number was attached to this photo?

-51.

-Franklin met and befriended an eminent

French physicist in her third year at Cambridge. Who was it?

-Luzzati.

-Adrian Weill.

What was the name of Franklin's assistant PhD student

during her time at King's College?

-Gosling.

-Which specific plant virus

did Franklin start to work on

when she transferred from King's College to Birkbeck?

Tobacco mosaic virus.

What was the name of Franklin's co-worker at King's College

who shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure

of DNA with Crick and Watson?

-Wilkins.

-What was the surname of Vittorio and Denise,

the married couple who Franklin worked with in Paris

and with whom she remained close friends until her premature death?

-Luzzati.

-Which pioneer... BEEP

..of photochemistry and future Nobel prize-winner

was Franklin's supervisor

during her further studies at Cambridge?

-Fred Dainton.

-It was Ronald Norrish.

No passes. Allan, you've scored 12 points.

APPLAUSE

And our final contender, please.

And your name is...?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

The Waterloo Campaign in two minutes, starting now.

What was the name of Wellington's chestnut stallion

on whom he rode throughout the Waterloo Campaign?

-Pass.

-A nephew of George III was killed

when he led a charge by his Black Legion

against the French at Quatre Bras. Who was he?

-Duke of Brunswick.

-Yes.

To whom did Wellington describe his victory at Waterloo as

"the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life"?

-Duke of Richmond.

-Thomas Creevey.

After the King of the Netherlands marked the spot where his son

was wounded with a monument,

Wellington complained, "They have ruined my battlefield."

Which monument?

-The lion monument.

-Yes. Which German nobleman

and cavalry brigade commander based at Mons gathered

intelligence for Wellington in Blucher about the movements

of Napoleon's troops before the Battle of Waterloo?

-Mon Muffling.

-von Dornberg.

What was the name of the fortified farmhouse

on the main road from Brussels to Charleroi

which was captured by French troops as the garrison there

ran out of ammunition?

-La Haye Sainte.

-Which English officer, who had eloped

with Wellington's sister-in-law,

was appointed to command the cavalry

and lost his leg in one of the last actions at Waterloo?

Earl of Uxbridge.

What was the name of the low ridge to which Wellington

withdrew after the action at Quatre Bras?

He had previously selected this position for its strategic value.

Mont St Jean.

Napoleon relied on the report of a general, his chief engineer,

that the Allied army was not entrenching on Mont St Jean.

What was his name?

-Drue.

-No, Haxo.

Near which tavern did the Prussian commander Blucher

greet Wellington after the victory with the words,

"Meine liebe kammerade! Quelle affaire."?

La Belle Alliance.

Which of Napoleon's marshals promised Louis XVIII that he

would bring Napoleon to Paris in an iron cage,

but changed sides again and fought for him at Waterloo?

Ney.

What was the name of the river that the Prussians had to

cross before they could take part

in the final battle at Waterloo?

It had been swollen by heavy rain the night before.

Dyle.

Lasne. The Prussians agreed to battle at Ligny

while still waiting for the arrival of their fourth corps.

Who was the commander of that corps?

Bulow.

Which general was promoted to... BEEP

..the rank of marshall just before the campaign

and given orders to pursue the Prussians after Ligny?

-Grouchy.

-Yes.

You have one pass, Nick.

The name of that stallion that Wellington rode right

throughout the campaign was Copenhagen.

You've scored nine points. APPLAUSE

So that's the end of the first round.

Let's have a look at the scores.

In joint third place, nine points apiece, Peter and Nick.

Second place, 12 points, Allan.

First place, 15 points, Madeline.

So it is the General Knowledge round now

and if there's 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 has to be a tie-break.

So let us ask Peter to join us again, please.

And...

..you start out with nine points, Peter.

This being the General Knowledge round, it's two and a half minutes,

so loads of time to catch up and overtake the rest of the field.

Here we go.

Which formally independent region, now part of China,

is often known as the Roof of the World?

Tibet.

Which all girl group's first UK top 40 hit was Manic Monday?

It reached number two in the singles chart in March 1986.

The Bangles.

Which woodwind instrument is so difficult to play

that it's described as "an ill wind that

"no-one blows good" in the film The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty?

-Flute?

-Oboe.

Who was the leader of the Greater London Council from 1981

until its abolition in 1986?

Ken Livingstone.

What are used in the traditional

Japanese art form ikebana?

-Paper?

-Flowers.

Who became an overnight sensation as an actor

when he played Richard III at the Goodman's Fields Theatre

in east London in 1741?

Pass.

The boundaries of which county include Gloucestshire to the

north, Somerset to the west, Dorset to the south

and Hampshire to the south and east?

-Herefordshire?

-Wiltshire.

Which author best known for his detective fiction became

a champion of spiritualism during his later years?

His last works written during the 1920s

are mostly devoted to that subject?

Arthur Conan Doyle.

Maputu, known until 1976 as Lourenco Marques,

is the capital of which African country?

Botswana.

Mozambique. What term for the young of an animal

such as a bear, a fox or a lion can also be applied

to an apprentice or a beginner?

Cub.

In ancient Greek religion, who was the twin sister of Apollo

and the Goddess of hunting, nature, chastity and childbirth?

-Diana.

-Artemis.

Which political party has proposed in its manifesto that

airbags should be fitted at the Stock Exchange

in preparation for the next crash

and that half the grey squirrels should be painted red

to increase the red squirrel population?

-Monster Raving Loony.

-Who else.

What name is given to the curved covering

of the front of the eye through which light enters?

Cornea.

In 2016, the Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance

played the title role in the big-screen adaptation

of which Roald Dahl novel?

-Big Friendly Giant.

-Yeah, the BFG.

In Greek cuisine, what type of dish are keftedes?

Er...pass.

In football, which country reached the quarterfinals

of the 2016 European Championships

encouraged by the clapping and large chants of "Ha!"

from their supporters?

Iceland.

Who was the American president at the time of the Wall Street crash in 1929?

Hoover?

Which Merseyside-born comedian was the original

host of the 1980s television game show Name That Tune?

-Tarbuck?

-Tom O'Connor.

Which amphibious mammal is regarded as Africa's most

dangerous large animal... BEEP

..and is responsible for more human deaths than lions?

-Water buffalo.

-No, a hippo. Hippopotamus, yeah, I know.

You had two passes. In Greek cuisine, the keftedes,

meatballs is what they are. Yeah.

And that actor who became an overnight sensation all those years ago,

1741, David Garrick, hence the Garrick Theatre and all that.

You have now, Peter, a total of 19 points. APPLAUSE

And now Nick again, please.

And you also start out with nine points.

Nick, let's see how you do with your two and a half minutes of

General Knowledge, starting now.

Bruce Wayne is the alter ego of which comic book hero whose

enemies include the Riddler, the Joker and the Penguin?

Batman.

In which city was the composer Franz Schubert born in 1797?

Vienna.

Vaivasvata Manu who, like Noah, survived a great flood,

appears in the mythology of which Eastern religion?

Pass.

The Court of the Lions with its central fountain is in a Moorish

palace near Granada in Spain. Which palace?

Alhambra.

Which conflict forms the backdrop

to the novel Gone With The Wind?

American Civil War.

In the West Country, a grockle is a local slang

term for which people?

Corn, Cornwall, Cornish.

Tourists. Who said when he became a Premiership manager,

"I'm European champion, I'm not one out of the bottle,

"I think I'm a special one."?

Mourinho.

The suspension bridges that carry the London to Holyhead Road

over the River Conway and Menai Straits were designed by which engineer?

Steventon.

Thomas Telford. What's the title of the 2005 film

directed by Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom

and Liam Neeson which is set during the Crusades in the 12th century?

The Last Knight.

Kingdom Of Heaven. Which veteran American singer and songwriter

had a UK number-one album in June 2016 with Stranger To Stranger?

Pass.

The village of Haworth in West Yorkshire is particularly

associated with which literary sisters?

Bronte.

What is the title of the television detective series

starring Robert Carlyle that was filmed in the picturesque

village of Plockton near Kyle of Lochalsh?

Pass.

By what abbreviated name is sodium thiosulphate known

when its used as a fixing agent in the development of photographic film?

Celluloid.

Hypo. What Chinese sauce made from soya beans, garlic, chilli peppers

and various spices and used as a glaze, a marinade

or a dipping sauce has a name that means seafood in Cantonese?

Soy.

Hoisin. Which former Olympic athlete was elected

Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne at the '92 general election?

He lost the seat in '97, but was made a life peer in 2000.

Sebastian Coe.

What was the occupation of Raymond Bessone, also known as Mr Teasy-Weasy,

who was part owner of the Grand National winners Ayala and Rag Trade?

Pass.

The great Seal of which American state has the word

Eureka on it, a reference to the discovery of gold there?

Georgia.

California. Which television series first set in the car showroom

and later in a sports goods company is about a group of friends

and colleagues who each have a dark secret?

-BEEP

-Pass.

Well, I can tell you because we're out of time.

Ordinary Lies.

The other passes, the occupation of Raymond Bessone,

Mr Teasy-Weasy, he was a hairdresser.

Hamish Macbeth, that was the title of that television detective

series starring Robert Carlyle.

Paul Simon was the singer,

songwriter who had the number-one album Stranger To Stranger,

and Hinduism was the Eastern religion that I was looking for.

You have a total now, Nick of 16 points. APPLAUSE

And now Allan again, please.

And you start out, Allan, with 12 points.

So, let's see what you can do with your General Knowledge. Starting now.

By what name was the Russian city of St Petersburg

known between 1924 and 1991?

Leningrad.

What name is given to the device that estimates blood alcohol

content when it's blown into?

It was introduced by the Transport Minister Barbara Castle

as part of the 1967 Road Safety Act.

Breathalyser.

At the Montreal Olympics in 1976, which 14-year-old Romanian

girl became the first gymnast to achieve a perfect score of 10?

Nadia Comaneci.

Which curvaceous cartoon character said in a 1988 film,

"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."

Olive oil.

Jessica Rabbit. What is the title of The Rolling Stones album that topped

the UK charts in December 2016?

The Blues.

Blue & Lonesome. The exploits of which Athenian hero include the killing

of the creative but sadistic murderers Procrustes and Sinis?

Odysseus.

Theseus. Which islands that became a state of America in the 1950s

had five kings named Kamehameha in the 19th century?

-Hawaii.

-Hawaii, yeah.

What shape is a painting,

relief carving or mural design described as a tondo?

Round.

Edmond Dantes, who seeks revenge for his wrongful imprisonment,

is a title character of which novel by Alexander Dumas?

The Count Of Monte Cristo.

What general name is given to gases such as carbon dioxide that trap heat

radiated from the Earth's surface?

Pass.

In what mountain range is Ojos del Salado,

generally regarded as the world's highest active volcano?

-Andes?

-Yes.

Who, in 1910, became the first criminal to be

captured by the use of wireless telegraphy?

-Marconi.

-Crippen.

Bay leaves, cinnamon, the avocado pear and the essential oil camphor

all come from shrubs, or small trees, that belong to which family?

Pass.

The jewellery collection of an exiled Duchess was sold off after

her death in a multi-million pounds auction in Geneva in April 1987. Who was she?

The Duchess of Windsor.

What name is shared by two rivers that flow into the Severn,

one at Tewkesbury and the other near Bristol?

The Wye.

The Avon. Which conductor who was born in 1895 was affectionately

known as Flash Harry?

Malcolm Sargent.

Which fantasy writer was the professor of Anglo-Saxon and later

Merton Professor of English language and literature at Oxford University?

-Tolkien.

-Yes.

What thin biscuit that contains coconut and is sprinkled with...

BEEP ..sugar shares its name with a city on the French Riviera?

-Nice.

-Yeah, Nice, Nice, yes, absolutely.

You had two passes. Bay leaves, cinnamon

and all those other bits and pieces come from the laurel family.

And that general name given to the gases that trap

-heat radiated from the Earth's surface...?

-Greenhouse gases.

I know and now you know it, yeah.

Weird, isn't it? No explaining it. Well, I suppose...

You have a total, Allan, you're in the lead, 23 points. APPLAUSE

And finally, Madeline again, please.

And you start out, Madeline, with 15 points. The score to beat is 23

if you are to get through to the semifinals. Here we go.

What's the name of Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar?

HMS Victory.

What name is given to the branch of science that deals with

the atmosphere, especially in relation to the weather?

Oh, meteorology.

An American Girl In Paris broadcast in two parts was the final episode

of a television series set in New York that ran from 1999 to 2004. Which series?

Sex And The City.

What do the letters HB stand for in the grading of lead pencils?

Hard black?

In which indoor team sport have the American men's team won the

gold medal at the Olympics 15 times since its introduction in 1936?

Relay.

Basketball. Which author best known for The Chronicles of Narnia

also wrote the space trilogy of science-fiction

novels about the adventures of the Cambridge academic Doctor Ransom?

CS Lewis.

In which city was the composer Brahms born in 1833?

Cologne.

Hamburg. Which warrior queen who fought against the Romans

is, in popular legend, buried under one of the platforms

at King's Cross Station in London?

Boudicca.

What French word is used for a wide,

usually tree-lined road in a city, often intended as a promenade?

Champs.

A boulevard. The works of which American-born writer include

The Portrait Of A Lady, The Americans and The Bostonians?

Henry James.

Which French explorer is thought to have provided Montreal

with his name when he called the nearby mountain Mount Royal?

Cartier.

What American department store named after the brothers Joseph and

Lyman, who established it in 1872, is famed for its iconic brown bag?

Macy's.

Bloomingdale's.

What's the name of the singer and Brit award winner who topped

the UK album charts in April 2015 with Chaos And The Calm?

Erm...Ellie Goulding.

James Bay.

Which well-known Alpine plant that usually has blue flowers

has a name that according to Pliny is derived from that

of an ancient king of Illyria?

Tannenberg.

Gentian. Who plays the New York police detective

John McClane in the Die Hard films?

Bruce Willis.

Which resort on the edge of the North York Moors National Park

has a North Bay and South Bay separated by

a headland with a Norman castle on top?

Peak District.

Scarborough. L'Ecosse is the French name for which country?

Scotland.

Which Italian dish with a name meaning bone with a hole

consists of veal knuckle or shin braised in white wine with onions and tomatoes?

Escalope.

Osso buco. In the authorised version of the Bible, what specifically does St Paul

recommend should be used "for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities"?

Praying.

A little wine. What is the name... BEEP

..of the March played at formal events in America to welcome the President?

The rarely sung lyrics are by Albert Gamse?

Erm, Stars and Stripes Forever.

Could be, but it's not, it's Hail To The Chief.

No passes, Madeline.

You have a total of 25 points. APPLAUSE

So, she did it. Let's have a look at all of those scores.

In fourth place, 16 points, Nick.

Third place, 19 points, Peter.

Second place, 23 points, Allan.

First place, 25 points, Madeline.

Which means that Madeline is tonight's winner, of course,

and she goes through to the semifinals. Congratulations to her.

And if you'd like to be a contender yourself on the next series,

do go to our website...

And you can follow us on Twitter at...

And do join us again next time

for more masterminds. Thanks for watching. Goodbye.