Eggheads (TV series)

Eggheads
Genre Game show
Presented by
Starring
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 17 (Regular)
6 (Celebrity Specials)
No. of episodes 1503 (Regular)
(as of 2 May 2016)
56 (Celebrity Specials)
(as of 20 December 2013)
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor ITV Studios
Release
Original network
Picture format 16:9
Original release 10 November 2003 (2003-11-10) – present
Chronology
Related shows

Eggheads is a BBC quiz show that airs on weekdays. It was first broadcast in 2003 chaired by Dermot Murnaghan. In 2008 Jeremy Vine became joint chair, and subsequently sole chair. In each episode, a team of five quiz and game show champions (the Eggheads) is challenged by a team of five contestants for prize money.

The most prize money that has been won is £75,000, in 2007. Some teams have been reduced to one contestant for the final round, but have still beaten five Eggheads. Occasionally, one remaining Egghead will beat five challengers. Only once have the Eggheads lost four games in succession and only twice has a team of all five challengers won the final round.

Occasional teams of celebrities challenge the Eggheads in short series, with their own rolling prize fund.

The show has resulted in three spinoff series: Are You an Egghead? (2008), Revenge of the Egghead (2014) and Make Me an Egghead later in 2016.

Hosts

The show began in 2003 with Dermot Murnaghan as the presenter. From 2008, Jeremy Vine presented when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series. After the spin-off show finished, Murnaghan and Vine continued to host the series on a rotational basis, with Murnaghan typically hosting the first half of each series and Vine taking over for the second half. In Series 16 Vine became the sole presenter.

Format

Rounds

The show is played in five rounds. The first four rounds each focus on one subject category (of nine) while the final round tests general knowledge. In the first four rounds, the challengers choose a member of their own team to play, and an Egghead against whom they wish to compete. The players for that round then leave the studio to go into the "Question Room". The challenger is given the choice of going first or second. Both players are asked in turn three multiple-choice questions. If there is no winner, the round goes into sudden death with no choices given for answers.

The player who wins each round earns a place in the final round, while the losing players are eliminated from the game.

The general knowledge round is then played the same way as the previous rounds but challengers, if more than one remains, can confer. If they win they take the prize money; if the Eggheads win, the prize money is increased by £1,000 for the next quiz.

Subjects

There are nine possible subjects for the first rounds. They are Arts & Books, Film & Television, Food & Drink, Geography, History, Music, Politics, Science, and Sport. Music and Film & Television were introduced in Autumn 2008 through a split of the Entertainment category. Subjects can appear in any order, although at least one of Sport, Music or Film and Television will appear in every episode.

"Eggheads"

In the first eight series, the team consisted of only five Eggheads who each appeared in every episode and did not rotate. At the end of 2008, a sixth Egghead was added and appearances rotated. From series 15, five of eight possible Eggheads appear each episode, and later in 2016, two brand-new Eggheads (one male and one female) will join the panel after a spin-off series entitled Make Me an Egghead.

The quiz champions who have competed on the show as the "Eggheads" are:

Teams who have defeated the Eggheads

The highest amount any team has won to beat the Eggheads is £75,000 in 2007 (Series 8, Episode 14) by at team of Oxford Brookes University students, Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow.[3]

Team name Episode Prize money Cumulative (at end of each Series) Notes
Unicorn Inn Series 1, Episode 13 £13,000
Folically Challenged Series 1, Episode 15 £2,000
Unlikely Lads Series 1, Episode 21 £6,000 £21,000
Streatham Massive Series 2, Episode 10 £19,000
Spaghetti Series 2, Episode 30 £19,000 £60,000
The Rotor Heads Series 3, Episode 21 £21,000 £81,000
Densa Series 4, Episode 11 £20,000
Wapping Black Sheep Series 4, Episode 14 £3,000 £104,000
Radio Ga Ga Series 5, Episode 6 £17,000 £121,000
Second Class Series 6, Episode 3 £37,000
Mancunian Candidates Series 6, Episode 10 £7,000
Russell's Raiders Series 6, Episode 14 £4,000 £169,000
West Yorkies Series 7, Episode 18 £29,000
Seville Servants Series 7, Episode 19 £1,000 £199,000 #1 Eggheads lose twice in a row
Beer today, Gone tomorrow Series 8, Episode 14 £75,000 Biggest win on the show so far
Preston Quizmasters Series 8, Episode 17 £3,000
Museum of London/Museum in Docklands team Series 8, Episode 50 £33,000
Taxidermists Series 8, Episode 51 £1,000 #2 Eggheads lose twice in a row
Blue Vibe Series 8, Episode 63 £12,000
Beer and Skittles Series 8, Episode 68 £5,000 £328,000
Weakly Players Series 9, Episode 15 £27,000
Sean and the Sheep Series 9, Episode 35 £20,000
Tap Heads Series 9, Episode 48 £13,000
The Rat Pack Series 9, Episode 54 £5,000 Eggheads lose to a single opponent for the first time
Lads Wot Lunch Series 9, Episode 65 £12,000
South Wales Warriors Series 9, Episode 70 £5,000
Loser's Corner Series 9, Episode 76 £6,000
Meet your Waterloo Series 9, Episode 83 £7,000 #2 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
Flexi Funksters Series 9, Episode 99 £16,000 #3 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
Cubbington Players Series 9, Episode 112 £13,000
Act One Series 9, Episode 120 £8,000 Final team to play (and defeat) the original set of 5 Eggheads
Bere Heads Series 9, Episode 145 £25,000
The Abbey Revellers Series 9, Episode 146 £1,000 #3 Eggheads lose twice in a row
The Bald & The Beautiful Series 9, Episode 152 £6,000
Eclectic Mix Series 9, Episode 159 £7,000 £499,000
The Oxford Imps Series 10, Episode 2 £3,000
Chummie Brummies Series 10, Episode 31 £29,000
One Sense Less Series 10, Episode 54 £23,000 Team made up of profoundly deaf contestants
The Midweek Marauders Series 10, Episode 64 £10,000
Beached Boys Series 10, Episode 66 £2,000
Sally Warboys Series 10, Episode 69 £3,000
The Hanging Gale Series 10, Episode 82 £13,000
The Cartoonists Series 10, Episode 91 £9,000 First team with all five challengers to win the final round against single Egghead (Kevin)
Insight Radio Series 10, Episode 92 £1,000 #4 Eggheads lose twice in a row and #4 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
Ocean's Five Series 10, Episode 93 £1,000 #1 Eggheads lose three times in a row
Bognor Regis + 2 Series 10, Episode 94 £1,000 #1 Eggheads lose four times in a row
The Eggitors Series 10, Episode 98 £4,000
Pembroke Globetrotters Series 10, Episode 115 £17,000
PRS Plus Series 10, Episode 121 £6,000 £621,000
The Wise Owls Series 11, Episode 3 £37,000 The team donated their winnings to the Sussex Wildlife Trust[4]
Work I.T. Out Series 11, Episode 5 £2,000
Shabba Series 11, Episode 35 £30,000 #5 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
The Black & White Stripes Series 11, Episode 52 £17,000
Loiners by Proxy Series 11, Episode 57 £5,000
The Middleton Moonrakers Series 11, Episode 58 £1,000 #7 Eggheads lose twice in a row
Scrum 5 Series 11, Episode 72 £14,000
Comedy of Errors Series 11, Episode 75 £3,000 #6 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
Glamorgan Poppies Series 11, Episode 86 £11,000
The Apple Turnovers Series 11, Episode 93 £7,000
Get It With Letters Series 11, Episode 122 £29,000
Chessboxers Series 11, Episode 124 £2,000
The Flying Doctors Series 11, Episode 130 £6,000 #7 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
Lancashire Hotpots Series 11, Episode 141 £11,000 #8 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
Bar 5 Series 11, Episode 157 £16,000 £812,000
Living by Numbers Series 12, Episode 6 £9,000
Culture Vultures Series 12, Episode 24 £18,000
Who Cares Wins Series 12, Episode 38 £14,000
The Internal Marketeers Series 12, Episode 63 £25,000
Chad Acad Series 12, Episode 66 £3,000
Cornish Monkeys Series 12, Episode 72 £6,000 Team donate money to Wild Futures, primate welfare and conservation charity
Millennium Marvels Series 12, Episode 84 £12,000
Loose Connection Series 12, Episode 85 £1,000 #8 Eggheads lose twice in a row
She Who Must Be Obeyed Series 12, Episode 91 £6,000
The Tramlines Series 12, Episode 96 £5,000
The Lions' Den Series 12, Episode 97 £1,000 #9 Eggheads lose twice in a row
5 A Day Series 12, Episode 124 £27,000
Blackpool Rockers Series 12, Episode 141 £17,000
The Five Marketeers Series 12, Episode 145 £4,000 #9 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
The Brocketeers Series 12, Episode 149 £4,000 £964,000
The Royal Harmonics Series 13, Episode 12 £23,000
Dobbin Series 13, Episode 19 £7,000
Shelford 5 Series 13, Episode 22 £3,000
The Wonderyears Series 13, Episode 30 £8,000 Over £1,000,000 has now been paid out in prize money since show first started
Phoenix Nights Series 13, Episode 37 £7,000
The Bell Boys Series 13, Episode 38 £1,000 #10 Eggheads lose twice in a row
A Tale of Two Families Series 13, Episode 41 £3,000
Bucks Quiz Series 13, Episode 44 £3,000
The Melting Pot Series 13, Episode 47 £3,000
Lightning Can Strike Twice Series 13, Episode 53 £6,000 #10 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
The Family Connection Series 13, Episode 65 £12,000
Dad's Army Series 13, Episode 83 £18,000 #11 Eggheads lose to a single opponent
The Hole in the Wall Gang Series 13, Episode 85 £2,000
UNOS Series 13, Episode 89 £4,000
The Quad Runners Series 13, Episode 118 £29,000 #12 Eggheads lose to a single opponent.
Handel with Care Series 13, Episode 120 £2,000 Team donated winnings to Southampton Choral Society.
Team Scotia Series 13, Episode 136 £16,000 £1,111,000
Two and a Half Tandems Series 14, Episode 22 £26,000 Team donated winnings to Life Cycle UK.
Bright Sparks Series 14, Episode 33 £11,000
Streetwise Series 14, Episode 49 £16,000
The Business Men Series 14, Episode 90 £41,000 2nd highest amount won by a challenging team. #13 Eggheads lose to a single opponent. 100th team to defeat the Eggheads.
The Crooked Spires Series 14, Episode 95 £5,000
The Clevelanders Series 14, Episode 106 £11,000
Beer Run Quizzers Series 14, Episode 108 £2,000
Doctors' Notes Series 14, Episode 113 £5,000
Business Belles Series 14, Episode 119 £6,000
No Direction Series 14, Episode 130 £11,000 #14 Eggheads lose to a single opponent.
Neither Big Nor Clever Series 14, Episode 134 £4,000
The Sensational Alex Fairley Band Series 14, Episode 136 £2,000 #2 Eggheads get first 2 questions wrong in the final round. Has happened once before in series 11 episode 154.
Rambling Badgers Series 14, Episode 139 £3,000 £1,254,000
Green Giants Series 15, Episode 12 £13,000 #2 All five challengers win the final round against a single Egghead (Judith)
The Amnesiacs Series 15, Episode 17 £5,000
The Hound Dogs Series 15, Episode 20 £3,000
Cardigan Carnage Series 15, Episode 22 £2,000
The Soroptimists Series 15, Episode 31 £9,000 Winnings donated to various local, national & international charities.
Collegiate Quizzers Series 15, Episode 44 £13,000
Stumped Series 15, Episode 53 £9,000
Burns Baby Burns Series 15, Episode 55 £2,000
Meat Bingo Series 15, Episode 69 £14,000
Team 42 Series 15, Episode 70 £1,000 #11 Eggheads lose twice in a row
Cave Aged Series 15, Episode 77 £7,000
Shipmates Series 15, Episode 81 £4,000 £1,336,000
Quizzical Series 16, Episode 6 £25,000
The Courtiers Series 16, Episode 19 £13,000
Five Diamonds Series 16, Episode 30 £11,000
Capita Ovorum Series 16, Episode 31 £1,000 #12 Eggheads lose twice in a row
Golden Girls Series 16, Episode 36 £5,000
The Baked Bean Tin Series 16, Episode 46 £10,000
Washy Posse Series 16, Episode 49 £3,000
Ducking and Diving Series 16, Episode 57 £8,000
The Lumberjacks Series 16, Episode 59 £2,000
Words in Action Series 16, Episode 75 £16,000
Bob's Buddies Series 16, Episode 91 £16,000 £1,446,000
A Clearer Head Series 17, Episode 20 £29,000 5 ladies with alopecia play bare-headed and donate their winnings to Alopecia UK
The Westenders Series 17, Episode 29 £9,000
Hayling Hackers Series 17, Episode 34 £5,000 #15 Eggheads lose to a single opponent.
Ludophiles Series 17, Episode 37 £3,000
The Simms Roaders Series 17, Episode 48 £11,000

Revenge of the Egghead

On 24 February 2014, a new spin-off series of Eggheads was launched called Revenge of the Egghead. It was presented by Jeremy Vine and saw the return of CJ de Mooi, who left Eggheads in 2012. In each episode, de Mooi faced a team of five contestants hoping to win thousands of pounds. The series ran for a 6-week period, between 24 February and 4 April 2014.

Main game

Each contestant, in turn, is asked a general knowledge question. If their answer is right, £200 is added to the prize fund but if their answer is wrong and de Mooi knows their answer is wrong, he presses a red button in front of him to answer the same question. If he gets it wrong and the contestant gets it right, an additional £100 is added to the prize fund. If he gets it right, the contestant is asked a multiple-choice question by de Mooi. If they get it right, gameplay continues as normal but if they get it wrong, they lose one of their two lives. If a contestant loses both of their lives, they are out of the game. When time runs out, the surviving players move on to the final round, along with the total number of lives remaining for all players, for a chance to win an equal share of the prize fund.

Final round

The final round starts out with de Mooi answering ten general knowledge questions. The number of questions he gets right becomes the target that the team has to beat. The team can confer on every question. Every wrong answer means that the team loses one of their lives and if they lose all of their lives, they leave with nothing but if they beat the target, they win an equal share of the prize fund.

Celebrity Eggheads

On 15 December 2008, a special edition of Eggheads began, airing five shows of Celebrity Eggheads, ending on 19 December 2008 and presented by Dermot Murnaghan.

On 7 December 2009, 10 more editions of Celebrity Eggheads began. These were also the first shows to feature Pat Gibson, the seventh Egghead. The first nine episodes aired on consecutive weekdays, with the tenth episode airing in March 2010.

From 13 December 2010, 10 Celebrity Eggheads episodes were aired for a third series.

Then, from 12 to 23 December 2011, including a Sunday show on 18 December, the format returned for a fourth series.

From 10 to 21 December 2012, a further ten episodes aired.[5]

From 9 December 2013, a further 10 episodes were scheduled.

No episodes were commissioned for the 2014 Christmas season. It is currently unknown if more celebrity editions will be commissioned in subsequent years.

Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes Host Eggheads Landmark
Series Cumulative
1 10 November 2003 19 December 2003 27 27 Dermot Chris, Daphne, CJ, Kevin and Judith
2 6 September 2004 16 December 2004 36 63
3 23 May 2005 7 November 2005 30 93
4 8 November 2005 12 December 2005 25 118 100th episode (16 November 2005)
5 10 April 2006 6 June 2006 40 158
6 25 September 2006 27 October 2006 25 183
7 5 March 2007[6] 10 September 2007[7] 80[7] 263 250th episode (22 August 2007)
8 11 September 2007[8] 28 February 2008[9] 80[9] 343
9 29 February 2008[10] 23 March 2009[11] 160[11] 503 Dermot (Eps. 1–80)
Jeremy (Eps. 81–160)
Chris, Daphne, CJ, Kevin, Judith and Barry Jeremy's debut (6 October 2008)
Barry's debut (2 December 2008)
500th episode (18 February 2009)
10 24 March 2009[12] 26 February 2010[13] 155[13] 658 Dermot (Eps. 1–75)
Jeremy (Eps. 76–155)
11 1 March 2010[14] 6 April 2011[15] 160[15] 818 Dermot (Eps. 1–80)
Jeremy (Eps. 81–160)
Chris, Daphne, CJ, Kevin, Judith, Barry and Pat Pat's debut (1 March 2010)
12 7 April 2011[16] 13 April 2012[17] 160[17] 978
13 16 April 2012[18] 14 March 2013[19] 140[19] 1118 Dermot (Eps. 1–60)
Jeremy (Eps. 61–140)
Chris, Daphne, CJ, Kevin, Judith, Barry, Pat and Dave 1,000th episode (18 May 2012)
CJ's final episode (31 August 2012)
Dave's debut (27 September 2012)
14 9 April 2013[20] 27 May 2014[21] 140[21] 1258 Chris, Daphne, Kevin, Judith, Barry, Pat and Dave Daphne's final episode (27 May 2014)
15 28 May 2014[22] 3 February 2015[23] 100[23] 1358 Dermot (Eps. 1–50)
Jeremy (Eps. 51–100)
Chris, CJ, Kevin, Judith, Barry, Pat, Dave and Lisa CJ's return (28 May 2014)
Dermot's last episode (30 September 2014)
Lisa's debut (3 October 2014)
16 4 February 2015[24] 21 January 2016[25] 100[25] 1458 Jeremy
17 22 January 2016[26] TBC TBA TBA 1,500th episode (2 May 2016)

References

  1. World Quizzing Championships 2009
  2. Mensa
  3. "Master minds win £75,000". Thisisoxfordshire. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  4. title=SWT SMASH BBC EGGHEADS Sussex Wildlife Trust, 3 March 2010
  5. "Celebrity Eggheads on BBC 2 at 6:00pm December 10th, 2012". Digiguide.tv. 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  6. "Eggheads - Series 7, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 7, Episode 80". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  8. "Eggheads - Series 8, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 8, Episode 80". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  10. "Eggheads - Series 9, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 9, Episode 160". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  12. "Eggheads - Series 10, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 10, Episode 155". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  14. "Eggheads - Series 11, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 11, Episode 160". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  16. "Eggheads - Series 12, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 12, Episode 160". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  18. "Eggheads - Series 13, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 13, Episode 140". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  20. "Eggheads - Series 14, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  21. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 14, Episode 140". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  22. "Eggheads - Series 15, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 15, Episode 100". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  24. "Eggheads - Series 16, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  25. 1 2 "Eggheads - Series 16, Episode 100". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  26. "Eggheads - Series 17, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

External links

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