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British quiz show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eggheads is a British quiz show produced by 12 Yard. It was first broadcast in November 2003 chaired by Dermot Murnaghan. In 2008, Jeremy Vine became joint chair, and subsequently sole chair. The show has inspired three spinoff series: Are You an Egghead? (2008), Revenge of the Egghead (2014) and Make Me an Egghead (2016). There have also been episodes of the regular series featuring teams of celebrities in their own short series, with their own rolling prize fund.
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| Eggheads | |
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| Genre | Quiz show |
| Directed by | Suzanne Pearse |
| Presented by |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series |
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| No. of episodes |
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| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production location | Riverside Studios (2021—)[1] |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | 12 Yard BBC Scotland (2010-2020) |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 10 November 2003 – present |
| Related | |
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. From series 16 Vine became the sole presenter.
The series originally broadcast on BBC One at lunchtime beginning in November 2003, and later moved to a primetime slot on BBC Two from 2005 to 2020.
On 31 December 2016 the quiz made a brief cameo in BBC One’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong TV special.
On 12 March 2021, after a year's hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced on Jeremy Vine's titular Channel 5 programme that the quiz show would be moving to Channel 5 with Vine and the most recent Eggheads returning.[2] The new series premiered on 4 October 2021, and alongside a studio change, only four Eggheads and four contestants now played at a time with a reduction to three one-on-one rounds to accommodate advert breaks (due to Channel 5's status as a commercial broadcaster). Due to social distancing restrictions, the desks were lengthened and perspex screens were added. The first challengers, playing for charity, were Jay's Virtual Quiz, who had become a fundraising hit on social media during the pandemic. An additional Egghead was featured on the opening credits and competed from week two.
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. If the challengers lose, then £1,000 is added to the prize money fund until the Eggheads are beaten, when the prize will revert to £1,000. 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 four times has a team of all five challengers won the final round. Since 2021, it has been four Eggheads against four challengers, instead of the previous five.
The show is played in five rounds. The first four 'one-on-one' 'elimination' rounds each focus on one subject category (of nine) while the final 'conferring' 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. Since the show moved to Channel 5, there have only been four players per team, and thus only three 'one-on-one' rounds.
The player who wins each round earns a place in the final round, while losing players are eliminated from the game.
The final general knowledge round is then played between non-eliminated Eggheads and challengers with a similar question format to the previous rounds, with the exception that if more than one remains on a team they may confer. If the challengers win they take the prize money; if the Eggheads win, the prize money is increased by £1,000 for the next quiz.
There are nine (formerly eight) possible subjects for the first rounds. They are:
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 & Television will appear in every episode. Despite the splitting of the Entertainment category, Music and Film & Television can appear in the same episode, sometimes consecutively.
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) joined the panel after a spin-off series entitled Make Me an Egghead. Currently, there are 8 Eggheads (6 male and 2 female): Kevin Ashman, Chris Hughes, Barry Simmons, Pat Gibson, Steve Cooke, Olav Bjortomt, Lisa Thiel and Beth Webster and they currently appear on Channel 5.
This chart displays when each presenter and Egghead was active. The black bars denote the start of each series.
The highest amount any team has won to beat the Eggheads is £75,000 in 2007 (Series 8, Episode 14) by a team of Oxford Brookes University students, Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow.[16]
| Team name | Episode | Prize money | Cumulative (at end of each Series) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Unicorn | Series 1, Episode 13 | £13,000 | ||
| Follically Challenged | Series 1, Episode 15 | £2,000 | ||
| Unlikely Lads | Series 1, Episode 21 | £6,000 | £21,000 | |
| Streatham Massive | Series 2, Episode 11 | £20,000 | ||
| 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 | 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 | Contained a pre-fame appearance of Rachel Parris | |
| Chummie Brummies | Series 10, Episode 31 | £29,000 | ||
| One Sense Less | Series 10, Episode 54 | £23,000 | ||
| 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 full team of 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 & #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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 Scotia | Series 13, Episode 136 | £16,000 | £1,111,000 | |
| Two and a Half Tandems | Series 14, Episode 22 | £26,000 | ||
| 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 Full team of 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| The Criminal Element | Series 17, Episode 62 | £14,000 | Team consisting of crime writers Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Martyn Waites & Doug Johnstone | |
| We Quiz You Not | Series 17, Episode 70 | £8,000 | #16 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| Acorn Antiques | Series 17, Episode 85 | £15,000 | #17 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| He is Heavy, He's my Father | Series 17, Episode 95 | £10,000 | £1,550,000 | #18 Eggheads lose to a single opponent |
| Rambling Away | Series 18, Episode 2 | £7,000 | ||
| Harwell and the Dekatrons | Series 18, Episode 6 | £4,000 | ||
| Peter's Griffin | Series 18, Episode 10 | £4,000 | ||
| Soft Boiled | Series 18, Episode 15 | £5,000 | #19 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| 2Morrows' People | Series 18, Episode 33 | £18,000 | ||
| T'Villidge Fowk | Series 18, Episode 39 | £6,000 | ||
| Abide With Us | Series 18, Episode 40 | £1,000 | #13 Eggheads lose twice in a row | |
| Top Spinners | Series 18, Episode 43 | £3,000 | #20 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| Queen Bee's Cs | Series 18, Episode 61 | £18,000 | 150th team to defeat the Eggheads | |
| Cabbies | Series 18, Episode 62 | £1,000 | £1,617,000 | #14 Eggheads lose twice in a row & #3 Eggheads get first 2 questions wrong in the final round |
| Old Dorks | Series 19, Episode 3 | £26,000 | ||
| Knights Templeman | Series 19, Episode 8 | £5,000 | ||
| The Barrycudas | Series 19, Episode 14 | £6,000 | ||
| All Saints | Series 19, Episode 36 | £22,000 | ||
| Compulsory Mantis Shrimp | Series 19, Episode 38 | £2,000 | ||
| Burnley is Babylon | Series 19, Episode 42 | £4,000 | ||
| Tasselled Wobbegongs | Series 19, Episode 52 | £10,000 | ||
| The Great Grandsons | Series 19, Episode 69 | £17,000 | ||
| Gli Italiani | Series 19, Episode 70 | £1,000 | #15 Eggheads lose twice in a row | |
| Suspicious Looking Sausages | Series 19, Episode 73 | £3,000 | ||
| Percies | Series 19, Episode 86 | £13,000 | £1,726,000 | |
| Doing it for the Craic | Series 20, Episode 13 | £22,000 | ||
| Give us a T! | Series 20, Episode 20 | £7,000 | #21 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| Pat's People | Series 20, Episode 24 | £4,000 | #3 Full team of challengers win the final round against a single Egghead (Lisa) | |
| Team 4x4 | Series 20, Episode 50 | £26,000 | ||
| Eclection | Series 20, Episode 58 | £8,000 | #22 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| Always Game | Series 20, Episode 70 | £12,000 | ||
| Shotley Open Spacers | Series 20, Episode 81 | £11,000 | #4 Full team of challengers win the final round against a single Egghead (Lisa) | |
| Grout Expectations | Series 20, Episode 91 | £10,000 | ||
| The Stockport Hatters | Series 20, Episode 95 | £4,000 | £1,830,000 | |
| Think Outside the Box | Series 21, Episode 3 | £3,000 | ||
| Phil's Phab Phive | Series 21, Episode 16 | £13,000 | ||
| The Gomersal Westenders | Series 21, Episode 21 | £5,000 | £1,851,000 | £19,000 went unclaimed at the end of the series 21, with the prize fund being reset back to £1,000 for the move to Channel 5. |
| Midlife Crisis | Series 22, Episode 4 | £4,000 | 1st team to defeat the Eggheads on Channel 5. | |
| The Four Racketeers | Series 22, Episode 32 | £28,000 | ||
| Chopsus Bebes | Series 22, Episode 33 | £1,000 | £1,884,000 | #16 Eggheads lose twice in a row |
| Barron Healy Quartet | Series 23, Episode 2 | £9,000 | ||
| Rota Madmen | Series 23, Episode 5 | £3,000 | ||
| Sandy Shores | Series 23, Episode 8 | £3,000 | #23 Eggheads lose to a single opponent | |
| Scum of the Earth | Series 23, Episode 19 | £11,000 | ||
| Barb On Tour | Series 23, Episode 22 | £3,000 | ||
| Thorpe Thinkers | Series 23, Episode 27 | £5,000 | ||
| Motley Crew | Series 23, Episode 30 | £3,000 | ||
| Thrown Together | Series 23, Episode 54 | £24,000 | £1,945,000 | |
| Couples' Therapy | Series 24, Episode 32 | £33,000 | Largest win on Channel 5 | |
| Greek Geekers | Series 24, Episode 45 | £13,000 | #5 Full team of challengers win the final round against a single Egghead (Pat) | |
| Scramblers | Series 24, Episode 51 | £6,000 | £1,997,000 |
Regular editions
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Celebrity editions
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On 20 October 2008, a spin-off called Are You an Egghead? debuted on BBC Two. The first series was won by Barry Simmons and ran from 20 October to 2 December 2008 while the second series was won by Pat Gibson and ran from 12 October to 23 November 2009.
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. Lisa Thiel appeared on the show as part of a winning team before becoming an Egghead herself shortly afterwards.
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.
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.
A 25-part spin-off series ran from 22 August to 23 September 2016, with the search for two new members for the Eggheads line-up: one male, one female. The series was won by Steve Cooke and Beth Webster.
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