As quiz queen JUDITH KEPPEL retires after 20 years, can you crack the ultimate Egghead quiz?

For two decades Judith Keppel, a distant cousin of the Queen Consort, has been the nation’s Queen of Quizzes, first as the inaugural winner of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and then as one of the original Eggheads.

But after nearly 20 years of Eggheads — where groups of amateur quizzers try to beat the pros — Judith will be egging them on from the comfort of her living room as, aged 80, she recently announced her retirement. ‘It’s been a real privilege to be an Egghead,’ Judith says. ‘I’ve loved every moment. Although I’ve decided to retire — a great relief since I’ll no longer have to read the sports pages of the newspapers! — I’ll still be watching my fellow Eggheads as they take on new teams of challengers each day.’

Here, Judith shares 60 of her favourite fiendishly-hard Eggheads questions. Can you crack them?

ARTS AND BOOKS

1. Who was the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1968 to 1986?

A Trevor Nunn

B Peter Hall

C Joan Littlewood

2. The Rijksmuseum is an art gallery located in which country?

A Germany

B Netherlands

C Sweden

3. Petruchio and Katherine are bickering characters in which Shakespeare play?

A The Taming Of The Shrew

B Much Ado About Nothing

C Twelfth Night

4. The surrealist artist Frida Kahlo was born in which country?

A Romania

B Mexico

C Egypt

5. Which English playwright, rumoured to be a government agent, died in a bar-room brawl in 1593?

A William Shakespeare

B Ben Jonson

C Christopher Marlowe

Which real-life forest inspired A.A. Milne’s Winnie The Pooh stories?

6. Which artist, born in 1887, once controversially exhibited a urinal entitled ‘Fountain’?

A Marcel Duchamp

B Pablo Picasso

C Salvador Dali

7. The David Mamet play ‘Glengarry Glen’ Ross centres on people in which business?

A Banking

B Insurance

C Real Estate

8. Which real-life forest inspired A.A. Milne’s Winnie The Pooh stories?

A New Forest

B Ashdown Forest

C Sherwood Forest

9. What’s the first name of the title character in the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby?

A Jay

B Jerome

C Jasper

10. The artists of which period where referred to as ‘Wild Beasts’?

A Fauvism

B Dadaism

C Cubism

11. Which cult TV series of the 1960s was primarily filmed in Portmeirion, North Wales?

A The Prisoner

B The Avengers

C The Saint

12. Which actress, born in 1905, starred in the film ‘It’, in the process becoming the world’s first ‘It’ girl?

A Clara Bow

B Gloria Swanson

C Louise Brooks

(Stock Image) Marsala wine was first produced on which Mediterranean island?

FOOD AND DRINK

13. Marsala wine was first produced on which Mediterranean island?

A Sicily

B Malta

C Cyprus

14. What is the name of the clarified butter widely used in Indian cuisine?

A Saag

B Dhal

C Ghee

15. The English delicacy known as Bath chap is traditionally made from which part of a pig?

A Tail

B Cheek

C Trotter

16. The Polish soup named Borscht is made with which vegetable?

A Carrot

B Beetroot

C Onion

17. Which Austrian dessert takes its name from a word for ‘Whirlpool’?

A Strudel

B Sachertorte

C Gugelhupf

18. What is the name of the unleavened Jewish bread traditionally eaten during the Passover holiday?

A Matzo

B Lox

C Blintz

GEOGRAPHY

(Stock Image) Le Havre is a French port at the mouth of which river?

19. Fingal’s Cave is located on which Scottish island?

A Egg

B Staffa

C Skye

20. Le Havre is a French port at the mouth of which river?

A Loire

B Rhone

C Seine

21. Mont Pelee is a volcano on which Caribbean island?

A St Lucia

B Antigua

C Martinique

22. The Scott Monument is a feature of which British city?

A Cardiff

B Belfast

C Edinburgh

23. The flag of which U.S. state features the Union Jack in its top left-hand corner?

A California

B Hawaii

C Pennsylvania

24. Snow Hill is a railway station in which British city?

A Liverpool

B Birmingham

C Sheffield

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

25. Which popular literary typeface is named after an English printer of the 18th century?

A Baskerville

B Moriarty

C Watson

26. What is the collective name for a group of tigers?

A Trap

B Attack

C Ambush

27. In medieval times, what was the profession of a Troubadour?

A Soldier

B Singer

C Farmer

28. Which king of the ancient kingdom of Lydia has become synonymous with great wealth?

A Croesus

B Tantalus

C Sisyphus

29. Inhabitants of which English county are known as Moonrakers?

A Wiltshire

B Lancashire

C Kent

30. Who was the official photographer at the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981?

A Patrick Lichfield

B David Bailey

C Terry O’Neill

HISTORY

31. Which Roman emperor, born in 161 AD, believed himself to be Hercules and fought in the arena as a gladiator?

A Caligula

B Commodus

C Nero

32. ‘Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained’ is a quotation from which British soldier?

A Montgomery

B Wellington

C Kitchener

33. The Temple of Artemis, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was a feature of which city?

A Babylon

B Alexandria

C Ephesus

34. In 1973, the so-called ‘Regime of the Colonels’ abolished the monarchy of which country?

A Greece

B Turkey

C Spain

35. What was the first Roman capital of Britain?

A St Albans

B Winchester

C Colchester

36. The Chrysanthemum Throne is a historical term to describe the ruler of which country?

A Iran

B Japan

C Thailand

In 1953, Elvis Presley made his first musical recordings in which studios?

MUSIC

37. Radio Caroline was based on board a ship where when it began broadcasting in 1964?

A Bristol Channel

B Irish Sea

C North Sea

38. J.S. Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D Minor’ is a composition for which instrument?

A Bassoon

B Organ

C Cello

39. Which stage musical features the song ‘Get Me To The Church On Time’?

A Chicago

B South Pacific

C My Fair Lady

40. In 1953, Elvis Presley made his first musical recordings in which studios?

A Sun Studios

B Capitol Studios

C Hellcat Studios

41. The ‘Ode to Joy’ is a work by which composer, born in 1770?

A Handel

B Beethoven

C Mozart

42. The song ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ comes from which Irving Berlin musical?

A Top Hat

B Annie Get Your Gun

C Holiday Inn

What nickname was given to the White House administration of President John F. Kennedy?

POLITICS

43. What nickname was given to the White House administration of President John F. Kennedy?

A Camelot

B Utopia

C Xanadu

44. Doris Karloff is the nickname of which political figure?

A Theresa May

B Edwina Currie

C Ann Widdecombe

45. In 1906, which country became the first in Europe to give women the right to vote?

A Italy

B Greece

C Finland

46. In 1990, which MP famously fed a burger to his daughter Cordelia in order to emphasise the safety of British beef?

A John Gummer

B Norman Lamont

C Neil Hamilton

47. In the 14th century, the introduction of which tax provoked the Peasants’ Revolt?

A VAT

B Income Tax

C Poll Tax

48. Which politician featured in the video to Tracey Ullman’s 1984 hit single ‘My Guy’?

A Neil Kinnock

B Michael Foot

C Tony Benn

SCIENCE

49. What type of bird is the Kea, known for hunting sheep?

A Eagle

B Parrot

C Seagull

50. The Trapezium is a bone in which part of the human body?

A Foot

B Ear

C Wrist

51. What is the brightest star in the night sky?

A Vega

B Rigel

C Sirius

52. Sternutation is another name for which human reflex?

A Sneezing

B Blinking

C Laughing

53. What animal is a Springbok?

A Antelope

B Monkey

C Horse

54. Emeralds get their green colouring from which element?

A Zinc

B Chromium

C Argon

Sir Elton John is famous for his long association with which football club?

SPORT

55. Whom did Bjorn Borg defeat to win his first Wimbledon singles title in 1976?

A Jimmy Connors

B Ilie Nastase

C Roscoe Tanner

56. The American athlete Edwin Moses won gold medals in which event at the 1976 and 1984 Olympic games?

A 400m hurdles

B Long Jump

C 1500m

57. Sir Elton John is famous for his long association with which football club?

A Fulham

B Watford

C Chelsea

58. The former MP Jeffrey Archer has claimed to have represented Britain in which sport?

A Equestrianism

B Rugby Union

C Athletics

59. In October 1993, basketball star Michael Jordan briefly retired to follow a career in which sport?

A Athletics

B Boxing

C Baseball

60. In rugby union, what is a ‘Garryowen’?

A High Kick

B Hard Tackle

C Long Pass 

Eggheads Mon-Fri, 6.30pm, Channel 5