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00:00MUSIC
00:15APPLAUSE
00:18Christmas University Challenge.
00:21Asking the questions, Amal Roger.
00:25APPLAUSE
00:28Hello, and welcome to the 2025 series
00:31of Christmas University Challenge.
00:33Incredibly, this alumni edition of the programme
00:35is now in its 15th year.
00:37And to celebrate that, we've decided to put on
00:39a special invitational tournament this Christmas,
00:42featuring notable teams and players
00:44from each of the 14 series we've had so far.
00:47First, to put their fingers back on the buzzers,
00:49are the defending champions from Durham University.
00:51A little less than a year ago,
00:52these four beat Queen's College Cambridge
00:54in the closest final we've ever had
00:56on this alumni series.
00:58With less than 10 minutes to go,
00:59they were behind by 65 points,
01:02but came back to win by five,
01:04thanks to their knowledge of Latin American politics,
01:06European geography and Joyce Kilmer's poem, Trees.
01:09Their line-up is unchanged from then
01:11and consists of a professor of art history
01:13at the University of Sussex,
01:15who specialises in the art of the Byzantine Empire,
01:18a journalist and broadcaster
01:19who's been the independence food critic,
01:21a judge on MasterChef,
01:22and a presenter on numerous arts and music programmes.
01:25Their captain, the MP for Bristol Central
01:27and former co-leader of the Green Party
01:29and an award-winning digital journalist,
01:32content creator and author of non-fiction books,
01:34including the forthcoming,
01:35How to Kill a Language.
01:37Let's hear them introduce themselves in the usual way.
01:40Hi, my name's Liz James
01:42and I graduated from Durham in 1985
01:44with a degree in ancient history and archaeology.
01:47Hello, I'm Tracy McLeod.
01:49I graduated from Durham in 1982
01:51with a degree in English.
01:52And their captain.
01:53Hi, I'm Carla Denia.
01:55I graduated in 2009
01:56with a degree in mechanical engineering.
01:59Hello, I'm Sophia Smith-Gaylor.
02:01I studied Spanish and Arabic at Durham
02:03and I graduated in 2016.
02:09Their opponents tonight
02:10are the Manchester team
02:12who finished runners-up
02:13in our 10th Christmas series back in 2020.
02:16In their series final
02:17against the Courtauld Institute of Art,
02:19they were the team that got off to a strong start
02:20only to find themselves overtaken in the final third.
02:23Before that point, however,
02:24they'd enjoyed two emphatic victories
02:26over Queen's Belfast and Loughborough
02:28and given some very impressive answers
02:30on subjects ranging from poetry to Pac-Man.
02:32Again, all four of their original players
02:34have returned to play tonight
02:36and they are a surgeon,
02:38particularly known for his work
02:39in disaster and war zones
02:40and for establishing a foundation
02:42to train other doctors in this field,
02:44a writer and filmmaker
02:45whose books include the 2024 short story collection
02:48The Woman in the Portrait,
02:50their captain, a familiar face
02:52from many films and television shows
02:53ranging from The Comic Strip Presents
02:55to Alien Earth
02:56and a second actor and comedian
02:58whose credits include the franchise,
03:00This England and, of course, The Thick of It.
03:02Let's meet the Manchester team once again.
03:05Hello, my name is David Knott.
03:07I graduated from Manchester in 1981
03:09reading medicine.
03:12Hello, my name is Juliet Jakes.
03:14I graduated from Manchester in 2003
03:17with a degree in history.
03:18And their captain.
03:19Hello, I'm Adrian Edmondson.
03:21I graduated in 1978
03:23with a fabulous degree in drama.
03:27I'm Justin Edwards.
03:28I graduated in 1990
03:29with degrees in drama and French.
03:33APPLAUSE
03:36Well, it's fabulous to see you back here again.
03:38Do you vaguely remember how this works?
03:39Yes.
03:40You're going to show off your general knowledge,
03:42answer the questions correctly
03:42and then all will be wonderful.
03:44Welcome back.
03:45Very nice to see you.
03:46Fingers on buzzers.
03:47Here we go with your first Christmas starter for ten.
03:49Which long-running US television series
03:53began on the 17th of December 1989
03:55with an episode...
03:57Manchester Edmondson.
03:58Spring, uh, The Simpsons.
04:00I'll accept that because it is Christmas
04:03and Santa's feeling generous.
04:05But next time,
04:05got to get it right straight away, OK?
04:08Here we go.
04:09Your bonuses then, Manchester.
04:10Three questions on political events
04:12that happened between the 19th
04:14and 28th of December 2011.
04:16That is, during the first ever series
04:18of Christmas University Challenge.
04:21Monday 19th of December
04:22saw the official announcement by state media
04:24of the death of which world leader
04:26said to have suffered a heart attack
04:28on his train two days prior.
04:30Other reports, however,
04:31suggest that he may have actually died
04:32at his home in Pyongyang.
04:34That'd be Kim Il-sung.
04:35Kim Il-sung.
04:36Kim Il-sung.
04:36Kim Il-sung, yeah.
04:36Kim Il-sung, yeah, not the first, not the big one.
04:39Do you know how to say it?
04:40It's Kim Il-sung.
04:41I'm going to nominate Jake's.
04:43Kim Il-sung.
04:44Yes, of course, Kim Jong Il.
04:45On the 22nd of December,
04:46who, in his final State of the Nation speech
04:48as Russian president,
04:50recommended a broad slate of anti-corruption reforms?
04:55Who's him before he came president?
04:56Is that Medvedev?
04:58Oh, Medvedev, yeah.
04:59Is it Medvedev?
05:00Dimitri Medvedev?
05:02Medvedev?
05:03Medvedev.
05:04Yes, correct.
05:04Former Daily Mirror employees,
05:06including Piers Morgan and James Hipwell,
05:08testified on the 20th and 21st of December,
05:11respectively,
05:11before which judicial inquiry
05:13into the use of phone hacking
05:14by members of the press?
05:15The Leveson Inquiry.
05:17It was indeed, yes.
05:18Fingers of advisors,
05:19here's another starter question.
05:20Which major German city
05:22traces its foundation to the 1150s,
05:25when monks from a Benedictine foundation
05:27received the right to build a bridge and market
05:29where the road from Salzburg
05:30crosses the River Izar,
05:32a tributary of the Danube,
05:33hence the city's name,
05:34meaning home of the monks?
05:38Doran Smith-Gaylor.
05:39Munich.
05:40It is indeed Munich.
05:41Well done.
05:42Your bonuses, Doran,
05:43are three questions on reinterpretations
05:45of Claude Monet's Water Lilies paintings.
05:48Rendered in boldly coloured enamel
05:50on a stainless steel base
05:51to represent the reflective water,
05:53which US artist painted six versions
05:56of the Water Lilies in 1992?
05:59He had previously recreated Monet's paintings
06:01of Rouen Cathedral
06:02in his characteristic style
06:04inspired by the band-aid dots
06:06used in printing.
06:08Don't look at me.
06:10I've never done a picture.
06:11Lichtenstein.
06:12I don't know.
06:12Oh, yeah, Lichtenstein.
06:13I don't know what era he was.
06:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:15Go for it.
06:16Oh.
06:17Just go for it.
06:18Let's say Lichtenstein.
06:19Yeah, Lichtenstein.
06:20Yes, correct.
06:21First unveiled in 2023,
06:23Ai Weiwei's Water Lilies
06:24recreates Monet's work
06:25using 650,000 of what objects?
06:29The artist Nathan Sawyer
06:30is also known for his use of these objects
06:32in artworks such as yellow.
06:34Wait, wait.
06:35Is it the ceramic sunflower seeds?
06:36Ceramic sunflower seeds.
06:38So the famous one in the turbine hall
06:39was the ceramic sunflower seeds.
06:41So are we saying ceramic beads
06:42or are we saying ceramic sunflower seeds
06:44or sunflower seeds?
06:46Make it all.
06:47Sunflower seeds,
06:47because you said there was one
06:48that was called yellow,
06:49so was that because of sunflowers?
06:50Then it's some...
06:51I don't know.
06:51Let's do sunflower seeds.
06:53Sunflower seeds?
06:54I really enjoyed the way
06:55which you worked that out
06:56but still got it wrong.
06:56Bad luck.
06:57It's Lego bricks.
06:58Bad luck.
06:59It was great telly.
07:00In a 2005 work entitled
07:03Show Me the Monet,
07:04which artist added shopping trolleys
07:06and traffic cones
07:07to an otherwise picturesque scene
07:08inspired by the Water Lilies series?
07:11Sounds like Banksy.
07:13I don't know if he makes
07:14installations of that sort though.
07:16He's done some.
07:18Okay.
07:18That would be my guess
07:19unless anyone's got a better idea.
07:21Banksy?
07:21Does sound like Banksy.
07:22Well done.
07:23Well done.
07:23Don't start a question, Rick.
07:24It's a picture round.
07:25For your picture starter,
07:26you're going to see a map
07:27of an historic county
07:28of the British Isles.
07:30For ten points,
07:31give me the county's name.
07:34Durham James.
07:35Down.
07:36It is.
07:36Well done.
07:38For your picture starter then,
07:39Durham,
07:39you saw County Down,
07:40which in 2010
07:41recorded the deepest-lying
07:43Christmas Day snow
07:44ever in Northern Ireland.
07:45For your picture bonuses,
07:47I want you to identify
07:47three more areas
07:49which have set
07:49Christmas Day snow records.
07:52First,
07:53name this county
07:54which set
07:54the Welsh Christmas
07:55snow record
07:56also in 2010.
08:01Sure.
08:02Fairly sure.
08:03Gwyneth.
08:04Correct.
08:05Second,
08:05I want the three-word name
08:06of this council area
08:07which set
08:08the Scottish Christmas
08:09snow record
08:10in 1981.
08:12Three-word.
08:14Central...
08:14Lothian.
08:15Oh.
08:17No,
08:18Lothian is...
08:19Off to the side a bit,
08:20I think.
08:20Renfrew?
08:21If it is
08:22Central Scotland
08:22something,
08:23then what's the
08:24something?
08:24I don't know.
08:24Come on.
08:25No, should we pass?
08:26Pass, sorry.
08:27It's Perth and Kinross.
08:28Finally,
08:29name both
08:30of these counties
08:31which share
08:31the English
08:32Christmas snow record.
08:34Oh.
08:35Surely that's
08:36North Yorkshire.
08:37Which is a bit one.
08:38Hmm.
08:39So,
08:39was it historic counties
08:41in which case
08:42it would just be
08:42Yorkshire?
08:43What's the other one?
08:44I'm thinking
08:45Derbyshire.
08:46OK,
08:47let's say that.
08:47Come on.
08:48OK,
08:48Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
08:50I need something
08:50more specific.
08:51North Yorkshire and
08:52Derbyshire.
08:52Correct,
08:53I'll accept that.
08:53Right,
08:54another slightly
08:54question.
08:55What given name
08:56was shared by all
08:57of the following?
08:58The mother of Henry
08:58VI of England,
09:00the Portuguese princess
09:01often credited with
09:02introducing tea drinking
09:03to England
09:03following her marriage
09:05to Charles II,
09:05and the Queen of England
09:07whose final residence
09:08was Kimbo...
09:09Durham,
09:09James.
09:10Catherine.
09:10It was Catherine,
09:11well done.
09:12Your bonuses,
09:13Durham,
09:13are on viruses
09:14that are frequent
09:15causes of the common
09:17cold.
09:17Which family of
09:18viruses is the
09:19primary cause
09:19of most common
09:20colds,
09:21also a common
09:21trigger for asthma
09:22attacks,
09:23their name for
09:23their tendency
09:24to infect the nose?
09:26Rhinovirus,
09:27I'm pretty sure.
09:28Different...
09:29Rhinovirus.
09:30Yes.
09:31For what does
09:31the letter S
09:32stand in the
09:33abbreviation RSV,
09:35referring to a
09:35kind of
09:36respiratory virus
09:37that causes
09:38cold-like symptoms.
09:39This word comes
09:40from the name
09:40of the large
09:41structures formed
09:42when infected
09:42cells fuse together.
09:46Synapse?
09:47No,
09:48that's a brain
09:48thing.
09:49So it's
09:50respiratory
09:50something virus.
09:52Respiratory...
09:53Synovial.
09:56No,
09:56that's in your
09:57joints,
09:57synovial fluid.
09:58Is it?
09:59Respiratory...
10:01Come on.
10:02Oh,
10:02synovial.
10:03Syncytial.
10:04Another frequent
10:05cause of colds,
10:06adenoviruses,
10:07are named
10:07for the fact
10:08that they were
10:08initially isolated
10:09from a human
10:10adenoid,
10:11the uppermost
10:11of which set
10:12of infection-prone
10:13organs at the
10:14back of the
10:14mouth?
10:17Tonsils?
10:18Tonsils is good.
10:20Tonsils.
10:21Correct.
10:21Let's start with
10:22the question.
10:23Attached to
10:23the xiphoid process
10:25of the sternum,
10:26the inner surfaces
10:26of the lower ribs
10:27and the upper
10:28lumbar vertebrae
10:29via muscular crura,
10:30what large...
10:31Manchester knot.
10:33Diaphragm.
10:34It is a diaphragm.
10:35Well done.
10:35Your bonuses
10:36in Manchester
10:37are on countries
10:38visited by the
10:39novelist Graham Greene.
10:40In each case,
10:40identify the country
10:41from the description.
10:43First, a Caribbean
10:44country, somewhat
10:45smaller than Belgium.
10:46It was one of the
10:46earliest countries
10:47in the Americas
10:48to free itself
10:48from European rule
10:49and is the setting
10:50of Greene's novel
10:51The Comedians.
10:52Haiti.
10:53Haiti?
10:54Hang on.
10:55Is it?
10:56That was never British.
10:58From British rule.
11:01Um...
11:02Barbados.
11:05Barbados.
11:05Barbados are very
11:05early independence.
11:07That's a good guess.
11:09I'm sure.
11:09I'm not Jamaica.
11:10I was thinking Jamaica.
11:12OK, OK, OK.
11:13I don't know.
11:15We're going to say Jamaica.
11:16No, bad luck.
11:16I did say from European rule,
11:17not British,
11:18so it was, in fact, Haiti.
11:19Oh, damn.
11:19Second,
11:20a West African country
11:21that gained independence
11:22in 1847,
11:24Greene's 1936 work,
11:25Journey Without Maps,
11:26describes a 350-mile journey
11:28on foot through
11:29the interior
11:30of this country.
11:321847.
11:33West Africa.
11:34West Africa.
11:35West Africa.
11:35Liberia?
11:36Syria and some...
11:38I think it might be
11:39Liberia
11:40because it was, like,
11:40American protection.
11:41Liberia.
11:44We're going to say Liberia.
11:45Very well worked out, yes.
11:46Finally,
11:47a Southeast Asian country
11:48where Greene worked
11:49as a foreign correspondent
11:50in the 1950s
11:51and where his novel
11:52The Quiet American is set.
11:54Oh, really?
11:56Vietnam, you see?
11:57Yeah.
11:58Many...
11:59Vietnam.
12:00Yes, well done.
12:01Let's start the question.
12:02Having used the
12:03Luis Compans Olympic Stadium
12:05as its home ground
12:06in both the 2023-24
12:08and 2024-25 seasons,
12:10which men's football team
12:12played the first
12:13Manchester Jakes?
12:14Barcelona.
12:15It is indeed.
12:16Well done, Manchester.
12:16Your bonuses are
12:17three questions
12:18about the 78th
12:19Tony Awards
12:20which were held in 2025.
12:22Who won the award
12:23for best performance
12:23by a leading actress
12:24in a play
12:25for portraying
12:26all 26 characters
12:27in a one-woman
12:28stage adaptation
12:29of The Picture
12:30of Dorian Gray.
12:31Her television roles
12:32include Shiv Roy
12:32in Succession.
12:33Sarah Snook.
12:34Correct.
12:35Maybe Happy Ending,
12:36winner of the Best Musical Award,
12:38is set in which country,
12:39where it also had
12:40its world premiere
12:41in 2016?
12:41It follows the love story
12:43between two abandoned
12:44human-like machines
12:45called Helperbots
12:46who travel in the latter part
12:47of the play
12:48to Jeju Island.
12:50We've got nothing
12:51on the store.
12:52Can we guess a country?
12:54It's not Japan,
12:55isn't it?
12:56Japan.
12:57No, South Korea.
12:58The award for best actress
12:59in a musical
13:00was won by Nicole Scherzinger
13:01for her role
13:02as Norma Desmond
13:03in which Andrew Lloyd Webber
13:04musical?
13:05Sunset Boulevard.
13:06It is indeed.
13:06Put two in the lead.
13:07Just five points here.
13:08Music round now.
13:09And for your music starter,
13:10you're going to hear
13:10a piece of popular music.
13:12For ten points,
13:13name the band playing.
13:19Dora McLeod.
13:20The Who.
13:21It is indeed The Who,
13:22of course.
13:23That was, of course,
13:24Baba O'Reilly
13:25by The Who,
13:25who in 2025
13:27embarked on their
13:28second farewell tour,
13:29having undertaken
13:30their first in 1982
13:31and toured several times since.
13:33For your music bonuses,
13:34you're going to hear songs
13:35by three bands
13:35that have had reunion tours
13:37in 2025.
13:38Five points for each band
13:40you can name.
13:41First, this band
13:42who played their farewell shows
13:43in 2017.
13:47So soon we're,
13:49so soon we're,
13:50so soon we're
13:51too old to carry
13:52and we knew it,
13:54and we knew it,
13:55and we knew we only had
13:57a little while
13:58in the middle,
13:59in the middle,
14:00in the middle,
14:01just keep ticking over
14:03before you know it,
14:04before you know it.
14:05I think they might be
14:06a boy band.
14:08Come on, Darren,
14:09and we'll just go.
14:12Send them.
14:13Pass.
14:14That's Pelican
14:15by The Maccabees.
14:16Next, this band
14:17who played their first
14:18farewell tour in 2004.
14:21This is the definition of my life
14:26Binding bread in the summer
14:27Choking over them and tired
14:31It's kind of a bit like the eels.
14:34I don't think it is.
14:35But if no one's got it,
14:36just go for it.
14:38The eels?
14:39Bad luck.
14:40That was Dry the Rain
14:40by The Beater Band.
14:42Finally, this band
14:42who played their first farewell tour
14:44in 2023.
14:49I know this one.
14:51Devo.
14:52Devo.
14:53It is indeed.
14:53Well done.
14:54That was wicked.
14:55Let's start the question now.
14:56Born in the Anatolian city
14:58of Patara
14:59in the late 3rd century CE,
15:01which early Christian
15:02became bishop
15:03of the nearby city of Myra
15:04where his many miracles
15:06earned him the epithet
15:07The Wonder Worker?
15:08His reputed generosity
15:09and his status
15:10as the patron saint of children
15:12contributed to...
15:13Manchester Edmondson.
15:15Saint Nicholas.
15:15It is Saint Nicholas.
15:16Well done.
15:17You looked so nervous
15:18when you gave that answer.
15:19Yeah, I wasn't sure.
15:20Well done.
15:21Your bonuses in Manchester
15:22are an English word
15:23that derive from
15:24the French verb
15:25veneer,
15:25meaning to come.
15:27For example, souvenir.
15:28In each case,
15:29give the word
15:29from the definition.
15:30First, a term used
15:31in the art world
15:32to indicate the source,
15:33origin or history of ownership
15:35of an artefact,
15:36for example, a painting.
15:38Provenance.
15:38Well done.
15:39Second, a derogatory word
15:40for an upstart
15:41or social climber,
15:42especially one seen
15:43to be vulgar
15:44or lacking in manners.
15:45Parvenu.
15:46Well done.
15:47Finally, a person
15:47who comes back from the dead
15:48or returns after
15:49a long absence.
15:50This word appears
15:51in the title of a film
15:52of 2015 directed
15:53by Alejandro González
15:54Iñárritu.
15:55Revenant.
15:56It is indeed.
15:56Well done.
15:58Let's start the question.
15:59In the premiere
15:59of a play by Caroline Bird
16:01in 2025,
16:03Maxine Peake
16:04appeared in the title role
16:05as which conservative
16:06campaigner
16:07who died in 2000...
16:09Manchester,
16:09it was Mary Whitehouse.
16:11It is indeed.
16:12Well done.
16:13Three questions for you,
16:14Manchester,
16:15on the actor
16:15Patricia Arquette.
16:17In which 1993 film
16:18does Arquette play
16:19sex worker
16:20Alabama Whitman
16:21opposite Christian Slater
16:22as pop culture
16:23obsessive
16:23Clarence Worley?
16:25Written by Quentin Tarantino,
16:26its ensemble cast
16:27also includes
16:28Dennis Hopper
16:28and Gary Oldman.
16:30I think it's true romance.
16:31Yeah, Pulp Fiction's 94,
16:33it's not Pulp Fiction
16:34but Pulp Fiction.
16:35I say true romance.
16:37True romance.
16:37It is.
16:38Fantastic film.
16:39Arquette's television roles
16:40include Harmony Cobell
16:41in which comedy drama series
16:43that premiered on Apple TV
16:45in 2022
16:46when the series starts
16:47Miss Cobell
16:48is head of a particular
16:50floor of employees
16:51at Lumen Industries?
16:52Severance.
16:53Yes.
16:54Arquette won the Academy Award
16:55for Best Supporting Actress
16:56for playing the mother
16:57of Mason
16:58in which 2014 film
16:59by Richard Linklater
17:00a coming of age story
17:01filmed over a period
17:03of 12 years?
17:04Boyhood.
17:04It is indeed.
17:05Yeah.
17:06Let's start the question.
17:08Named after the first patient
17:10diagnosed with it,
17:11Christmas disease
17:12is an alternative name
17:13for the B-type...
17:15Manchester Knot.
17:16Haemophilia.
17:16It is indeed.
17:17Well done.
17:18Your bonuses, Manchester,
17:19are on de-extinction projects
17:21that aim to either
17:22bring back extinct species
17:24or breed animals
17:25extremely similar to them.
17:26In July 2025,
17:28researchers at the
17:28University of Canterbury
17:29in New Zealand
17:30in collaboration
17:31with the American
17:32biotech company
17:33Colossal Biosciences
17:34and with investment
17:35from filmmaker
17:36Peter Jackson
17:37announced a project
17:38to attempt to de-extinct
17:40the giant species
17:41of what flightless bird?
17:43Dodo.
17:44Or is it...
17:46Dodo's New Zealand.
17:47Dodo.
17:47Yeah.
17:48Is it from New Zealand?
17:49The dodo?
17:49Ah, no.
17:50I think it was Africa.
17:51It's not from...
17:52Dodo's not from New Zealand.
17:53Why would they do it then?
17:55For fun.
17:57Does the kiwi exist?
17:58Kiwi still exists.
17:59Yeah, it still exists.
18:00I think so, yeah.
18:02So we're going to say Dodo.
18:03Dodo.
18:04No, it's the mower.
18:05In January 2025,
18:06a third genetically modified
18:07grey wolf pup
18:08was born as part
18:09of Colossal Biosciences project
18:11to de-extinct
18:12what species of canine
18:13of late Pleistocene
18:15North America?
18:16The pup was named
18:17Khaleesi.
18:20Name of a dog.
18:22Name of a dog.
18:23A wolf of some sort?
18:26A wolf canine.
18:29Pass.
18:30It's a dire wolf.
18:31Bad luck.
18:31The Tauros programme
18:32is one of several projects
18:34that is attempting
18:34through selective
18:35backbreeding
18:36to de-extinct
18:37what animal
18:38the ancestor
18:39of all modern
18:40domesticated cattle?
18:41The aurochs, is it?
18:43Is that what it's called?
18:44Aurochs?
18:44Is that what it's called?
18:45No idea.
18:46Aurochs.
18:47Correct.
18:47Well done.
18:48There you go.
18:49Now start the question.
18:50Together with Simone Beck
18:51and Louisette Bertoll,
18:53which American chef
18:54founded an informal
18:55cooking school
18:56in the early 1950s
18:57called L'Ecole des Trois Gourmands?
19:00She often wore a patch
19:01with the school's logo
19:02pinned to her blouse
19:03when presenting
19:03her first cookery show
19:04on PBS,
19:06The French Chef,
19:06as recreated
19:07on a recent biographical
19:08Dora McClellan.
19:09Julia Childs.
19:11Childs.
19:12I'll tell you what,
19:13given I was generous
19:13to Adrian and Manchester,
19:15I'd be generous to you as well.
19:16I think you know
19:16that it's Julia Child
19:18as opposed to Child.
19:19Your bonuses, Durham,
19:21are on present-day
19:22national capitals
19:23that have hosted
19:25the Winter Olympics.
19:26In each case,
19:27I need you to give me
19:27the city from the year
19:29in which it served as host.
19:31First, 1952,
19:32marking the first time
19:33the Winter Olympics
19:34had been held in Europe
19:35outside of the Alps.
19:39Oslo?
19:41They've hosted it
19:42more recently than that.
19:43Oh, because of the Pyrenees.
19:44I've visited,
19:45but they might well
19:46have done it before as well.
19:47That would be a good shout.
19:49Pyrenees, you said.
19:50Oslo and Pyrenees, yeah.
19:51No.
19:51Come on.
19:52She said Oslo.
19:53Oh.
19:54But if you've got a suggestion...
19:55No, Oslo.
19:56Shall we guess it?
19:57Let's guess it.
19:58Oslo?
19:58Yes.
19:59Secondly, 1984,
20:00note that this city
20:01was at the time
20:02the capital of a state
20:03within a larger
20:04federated republic.
20:05I think this is
20:06Sarajevo.
20:08OK.
20:09Sarajevo.
20:10Well worked out.
20:11Finally, 2022.
20:12So it was the most
20:13recent Winter Olympics.
20:15Was it not
20:16Beijing?
20:17I was just about to say
20:18was it China?
20:18I think it was Beijing.
20:19Go for it.
20:20Yeah, OK, Beijing.
20:21Well done.
20:22Let's start the question.
20:22Picture round now.
20:23And for your picture starter,
20:24you'll see a painting.
20:26For ten points,
20:27name the artist.
20:29BUZZER
20:30Manchester Jake's.
20:31Griggle?
20:31No, you can have
20:32a bit more time,
20:33Darragh, but you may
20:34not confer.
20:36Thuram James.
20:36It isn't, but Lowry.
20:38That was Renoir.
20:39We'll take your picture
20:39bonuses in a moment.
20:40Let's start the question.
20:41What name is given
20:42in English to the ballet
20:43character known in French
20:44as La Faye Dragée?
20:45Dragée being the French
20:47term for a seed,
20:48nut or fruit covered
20:49in a hard shell
20:50of sweet syrup.
20:51Manchester Edwards.
20:52A sugared almond.
20:54No, I'm afraid
20:54you lose five points.
20:55She performs her
20:56namesake dance
20:57to her celeste
20:57accompaniment.
20:59Darragh McLeod.
21:00Sugarplum fairy?
21:00It is the sugarplum fairy.
21:02Your bonuses,
21:03Darragh, are picture bonuses
21:04because earlier you saw
21:05Renoir's Skaters
21:06in the Bois de Boulogne
21:07depicting that Paris
21:09part in the snow.
21:10For your picture bonuses,
21:11you'll see three more
21:11paintings of Paris
21:12in the snow,
21:13all by artists
21:14born in Paris.
21:16Again, I want you
21:16to name the artist
21:17in each case.
21:19First, from 1875.
21:22Oh.
21:25Sorry, no idea.
21:26Any guesses?
21:27Money.
21:29New at Wildcas.
21:31Money.
21:32Let's go,
21:32Gan.
21:32Next, from 1878.
21:35Sorry, not my subject.
21:37Can't help.
21:37Not my subject either.
21:38Let's go Pizarro.
21:40Pizarro?
21:40No, that was
21:41Gustave Caibot.
21:42Finally, from 1870.
21:44Remember that one?
21:46Renoir?
21:47Cézanne?
21:47Cézanne.
21:48That's a good one.
21:49Cézanne.
21:50Cézanne?
21:50No, it's Manet.
21:51Let's start the question.
21:52I'm looking for the name
21:53of a scientist here.
21:55On Christmas night, 1758,
21:57an observation made
21:58by German farmer
21:58Johann Palitsch
21:59confirmed which
22:01British scientist's
22:02prediction,
22:02made over five decades
22:03prior,
22:04it is a synopsis
22:05of the astronomy
22:06of comets,
22:07that a celestial object
22:08now named after him
22:09has an approximate...
22:11Manchester.
22:12Jake's.
22:12Halley.
22:12Yes, Halley, of course.
22:14As in Halley's comic.
22:15Your bonuses in Manchester,
22:16three questions on needles
22:17in 2025 popular culture.
22:20Released in the UK in 2025,
22:22The Girl with the Needle
22:23was nominated for the
22:24Academy Award for
22:25Best International Feature Film
22:26as a submission
22:27from Which Country?
22:28Set in the 1920s,
22:29it is based on the true story
22:31of serial killer
22:32Dagmar Oweby.
22:33I saw this.
22:34It was set in...
22:36Was he asking
22:37where it was set?
22:38Yeah.
22:39Was it not set in...
22:40No, Which Country submitted it?
22:42Which Country, yeah.
22:42I think it was...
22:43What was the film?
22:44Come on.
22:45The Netherlands.
22:46That's Denmark.
22:46The main character, Hornet,
22:48wields a needle
22:49as her primary weapon
22:50in Which 2025 video game,
22:52the sequel to an earlier
22:53platformer in which
22:54the player navigates
22:55the fallen kingdom
22:56of Hallownest?
22:58You're the youngest.
23:00You must know about that.
23:01I don't know
23:02if video games are
23:02for about 1994.
23:04Pass.
23:05That was Silksong,
23:06the sequel to Hollow Knight.
23:08Finally,
23:08as part of his
23:09Saturday closing set
23:10at Glastonbury's
23:11Pyramid Stage,
23:12which musician
23:12performed
23:13The Needle
23:14and the Damaged Dun
23:14alongside his backing band
23:16The Chrome Hearts?
23:18Well, that would be
23:19Neil Young.
23:20Yeah.
23:21Neil Young.
23:21It is Neil Young.
23:22Just over four minutes to go.
23:23Which area of London
23:25links
23:25the constituency,
23:27the constituency represented
23:27by Clement Attlee
23:28between 1922 and 1950,
23:30a link tunnel
23:31completed in 1993
23:32running between
23:33Canary Wharf and Wapping,
23:34thought to be the most
23:35expensive stretch of road
23:36constructed in Britain,
23:37and a namesake declaration
23:39by four former
23:40Labour cabinet members
23:41issued in 1981,
23:43which became the basis
23:44for the founding
23:45of the Social Democratic Party.
23:49Dora McClart.
23:50Is it Limehouse?
23:51It is the Limehouse
23:52declaration,
23:52of course.
23:54Carl, I thought you knew
23:55about the left of British politics.
23:56Goodness me.
23:57Three questions for you
23:58on the killing
23:58of serpents in myth.
24:00Chapter 16
24:01of the Bhagavata Purana
24:02relates the defeat
24:03of the serpent Kaliya
24:04who had poisoned
24:05the waters of the Yamuna
24:06by which major Hindu deity,
24:09the eighth avatar of Vishnu?
24:12Krishna is the only one
24:14I know a name of.
24:15Yeah, go for it.
24:17Krishna?
24:17Yes.
24:18One story in the Kojiki of Japan
24:20tells how the god Susano-o
24:22killed the eight-headed,
24:23eight-tailed serpent
24:24Yamata no Orochi
24:25and from its body
24:26drew the legendary treasure
24:27Kusanagi no Tsurugi.
24:30What type of weapon
24:31is this treasure?
24:33A sword?
24:34That would be my guess.
24:35A sword.
24:36Yes.
24:36Which hero of Greek mythology
24:37was forced to serve
24:38the god Ares for eight years
24:40after killing a water dragon
24:41that guarded a spring sacred to him
24:44near where this hero
24:45subsequently founded
24:45the city of Thebes?
24:47No idea.
24:48Anyone?
24:50No, I know who founded Thebes.
24:56I'm going to kick myself
24:57for not knowing.
24:58Come on, we should move on.
24:58I don't know.
24:59Don't know, move on.
25:00Pass.
25:00It's Cadmus.
25:01Ten points in it.
25:02Another starter question.
25:02Chapter seven of which 1847 novel
25:05begins by declaring
25:07that one of its characters
25:07quote,
25:08stayed at Thrush Cross Grange
25:10five weeks till Christmas.
25:11That character later listens
25:13to a travelling band
25:14perform carols
25:14with Isabella Linton
25:16and Nellie Dean.
25:17Dara Smith-Gaylor.
25:18Wuthering Heights.
25:19It is indeed.
25:20Your bonuses are three questions
25:21from the first audio broadcast
25:22made over the radio.
25:24On Christmas Eve 1906,
25:26Massachusetts-based Reginald Fessenden
25:28began the first voice broadcast
25:30over the radio
25:31with a short speech
25:32and also played the Largo
25:34from which composers
25:351738 opera Xerxes?
25:37I don't know if I'm going to go at all.
25:39Handel?
25:40How was that earlier?
25:41We can guess it.
25:42Guess it.
25:43Handel.
25:43Yes.
25:44The broadcast also included
25:45what Christmas carol adapted
25:47from the French poem
25:48Minuit Chrétien
25:49and first set to music
25:50by composer Adolf Adam.
25:52Silent Night.
25:53No, that's German.
25:55That's German.
25:57Oh, Holy Night.
25:58Oh, that's good.
25:59Oh, Holy Night?
26:00Yes.
26:00Fessenden also broadcasts
26:02a reading from which gospel
26:03that, along with Matthew,
26:04is the only one
26:05to contain a Christmas narrative?
26:07Oh, it's Luke.
26:09I think Luke.
26:10Luke.
26:10Luke.
26:11Yes.
26:11Another start of the question.
26:12Linked to their belief
26:14that chocolate could provide
26:15a more ethical pleasure
26:16than alcohol,
26:17the confection...
26:18Dorm Demia.
26:19Quakers.
26:19Yes, it is Quakers.
26:21Well done.
26:21Your bonuses are three questions
26:23on vegetable varieties
26:24that have wintry names.
26:25The white icicle
26:26and snow bell
26:27are all white cultivars
26:29of which vegetable?
26:30Because of the season
26:31in which it is normally harvested,
26:32the daikon is sometimes known
26:34as the winter variety
26:35of this vegetable.
26:36Radish.
26:36Radish.
26:37Radish.
26:37Yes.
26:38Named for its prominent white globe,
26:40the snowball is a variety
26:41of which root vegetable
26:42of the genus Brassica?
26:44Oh, what's the one
26:45that looks...
26:46Broccoli or cabbage?
26:47No, but with the globe,
26:48it's the...
26:49Kohlrabi.
26:49Kohlrabi.
26:50No, it's turnip.
26:51The tundra, winter king
26:52and january king
26:53are all cultivars
26:54of the savoy variety
26:56of which leafy vegetable?
26:58Also in the genus Brassica?
26:59That's cabbage.
27:01Yes, cabbage.
27:02Yes.
27:02Let's start the question.
27:03Which fashion designer
27:04created the cone bra corset
27:06worn by Madonna?
27:08Dormac Cloud.
27:08Jean-Paul Gaultier.
27:10Jean-Paul Gaultier.
27:10It is indeed.
27:11Your bonuses are on symbols
27:12that may be found
27:13on an ordnance survey map.
27:15First, when located
27:16on a black line,
27:17a pink rectangle
27:18or a pink circle
27:19denote what?
27:26Oh, railway station.
27:27Yes.
27:28Secondly, pink triangles
27:29are used to indicate what?
27:31Youth hostels.
27:32Is it?
27:33I think it is.
27:34Youth hostels.
27:35Yes.
27:35Finally, what are indicated
27:36by the letters PH?
27:39Public house, pub.
27:41Yes.
27:41Let's start the question.
27:42Published in 2025,
27:44Men in Love
27:45is a sequel
27:46to which best-selling
27:47debut novel?
27:48That novel was first
27:49published in 1993.
27:50It opens with the line,
27:51the sweat was lashing
27:52her face, sick boy.
27:55And at the goal,
27:56Manchester have 140
27:57and Durham have 200.
28:01Well, the answer
28:03to that last one,
28:04as I think you knew,
28:05Justin, at least,
28:05was train-spotting.
28:07Bad luck, Manchester.
28:08You started so well
28:09and were so extraordinarily
28:10impressive and sort of
28:11knew all the answers
28:12to everything that you asked.
28:13You just overlooked
28:14the fact that Durham
28:14seemed to come alive
28:15in the last five minutes
28:16to go on these crazy rampages.
28:17They knew more than us.
28:18They essentially knew more,
28:19which is absolutely fundamental
28:20to this programme.
28:22We weren't completely humiliated.
28:24No, you did superbly.
28:26You were absolutely
28:27hugely impressive.
28:27The aim of coming on here
28:28is not to be humiliated.
28:30That is the main thing
28:30and you achieved that aim.
28:32Thank you very much.
28:32We've hugely enjoyed
28:33seeing you again.
28:34Durham, you do have
28:35this weird habit of sort of
28:36not doing very much
28:36for the first 15 minutes
28:38and you're going on
28:38this absolutely crazy run
28:40at the end.
28:40Got you up to 200 points.
28:41We don't yet know
28:42if that's going to be
28:43enough for us to see you again
28:45but I think it's looking
28:46pretty good.
28:47I hope you can join us
28:48next time for another match
28:49in this Christmas series
28:50but until then,
28:51it is goodbye from Manchester.
28:53Goodbye.
28:53It's goodbye from Durham.
28:55Goodbye.
28:56And it's goodbye from me.
28:57Goodbye.
29:11APPLAUSE
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