Deaf team beats BBC Eggheads

12th August 2009

A deaf quiz team has beaten the BBC's Eggheads and won £23,000.  The five challengers, called One Sense Less, were given questions in sign language on the hit teatime show. They went on to defeat the Eggheads, a team which includes the European and World quiz champions, winners of Mastermind, 15-1, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Brain of Britain, and other national quiz competitions. It is only the 38th time the Eggheads have lost in 554 games.

A source said: "One Sense Less had a really wide range of knowledge and were very calm in front of the cameras." The Eggheads have previously faced teams of athletes, magicians and postmen. Eggheads has been on air since 2003 and this was the first time that an entirely deaf team has featured on the quiz show. There were two sign language interpreters on the show, one was in vision next to presenter Dermot Murnaghan, the other out of vision, voicing over One Sense Less team members answers and comments.

You can view the Eggheads show via the BBC iplayer until Friday 14th August here.

As a result of the team's success on the show, BBC's You and Yours (7th August 2009) ran the debate around the topic of whether there is a need for more disabled people in quiz shows, comedies and light entertainment programmes. The discussion included the impact, if any, on the attitudes of the public toward disability when disabled people appear in these shows.  Guests include Alison Walsh, Editorial Manager for Disability at Channel 4, and member of the Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network, and Mary Fitzpatrick, editorial executive for diversity at the BBC.

You can listen again to the You and Yours programme here.