The Great Egg Race

The Great Egg Race
Genre	Game show
Presented by	Brian Cant (Series 1) Charlotte Allen (Series 1 & 4) Johnny Ball (Series 2) Hilary Henson (Series 2-3) Heinz Wolff (Series 5-8) Lesley Judd (Series 6) Howard Stableford (Series 8)
Theme music composer	Richard Denton Martin Cook
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	8
No. of episodes	68 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Peter Bruce (Series 1-4) Charles Huff (Series 4-8)
Production location	Pebble Mill Studios
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	BBC Television
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	2 January 1979 (1979-01-02) – 12 September 1986 (1986-09-12)
Related
The Great Egg Race Rides Again

The Great Egg Race was a BBC television series, in which problem solving teams are given a challenge to design and build machines using limited resources and time, to solve a problem set by the judges.

Sixty-eight episodes were produced and presented by seven presenters over the life of the show which ran for eight series from 1979 to 1986 and was broadcast on BBC 2. The first series consisted of five episodes and series two to eight consisted of nine episodes each.

Programme

The show was presented by Brian Cant (1979), Charlotte Allen (1979 & 82), Johnny Ball (1980), Hilary Henson (1980–81), Professor Heinz Wolff (1983-86), Lesley Judd (1984), and Howard Stableford as a guest presenter for one episode in 1986.

Re-edited 15-minute episodes of the original show were later made for BBC Choice in 2000, under the title The Great Egg Race Rides Again.

Format

The series obtained its name from the initial challenge of making a device capable of transporting an egg in a rubber-band-powered vehicle the furthest possible distance without breaking it.

After the initial egg-related challenges, other non-egg events were introduced, and after two series, the original egg-racing was dropped.

The show usually featured three problem solving teams from academia, industry or friend groups, creating Heath Robinson style mechanical creations. The teams had limited resources, having to use ingenuity and creativity in an attempt to solve a complex problem, set at the start of the show.

Each episode featured Heinz Wolff judging, along with a guest judge with expertise in the problem domain; judges included Professor Michael French and Fred Dibnah. Scoring was at the judge's discretion and could be given for categories such as "design", "courage" and "entertainment". Later episodes would see the teams attempt challenges outside of the studio in remote and outdoor locations, and the final series changed the format into a knockout competition.

In the first episode, as well as the egg-carrying challenge between several devices, three teams had to precision weigh three items – a feather, an egg, and a household brick (a weight range 10,000:1) – using a 50 g (1.76 oz) weight and ordinary domestic items. In the final episode the two teams' challenge was to take an aerial photograph of an offshore oil rig.

Title Sequence

The theme music was by Richard Denton and Martin Cook and is featured on the BBC Records LP Top BBC-TV Themes - Vol 2 (1979).

For series 1 to 3, the cel animation sequence was filmed on a rostrum camera and combined with camera moves.

For series 4 to 7, Aardman Animations created the title sequence of the egg on a rollercoaster made of kitchen utensils. The neon effect programme logo was filmed separately backlit on a rostrum camera and composited with the film shoot in a film optical.

For the Rides Again series, the title sequence was created using the latest digital technology at the time.

• Title Screens
• 
  Series 1 to 3
• 
  Series 4 to 7
• 
  Series 8
• 
  Rides Again

Series Overview

Not all episodes are available publicly and not all episode names are known. Those listed here have been taken from BBC Genome Project and the BFI Archive. A pilot episode was filmed in May 1978.

Series overview

Series	Presenters	Principal Judge	Episodes		Originally aired
					First aired	Last aired
1	Brian Cant Charlotte Allen	Heinz Wolff	5		2 January 1979 (1979-01-02)	30 January 1979 (1979-01-30)
2	Johnny Ball Hilary Henson		9		25 March 1980 (1980-03-25)	20 May 1980 (1980-05-20)
3	Hilary Henson		9		21 March 1981 (1981-03-21)	16 June 1981 (1981-06-16)
4	Charlotte Allen		9		15 March 1982 (1982-03-15)	10 June 1982 (1982-06-10)
5	Heinz Wolff		9		30 August 1983 (1983-08-30)	25 October 1983 (1983-10-25)
6	Heinz Wolff Lesley Judd		9		29 May 1984 (1984-05-29)	24 July 1984 (1984-07-24)
7	Heinz Wolff		9		3 May 1985 (1985-05-03)	28 June 1985 (1985-06-28)
8	Heinz Wolff Howard Stableford		9		4 July 1986 (1986-07-04)	12 September 1986 (1986-09-12)

Episode List

Series 1 (1979)

This series has teams that have built a machine that can transport a single egg the furthest possible distance, using only a rubber band as a power source. The Egg Race Champions compete to find the Champion Eggmobile of Great Britain and for the Hartman Fibre Trophy.
Problem-solving teams face engineering challenges.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Egg Racers	Original air date
1	1	"Eggmobiles"	Professor Michael French	EMI Leicester Polytechnic The Post Office	BBC Radio Birmingham BBC Radio Brighton BBC Radio Manchester	2 January 1979 (1979-01-02)
Problem-solving teams attempt to weigh accurately three objects that differ in weight by a ratio of 10,000:1.
2	2	TBA	Professor William Biggs	The National Westminster Bank St Marys Medical School Robert Morton (DG) Ltd	BBC Radio London BBC Radio Oxford BBC Plymouth	9 January 1979 (1979-01-09)
Problem-solving teams are given just two hours to design and build a mechanical device, a jumping flea to clear a cube.
3	3	"Making Music"	Terry Pamplin	British Gas Cadbury-Schweppes Loughborough University	BBC Radio Derby BBC Radio Newcastle BBC Norwich	16 January 1979 (1979-01-16)
Problem-solving teams are confronted with the problem of 'making music'.
4	4	"Timekeeping"	Professor Ian Fells	Aston University Austin-Morris Chloride Technical Limited	BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Nottingham BBC Radio Stoke	23 January 1979 (1979-01-23)
Problem-solving teams are confronted with the problem of 'timekeeping'.
5	5	"Catapult"	Professor Michael French	University College, London AERE Harwell CEGB, Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories	BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Solent	30 January 1979 (1979-01-30)
Problem-solving teams have just two hours to design and build an 'egg flipping' device.

Series 2 (1980)

Once again, teams compete in The Great Egg Race, in search of the 'Fastest Eggmobile in the World', to win the Hartmann Fibre Trophy, and a prize of £250.
Problem-solving teams face engineering challenges.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
6	1	TBA	Professor Michael French	Wellcome Laboratories Aberdeen University ICI	25 March 1980 (1980-03-25)
Egg racing from the BBC Radio Bristol heat. Problem-solving teams attempt to weigh the judges.
7	2	TBA	Professor Ian Fells	BP Research Nottingham University Rentokil	1 April 1980 (1980-04-01)
Egg racing from the BBC Radio Cleveland heat. Problem-solving teams are given three hours to design and construct a liquid dispenser.
8	3	TBA	Dr Anthony Flint	Allied Breweries Pilkington Brothers Liverpool University	8 April 1980 (1980-04-08)
Egg racing from the BBC Radio London heat at County Hall, Westminster. Problem-solving teams are tackling a problem of 'Beans and Stresses'.
9	4	TBA	Dr Bob Adams	Bird's Eye Foods Ministry of Defence University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST)	15 April 1980 (1980-04-15)
Egg racing from the BBC Radio Solent heat. Problem-solving teams are tackling a problem of 'Pea Picking'.
10	5	TBA	Des Sleightholme	KTM/Vickers Lloyds Bank The Home Office Forensic Science Laboratory, Chorley	22 April 1980 (1980-04-22)
Egg racing from the BBC Radio Nottingham heat at the London Transport Museum. Problem-solving teams will be keeping their head above water.
11	6	TBA	Terry Pamplin	Dowty Electrics The London Hospital Tate and Lyle	29 April 1980 (1980-04-29)
Egg racing from the BBC Radio Leicester heat. Problem-solving teams will have 3 hours to produce a 'music machine'.
12	7	TBA	Professor Ian Fells	British Steel Chailey Heritage Hospital Plessey Research	6 May 1980 (1980-05-06)
The first semi-final of The Great Egg Race. Problem-solving teams will design and build an 'automatic pancake tossing' machine.
13	8	TBA	Professor Gordon Higginson	British Nuclear Imperial Metal Industries Intermediate Technology Development Group	13 May 1980 (1980-05-13)
The second semi-final of The Great Egg Race. Problem-solving teams will have a problem to 'sort out'.
14	9	TBA	Professor Bruce Archer	British Aerospace Oxford University Racal Electronics	20 May 1980 (1980-05-20)
The final of The Great Egg Race. Problem-solving teams will make 'a meal of their problem'.

Series 3 (1981)

From this series, The Great Egg Race has been dropped, continuing with only the problem solving teams.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
15	1	TBA	Michael Peters	Eastman Dental Hospital Southern Electricity Hertfordshire Science Teaching	21 April 1981 (1981-04-21)
Teams are challenged to design and construct and demonstrate their answer to Caxton.
16	2	TBA	Professor Gordon Higginson	The National Institute of Agricultural Engineering GKN Rolls-Royce and Associates	28 April 1981 (1981-04-28)
Teams are given three hours to design and construct a man-powered, man-carrying vehicle, using only the contents of a kitchen.
17	3	"Gramophone"	Terry Pamplin	Atkins R&D Brush Electrical Machines South West Wales School of Radiography	5 May 1981 (1981-05-05)
Problem-solving teams are to make music from a crate of old 78 records.
18	4	TBA	Professor Michael French	Kenwood Engineering Marconi Radar Systems Warwick Research Unit for the Blind	12 May 1981 (1981-05-12)
Teams are challenged to construct a variety of measuring devices, given only a 6 mm (0.24 in) ball bearing for reference.
19	5	TBA	Professor Ian Fells	Royal Navy N. E. I. Parsons Shirley Institute	19 May 1981 (1981-05-19)
Teams must put their best foot forward to stay above water.
20	6	"A Portrait for Posterity"	Professor Ian Fells	Glasgow Royal Infirmary Britannia Airways Shand Civil Engineering	26 May 1981 (1981-05-26)
Teams, in only three-and-a-half hours, with no camera, no film and no darkroom, must produce a photograph of all three team members.
21	7	"Hooplistics"	Professor Gordon Higginson	Kontron Electrolab Life Science Research ICL	2 June 1981 (1981-06-02)
Teams are to design, build and operate an automatic hoopla machine.
22	8	TBA	Dr John Iredale	Alfred Bader Ltd Cranfield Product Engineering Centre Ministry of Defence	9 June 1981 (1981-06-09)
Teams are given three-and-a-half hours to unravel and weigh an item.
23	9	TBA	Jock Smith	National Nuclear Corporation Plessey Telecoms Handicapped Persons' Research Unit	16 June 1981 (1981-06-16)
Teams have three-and-a-half hours to design and build 'A Great Egg' eggmobile.

Series 4 (1982)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
24	1	"The Egg Poachers"	Professor Ian Fells	Wilkinson Sword BXL Plastics London immunologists	15 April 1982 (1982-04-15)
Problem-solving teams are challenged to design, construct and demonstrate a moving problem with a cracking result.
25	2	TBA	Professor Michael French	RNEC Manadon Central School of Art and Design British Engineerium	22 April 1982 (1982-04-22)
Teams are challenged on how to construct an automatic badminton server.
26	3	"Music Without Tears"	Terry Pamplin	Oxford University St George's Hospital Ergonomists	29 April 1982 (1982-04-29)
Teams are challenged to do for music what the pocket calculator has done for mathematics.
27	4	"A Rather Unusual Target"	Claude Blair	Yarsley Technical Centre British Telecom DATAC	6 May 1982 (1982-05-06)
Teams are given three hours to set their sights on a rather unusual target.
28	5	"Bridge That Gap"	Professor Gordon Higginson	Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital GEC Jaymic	13 May 1982 (1982-05-13)
Teams have a narrow ledge, a chasm with a raging torrent below, and no bridge - how to get across?
29	6	"In One Minute from Now"	John Stevenson	SIRA Institute Wuidart Engineering Oxford Medical Systems	20 May 1982 (1982-05-20)
Teams are given the problem of designing and building a one-minute ticking clock.
30	7	"The Big Deal"	Professor Ian Fells	Opsec Ltd Townsend Thoresen Photographers	27 May 1982 (1982-05-27)
Teams are given a pack of cards to design and construct a machine which will automatically deal four hands of 13 cards.
31	8	"The Ovipositor"	Professor Gordon Higginson	East Midlands Electricity Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory Newcastle University	3 June 1982 (1982-06-03)
Teams are set the problem of inventing a 'handy' kitchen gadget.
32	9	"The Egg Walker"	Jock Smith	Metal Box Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment Paul Hepworth Associates	10 June 1982 (1982-06-10)
Teams are set the problem of designing, building and racing an Egg Walker.

Series 5 (1983)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
33	1	"The Ghost at the Machine"	Dr Andy Irwin	TBA	30 August 1983 (1983-08-30)
Teams have to operate a typewriter is in a locked room so all the operation has to be done through the keyhole.
34	2	"When the Petrol Runs Out"	Jock Smith	Kidbrooke School Johnson Matthey Hendre Quarry	6 September 1983 (1983-09-06)
Teams have to dismantle a Citroën 2CV, before rebuilding them to make vehicles light enough to lift over a wall, strong enough to carry three people, and fast enough to beat the others. All this without using any petrol.
35	3	"Caged"	Victor Liardet	TBA	13 September 1983 (1983-09-13)
Teams have to design and build a combination lock that will defy their opponents lock picking abilities.
36	4	"Staying Aloft"	Wing Commander Ken Wallis	MOD Shoeburyness Hawtal Whiting British Caledonian	20 September 1983 (1983-09-20)
Teams attempt to make craft that, even if they cannot carry animals, can at least fly - a bit. The programme includes a radio-controlled helicopter, a glider, an autogyro, a plane, and recalling that first flight of 1783, a hot air balloon.
37	5	"Out of Your Depth"	Professor Stephen Salter	Mildenhall Upper School Wirral Borough Council Seven Seas Healthcare Laboratories	27 September 1983 (1983-09-27)
Teams have to build a submarine that will submerge in a tank of water, travel under and island and resurface.
38	8	"A Shocking Problem"	Terry Wilkinson	TBA	4 October 1983 (1983-10-04)
Teams have to light the light at Battersea Power Station and make one of the giant meters register.
39	7	"The Flickering Light"	Professor Ian Fells	Cam Gear, Cleveden Queen's University Belfast British Steel	11 October 1983 (1983-10-11)
Teams have the task of building a projector.
40	8	"The Egg and Spoon Race"	Professor Gordon Higginson	TBA	18 October 1983 (1983-10-18)
Teams must construct a vehicle that will race down a bumpy track carrying an egg in the bowl of a dessert spoon.
41	9	"The Rangefinder"	Professor Ian Fells	TBA	25 October 1983 (1983-10-25)
Teams must measure the height of Battersea Power Station's chimneys.

Series 6 (1984)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
42	1	"Thereby Hangs a Tail"	Professor Ian Fells	Huddersfield Polytechnic Computer Dept. Computer Technology Ltd Wrexham and District Computer Club	29 May 1984 (1984-05-29)
Teams must demonstrate how to look happy when one's face is hidden, sad when seen from the rear, and the alternative way of eating a banana.
43	2	"The Aquabikes"	Peter Schiller	TBA	5 June 1984 (1984-06-05)
In Germany, the teams must cycle on water.
44	3	"Cause for Alarm"	Brigadier Alan Needham	British Telecom (Scotland) STC Quartz Grassland Research Institute	12 June 1984 (1984-06-12)
Teams must engineer a system of burglar alarms to protect a secret document that is hidden in an office.
45	4	"Putting on the Pressure"	Fred Dibnah	National Maritime Institute W. S. Atkins Scorraig Crofters	19 June 1984 (1984-06-19)
At the Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, teams must construct a steam engine capable of lifting a weight into the air.
46	5	"Desert Island Bikes"	Professor Gordon Higginson	TBA	26 June 1984 (1984-06-26)
There is an island with bits of bicycles on it. No one is allowed to set foot on the island, so the team's task is to construct a device delicate enough to retrieve a wheel nut, but strong enough to capture a frame, then cycle away.
47	6	"A Remote Problem"	Jock Smith	TBA	3 July 1984 (1984-07-03)
In Manchester, using a miniature TV camera, teams must build a vehicle that will search through a warehouse to retrieve a glowing ball.
48	7	"Time for Tea"	Professor Ian Fells	Dunlop Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment Napton Village	10 July 1984 (1984-07-10)
Teams must produce machines to make tea.
49	8	"Reaching the Heights"	Peter Schiller	TBA	17 July 1984 (1984-07-17)
In Germany, teams will race over an obstacle course with the parts of a very tall structure, then hoist a flag.
50	9	"The Windpumps"	Fabian Acker	TBA	24 July 1984 (1984-07-24)
Teams must build large windpumps to pump water.

Series 7 (1985)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
51	1	"Igloos"	Myrtle Simpson	Army Ammo School Southwark Surveyors Plumpton Village	3 May 1985 (1985-05-03)
In Aviemore, teams have to make themselves at home by building an igloo.
52	2	TBA	Harry Arnold	TBA	10 May 1985 (1985-05-10)
Teams have to prepare a craft to sail on a canal.
53	3	"Huskies"	Hamish MacInnes	RAF St Athan Benfords Appliance Testing Laborartory	17 May 1985 (1985-05-17)
Teams have to build mechanical huskies to pull a sled.
54	4	"The Robot Piano Player"	Peter Skellern	Stag Furniture Fylde Guitars Early Music Shop	24 May 1985 (1985-05-24)
Teams have to build a robot piano player.
55	5	"Fire"	Professor Ian Fells	TBA	31 May 1985 (1985-05-31)
Teams have to construct a machine that will make fire.
56	6	"Hovercraft"	Ray Wheeler	HMS Sultan JK Lasers Snowden Hill Men	7 June 1985 (1985-06-07)
Teams have to construct a remote-controlled mini-hovercraft using the contents of a garden shed.
57	7	"Photography"	Brian Coe	Analog Devices Ruddocks Printers L.B.M.S Consultants	14 June 1985 (1985-06-14)
Teams have to make photograph-in-three-minute machines.
58	8	"Mobo Horse"	John Watson	TBA	21 June 1985 (1985-06-21)
At HMS Daedalus teams have to make a cross between a horse, bike, and a car - a mobohorse.
59	9	"Dastardly Deeds at Eggraze Hall"	Mat Irvine	TBA	28 June 1985 (1985-06-28)
Teams have to create a play in three acts, starring John Leeson and Hal Dyer. Also taking part are team members and a wonderful selection of specially created disasters.

Series 8 (1986)

This series features a knock-out competition.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guest Judge	Teams	Original air date
60	1	"The Biggest Paper Aeroplane in the World"	Dizzy Addicott	Fosters TBA TBA	4 July 1986 (1986-07-04)
First heat: Teams attempt to get the Guinness World Record, to make the largest paper glider in the world. Materials are limited to brown paper, newspaper and string, with the winning machine flying the furthest.
61	2	"The Treasure Map"	Michael Brand	Gloucester Postal Engineers Northern Lights Stranmillis College	11 July 1986 (1986-07-11)
Second heat: Teams have to make a map, using only wood and a school geometry set of the Giant's Causeway.
62	3	"The Fork Lift"	Dr Peter Kitchin	J J Barker TBA TBA	18 July 1986 (1986-07-18)
Third heat: At the Scottish Exhibition Centre the teams must build a forklift truck and move 500 eggs as fast as possible with it.
63	4	"The Long Tide"	Professor Ian Fells	Emergency Exit Arts TBA TBA	1 August 1986 (1986-08-01)
Fourth heat: On Brancaster Sands the teams have only a few hours to build a wave-powered machine to hoist a flag.
64	5	"The Still"	Willie MacKay	Cancer and Polio Research Fund TBA TBA	8 August 1986 (1986-08-08)
Fifth heat: In Northern Ireland the teams have to make stills to desalinate fresh water from the sea using an old fridge.
65	6	"The Crane"	Jim O'Niel	On Site TBA TBA	15 August 1986 (1986-08-15)
Sixth heat: At the Scottish Exhibition Centre, at the site of the Clyde docks, the teams have to make dockside cranes, which are tested to destruction.
66	7	"The Greasy Pole"	Professor Meredith Thring	Emergency Exit Arts Cancer and Polio Research Fund Fosters The Judges (Heinz Wolff, Ian Fells, Michael French)	22 August 1986 (1986-08-22)
First semi-final: On Brancaster Sands, Howard Stableford takes over the presenting duty. A guest team made up of the Judges take on teams that must make a machine that can destroy a rival while both are balancing on a horizontal pole.
67	8	"Back to Nature"	Cynthia McArthur	Gloucester Postal Engineers On Site J J Barker	5 September 1986 (1986-09-05)
Second semi-final: Teams must make a breakfast and only have the ingredients of raw wheat, green coffee beans, sugar beet, and a cow.
68	9	"The Oil Platform"	Tom Pratt	On Site Emergency Exit Arts	12 September 1986 (1986-09-12)
Final: To win the 1986 Great Egg Race golden trophy, the finalists must take an aerial photograph of the Forties Delta platform, out in the North Sea, off the coast of Aberdeen.

External links

• Selected shows from the BBC Archive
• The Great Egg Race at BBC Online
• Series information from the BBC Genome Project
• Series information from the BFI Archive
• The Great Egg Race at UKGameshows.com
• The Great Egg Race at IMDb