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The Great Egg Race

Season 6 1984
TV-G

  • 1984-06-11T23:00:00Z on BBC Two
  • 29m
  • 1h 30m (3 episodes)
  • United Kingdom
  • English
Teams of university boffins would create weird and frequently Heath-Robinson gadgets out of shockingly scant apparatus in order to crack problems like building bridges to support someone's weight, burglar alarm detectors that people couldn't avoid triggering, or indeed the weekly challenge of transporting an egg over some great distance without breaking it. The programme went through a number of different formats. Originally it was studio based and featured teams trying to race home-made machines as fast as possible without cracking their egg-like cargo. Meanwhile, Professor Heinz Wolff would set three other teams challenges to solve. Over the years, the egg racing was dropped and it became a purely challenge-based programme. Later series broke out of the studio, with challenges varying from building a wave machine to taking a photograph of an oil rig using a kite.

3 episodes

1984-06-11T23:00:00Z

6x03 Cause for Alarm

6x03 Cause for Alarm

  • 1984-06-11T23:00:00Z30m

The teams engineer a system of burglar alarms to protect a secret document that is hidden in an office. The guest judge is Brigadier Alan Needham. Meanwhile, Lesley Judd puts another Incredible Egg Machine is put to the test.

The electronic-style theme tune to 'The Great Egg Race' was written by Richard Denton and Martin Cook. The duo also provided music for 'Hong Kong Beat', 'Quiller' and 'Tomorrow's World'. The opening title sequence which accompanies the theme tune was created by Aardman; the animation company behind the renowned inventors Wallace and Gromit.

1984-06-18T23:00:00Z

6x04 Putting On the Pressure

6x04 Putting On the Pressure

  • 1984-06-18T23:00:00Z30m

In this episode, which comes from the Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, each team is required to construct a steam engine capable of lifting a weight into the air. Heinz Wolff and his guest Fred Dibnah, an engineer and steeplejack, discuss and judge. Meanwhile, Lesley Judd catches up with the progress of the Incredible Egg Machine.

Fred Dibnah was elevated to fame through a television documentary made by BBC producer Don Haworth in 1979. Haworth became interested in Dibnah after his appearance on BBC North West regional news, which reported on his daredevil work as a steeplejack. Dibnah went on to feature in many TV programmes over the years, sharing his engineering and industrial knowledge, especially in the field of steam engines, which proved highly popular.

1984-07-09T23:00:00Z

6x07 Time for Tea

6x07 Time for Tea

  • 1984-07-09T23:00:00Z30m

Professor Heinz Wolff assigns the red, blue and green teams the task of constructing a tea-making device from humble household materials. Professor Ian Fells helps to judge the Wallace and Gromit-style contraptions. Meanwhile, presenter Lesley Judd looks at the Incredible Egg Machine.

Lesley Judd, who presented the Incredible Egg Machine interludes, is perhaps best known for hosting 'Blue Peter' between 1972 and 1979. Her recollections of the show include Abba making a guest appearance and golden retriever Goldie eating a teddy bear's head. One of her strongest memories, however, is interviewing Anne Frank's father, Otto. After Judd left 'Blue Peter', she worked for a variety of programmes, including Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour' and 'The Great Egg Race'.

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