# The Great Egg Race

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 and 1982), Johnny Ball (1980), Hilary Henson (1980–81), Professor Heinz Wolff (1983–1986), 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 | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Presenters | Principal Judge | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | Brian Cant Charlotte Allen | Heinz Wolff | 5 | 5 | 2 January 1979 (1979-01-02) | 30 January 1979 (1979-01-30) |
| 2 | Johnny Ball Hilary Henson | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 9 | 25 March 1980 (1980-03-25) | 20 May 1980 (1980-05-20) |
| 3 | Hilary Henson | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 9 | 21 March 1981 (1981-03-21) | 16 June 1981 (1981-06-16) |
| 4 | Charlotte Allen | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 9 | 15 March 1982 (1982-03-15) | 10 June 1982 (1982-06-10) |
| 5 | Heinz Wolff | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 9 | 30 August 1983 (1983-08-30) | 25 October 1983 (1983-10-25) |
| 6 | Heinz Wolff Lesley Judd | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 9 | 29 May 1984 (1984-05-29) | 24 July 1984 (1984-07-24) |
| 7 | Heinz Wolff | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 9 | 3 May 1985 (1985-05-03) | 28 June 1985 (1985-06-28) |
| 8 | Heinz Wolff Howard Stableford | Heinz Wolff | 9 | 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 release 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 release 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 release 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 release 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 release 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 release 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 release 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 release 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. ||||||