Which British sculptress died in a fire at her home in St Ives in 1975? ******* ********
Which American pilot first broke the sound barrier in 1947? ***** *****
The Wallace Collection houses which famous work by Frans Hals? *** ******** ********

There’s a brief switch fight over a literature question. But then who wouldn’t try to switch their way out of this question?

In 'Sense and Sensibility', what is Marianne and Elinor's surname? ********

It’s neck and neck until Duncan fumbles over a Scottish king, then deliberates lengthily on this Spike Milligan toughie:

In Spike Milligan's poem 'On the Ning Nang Nong', which animals go 'Bong!'? *** ****

You think it’s all over but Said fluffs amazingly on this::

Which composer's works include 'The Marriage of Figaro'? ******. Embarrassing for a pro to get that wrong.

This is definitely one of the tightest openers so far. In the end, Duncan bags 9 out of 12 correct. Said: 10 out of 12 and just the slimmest of advantages: 2.58 seconds

What is 16% of 300? **
Divide the number of degrees in a right angle by the number of feet in a yard ? **
What is the Fahrenheit equivalent of 40 degrees Celsius? ***

Said stands there quietly, holding his own against the few questions that comes his way.

Then with 14 seconds on the clock, Duncan’s brain finally kicks in. Staging a comeback, the helicopter pilot lances a half-decent 24 seconds off Said’s time before crashing out. It’s not enough, but it has gone someway to redressing the balance. Said walks with 35:27 to take to the final.

On March 14th which British movie icon celebrated his 70th birthday? ******** *****
Which celebrity chef owns the Padstow Seafood School in Cornwall? **** ******
Which Roy Clarke comedy series celebrated its 30th anniversary this year? **** ** *** ****** ****

Said, meanwhile, is impassive, giving no sign he knows the answer until it comes out in a confident whisper.

In the end the stats say it all. Duncan : 5/11 questions right. Said 5/8 and 25.83 on the clock. What started as an open contest is ending up a whitewash.

Which word completes the first and begins the second in this puzzle JACK _ _ _ _ LACE? ****
Which of these letters would you drop to get ill-will: SPRITE? *
Which contemporary British novelist is an anagram of IT DAZES HIM? ***** *****

Although he does get this humdinger :

Which 'T' is a morbid fear of the number 13? ******************

Said allows himself a smile at the conclusion of the round. With 46.59 on his clock, he can afford one.

Said triumphs. His time earns him the number 2 seed position on the leadboard. He is pleased with his performance. Duncan is not.

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