It only happens once in a blue moon but a team of businesswomen proved it is possible to outsmart TV quiz goliaths the Eggheads when they stormed to victory on the BBC2 show.

The challengers, who are regulars at pub quiz nights in St Albans, knocked out three Eggheads in the head-to-head stages and then sealed the deal in the general knowledge team round when the game show champions slipped up on a crucial question.

They took home a cash prize of £6,000 at the end of the episode, which was filmed last year but aired earlier this month.

Team member Frances Pardell, who put the ‘Business Belles’ forward for the programme, said: “We had one more question left before we won and we looked at each other as if to say ‘Oh my god we might win’.

“We just could not stop laughing. It was absolutely phenomenal.”

She said the secret to their success was staying calm, cool and collected, adding: “The gods of quizzes were shining on us that day.”