At 6pm today, BBC 2 viewers will see the Eggheads – five of the most talented quiz players in the country and winners of many famous quiz contests – suffering a rare defeat, and it was all down to English litererature student Alex Williamson.

The Famous Chester Five – comprising Alex, Sam Booth, Shaun Brazendale, Aaron Edwards and Callum Reckless, with James Cox in reserve – took on the highly acclaimed quizmaster panel.

And the lads triumphed over some of the country's top trivia minds, among them Christopher Hughes, winner of Mastermind, International Mastermind and Brain of Britain.

Sam said: "We're obviously ecstatic to prove that we're cleverer than the Eggheads.

"It was looking bad for a time, pretty dire to be honest, but we came through – largely thanks to Alex."

In the preliminary rounds, the other contestants, who study Spanish and marketing, business and theology, as well as Callum, who manages his own new media company, had been defeated by the experts and a share of the £5,000 prize money was looking unlikely.

Sam said: "You'll find out more when you watch it, but here's a bit of trivia for you: Alex is the only person to have ever beaten all five Eggheads by himself.

"Other teams have tried and come close, but Alex is the first to succeed."

The responsibility fell to Alex after a series of four defeats, which included a childhood memory slip-up on the part of one of the boys when faced with a question about the career of Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq.

The game show, presented by established journalist and television presenter Dermot Murnaghan, is designed to test the contenders' knowledge on a wide range of subjects, including politics, arts and books, food and drink, history, geography and science.

The triumphant and "ecstatic" quintet, all aged 22, are now better off to tune of £5,000 and will basking in their moment of fame together at their Cheyney Road home tonight.