A TEAM of women conquered one of TV’s most fearsome quiz shows — and pledged to donate all of their £9,000 winnings to charity.

Ramsbottom Soroptimists appeared on BBC2 show Eggheads which pits five contestants against five of the country’s brainiest quiz kings and queens.

Two soroptimists managed to make it to the final round, and defeated the four remaining Eggheads to win the jackpot.

The team was comprised of the group’s president, Ann Bennett, from Greenmount, her daughter Sharon Hargreaves, Anne Cheetham, an Edenfield councillor serving on Rossendale Council, Barbara Hulmes, from Stacksteads, Sue Unsworth, from Whitefield, and reserve member Margaret Baker, from Bolton.

The club is part of an international organisation which has bases around the world and works to improve the lives of women.

The team said £3,000 of the winnings would be put into the organisation’s general pot, with each of the six members donating another £1,000 to their favourite charity.

Mrs Unsworth, of Nuttall Avenue, said her money would go towards Parkinson’s UK, after her husband, Granville, died from the disease nearly three years ago.

She said that her phone had been “red hot” after her appearance on the show, and that it had helped to raise the profile of the organisation.

The 64-year-old said: “It is like I am a celebrity at the moment!

“My email inbox is full and my mobile phone is full of messages.

“It is just so brilliant for the club.

“We will be able to help so many more people now.”

The show was recorded in October last year at studios in Glasgow, and Mrs Unsworth said they had been told to keep their success a secret until it was broadcast last Wednesday. She said: “It was really difficult.

“We wanted to shout it from the rooftops but we didn’t want to spoil the surprise!”

The show was presented by Dermot Murnaghan, who is also a TV newsreader.

The Eggheads team was CJ de Mooi, Barry Simmons, Chris Hughes, Judith Keppel — the first person to win £1 million on TV’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire? —and Pat Gibson.

Mrs Unsworth said the team received a warm welcome, and that Mr Murnaghan praised the fact that they were donating their winnings to charity.

She also said that it felt very strange to watch the experience back on TV.

She added: “It was horrible. I didn’t realise I looked so nervous, and I was always blinking.

“I was shocked when we won, I couldn’t believe it.”