Richard Hammond worried he wouldn’t be able to make new series Brain Reaction
The Grand Tour star is the presenter of a new science-based comedy panel show.
Richard Hammond is swapping cars for science experiments on new Comedy Central series Richard Hammond's Brain Reaction.
Kicking off on Wednesday 13th April, the new panel show will see Richard in the hosting seat, ably assisted by comedian and science geek Ria Lina, as captains Victoria Coren Mitchell and Johnny Vegas go head-to-head.
However, the series almost never aired, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Hammond said that he was concerned that they wouldn't be able to make the show at all.
"We were worried we wouldn't be able to get to make Brain Reaction because you know, people have got to come in and out," he explained.
"I really wanted a live studio audience. It really matters to me because these are comics. They feed off it and they need it. We do have one which is great.
"I think viewers are very savvy and bright - we know what we want when we're watching TV. We know if somebody believes their subject. We know if the audience is there and if the comic is feeding off the live audience – you can tell. So I really wanted the audience there."
The new show will see Victoria and Johnny battling it out over a series of bizarre conundrums that pit arbitrary things against each other, while each joined by a comic.
Asked if there's lots of competition between the captains, the Grand Tour star added: "There is! Mostly because Victoria tends to work out how she wants to answer a question and she tries to make Johnny give the other [option]. She spends as much time trying to persuade him to say the other thing.
"She will know pretty early on whether it's an experiment or just a straight question, what she wants to answer. She just wants to make sure he gets it wrong, and it drives him up the wall!"
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Richard Hammond’s Brain Reaction airs Wednesday 13th April at 9pm on Comedy Central UK. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions airs Friday 29th April at 8pm on Channel 4.
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