BBC announce a new Science series

The BBC has announced that a new Science based series will air on BBC One this summer which will look at how science shapes the world around us. Contains the BBC Press Release.

This summer BBC One launches Bang Goes The Theory, a new series that looks at how science shapes the world around us. From exploring the world’s most advanced technological breakthroughs to learning how we can test and manipulate scientific principles in our own backyard, this series will put scientific theory to the test. From late July 2009, four presenters – Dallas Campbell, Liz Bonnin, Jem Stansfield and Dr Yan Wong – will pool their knowledge and their curiosity to put science into action in a series co-produced with The Open University (OU). With a PhD, a collection of science degrees and an enduring passion for all things scientific, the four presenters are the perfect group to bring cutting-edge science to the nation.

“Bang Goes The Theory brings popular science back to the very heart of BBC One. The four presenters have a passion and knowledge for their subject that guarantees to bring science alive in an entertaining and engaging way.” – Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC One

Dallas Campbell (Gadget Show) is an experienced TV presenter with a passion for popularising science.

“Let’s face it, dream jobs don’t get much dreamier than this. In fact, my left arm is still slightly sore from pinching myself. For anyone who is remotely curious about life, the Universe and pretty much everything, this is the show. In fact, sometimes I wish I wasn’t working on it so I could just sit and watch it!” – Dallas Campbell

Dallas will be joined by Liz Bonnin (Science Friction, RI:SE), a biochemist and wild animal biologist; and Jem Stansfield (Men In White, Scrapheap Challenge) who will turn the team’s imaginative ideas into workable experiments. Rounding up the group will be Dr Yan Wong (co-author of The Ancestor’s Tale), who will use his academic expertise to demonstrate the fundamentals of science in a weekly segment.

“Bang Goes The Theory is quite literally my dream job! I get to spend my time finding out about the science that makes our world go round, as well as meeting the people behind incredible discoveries and ground-breaking innovations. The icing on the cake is working with Dallas, Jem and Yan who are thankfully as nutty around the edges as I am – I love them to bits. We are truly passionate about science and I hope this show will make our viewers equally so.” – Liz Bonnin

“All of us on the show have a slightly different take on science and as much as I love the theory, that’s all it is. For me, its making and playing with stuff that gives the clearest insights. On this series I’m lucky enough to have been given a free reign to take ideas from the frontiers of science and to show they can be tested with the stuff that’s hanging around in your backyard.” – Jem Stansfield

“I love trying to understand the world around me – there’s so much I still don’t know. We find the world exciting from the moment we are born, and as children we explore it all the time. Now I’ve got the chance to get everyone to do that too. What a brilliant job!” – Dr Yan Wong

The team will be based at a high-tech Bedfordshire HQ and will travel the world to test ideas and meet experts from fields as varied as geology, astrophysics, neuropsychology and zoology. The OU’s academic experts have helped develop the experiments and exploits for the series.

“We’ve been delighted and amazed to see the extremes that the presenters are willing to going to go to in order to show science in action”. – Dr Stephen Serjeant, senior lecturer in astrophysics at the OU

Bang Goes The Theory is set for transmission in July 2009 (10 x 30-minutes). The series was commissioned by Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC One. Bang Goes The Theory will be supported by a website, interactive resources and free events to inspire the audience to get hands on with science – more details will be available later this year.