Q: How did you two come to be involved in Hollywood Science?

Jonathan: I’m very much the sort of person who likes making things and I also like explaining how science works to the public. I did a series called Rough Science, which is now in its third series, and I was asked last year to do six ten-minute Hollywood Science programmes on BBC TWO’s Learning Zone, with Robert. Because of their success, the Open University decided to do a bigger version - so we’re now filming four half-hour programmes, again for BBC TWO.

Robert: I think they asked me because I’m quite thick - in a happy and optimistic kind of way. Actually, I got involved through doing programmes for the Open University. They knew I had done some programmes for Channel 4 called I-Camcorder, where I had to deal with technical issues in an easy-to-understand way. So I suppose they felt I could complement Jonathan with my humour and enthusiasm.

Q: How would you describe the experience of working together?

Robert: It’s an absolute joy for me. Jonathan is the most brilliant person to do stuff with because he’s funny and clever. He makes me laugh but he also explains things, which I genuinely didn’t understand to begin with. The show works best when we can laugh and feel that we’ve communicated the science clearly. It’s quite easy to miss the mark - you can either be too silly or muck about too much or get too dry and scientific. Finding that balance is what we’re trying to do.

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