Seven celebrities to battle it out to reveal Britain’s Greatest Invention live on BBC Two

Sir Trevor McDonald, Angela Rippon, Giles Coren, Len Goodman, David Harewood, Nick Knowles and Angela Scanlon will each champion one object in their bid to persuade the BBC Two audience to vote for the invention they are endorsing and see it win the title of Britain’s Greatest Invention.

Published: 1 June 2017

The programme, which is produced in partnership with The Open University, will be broadcast live on BBC Two on 15 June from the Science Museum Group’s vast stores; a treasure trove of eight aircraft hangers near Swindon containing some of the UK’s most cherished inventions.

Presented by Dr Hannah Fry and automotive engineer Ant Anstead, the winning invention will be revealed at the end of the live programme and will go on to be celebrated in the Science Museum itself.

Food critic and journalist Giles Coren will champion the humble fridge, an invention that plays a crucial role in how healthy we are.

Train enthusiast and presenter Len Goodman will be an ambassador for the stream engine following his passion for trains since childhood, and will explore how steam turbines still generate 80per cent of the world’s power.

Having had TB when she was a child, Angela Rippon will be an ambassador for antibiotics, which has saved more than 200 million lives since its invention, whilst for actor David Harewood the jet engine, that keeps almost one million people in the air at any one time, is the most significant revelation of modern technology.

For Robot Wars presenter Angela Scanlon, the mobile phone is the winning invention because it uses a fantastic collaboration of multiple technologies, many of which are British, and sees us all on average spend 305 minutes of our day using it.

And for Nick Knowles, concrete is the most used material on earth and therefore deserves to win the title.

Sir Trevor McDonald is backing the television as the winning invention; when growing up in Trinidad it inspired him to pursue a career in broadcasting that has spanned four decades.

Battling it out in front of a live studio audience and surrounded by incredible objects from the Science Museum Group’s collections, each ambassador will champion their invention as the most influential, inviting the BBC Two audience to vote for their favourite during the live show.

We will also delve behind the scenes in the amazing Science Museum Group’s stores to discover a treasure trove of inventions, asking the viewer to help solve mysteries of some these objects, and even invite them to bring forward vital lost artefacts the Science Museum Group wants to add to its national collection.

Discovering items big and small, epic and seemingly humble, Britain’s Greatest Invention will be a celebration of our inventing past, asking the public to vote on which item they feel has most shaped our lives today.

Notes to Editors

  • Britain’s Greatest Invention will broadcast on 15 June at 8.30-10pm
  • Viewers will be able to vote by phone or online at http://bbc.co.uk/invention on the night. Viewers who wish to vote online will need to sign in to a BBC account at https://www.bbc.com/signin If you do not have a BBC account, you can register for one for free at https://www.bbc.com/register
  • Britain’s Greatest Invention is produced in partnership with The Open University and was commissioned by Tom McDonald Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual, and Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two. The Commissioning Editor is Craig Hunter, Commissioning Editor for Science. The Executive Producer for Thoroughly Modern Media is Jay Taylor
  • Academic consultant on the programme was Senior Lecturer in Engineering at The Open University, Dr James Warren
  • It was launched as part of a year-long season of science and technology programming under the banner of Tomorrow’s World

KD

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