UKTV’s Dave Orders Joy of Techs

LONDON: Entertainment channel Dave has commissioned Joy of Techs, a brand-new UKTV original series featuring comedian and actor Marcus Brigstocke and actor and broadcaster Alexis Conran.

The duo are best friends, and while Conran is obsessed with gadgets, Brigstocke is a self-proclaimed technophobe. Produced by Blink Films, the ten-part series sees the pals pit themselves against each other as they tackle classic scenarios, hobbies and games from opposite ends of the spectrum and put the world’s top gadgets to the test. Conran tries to convince Brigstocke that technology is the way to go, while Brigstocke maintains that his old-school ways still win. The series is exclusive to Dave.

Brigstocke said: “Even if we needed half the so-called ‘life-hack’ crap they produce, most of it is so complicated it rarely works. You’re left with some gormless consumption slave holding a widget aloft trying to find a signal. Nonsense! I’ll tell you a good bit of tech: the zip. That works. The match. Brilliant. Now poor Alex is obsessed with this stuff and in Joy of Techs I will take great pleasure in demonstrating to him that it’s a waste of time and money. It’s going to be fun. I will be setting the timer on my VHS recorder for this series…. If I can find the remote control thing.”

Conran added: “Technology is the way forward and if anything has a button on it…. I’m in! I’m not worried about our friendship suffering on this show, as we can both be stubborn and argumentative, but I do worry about killing ourselves trying to prove our point!”

Iain Coyle, UKTV’s senior commissioning editor, commented, “Alexis and Marcus have a real friendship—warm, funny and encompassing a competitiveness bordering on the unhealthy. It’s a brilliantly simple format that pushes all those buttons and you get to see solar-powered cars and flying bikes too.”

Steve North, the general manager of Dave, added, “We’re delighted to welcome back Marcus Brigstocke to Dave. His hugely original and entertaining take on the world of gadgetry will strike a chord with anyone who has ever struggled to grasp the techie zeitgeist. Combined with Alexis’s uber competitive nature to try and convince Marcus —and all of us—that technology can triumph.”

Dan Chambers, executive producer for Blink Films, remarked, “It’s a genuine thrill to be making Joy of Techs for Dave. Marcus and Alexis come with a ready-made chemistry and a competitive streak that is hugely entertaining to watch. Whether they’re turning a daily commute into an episode of Wacky Races, destroying each other’s tents on a camping weekend or competing to win the heart of a robot girlfriend, the real joy is going to be in watching their friendship being pushed to its limits every week, along with the tech they’ll be testing.”