Iain Stirling, best known as the voice of Love Island, is set to host a new BBC competition series, Race Against the Tide. The comedian, who has a background in children's TV, has admitted his daughter won't recognise him from his earlier CBBC appearances.
New BBC Show Details
The six-part series begins on Monday, August 17, and will see teams of two race to create sand sculptures on St Andrews' West Sands Beach. Each team consists of a professional sand sculptor and a complete beginner, who must finish their creation before the tide comes in.
According to the show's synopsis: "With just six hours before the tide rolls in, the teams must transform tonnes of sand into spectacular themed creations while battling the clock, the weather and each other." It adds: "And with the weight of the sand and the ever-approaching tide, there's always the risk that both nerves and sculptures could collapse under the pressure!"
Judging Panel and Iain's Comments
Iain will be joined by expert judges, artist Sadie Clayton and sand sculptor Jamie Wardley, who will assess the creations on wow factor, creativity and technical skill.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Iain explained his motivation for taking the role. He said: "Being a dad who does comedy, it’s hard to find things that I’ve been in that my daughter is allowed to watch, without going back to my time on children’s TV where she won’t even recognise me."
His CBBC appearances often resurface on social media, with fans noting how different he looks without his beard and with a younger appearance. Among his past shows was The Dog Ate My Homework, which he co-wrote and hosted, earning him the 2018 RTS Scotland's On Screen Personality award and the 2017 Children's BAFTA Best Presenter Award. He also provided CBBC continuity links in 2009 alongside puppet Hacker T Dog.
Personal Motivation
Iain told the BBC: "To be honest with you, I just loved that as a stand-up comedian with young children, there's not a lot of stuff I do on telly that they can see so I really wanted to make something that I could watch with my daughter, and that would make her passionate about wanting to go outside and do a thing."
He added: "And since I've done it, we go to the beach, and we make sandcastles together and it's been such a wholesome and fun thing."
Race Against the Tide will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from August 17, and will air on BBC Scotland at 8.30pm the same day.
