Alan Carr and Susie Dent are hosting a new Channel 4 competition, Secret Genius, which aims to uncover people with IQs comparable to Albert Einstein, Marie Curie and Stephen Hawking – but who have never realised their potential. Dubbed 'Bake Off with brains', the series features ordinary individuals from all walks of life, including a hotel receptionist, HGV driver, restaurant manager, carpenter and prison chaplain.
Unlike the polished contestants on The Apprentice or Love Island, Carr emphasised that these participants are not seeking fame. 'There’s no one with Turkey teeth, no one with abs,' he laughed. 'This is a different kind of person. They do not want to be in the limelight. They don't want to steal my job. But they would like a second chance, and they would like a bit of fulfilment.'
The show, starting on Sunday with four regional heats, sees contestants tackle complex logic games and challenges set by Mensa. Many suffer from chronic confidence issues, but as they work together, they grow in confidence and find joy in each other. Susie Dent noted that most players were nominated by friends and family, often having zero self-belief. 'There are some jaw dropping moments. When you see how quickly they do these really, really hard tests, your jaw just hits the floor,' she said.
Carr related to the contestants' feelings of being underestimated, having just finished Celebrity Traitors the day before filming began. 'I'd gone from this judging, stereotyping, underestimation... And then here we are, all these people who've been underestimated for their whole lives... And I was like, “oh yeah, I sort of know how you feel really.” Then watching them grow and the doubt melt away. I mean, it was so lovely,' he said.
Executive producer Jon Cahn explained the choice of hosts: 'We were looking for the alchemy of brains and humour... The way we like to think about it is Bake Off with brains. So we definitely wanted the nation's best friend, Alan Carr, and then Susie obviously offers the intelligence.' By the end of the six-part series, over half of the 48 competitors had pursued new directions, such as returning to education or changing jobs, buoyed by the confidence gained from taking part.
