King of the Nerds
Contents |
Host
Co-host
Greg McHugh (narrator)
Broadcast
Objective Productions (an All3Media company) for Sky 1, 12 July to 30 August 2015 (8 episodes in 1 series)
Synopsis
Eleven "nerds" split into two teams; they're whittled down until one contestant is deemed worthy.
Each episode splits into three parts. There's a "Nerd War", an activity based on something seen as "nerdy".
The winning team gets a reward, and will nominate one of the losing team for elimination. The other person is nominated from amongst the losing side. The second part is an interminable discussion about who to nominate, and why.
Finally, we reach the "Nerd Off", a specialist subject quiz; the contestants have two hours to revise material prepared by the producers. Worst performer is out of the game.
Champion
Matt Barr, a "quiz nerd", from Southampton.
Inventor
Very closely based on the Electus LLC format, shown on TBS in the USA.
Title music
Russell Spurlock, credited for "Music".
Trivia
Sky sought sponsorship for the programme, saying
- "This form of competitive reality show is a favourite among audiences, frequently bringing in a large and loyal viewership, and lighting up the social media world with discussion and debate. With its focus on the competition between some the countries {sic} sharpest minds, King of the Nerds will indubitably garner a similarly loyal following and create an equivalent buzz on social media networks. This sponsorship will therefore enable a brand to target a loyal and engaged audience and further extend their reach by means of the shows talkability."
The show did not attract a sponsor. Nor did it attract a following, loyal or otherwise - overnight figures said 150,000 saw the final episode.
Konnie Huq took a break from presenting after this, as she found the 5:30am commutes from London to Chelmsford in conjunction with motherhood impossible. She told the BBC in 2019:
- "I did this show for Sky called King of the Nerds, which was a reality show looking for the world's biggest nerd, essentially, celebrating the geek, which is also what I'm about.
- "But anyway, I remember I'd had a baby. And I thought I could do this all. But it was filming in Chelmsford. So I couldn't [stay] overnight because I had a baby. And it meant I would be picked up from my house before the baby had woken, leave from London to get to Chelmsford at 05:30am, having expressed milk, get on the motorway, do the filming.
- "And I'd present some challenges and I'd be willing us to wrap because I had this half-hour window where I would miss rush hour. And I'd sometimes be sitting there exploding with milk, because you have to keep feeding the baby all day.
- "I could get a nanny, but the time goes so fast, already both [my children] are in school and it feels like it was just yesterday they were born... these years, they don't come back.
- "So I think after [King of the Nerds] I consciously took a step back, because I just thought, 'I'm doing everything badly'."
Pictures
Just another day in the office for Konnie Huq.