The most original quiz show in years, Channel 4’s I Literally Just Told You tests the memories of its contestants – and the viewers watching at home – with questions being written live as each episode is being filmed.
Here’s how it works: throughout the show, two question-setters are observing everything, from hosts Jimmy Carr’s humorous exchanges with contestants to surprise studio visits from celebrity guests, and the questions that follow could pick out any detail of what’s unfolded so far.
Which city did that contestant say they were from? What colour was Nadine Coyle’s pantsuit? Which TV host and comedian was involved in a tax avoidance scandal in 2012? They literally just told you.
Depending on how sharp (or otherwise!) the contestants’ memories are, what follows can either see them win a big cash prize… or everything might just devolve into chaos (see episode two, available now on All 4, for evidence of the latter).
“I Literally Just Told You is the best pitch for a TV show I’ve ever heard,” said Carr. “All the best ideas sound crazy when you first hear them, but I genuinely believe this idea will stay crazy for years.”
But who’s behind this innovative new quiz, and who is setting the questions? Read on for everything you need to know.
Who is Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock?
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Aderin-Pocock is not just a question-setter on a quiz show, she’s also a decorated space scientist and since February 2014, she has co-presented the long-running astronomy show The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott.
From 1996 to 1999 she worked at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (a branch of the UK’s Ministry of Defence) and was the lead scientist at Astrium (part of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company). Since 2006, she has served as a research fellow at UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies, and is also an honorary research associate of University College London’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.
She regularly visits schools to deliver talks to pupils about science and her own career path and was made an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to science education. Her previous TV appearances also include stints on on Would I Lie to You?, Richard Osman’s House of Games, and QI.
Who is Emy Adamson?
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Adamson is the second question setter on the show alongside Dr. Maggie. She works for Expectation TV, the production company behind I Literally Just Told You, where she has held the role of Junior Researcher since January 2021.
She was previously an intern at the production company Endemol Shine UK from September 2019 to December 2020.
Who is Richard Bacon?
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I Literally Just Told You was created by broadcaster Richard Bacon, who also serves as an executive producer on the series.
“I Literally Just Told You just feels like a natural Channel 4 show, who are a perfect fit for this, and it’s irreverent nature takes me back to my Big Breakfast days,” he said. “I had this hunch that most people’s short-term memory is so bad you could just give contestants and the audience all the answers in a game show, and they’d still get most of them wrong.”
In addition to his behind-the-scenes role, Bacon also appeared on-screen during the show’s second episode, when one question referred to him being dismissed as host of Blue Peter in 1998 following reports of his having previously taken cocaine.
Jimmy Carr’s I Literally Just Told You continues on Thursdays at 10pm on Channel 4, with the first two episodes available now on All 4. Visit our Entertainment hub for more news, interviews, and features, or find something to watch now with our TV Guide.