Interview with Alan Carr and Susie Dent
Category: Press Pack ArticleWhat is Secret Genius about?
Alan Carr It's about ordinary people with extraordinary brains and minds, people who might want a second chance or haven't reached their potential, and who have this inkling that they might be a little bit “other”. There might be a genius in there, and we’re just helping lure it out with some games to test every part of their brain and their intelligence. But we're not talking about academic intelligence, we're talking about a superpower. They can look at an anagram – boom! They know all of the periodic table. They remember bus timetables. They should be in a Marvel film, they're that good.
Susie Dent It's a competition, but it's not about humiliating people or laughing at them. It's a warm, kind show that goes with them on this journey to realise that they have true talent through all these immersive games. Those games are beautifully designed and purpose-built so they’re accessible for the audience to play along at home as well.
Alan The games draw you in, don't they? I can see some of them being Gogglebox moments.
Susie Absolutely, yeah.
What specific aspects of intelligence are being tested with the games?
Susie Lots of different types. Verbal reasoning, pattern recognition, numerical skills, fluid reasoning – which is a whole collection of things that you bring to bear – and memory is a big one as well.
Alan What's the best one to have?
Susie I don't think there is a best one. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Even the players who reached the semi-finals and the final, they definitely struggled with some of the games after having sailed through the others. It's not theoretical intelligence, it’s how you bring it to bear on life itself. It's about appreciating nuance, seeing things in different ways, being drawn to complexity rather than being scared by it. And we've all got our comfort zones.
Alan It's a bit like watching someone do a triathlon, where someone's an amazing runner but they fall off their bike. With The X Factor, you knew Leona Lewis would win as soon as you heard her sing. With Secret Genius, you don't know because you’re pulling on so many different areas of intelligence. Me, I do love an anagram. The numbers on Countdown, though? Forget it.
Susie It's about seeing yourself through the panic and coming out the other side.
Alan Yeah, the players were wrestling with their own self-doubt and the clock at the same time.
Susie Ironically I struggle with timing, despite working on a show with a big clock, I find working to time quite difficult.
Was it an easy decision to get involved?
Alan Definitely. I was intrigued by it because it just feels different. We all know these reality stars and Instagram influencers where it’s all about their “moment”, but these people are reluctant. They feel like there's something in there, they just need to see for themselves. Every bit of it was something I'd never seen before, like filming in Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing, rather than a studio – I thought, well, that's new and exciting. I love the ethos behind it, the fact that these people are never shown on telly unless they're a punchline in a sitcom. Don't you think it's refreshing to see people on the telly who weren't media trained, they didn't want to be famous? I felt like my job was safe...
Susie I've always quite liked flying below the radar and I think a lot of these players do as well, although in some cases, they've been pushed below the radar. They’re the ones that haven't been making much noise, in a world full of noise. It’s those quiet ones that we really loved drawing out because it's quite exposing, popping your head above the parapet or being put forward by someone they knew. I don't think any of them regretted it.
Alan They would tell us about how they used to get into trouble at school: some of them weren't concentrating because they had that butterfly mind… They’re all trying to find something, but their brain just can't relax and that gets interpreted at school as troublemaking because they don't fit into a box.
Susie I think genius-level thinkers also ask a lot of questions, and that can be tricky in schools, although I’m absolutely not knocking schools. They try really, really hard to encourage and nurture creativity, while also having to follow a rigid curriculum. It's a big ask.
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Susie This show is the antithesis to brain rot, it's about celebrating the geeks and the nerds and the people who just think differently, and they were all so not up there for being on tele, or for getting famous.
Alan No one had turkey teeth!
What do you enjoy about working together?
Susie Alan makes me laugh. He's smart, kind and the perfect choice for this.
Alan I did recognise a lot of me in the players. People think I'm overconfident, but I'm a self-doubter. Every time I do a stand-up show, I sort of go: is this the one where I get exposed? There’s so much imposter syndrome there.
Susie I'm quite quiet by nature. Alan, not so much. We found that level. Plus he’s got two beautiful rescue dogs, which was quite a pull for me.
Alan I love working with Susie because we have a laugh. We're both passionate about this and we feed off each other. And she told me the meaning of all these words!
What did you learn about each other?
Susie I learnt that Alan is a secret genius, he hates me saying this, there were so many of the tasks where he just was so quick, all the verbal reasoning ones he was brilliant.
Alan I'm not boasting but I did alright, they just sort of came to me and then some of them I had absolutely no idea what was going on. As for Susie, she knows SO many rude words for parts of the body from the olden days.
What moments really surprised you during filming?
Susie I thought it was going to be challenging, fun, restorative, all that stuff, but I didn't expect the levels of emotion that I felt and the contestants felt. I didn't realise just how much it mattered.
Alan Yeah, you realise that this isn't a game for them. It’s more: this is me back in the playground, being talked down by a supervisor or teased by the kids. They want to prove themselves and Secret Genius gives them that opportunity.
Susie We've also had that delight in seeing them find kindred spirits, people who do things you've always been told are weird. And they're still in touch with each other – I love that.
Alan I was underestimated in the Castle [on Celebrity Traitors], and when I got down to the Secret Genius set, I was feeling quite full of beans. And then I saw these people who didn't really believe in themselves and didn't feel like they fitted in either. I'd had a wonderful confidence boost in there and just thought, 'what if we can give them a little bit of that feeling'. The cast are just hugely likeable people, and boy did I recognise their sense of otherness.
What does genius look like to both of you now?
Alan Er, hello?!
Susie A genius, honestly, looks like any single person I pass on the street. We have a pastry chef, a carer, a lorry driver, a train guard.… It genuinely could be anybody.
Alan Let's not forget emotional intelligence as well. I think nurses and doctors are geniuses. It definitely doesn't have to be a rocket scientist with a pipe in their mouth and patches on the elbows.
Do you think certain types of people underplay their intelligence?
Susie I think there are a lot of women, particularly, who have underplayed their intelligence or have not felt validated enough or haven't felt enough confidence. I do absolutely recognise that. I remember the mortification of being in a school assembly and really really wanting to be one of the sports captains because that was the most glamourous thing, and then I was announced as the chief librarian. In retrospect it was absolutely the right choice, but I remember that inner voice that I'm not cool.
What were you like at school?
Susie At school, I actually loved homework, I was a real nerd and a geek, I was a real swot and I was very conscious of how uncool that was and actually quite a lot of our contestants didn't let their intelligence shine because they thought it was so uncool. And I love the way that's changing bit by bit, but when I was at school, I did underplay that. I did know early on that I was strangely attracted to the ingredients on shampoo bottles and ketchup bottles and would just fixate on words.
What would you hope viewers will get out of Secret Genius?
Susie I think they might get their own self-confidence back, if they need to, by playing along.
Alan I hope it stops people from judging.
Susie Yes, we're taught to prejudge people these days. We all do it. So I hope it busts that ability we think we all have to place someone in a particular position in intelligence or society.
Alan The show's a palette cleanser, like a sorbet. Let's celebrate people who are a little bit different. Root for them, not mock them. Stop being so judge-y! Also, it would be lovely if the audience really got into this, and they found their own tribe, if you got people who watched the show and said, 'ooo did you see that game?', and I love the inter-activeness of it. It'd be nice if it became a community of people who decide they want their brain to be stimulated.
What is 2026 looking like for you both?
Susie Another series of this, we hope!
Alan Yes, that would be lovely.
Susie I've got more of [Radio 4 series] Unspeakable with Phil Wang, more Countdown, more … Cats, more of my theatre show. My next novel’s coming out. So it's quite busy.
Alan I'll be busy writing for my tour in 2027, so I'll be turning up in pubs unannounced with my little notepad, trying out jokes.