John Bishop is set to host new BBC Saturday night quiz Wisdom Of The Crowd, where contestants will take on an entire studio audience for the chance to win up to £30,000.
The new show is inspired by a scientific discovery made more than 100 years ago by scientist Francis Galton.
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Galton visited a farmers' fair where more than 800 people entered a competition to guess the weight of an ox.
While one person won the competition with the best individual guess, Galton discovered something even more remarkable when he looked at all the answers.
The average guess of everyone put together was so accurate that it was better than the best individual guess.
He called his discovery The Wisdom Of The Crowd, with the theory going on to influence the worlds of politics, economics and philosophy.
Now, the principle is being put to the test in a big-money Saturday night game show.
When does Wisdom Of The Crowd start on BBC One?
Wisdom Of The Crowd starts on Saturday 19 September at 9.15pm on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
John Bishop will guide contestants through a series of questions designed to test whether an individual can beat the combined knowledge of the studio Crowd.
How does Wisdom Of The Crowd work?
Each contestant gets three chances to beat the Wisdom Of The Crowd.
The whole studio is asked a question, with the contestant then needing to give a better guess than the average answer from the Crowd.
If their guess is more accurate than the Crowd's average, they win £10,000.
Questions can cover everyday subjects, including the average amount spent on an engagement ring, how many pairs of pants the average man owns and how many minutes per week the average person exercises.
If the Crowd wins, the contestant gets another chance to beat them.
However, if they fail to beat the Crowd on their third attempt, they are out of the game and leave with nothing.
The £10,000 is then placed into the Crowd Fund, which will be shared equally among the Crowd at the end of the show.
What is the Crowd Fund on Wisdom Of The Crowd?
Contestants face a difficult decision before they are knocked out of the game.
They can choose to give in, forfeit the £10,000 and take a seat in the Crowd instead.
By joining the Crowd, they could receive a smaller share of the winnings from the Crowd Fund at the end of the show.
The format means contestants have to decide whether to keep taking on the Crowd alone or give up their chance at the individual prize and join the group.
What has John Bishop said about Wisdom Of The Crowd?
John Bishop said the show combines the science behind Galton's discovery with a format that audiences can get involved with.
He said: "It's a show based on a scientific phenomenon by Francis Galton where basically you take one person, ask them a question and then ask a big group of people the same question, the average of the group should beat the individual every time."
"So, it's based on science, but it's also fun. It's one of those shows that everyone can watch and get involved in."
The comedian and presenter said the idea of hosting a Saturday night show that the whole family could watch was one of the things that attracted him to the programme.
He said: "I like the idea of doing a Saturday night show that all the family can watch."
"Since I started in television, the landscape has changed quite a bit but one of the things that remains constant is that if you're ever going to get the family together, it's on a Saturday night and the format of Wisdom attracted me as an opportunity to do that."
Could John Bishop beat the Wisdom Of The Crowd?
John admitted that his own chances of beating the Crowd would depend on the question.
He said: "Depends on the question. If the question had anything to do with Liverpool football club or riding a motorbike badly, I might have a chance!"
He also admitted that the show's random questions make the accuracy of the Crowd particularly surprising.
He said: "The questions are so random, it's surprising how accurate the Wisdom of the Crowd is, but it's also surprising when people come on the show and beat them."
"It shows how it's possible for anyone to beat the crowd."
What surprised John Bishop during filming?
John said some of the biggest surprises came from seeing how closely the answers from the Crowd could match one another.
He explained: "A lot of the questions took me by surprise because you're always going to get random answers."
"But what struck me was when you've got a group of people together how unified the answers were."
"I think that says that as a nation, we've got more in common with each other than we think. We all think in a certain parameter."
Is John Bishop competitive at quizzes?
John revealed that he is very competitive when it comes to quizzes, despite not being as interested in them as his brother.
He said: "I'm not secretly competitive, I'm very competitive."
However, he admitted his brother is the bigger quiz enthusiast in the family.
He said: "You can't go anywhere without him asking you questions. He's constantly writing questions and coming up with quiz shows."
John was also confident his brother could take on the might of the Crowd.
When asked if his brother could beat them, he simply replied: "He would, yeah."
Who would John Bishop like to see take on the Crowd?
John said he would like to see his wife attempt to beat the Wisdom Of The Crowd.
He explained: "My wife, because she thinks so differently to me that I can't work out some of her answers to regular questions, let alone our Wisdom ones."
What advice did Lee Mack give John Bishop?
Before taking on the Saturday night hosting role, John spoke to Lee Mack about the differences involved in hosting a quiz show where contestants are winning real money.
John said: "Some of the money won will make a big difference to people and it's a good sum of money for people to walk away with, so there's jeopardy in there that's different than anything else that you do."
"You've got to respect that and lean into it because it's exciting to be able to say to someone they've won £10,000 but it's also hard to tell someone that they've lost £10,000."
John also discussed the importance of making sure the show's format worked properly and said having the opportunity to contribute during run-throughs had been advantageous.
He added: "I like watching it, I think it's a good format"
How does John Bishop describe Wisdom Of The Crowd?
Asked to sum up the new show in one line, John gave three words.
He described Wisdom Of The Crowd as: "Unique, funny and engaging."
Wisdom Of The Crowd starts on Saturday 19 September at 9.15pm on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
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