Videogame challenge on Dave

The guests have been named for Dara O Briain’s new videogame show, Go 8 Bit.

Russell Howard, Bob Mortimer, Jason Manford, Dave Gorman and Josie Long are among those taking up the controllers for the six-part series for Dave.

The programme is based on the live show created by comedians Steve McNeil, a gaming geek, and  Sam Pamphilon, who is more cynical about the pastime. Both are team captains in the TV version, squaring up against each other over their favourite video games.

And in the final round of every episode, the consoles are put away as the competitors take part in physical versions of video game classics.

Episode one, which will air on September 5, will pitch former England goalkeeper David James against Susan Calman in a series of clashes, including a marathon bout of fighting game Tekken.

The other guests over the six-part series will be Marcus Brigstocke, Gina Yashere, Ed Byrne, Rachel Riley and Holly Walsh; with resident gaming expert Ellie Gibson overseeing the action.

And the gamut of games tun from contemporary blockbusters such as Star Wars Battlefront to early classics such as Pong and Tetris.

O Briain said: 'I think one of the many highlights of this series was one performer who realised he was so far ahead that he couldn’t lose, and dropped the controller and walked around, and let the other person play on in vain. That was quite the psych-out!'

• Steve McNeil this weekend achieved a world record for ‘Most people playing a single game of Pong’: 286 people. The record was achieved at the Royal Institution, London, during the WiFi Wars show he performs with coder Rob Sedgebeer, whose software allows a crowd to control computer games using their smartphones or tablets. Stephen Daultrey, Editor of Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, said: 'For a game that’s nearly 45 years old, it’s brilliant to see its heritage being kept keenly alive by so many passionate gamers. This was a great effort from all those who took part.

Published: 28 Jul 2016