He continued: “Then it was a case of finding a show to present together. So we knew we wanted a circumstance in which we’d both be able to use science and engineering to build stuff to make our lives better.
“And then we thought ‘hang on, if we were to be shipwrecked on a desert island, but then find the ship to build stuff out of, we could build all manner of stuff.’ And then we thought ‘well, let’s take a step even further and make it that sort of hybridised with drama.’”
Richard did joke fans would have to buy into the premise somewhat: “We are craving people’s indulgence, don’t get me wrong. We are saying ‘Please come with us, we’re being a bit silly, but come and have a laugh,’ and hopefully it’s a bit of an escape.
“So it is a bit fictionalised. The science is rigorous, the engineering is rigorous. But the storyline we built-in because every build is then motivated. We’re not just doing it to be silly, we’re doing it because there’s a reason in the story as it unfolds. So that was key to it.”
The Great Escapists is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video from Friday, January 29.
The Grand Tour: A Massive Hunt is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.
