That's Genius! was a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 children's television series originally shown on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 between 12 November 2003 and 17 December 2003. The program ran for one series.
Earlier in 2003 CBBC

CBBC

CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...

 announced a competition for children to send in their ideas for inventions. The competition attracted nearly 3000 entries of which a panel of judges chose the top five. These five inventions were then made into prototypes by experts. On 17 December 2003 viewers were invited to vote for their favourite invention and then the winner was announced live on BBC One. The winner won a behind the scenes tour at the Epcot Center. The show was presented by Angellica Bell

Angellica Bell

Angellica Bell is a British television and radio presenter.-Early life:Born in 1976 of St. Lucian heritage, Bell was educated in Ealing, West London at Notting Hill & Ealing High School. She later earned her BA Honours degree in Politics.-Television career:2000–2006Bell joined CBBC in May 2000...

, Kursty Groves and Steve Wilson

Steve Wilson

Steve Wilson may refer to:* Steve Wilson , baseball player* Steve Wilson , former NFL player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers* Steve Wilson , former NFL player for the Denver Broncos...

.

Episode Format

Each episode, except from the final, included one invention which was made in front of the inventor. There was also an activity, related to that episodes invention, for viewers to do at home. Each episode was made up of studio filmed footage and location filmed footage.

Kursty Groves, inventor of the Techno Bra and innovation consultant, co-presented the series with Angellica and Steve.

Finalists

In total there were five finalists whose ideas were made. They were:

• Gavin Calder - Power Lilo, A lilo with a solar powered propeller
• Joseph O'Neill - Choc Attack Cubicle, A arcade game which uses floor sensors to control the game
• Sophia Dollery - Hologram Radio, A projector with a projector screen, designed for music videos
• Robert Newcombe - Spy Bird (Spybird), A remote-controlled plane disguised as a bird with a built-in digital camera
• Charlie Watts - Laser Speed, A device to be placed in cars which lets the car know if it is speeding

The Final

The final took place on 17 December 2003. The winner was decided by a phone-in vote and the result was announced live from the CBBC studio. The winner was Sophia Dollery and the Hologram Radio.

External links

• BBC report on Spy Bird at BBC Online
• That's Genius! on the BBC Catalogue