His quick-witted retorts are laugh-out-loud hilarious. Where Ayoade most comes into his own is his humour. He's basically a more cerebral and intense version of The IT Crowd’s Maurice Moss. Although he still shouts 'Start the fans, please!', he reminds contestants when it’s an “ALIS” (that’s automatic lock-in situation, FYI) and runs from zone to zone stating that he is “not liable for injury…fast and safe, fast and safe”. We’ve had to build about 30 of them because he keeps breaking them on doors.”Īyoade has come to the dome with fully-formed catchphrases and gimmicks, and has breathed new life into a 27-year-old game show.

He also uses it to accentuate movements, so he’ll point at people and various things when he’s running from zone to zone. “The contestants shake this hand and he does these high fives up top.

“This is so they never touch him,” Simpson explains. “A bit like Richard O’Brien, you can tell he’s warm and cares about the contestants, but at the same time he portrays this distanced character,” explains executive producer Neale Simpson, who shows us the wooden hand prop that Ayoade carries throughout the show. Somehow, Ayoade has cleverly been able to embody a lot of the qualities O’Brien had, and yet bring a completely innovative feel to the maze.

What was always so fantastic about the Rocky Horror legend’s style on The Crystal Maze was his irreverence his ability to simultaneously help the mostly hapless, jumpsuit-clad contestants and yet also show them utter contempt.

The crystal maze tv show richard ayoade