GEMMA DUNN
happens,” he answers coyly, having earned his break in the beloved Eighties sitcom as the dim-witted Baldrick.
“I have got and have had the best job in the world – I wouldn’t change it for an instant, I absolutely adore it,” he follows, careful not to fan the flames.
For now, we can be sure of one thing – Tony’s next adventure will be one of the aerial kind.
Back with a new series of Channel 4’s Hidden Britain By Drone, the history buff and travel enthusiast will once again use the latest filming technology to explore aspects of our country in a completely different way.
Dispatching flying cameras of every shape and size, Tony will soar above historic sites normally closed off to visitors, get behind the doors of some of our biggest British brands and find unexpected hidden treasures in pockets of our rolling countryside.
“You couldn’t have made this two or three years ago,” he notes of the access-all-areas appeal.
“I suppose you might have been able to if you had half a million quid and you could afford to have the helicopters all the time,” he muses. “But even then, the helicopters couldn’t get that low and you couldn’t get all the interior shots.”
The four-parter sees Tony, who has also presented archaeology series Time Team since 1994, break down the barriers – think barbed wire fences and big locks – as he journeys all over the place, from a stately home to an abandoned theme park and an underground Cold War bunker.
“It’s quite fun,” he says, having previously explored the length and breadth of Britain on foot for series Walking Through History.
“The great thing about documentary television is that it provides access where you wouldn’t have had it before, and this series has that in spades.”
Also on the agenda is a visit to hidden beehives on top of upmarket department store Fortnum and Mason; a stop off at a ginormous recycling plant for aeroplanes; and an insight into the hidden world of bats.
Does Tony, a proud father and grandfather, deem it important to change with the times?
“Yes. As soon as you stop growing and changing, you might as well pack up!” he responds immediately.
“When I started in TV, a television camera weighed about the same as the Isle of Wight – but there’s so much we can do now that we’ve never been able to do before. I could make a television programme all on my own, really, with my phone!
“(But) I want a Hidden Europe By Drone next, please!” Tony pleads. “And then Hidden West Indies...”
And just like that, he’s planning his ‘next thing’.
■ Hidden Britain By Drone returns to Channel 4 on Sunday at 8pm.