O Briain explores intriguing mysteries
Mysteries of the Pyramids with Dara O Briain Channel 5, 9pm
HE might be about 6ft 3in tall with a sharp wit he’s used to bring the best comedians down a peg or two during his years as Mock the Week’s host, but meet him in the flesh, and there’s nothing intimidating about Dara O Briain.
Instead, he’s one of the good guys, someone who fell into showbiz by accident – it came after he made an audience laugh while taking part in a debate at University College Dublin, where he studied maths and theoretical physics in the early 1990s.
“I cracked a joke and I got a huge laugh and a round of applause and I wasn’t expecting it. It was like a shot of adrenaline,” he buzzes. “I got this jolt of, ‘Ohh, that felt good’, and genuinely, I have been chasing that same rush ever since.”
Now in his early fifties, he is embracing life as a supposedly grumpy ‘old’ man.
“Being grumpy isn’t actually a bad thing in comedy,” he grins.
“We tend to be grumpy young men anyway – even in your twenties, you’re going, ‘Life is so bad!’
“You’re also in that middle bit of life where actually you can’t care about the small things, so you find it difficult to sustain that kind of corny comedy like, ‘Oh, I’m being angry about things’, because you know that just doesn’t matter. So you’ve got to find a different way of going at it.
“I’ve shifted away from being angry into having adventures, but complaining about things works for stand-ups.”
O Briain’s latest adventure sees him become Channel 5’s latest celebrity traveller – we’ve recently witnessed Michael Palin journey to Nigeria for the broadcaster, while this week alone, Robson Green is venturing to the Amazon in a new series, and Sue Perkins continues her exploration of Thailand.
But for the Co Wicklow-born funnyman, Egypt is his destination, accompanied by archaeologist Raksha Dave and Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton. He’s hoping they can help him learn more about the great pyramids, including how their massive blocks of stone were moved into place, particularly when you realise that modern cranes would struggle to lift their weight, and what the structures were used for once they were completed – it used to be believed that they were tombs, but no pharaoh’s remains have ever been found in one.
The trio begin by pondering what happened to the body of Khufu, the leader responsible for constructing the most famous pyramid of all – The Great Pyramid of Giza. Inside, Naunton reveals that, despite centuries of research, experts have still really only scratched the surface when it comes to understanding the ancient Egyptians, their culture and their civilisation.
For O Briain, his personal journey of discovery is only just beginning, and it’s clear he has a lot to learn. Nevertheless, he throws himself enthusiastically into the task, like a child in a sweet shop. Yes, he may be tall, but when it comes to learning, he’s still a big kid at heart.