FIVE MINUTES WITH... CRAIG CHARLES

Craig Charles is very much a familiar face on British TV. From Red Dwarf to Robot Wars, Takeshi’s Castle to Coronation Street, the 58-year-old Liverpool native has found success in acting, presenting, comedy and DJing.

In recent years, he’s also become a gameshow host. High-octane Channel 4 quiz show Moneybags sees £1 million a week go down a conveyor belt, ready for the taking by clever contestants.

While the first series of Moneybags was broadcast in the mid-afternoon, the second run has clinched the coveted 5pm teatime slot, competing for viewers’ attention with the likes of BBC’s Pointless and ITV’s The Chase. So how does Charles feel about coming back to the role of quizmaster?

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES YOU A GOOD QUIZMASTER?

I’m the new kid on the block when it comes to quizzing. I don’t know! I think people like the warmness of it. And the irreverence of it. I mean, just because you’re playing for a lot of money doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while you’re doing it. So I try to have fun with the contestants, I try to be warm and compassionate and considerate and kind.

WHAT MAKES MONEYBAGS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER QUIZ SHOWS?

I think Moneybags ... it’s different in many ways. I think the questions are really clever and perfectly constructed, I like that. And I like the sense of jeopardy, and the reversal of fortune. You could be playing for 160 grand in your bank account, something like that, and all of a sudden, you’ve got to give it to a competitor. So that reversal of fortune thing was quite good.

I also liked the sense of companionship and camaraderie that the show engenders, because you’re with them for a few days, you know, it’s a slower process, you get to know people, how much it means to them, you get to find out a bit about the personalities involved.

I’m still in contact with people from the first series – we tweet each other, stuff like that, because you go through a life experience together. And it just makes you warm to people.

There’s a lot up for grabs, and it’s just exciting. And there’s some jaw-dropping reversals of fortune where you just think: ‘Oh my God, how did it happen?’ So it’s a great game, really.

IN THIS NEW TIME SLOT, YOU’LL BE UP AGAINST POINTLESS AND THE CHASE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?

Some of the big boys now, isn’t it? Trepidatious, to be honest. I think we’ve got a chance because it is different, it is more exciting, it’s more irreverent, more fun, some of the questions are quite silly. And there’s an awful lot more money at stake on Moneybags than there is on Pointless.

SOME CELEBS ARE PLAYING MONEYBAGS THIS TIME AROUND

They were really good actually. And doing it for charity, it’s more personal than playing for themselves, you know? All of a sudden you’ve got £100,000 for that charity, and the next minute, you’ve just lost it, or you’ve gone bankrupt and had to give it away to somebody else. So it affects people quite emotionally. I know someone had a really big loss. I can’t tell you who, in the celebs one, but they were in floods of tears.

Moneybags, Channel 4, 5pm, tomorrow