Tom Allen talks to BCG about his role in the family-friendly BBC comedy show Ready Or Not...

Hi Tom. What role do you play in Ready Or Not?

I hosted the final game. I'd never done anything as camp as a game show before. And I've done a lot of camp things. It was super fun!

How did you find it, surprising the public?

Delightful! I really enjoy chatting to audiences in my live shows so it felt like an extension of that. And this time they got the chance to win hard cash!

How much preparation did you do?

Well, we prepared the games and then hid out behind some tarpaulin before surprising people. Apart from that I just had to go with however the contestant responded which was great fun to do. Sometimes they were super excitable or sometimes they sort of didn't know what to do. But that just made it all the more silly, which I enjoyed. But no one ran away, so I was delighted about that!

Were there any dodgy reactions from the public that couldn't be used?

No, everyone was lovely and very happy to be involved.

Comedy fans will already recognise you... did you get rumbled at any point?

Ha, no I was hidden behind the set before we came out to surprise people. It was all a wonderful camp surprise!!

Presumably, once the show has aired, it is going to make it harder for you to go out in public day-to-day... people will spot you and think you're about to pounce on them!?

Oh that's true I hadn't thought of that! How disappointing for them that I'll just be there to buy some apples.

What's next for you in 2018?

I've just had a wonderful time hosting Bake Off: The Professionals for Channel 4 which goes out this spring. I'm super proud of how it's worked out, and hope people enjoy it.

I've also been having a lot of fun touring my live show around the country. I've added 80 dates to the spring and we're about to extend into new dates this autumn.