July 9, 2015, by Emma Rayner

‘Thrill engineer’ takes to the air (literally) as BBC Coast presenter

 The University of Nottingham’s Brendan Walker, described by The Times as ‘the world’s only Thrill Engineer’, makes his debut tonight as a presenter for the popular BBC TV show ‘Coast’.

Brendan has a cool title… Professor of Creative Industries but is also Principal Research Fellow in our School of Computer Science. He takes to the air tonight at 9pm on BBC 2 in a thrill machine that is very close to his heart as a former military aeronautical engineer – a 1950s jet fighter plane. As he pulls close to 5G, Brendan feels what it would have been like for test pilot Squadron Leader Neville Duke to set the world air speed record in 1953.

Brendan said: “I’m very excited to be joining the presenting team of BBC Coast as it’s a ticket to some big adventures and will allow me to explore my passion for experimental engineering, technology and design.“

Brendan is not new to television stardom. He’s presented three major series for Channel 4 – Titanic: The Mission, The House the 50s Built and Terror In The Skies. He has also appeared as ‘Thrill Engineer’ on the BBC’s Bang Goes The Theory, Blue Peter and The One Show.

Here’s a preview of Brendan’s Coast debut tonight http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02vzt5b

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