Brian Cox: why it made headlines in 2010 (guardian)

Brian Cox, physicist and particle science TV presenter. Photo: Linda Nylind

Brian Cox began this year feeling exhausted after finishing wonders filming of the solar system for the BBC, a process which had led a tour of our own planet Alaska in Ethiopia. In addition, he was a newborn son, George. Not that anyone was favourable. "You can convince anyone what a series like that is hard," he said. "But 2009 was spent absolutely hard, he really sweep me."

42 Years old physicist feels slightly updated now.

The TV series of five parties exceeded expectations, attracting more than 6 million against a forecast of the summits of 3 million viewers. It has proved the 42 - year physicist in a surname: he was "quite well commended" papped while shopping with his wife and Cheltenham Science Festival. We were just in Waitrose and one guy with a long lens jumped on us. This is not because we were at the Ivy or somewhere like that.

"Everything", he adds, "" is unusual for a scientist.""

The irony is that Cox - whose work now takes place partly in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN - used to be a pop star, of sorts: a member of D: Ream, band whose "Things Can only Get Better" was the soundtrack victory of labour in 1997. He played the last concert was working bash on the South shore on their night of triumph. "But, he says," I was just the reader keyboard; ". I am now much more widely recognized. »

For some, the success of the wonders of the solar system could be until Cox "shining skin, hair cleverly floppy and very good teeth," as the Daily Mail swooned. But Professor prefers a simple explanation: "it is absolutely clear to me that people interested in science, but which had not tried for a long period is an old series like that, with a presenter offering views on the value of exploration, as well as facts.

Cox grew up as a "very, very nerdy" during what he describes as a "golden age" of science on television. He cited the influence of the presenters such as Carl Sagan and Jacob Bronowski and which shone on wonders was his enthusiasm, the memorable scenes such as the Valley of death, when he reiterated a 19th-century experience to calculate the amount of solar energy falls on Earth, concluding of sweat that off the coast of his eyebrows and say: "" and why I like physical." Series has even inspired a YouTube mash-up with whole cut sequences depict Cox as a blissed stoner to say things like "I en am come to one of natural wonders Earth... do something I've always wanted to do: I'm about to get some fans high.Kudos was incredibly forthcoming when Cox tweeted a link to the video itself;" even thanked were as his blunt ("I am from Oldham, I think a version of talking to the right of the science") attacks on creationist views such as Sarah Palin. More seriously, he campaigned vigorously against science in the review of government expenditures budget cuts. "You know that David Cameron is a great idea?" telling me. "I think making Britain best place in the world for science would be a good idea to big." The success of our economy depends to a large extent on the health of our universities and our science-based industries. »

Ultimately, he was professed himself satisfied with the result - the freezing of the. 4 £ 6bn annually spend on science - while still questioning the threat posed by the Government of the other higher education reforms. And he wished to stress two victories for the British scientist this year: the Nobel Prize in physics who visited Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov GRAPHENE their research at the University of Manchester where Cox is Professor; and the advances obtained by the British partially funding LHC. Shooting for a new series of the BBC due in the spring and now called the wonders of the universe ("is the original, but I suppose that it is now a brand") was taken around the world once more in months. When we talk about, it is just of New Mexico. he professes himself particularly happy with a sequence in which he unpicks the concept of entropy, which is something, says, even the students are struggling with.Somehow, he still managed to publish a scientific paper this year - a look at "a new way of measuring the strength of the Gluon Higgs coupling".

Next year will involve an interruption of the TV work for at least six months. "My wife and my son is with pleasure that I am," he said, adding, bubbling once more with enthusiasm for the brand "and the large Hadron Collider is so fascinating!"