Russell Howard, Bob Mortimer, Rachel Riley, David James, Jason Manford, Dave Gorman, Marcus Brigstocke, Gina Yashere, Ed Byrne, Josie Long and Holly Walsh have been named as the guests who will be taking part in Dave’s brand new series Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit.

Each week, host and gaming enthusiast Dara O Briain will preside over the mayhem as two stars join the team captains – gaming geek Steve McNeil and gaming cynic Sam Pamphilon – to battle each other at their favourite computer games. The first episode sees former England goalkeeper David James square off against comedian and writer Susan Calman, and the incredibly competitive results – including a marathon bout of Tekken – are hilarious and entertaining for gamers and non-gamers alike. 

With resident gaming expert Ellie Gibson overseeing the action each week, games featured in Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit run the full range of creativity, popularity and technical wizardry. From contemporary blockbuster names such as Star Wars Battlefront to popular phone apps likeTemple Run, all the way to the trailblazing likes of Pong and Tetris. Each contestant also chooses their own favourite game including much-loved franchises such as Sonic and the FIFA series to singular titles like Nidhogg and Chuckie Egg. And in the final round of every episode, Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit takes the game away from the controller for supersized, physical versions of video game classics.

O Briain said, “I think one of the many highlights of this series was one performer who realised he was so far ahead that he couldn’t lose, and dropped the controller and walked around, and let the other person play on in vain. That was quite the psych-out!”

Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit starts Monday 5th September on Dave.