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Jem Stansfield

Jem is a jack-of-all-trades and master of... quite a few. What do we mean? Well, he has a degree in aeronautics and a qualification in welding - perfect if you want to make a water-powered jet pack or a human-powered plane (yes, he really did).

For over a decade, Jem has been creating special effects for movies like Lost in Space and Van Helsing, and producing jaw-dropping exhibits for the Science Museum and Royal Observatory.

Recently he worked with those animated kindred spirits, Wallace and Gromit, on their 91Èȱ¬ One World of Invention series - though real-life mechanical trousers aren't in the pipeline just yet.

When companies want mad machines and quirky gadgets, they turn to Jem. That's hardly surprising. This is the man who invented the world's first air-powered motorbike, and won a New Scientist prize for boots that walk on water (we're not kidding).

Jem swears that "you cannot claim to understand something unless you've actually made it". Which is a way of saying that he has the skill in his hands to match the ideas in his head.

Before Bang, this hands-on approach to science and technology found a small-screen outlet on Scrapheap Challenge, Men in White (both Channel 4), Science Shack (91Èȱ¬ Two) and 91Èȱ¬ on their Own (ITV1).

Jem has also turned his hand to herding sheep, labouring, and, um, stand-up comedy. In other words, he'll try pretty much anything – a useful trait to have for Bang Goes the Theory.

Clips

Jem's memorable moments

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Jem chats about his greatest, funniest and scariest Bang moments.