From gadgets to Moto GP: Suzi Perry back in the gadget fast lane

Born at RAF Cosford, Perry’s name has been synonymous with motorcycle racing for years. Yet, non-sports fans may be more familiar with this daughter of our fair shores’ time on a certain review show.

Running since 2004, Channel 5’s The Gadget Show has gone through a succession of name and line-up changes, yet has always endeavoured to keep viewers abreast of all of the most exciting tech developments they can get their hands on.

Suzi Perry was instrumental to the show’s early years – one of the cornerstones of a presenting team that also included Jason Bradbury, Jon Bentley and Ortis Deley. But did she or any of her colleagues imagine then that this quirky TV gadget guide would ever be celebrating its 20th birthday?

“It was quite a different show when it started and then it evolved into this manic Top Gear-style show, which was when it really started to take off,” said Perry. “It became this sort of cult show I suppose. It was a family show, which was nice, and we had 1.3 million viewers per episode, which was incredible for Channel 5 at the time.

“It was at that point that we knew that it was hitting people’s imagination. And obviously when we started doing Gadget Show Live at the NEC and that got bigger and bigger, you could physically see crowds of people enjoying it who felt like they were part of it.

“It was exciting. When you have a television programme you don’t know if it’s going to run for too long, but we had really good producers and a great executive producer who was behind it all. Because of that solid base that we had, it worked.”

Perry’s tenure on The Gadget Show came to an end in 2012, though she has returned for a special podcast series with former co-star Bradbury this year. Despite not having been a public face of tech for over a decade, has she kept in the gadget loop?

“I wouldn’t say I have my finger on the pulse as much as I used to!” she said. “But I love technology – I always have. That’s why I got involved with The Gadget Show in the first place. AI is what everyone is talking about right now, but in terms of actual ‘gadgets’, I feel like these have plateaued in recent years. Years ago a full run of new technology was coming onto the market, and I feel like the consumer was king in those days. Whereas now I feel like all phones are pretty much the same, and we’re drawn more now towards wearable tech and that’s not quite there yet apart from watches.”

Returning for the podcast has been a welcome dive back into the gadget world, and working with Bradbury again has been an absolute delight.

“I did really feel like I’d left it behind,” she said. “But they said they thought it’d be quite nice to get me and Jason back in the room together to do a podcast series. I literally hadn’t seen Jason for years, and I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I thought, ‘you know what, let's give it a go’.

“We both said yes and turned up at Digbeth at the recording studio. I don’t think I’d actually cried with laughter for years, but in our first pilot show I was having to re-do my make up because he was just cracking me up so much. We just carried on like that, and we both looked forward to recording together and bringing different forms of technology to the table.

“I think our relationship has changed. We always used to be pitted against each other in the show and wanted to beat each other – we were like brother and sister. But now we’ve sort of got a bit older, I’ve kind of found out that his knowledge of technology is amazing and he’s so passionate about it, and I feel like my role on the podcast is to be a bit more of a journalist. When we have a guest on I’m the nosy one asking the questions, and it works really organically – we didn’t feel like we were stepping on each other at all and I kind of found a new found love for Jase. It’s been a lovely reunion and I’m really happy that we did it.”

Of course, alongside her time on The Gadget Show and beyond, Perry has enjoyed an incredible career as a sports journalist, notably having made her name in the world of motorcycle racing.

“Back in the Nineties I started as a reporter at Sky for World Superbikes,” she said. “I was an enthusiast and I called Sky and said, ‘why don’t you do reviews like this, and features like X, Y and Z?’ And the producer said, ‘who are you?’, and I said, ‘I’m just a fan’.

“He’s actually a legend of broadcasting – Martin Turner – and he invited me down to the Sky studios and we had a conversation and he offered me a job. It was such a bizarre way in, really. Then I had to go and prove myself and learn all about broadcasting. I had an absolute baptism of fire.

“That was how I started. I didn’t realise at the time, but I was the first female reporter in the world in bikes, so they knew they had something a little bit different going on there, and it just sort of grew from there. I had my own show the next year and come 2000 I moved to the BBC because they acquired the rights for the bike racing, so I kind of went with them.

“I started to get lots of different shows, but I always stuck with sport. Live broadcasting is really my favourite thing and it’s quite a niche area. I actually think that what I would call true live broadcasting is quite rare now because everyone uses auto cues and it’s scripted. But it’s great fun to work live, unscripted and from the heart. It’s really exciting and I love it.”

Having also spent time as a Formula One anchor, and a presenter at prestigious events such as Wimbledon and Royal Ascot, Perry’s career highlights are many and wondrous. There is however one particular moment that sticks out in her mind.

Beaming

“Watching Lewis Hamilton win the world championship,” she said. “I was in the garage with just the most incredible people. Niki Lauda was in there and he came to join us because he liked hanging out with us. Those sort of moments – with Lewis beaming from ear-to-ear, when they’ve worked so hard and they’ve dedicated their whole life and you’re a tiny, tiny little fragment of that because you’re standing in the right place at the right time – that was a highlight for me to be there at that moment. The same could be said for motorcyclist Valentino Rossi, and actually being there throughout his entire career was really special.”

Though now, she finds the way she has helped inspire other women into sportscasting as big a highlight as anything else. “I work with Natalie Quirk, who came up to me when she was 14 and asked me what she should do to do my job, and now I work with her and she’s brilliant,” Perry said.

“You get to a certain age in your life when people come up to you and they’re like, ‘I sent you my notes for my dissertation and I got this and now I’m working in Moto GP’, and it’s brought tears to my eyes because you don’t realise. Now there are definitely more projects which help girls, and it is lovely now knowing there are a lot more women working in sport and motorsport so I really like to see that.”

Earlier this year, devoted Wolves fan Perry became an ambassador for the Wolves Foundation, relishing the opportunity to play her part in raising awareness of the charity’s work.

Having initially become involved with the Molineux Memories group, Suzi is ready to help ‘tell the stories’ and raise awareness of the wide range of Foundation projects.

“I have been an ambassador for different charities over the years but I also really wanted to get involved with the Foundation because it feels right,” she said following the announcement.

The Gadget Show podcast can be found at https://shows.acast.com/the-gadget-show.