Broadcaster Richard Bacon has said he’s not trying to be the next James Corden, despite his move to Los Angeles where British stars are currently in vogue.

The former BBC Radio 5 Live presenter now divides his time between work assignments in America and the UK, but James, currently a smash as the host of CBS series The Late Late Show, need not worry about Richard’s ambitions.

Richard Bacon
Richard Bacon (Ian West/PA)

“I’m not looking to do that kind of show,” the 39-year-old said. “I have a job that I’m going to be doing over there, but it hasn’t been announced. I’ve done a range of stuff this year and the mix of VJ Day, Radio 2, Panorama, BBC arts programme, an award show and an ITV game show is fantastic.”

After a couple of months away, Richard returned to this side of the Atlantic to host ITV’s Croatia-set series, Eternal Glory.

The new six-part show sees eight sporting legends battle it out over a number of physical and mental challenges in a bid to find the ultimate champion.

Cast of Eternal Glory
Cast of Eternal Glory (ITV Pictures)

The sports stars taking part are: rower James Cracknell, footballer Matt Le Tissier, javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread, long jumper Jade Johnson, middle distance runner Liz McColgan, rugby player Shane Williams, badminton player Gail Emms and sprinter Christian Malcolm.

“It’s got a couple of different layers to it and different beats to it,” Richard said. “On the one hand you’ve got games, a kind of knockabout and so you’ve got the fun of Total Wipeout. But on the other hand, it’s got layers of science.”

Explaining why the show appealed to him, he said: “The contestants are all retired, some recently like Jade Johnson and Shane Williams, but it’s men and women competing – which is quite unusual. But also, we’re flicking a switch at these people who are competitors, they are born to compete.

“A lot of them started competing and playing when they were four, five and six-years-old, and they have this strange career where they retire at 30/35 and it’s like we’re bringing them back – like those movies where the Mafia guy is brought back for one last job. We bring them back and we make them compete,” he added.

Eternal Glory contestant Fatima Whitbread
Eternal Glory contestant Fatima Whitbread (ITV Pictures)

When asked how Eternal Glory stands out from similar series, Richard said: “Game shows work when the contestants really care. That drive, which can sometimes be quite ruthless, is just there. Some of the games are really smart, and some are a bit silly, but with every single one – they want to win.

“They start the show, some of them like Matt Le Tissier, thinking: ‘whatever, it’s just a bit of telly’. But then they start competing and they absolutely, unquestionably, are fighting to win.”

Eternal Glory contestant James Cracknell
Eternal Glory contestant James Cracknell (ITV Pictures)

The genial star continued: “There’s a scene in each episode where we play one of the contestants some archive of their career and they talk about what their career meant to them and they often start crying and making other people cry.”

He also sees the equality aspect of Eternal Glory as an added reason for viewers to watch: “These games allow not just men and women to compete side by side, which you can’t do in the Olympics and you can’t do in tennis or football, people of different ages compete side by side.

“So someone like Jade is with Matt, so you could have Rebecca Adlington against Gary Lineker. Gary and Rebecca would be great names for series two.”

If there is a second series, Richard is happy to do the old transatlantic hop. “This is my ninth flight back since February and I want to carry on an existence where I live and work in both countries,” he said.

Eternal Glory airs Tuesday October 6 on ITV.