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He conquered the pop charts with 1990s band D:Ream, explained the intricacies of gravity to a confused nation and even appeared in a magazine list of the sexiest men alive. Now Professor Brian Cox, one of the BBC's star turns, has laid claim to a new achievement: inspiring a generation of children to take up biology, chemistry and physics in school.
In an interview in the Observer Magazine, Cox – who has been a ubiquitous presence on the BBC in recent years – says he believes there can be little doubt that science on television has been a factor in an upward trend in the number of children taking up the subjects at GCSE and A-level.
Cox, a sometime keyboard player for the band behind the New Labour election anthem Things Can Only Get Better, said he believed that the series of science programmes, including his Wonders of the Solar System, aired during the BBC's year of science in 2010, had had a major impact.
In 2012, there was a 36.1% increase in the number of students doing GCSE science exams, compared with the previous year. Biology and chemistry were two of the three A-level subjects, including ICT, where attainment rates at A*/A rose in 2012. Cox, 45, who is currently filming a new show about man's growing understanding of the universe, said: "It's kind of obvious when you think about it. A public service broadcaster in my view is part of the education system, as it does change behaviour.
"I think the year of science did that. There has been an upswing in the number of students applying to university to do scientific subjects. It's difficult to say why, as there are many factors. It's important to say that. But one of the factors is the popularity of science on television. I don't think anyone disputes that. You can dispute the percentages, but someone should do a thesis on it at some point."
The presenter and academic, a graduate of Manchester University who is regarded by many as the BBC's successor to Sir David Attenborough, said the success of the programmes in 2010 had also made it easier than ever to pitch science to channel controllers.
Wonders of the Solar System pulled in 5 million viewers when it was first aired, figures more often associated with soap operas. "I think in general the BBC had the year of science in 2010 to coincide with 350 years of the Royal Society, and that was a tremendous success across a lot of the programmes," he said.
"My first big show, Wonders of the Solar System, was in there and Bang Goes the Theory, and Iain Stewart's and Michael Mosley's programmes.
"After that, I think it's been a lot easier and I also think the BBC has realised that it has a responsibility in this area because it's been a goal of the government to make science more popular, to get more science students through GCSE and A-level and on to university. It's been seen as a national imperative. I think the BBC has realised it can do that, and the government has too."
After one of the BBC's most traumatic years, Cox is quick to applaud its work. He said the corporation had woken up to its responsibility to promote science and had done well in giving academics the chance to present – a skill Cox believes is underestimated.
Cox said: "I'm not saying it's difficult, it's something a lot of people could do, but you have to be given the chance to learn, to practise and to grow. One of the main things for me was to forget there's a camera there and just allow yourself to be as enthusiastic as you would be in a lecture or a public talk."
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