Justin Lee Collins Beam Me Up Scotty 

For the latest in his consistently entertaining Bring Back… films, Justin Lee Collins is going where no man has gone before – save the odd ten million here and there – to Los Angeles, where he attempts to Bring Back… Star Trek.

Here, the hirsute Bristolian waxes lyrical on speaking Klingon, reveals why Martin Luther King was a fan of Star Trek, and relives the moment where he was chased down by a Dallas star on a white stallion.

Your new programme is Bring Back… Star Trek. Are you a fan of the show?
I’m a fan of the original show, absolutely. I’m not a Trekkie. I like The Next Generation, but I’ve never really followed the more recent Star Trek spin offs. But it’s all about the original series for me, in the same way that Star Wars for me is all about the original trilogy – the new trilogy I’m not a fan of at all. So once again, this is about going back to what I saw as a kid and what I loved as a kid. We’ve never gone this far back before, of course – this is going back to the 60s – it ended in 1969. So even when I first saw it, I was watching repeats that were well over ten years old. So going so far back was very different from the other Bring Back… programmes. I’m trying to track down some much older people – and sadly not all of them are with us any more.

It’s a religion to some people. Does that add a sense of pressure to you, making a programme like this?
No, it really doesn’t. Because I’m always very clear about where I’m coming from. I’m not making Bring Back… Star Trek for the Trekkies. I’m making it for everybody who ever enjoyed the show. I want this to have a flavour of nostalgia for an amazing time. When this was made, it was the era of the moon landings, the civil rights movement, Dr Martin Luther King. There were fundamental changes happening in the world, and one or two of those things, bizarre as it may sound, were inspired by Star Trek.

That‘s right. You do an extraordinary interview with Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, in which she reveals that Dr King talked her out of quitting the series, because her role was so important to African Americans.
Absolutely. Nichelle didn’t quite realise initially, according to her, just how important her part in that show was. It doesn’t seem like much now, but when you go back 40 years, and consider what America was like then, and how television was then, Nichelle Nichols was the first prominent African American actress on television. Because she was in a position of power. On the Enterprise she held a command position. That was, at that time, unheard of. This is the show that had the first ever inter-racial kiss, between William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols. That’s a massive thing, hugely significant. This show changed a lot of things. It changed the history of television for ever. And programmes were so important then – there were fewer channels, and audiences were enormous. So it was a very, very important show.

You interviewed to the guy who invented the Klingon language. Is it true they have Klingon language conventions?
Yes, apparently they do. The guy was Dr Marc Okrand. On my way to meet him, I was slightly concerned about what I’d talk to him about. I’m not a Trekkie – what would I say to him? I don’t have a Klingon dictionary; I’m unlikely to go to a Klingon language convention. I didn’t think I’d get anything out of this guy, but he was great! He was really funny, and an absolute joy and a pleasure to talk to. I kept firing swearwords at him, and he kept on coming back instantly with the Klingon translation. He was fascinating. I wouldn’t really want to watch a Klingon talk to the inventor of the Klingon language. I wouldn’t be interested in seeing a Trekkie talk to him – I think it’s far more interesting to see someone who doesn’t really know anything about the subject have that conversation.

With a lot of the cast, you never really saw them do anything else. They were pretty much defined by their roles in Star Trek. Did they resent that?
No, I honestly don’t think so. Shatner, of course, went on to be TJ Hooker and also in Boston Legal. But I think all of the others are okay with it now. The interesting one is Leonard Nimoy – who is, for me, the most iconic actor in the series. When you think of Star Trek, you think of Mr Spock. To a lot of people, he became Spock. He famously called his autobiography I Am Not Spock. It was partly about his struggle to define himself as someone outside of that role. Then, of course, years later he wrote a follow-up autobiography called I Am Spock. He’d got to a point in his life where he’d come to terms with it and felt that he wanted to make amends for it and put the record straight. I think he’s now okay with the character, but I think he wrestled with it over the years. I think the others are pretty much okay with it. We’re all trying to make some sort of mark, aren’t we, and they did that. They were part of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise - that’s not bad, is it? To be in one of the most iconic television shows of all time? I think you’d take that in the end.

Often when you’re making Bring Back… programmes, you find that all was not well behind the scenes of the original series. That’s the case here, isn’t it?
Yeah, that was certainly the case. What it boils down to, basically, is that no one liked Shatner. William Shatner was completely unpopular with the cast. But he says he didn’t realise that until years later, when they all started to tell their stories and write books. And it was from the books that Shatner realised they didn’t like him. But they were all eager to point out that the bridges had been mended by now. There has been too much water under the bridge to bear any grudges. But at the time, it’s fair to say the Captain didn’t run a particularly happy ship.

You’ve done a lot of Bring Back… shows now. You must be getting to know LA pretty well.
Yeah, I was out there for a month last year, because we shot Bring Back Fame and Bring Back... Star Trek back to back. I do like it, and when I’ve retired I’ll still probably go there once a year for two or three weeks. You just can’t beat waking up under blue skies every single day. To live? Absolutely no way, it’s not for me. But I do love to visit. That’s how I feel about America in general – it’s a great country and I love to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

What’s the favourite stunt that you’ve pulled in any of the Bring Back… programmes in order to get someone to talk to you?
At the time, I can’t say it was a lot of fun, but when we did Bring Back Dallas I remember climbing over Mary Crosby’s gate and being chased by her on horseback. I have a phobia about dogs, and I remember we’d climbed over her gates and were walking down her driveway and I could hear dogs barking, and somebody shouted “Run!” and we both started running, and then suddenly there’s Bing Crosby’s daughter on the back of a white stallion, chasing me. That was certainly memorable.

What’s been the worst reaction of all the people you’ve tackled?
There have been a few. I think I’d go right back to Bring Back Grange Hill, which was the first one we did. There was a girl who’d played a bully in Grange Hill, who was now working in an estate agents, and she wanted nothing to do with it or me. I remember she ran from behind her desk and went into a back office and locked the door, and wouldn’t come out. I remember trying to conduct and interview through a locked door. It was very funny, but she wouldn’t even agree to let us use the footage.

Of all the people you’ve interviewed in their homes, who’s had the nicest pad?
Leonard Nimoy’s pad was lovely; he’s got a great gaff in Bel Air. And Larry Hagman’s got a great apartment, overlooking the beach in Santa Monica. I went there and walked in, and he was showing off these two new wireless speakers that he had. He had one in each hand, like great big orbs, and I’ll never forget as long as I live watching Larry Hagman, in his great big stetson, dancing around his flat with a speaker in each hand, blasting out Senza Una Donna by Paul Young and Zucchero. But Carrie Fisher’s house was probably my favourite. It has a lot of Hollywood history to it – it used to be owned by Bette Davis. And Carrie Fisher’s mum is Debbie Reynolds, and she lives next door. Whilst I was interviewing Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds drove past and gave us all a wave.

Who’s been the best fun?
Again, Carrie Fisher would be up there. Lee Curreri, who played Bruno Martelli in Fame, he was a lovely guy. I could quite easily spend all day with him. But if I had to pick one, it would be Linda Gray, Sue-Ellen in Dallas. She was wonderful.

Who’s been the toughest interviewee?
There was a tough one in Bring Back Fame, when I managed to track down Erica Gimpel, who played Coco Hernandez. That was quite a difficult interview. Some people are always less willing to talk about the past than others. Anthony Daniels, C3P0 from Star Wars – that was quite difficult as well.

Have you ever been truly star-struck making any of the Bring Backs?
Yeah, Mr T, absolutely. I don’t think I’ve had a moment quite like it since, but at that time, that was a big, big thing for me. He’s an icon. If you’re my age, growing up when I did, then that man is a giant.

What are the best and worst aspects of your job?
The best thing is the fact that every day is different. Every single day is different, because I don’t just do the Bring Backs, I have a chat show on ITV2, I do The Sunday Night Project, I’m making documentaries for Sky. Every job is different, every day is different. And doing the Bring Backs I get to make programmes about the shows and films and people and music that I adored growing up, and I get to track these people down and meet them and, hopefully, I get to sit down and talk to them. And I get paid for it. It’s wonderful. Worst aspects? There aren’t any. I love it.

Bring Back… Star Trek is on Channel 4 on Saturday 9th May at 9pm.