I recently got to spend some time with the multi-talented Robert Llewellyn to talk about the new second series of his internet show, “Fully Charged”.

It was a late evening in the middle of London in a trendy Bar with some of the loudest music I have heard for a while. In fact when I arrived, a little late, I thought everyone was performing some new catchy dance until I realised that the music was so loud the vibrations were literally bouncing people off the floor (Ok, that’s an over exaggeration but it is the image I had in my head!). It very nearly didn’t happen at all as I was totally reliant on the navigation guidance on my iPhone 4S and realised as I stepped off the tube that when I had been back at my hotel planning my week ahead I had left the wrong destination address in! Fortunately, someone must have been looking down on me, for I was only a few streets away from the venue where the launch party was being held – courtesy of Channel Flip and British Gas.

The first series of “Fully Charged”, consisting of episodes of around 10 minutes, focused predominantly on the various types of new EV where Robert set out to “find the truth about electric cars…”, such as how long do they take to charge?, but for the second season things are looking to expand quite a bit as the show is now sponsored by British Gas and produced in partnership with Channel Flip which will be something of a departure, and presumably a relief, for Robert as he typically takes on the full reigns for the production of his online shows.

British Gas is undoubtedly expecting to extend the show into its smart meter campaign and since looking around the British Gas section of the Ideal Home Show it’s clear that the company have a number of plans relating to renewable energies including Solar PV and EV Charging too. Channel Flip meanwhile are probably planning to leverage it’s existing network of publishers who have already helped promote online shows including Richard Hammond’s Tech Head, David Mitchell’s Soapbox, and Jon Ronson’s Escape and Control.

“Fully Charged”, season two, is aiming for twenty episodes, with four already “in the bag”, and Robert is intending to continue his look at the latest developments in electric vehicles but will be expanding the format to include the latest in renewable energy. As he says, “…I am going to be looking at developments in new ways of generating energy and new ways of using energy; using energy more sensibly.”, and this includes Smart Meters which have been talked about a few times on this site.

As a result of the new team up and sponsorship joining the “Fully Charged” crew will be a camera operator and researcher as well as more opportunity for travel so Robert can see more of what’s going on in the world of renewable and sustainable energy. Robert is aiming to spend more time looking at where we get our energy from, how we use that energy, and how we could it better. The subject of electric cars still has many people divided with some thinking they are the best thing since sliced bread whilst others seem to think they are something of a passing fad (a similar debate rages on around 3D television!). However, as Robert is keen to explain one thing is for sure – the fossil fuels we rely on today are running out so an alternative energy source needs to be found … and pretty quickly.

Season one of “Fully Charged”, which received a name change from it’s earlier title “Gearless”, aired on YouTube in 2010 and 2011, and consisted of around 31 episodes, each varying in length from around 6 minutes up to 14 minutes. Views of each episode is, on average, around 10K which may not seem a particularly high figure, particularly compared to the likes of Carpool, however the episodes certainly generate a great deal of comments and the show is clearly a labour of love from Robert Llewellyn so the show is clearly doing what it set out to do which is to get more people talking about renewable energy.

Robert is building quite a reputation as a television presenter, author, and producer of internet shows since his days in a rubberised costume playing everyone’s favourite android, Kryten, in Red Dwarf (something we’re soon to re-experience as a new season of “the dwarf” has been announced by Dave – fingers crossed). Robert’s other internet show, Carpool, has proven so popular it has even had a stint on Dave as Robert effectively hosts a chat show whilst providing a celebrity taxi service.

As of the launch evening four episodes of Fully Charged are “in the bag” which leaves sixteen more episodes waiting to be researched, planned, investigated, filmed, and edited which is a heavy undertaking for three people alone so how Robert managed to do it all alone in earlier seasons is anyone’s guess. A preview clip of the new season is included here but check out YouTube: Fully Charged for the upcoming show.