Tomorrow's World presenter Maggie Philbin signed up to host Bang Goes The Theory

Former Tomorrow's World presenter Maggie Philbin is to return as a TV science host after being added to the team on BBC1 series Bang Goes The Theory.

The 57-year-old will join the programme when it returns for a seventh series next month, alongside regulars Liz Bonnin and Jem Stansfield.

Philbin has continued to take a strong interest in science and technology since Tomorrow's World and for the past five years has reported for BBC Breakfast, Inside Out and BBC Webwise. She was also one of the faces of the BBC digital switchover.

She will be seen on screen from Monday March 4 when a new weekly eight-part series begins, focusing on the science behind new stories, such as resistance to antibiotics and food contamination by plastics.

Philbin said: "It's thrilling to be back out meeting some of the leading people in science and technology and discovering the latest ideas on everything from how to manage your identity to how to manage your health."

She began her TV career as a presenter on Swap Shop, where she met Keith Chegwin, to whom she was married for 11 years. She went on to spend eight years on Tomorrow's World.

"I demonstrated the first commercial fax machine, the first sat-nav and the first supermarket barcode reader. At the time I was thrilled by the science and technology, and the excitement of meeting people at the sharp end of research and discovery," she said.

"Years later I realised I'd also been part of a team who inspired a generation. It's so thrilling when people come up and tell you that they are engineers or technologists because of Tomorrow's World. It is always humbling to hear these stories. Many can reel off items that particularly fascinated them.

"That's why I'm so delighted to be back on BBC1, bringing accessible science to a family audience once more."

Philbin was made an honorary doctor of technology last year, although she studied English and drama at Manchester University with Ben Elton and Rik Mayall.

When Bang Goes The Theory launched in 2009, many hailed it as a replacement for Tomorrow's World which was axed 10 years ago after 38 years on air.

PA