Tom Allen on new Dave gameshow The Island

Ever fantasised about living on your very own desert island?

If so, Tom Allen's new panel show could be just the inspiration you need.

The eight-part Dave series - devised and exec-produced by James Acaster, Ed Gamble, Lloyd Langford and John Robins - sees the much-loved comic-turned-TV presenter, 38, put four comedians through their paces to make their own personal desert island.

Who will have the best house band? What's the island cuisine of choice? What drinks are up for grabs? It's all up for discussion.

Expect to see the likes of Sara Pascoe, Johnny Vegas, Ninia Benjamin and Ahir Shah competing to make their dream a reality, with Allen judging, and "live reporters" Kemah Bob and Jason Forbes on hand to help test out their ideas.

The goal? Simply to entice the most amount of people over to their island.

But who will think up the winning formula? We find out more from Extra Slice host Allen...

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE ISLAND?

I would describe it as we're on a fabulous cruise ship, it's run aground, but luckily we've spotted four islands in the distance that our passengers are going to go and live on. I've decided I'm the captain, because I'm bossy and I look good in epaulettes, and I've found four of my comedian friends on board and each of them are going to run one of the islands. And so the game is to see who can attract the most passengers to live there.

WHAT WAS THE APPEAL OF THE SHOW FOR YOU?

It's really exciting content because it's a new format, it feels very fresh, and I don't think there's another show quite like it. I also like the fact that there's a bit of improvisation. It's got elements of a chat show and a panel show, and at the same time, it's very cerebral, it's intelligent, it's getting people to create their own island. So it's the sort of thing that I imagine people at home would play along with, and go, 'Well, who would you have as your chief of police?' or 'What would you have as your island drink?'. So it felt like it was a really great thing to be part of.

YOU GET TO WORK WITH SOME GREAT COMEDIANS TOO...

I really love all the people I got to work with; it was really fun. The four comedians we had, and Kemah [Bob] and Jason [Forbes], who co-hosted with me, were all just lovely people to spend time with. They're people who I've really looked up to as comedians because they have such original voices, all of them, and such great perspectives on things. But they also all brought a different energy and a different tone - and because everybody's there for a whole series, you really get time with them, you get to know them. I think that's important.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN FUN TO LET YOUR IMAGINATIONS RUN WILD?

There was lots of talk about, 'What would be your house band on the island?'. You know, that's quite discursive, but at the same time, it's using that childhood imagination that so often we don't do. We were doing arts and crafts, and we had a bit of an Olympics as well, so just stuff that felt engaging with that primary school childishness. As adults, it's brilliant to do and really refreshing in a world where we're all on our phones all the time, scrolling and comparing ourselves to other people's lives and feeling bad and inadequate. Because of the cruise ship and the island, there's a sense of getting away to somewhere else, as well, which maybe people feel they want to do.

AND HOW WOULD 'TOM ALLEN ISLAND' LOOK?

Well, in my mind, it would be very formal. That's what I imagined. It'd be very civilised, very gracious, very serene, people being very polite to each other. It would be a bit like, I suppose, Mary Poppins. That's the sort of world I would try and create. But in truth, what would probably happen is I would be a bit lazy and/or a bit greedy and would probably try and eat all the bread and then people would get annoyed! Then there'd be riots and I'd probably be decapitated. But it'd be somewhere between those two.

DO YOU FEEL NERVOUS INTROUDCUING A NEW FORMAT?

I was a stand-up for about 13 years, doing the circuit and trying desperately to break into television, so now getting to do more of it, I feel very grateful. I try to remind myself that nerves are just the flipside of excitement (and) I try and remember that it's a fun experience and I get to work with really fun people, who are brilliant, inspiring and clever. Of course there's a nervousness because you want it to go well. I've come to realise that. And that's fine, that's OK to feel like that. I try and manage it.

HOW DOES THE REST OF THE YEAR LOOK FOR YOU - AND IS THERE A DREAM JOB YOU'D LOVE TO TICK OFF?

I've had The Apprentice: You're Fired, I'm writing a book, and then The Apprentice is hopefully coming back in the fall, and Extra Slice will be around that time as well. I suppose you try and have goals to work towards, but actually you're open to whatever might come along and you just try and do a good job, work hard and do the best for people. I would like to do some sort of chat show or talk show or entertainment show. I grew up loving things like The Generation Game where people come on and do their best to play a game and have a laugh. That's my favourite thing: just people having a laugh together and getting through the day.

The Island premieres on Dave on Wednesday March 23 and is also available to view on UKTV Play.