The Chilli Channel began in 2015, because it seemed like a funny idea. It’s a simple concept: give professional performers a stupidly hot chilli and then ask them to sing or act on camera - it goes pretty much how you’d expect. We had volunteers from Broadway and West End performers to a Game of Thrones actor and a pantomime dame. The first two series, ChilliMonologues (actors reciting Shakespeare) and Chillioke (singers performing Blank Space by Taylor Swift), were hugely well received online and were shared everywhere from the Mail Online to the Costa Rica Times, as well as appearing on the blogs of celebrities such as Perez Hilton and Sofia Vergara. We were surprised to get feedback from many performers that it shifted something in their mind as they performed - “getting out of my own head” was a phrase that came up a lot - in a way they actually enjoyed. While shooting, we observed a real sense of camaraderie in the studio, tons of uncontrollable laughter and a really wonderful energy, despite the short-lived pain. We also noticed a LOT of flirting. Fast forward a few years, and we’ve done a huge amount of research into the neuroscientific effects of chillies and how that can impact emotions and behaviour, which we’ll share in a new paper in spring 2020; unexpectedly, we’ve found that the chilli response crosses over with all sorts of other human activities from sex to getting drunk to riding rollercoasters to experiencing space travel in VR. Spoiler alert: it’s really interesting.
What’s next?
For the next instalment, we’re launching Hot Dates: a dating concept based on extensive research into why these chillies seemed to be sparking flirtatious behaviour and to investigate whether we could generate an optimal setting for dating through the judicious and scientific application of Chilli Theory* (make em eat a chilli; go on a date). *Patent pending. The trailer for Hot Dates is being released December 2019, along with an explanation of the science behind it. This is in anticipation of the live dating event coming on Valentine’s Day 2020 - get in touch via our contact form if you’d like to get involved, find the love of your life and/or have a ridiculous evening filled with uncontrollable laughter, beer and dribble (all in the name of science, of course).