Jeremy Bradley- It's press day for the big show. You have a busy day ahead of you.

Colin Mochrie- Oh, you know, it's better than doing nothing.

JB- Is it almost over?

CM- Yes, we started at six this morning and we go 'til about two.

JB- Are you usually even up at six, though?

CM- Not usually, but I get up fairly early around seven, but . . .

JB-  It's a special day.

CM-  Exactly.

JB- I'm not sure how many times you've been asked this today, but are you, Colin Mochrie, smarter than a Canadian fifth grader?

CM- Oh, no not even close. I was at one point when I was in college, but now no. It's all gone.

JB- I think I may have been there at about Grade 5, no later. I might be at Grade 2 or something now. I'm not sure. For anyone not familiar with the show: An adult contestant faces these hard-hitting questions. There's a group of kids there, and the whole point is to embarrass the hell out of the grown up. I mean, let's be honest.

CM- Yeah, let's be honest. It's to show how much we've forgotten since those happy days of Grade 5.

JB- Colouring, recess. . .

CM- Oh, they were the best four years of my life.

JB- Yeah? Well, what was your favourite part of elementary school?

CM- Probably recess. Yeah, I loved reading, so English and literature were my two strong subjects.

JB- So, about the show then. Tell us what happens on the show, really.

CM- A contestant comes out, they get a chance to pick one of 10 subjects ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 5. They have a Grade 5 student beside them, and if they can't come up with the answer they have the option of peeking at the kid's answer or copying it, or hopefully they will be saved if their answer is wrong.

JB- So the two are competing against each other, or how does it work?

CM- They're sort of working together in a way. It's sort of like a classroom. The Grade 5 kid and the adult answers the same question, and hopefully if the kid is right and the adult doesn't know, he can use his cheats to keep winning money and try to get up to the 1 million dollars.

JB- So the adult is the one winning money. The kids are getting, well, I guess they're getting recess maybe.

CM- Yeah, the kids get nothing. (laughing)

JB- Time off school.

CM- Exactly, time off school and the chance to be on a television show.

JB- Were you surprised at all at what some of these kids know or was it more surprising what the adults didn't know?

CM- It was actually more surprising at what the adults didn't know. We had some very smart people. We had someone that was a member of MENSA. We had a certified genius. You know, 144 I.Q. and it amazed me some of the things that they didn't know.

JB- Did you learn anything?

CM- I learned that I probably went to school at the right time. I don't think I would last much longer today. I loved the subjects. I loved the questions that came up. I realized it had to do with things that weren't even around when I was in Grade 5 - the metric system, Nunavut wasn't around when I was in Grade 5. So to me it was actually kind of a learning experience. I learned quite a bit.

JB- Were you certain that you knew an answer and then were totally wrong?

CM- Oh, absolutely. There were things that would come up and I said, 'I should know this. This is something that's really basic. I should know this.' And I didn't, and it was embarrassing. But being the host I can pretend that I knew.

JB- Right. That's the funny thing. So as the host, was there ever a point in the show where a contestant was wavering between the right answer and the wrong answer and you just thought, 'Oh, you idiot'?

CM- (laughing) Well, I wouldn't say that. I have too much respect for our contestants. But there were times when I thought, 'Yeah, you're so wrong.' I can't betray anything. I have to support them. It was a nice acting experience.

JB- Would you ever subject yourself to being shown up by a bunch of kids on national television?

CM- I think I have. I think on the show the kids are much funnier and much smarter than I am. I built my career on being stupid, so it's worked out nicely.

JB- Well, that's what I was going to ask you. Typically in school there's always that one sort of smart aleck kid. Were you that guy? What kind of student were you?

CM- I was a good student. I was very quiet. I was very shy. I was sort of a bookworm. I was not the class clown. I doubt if anyone really actually noticed me.