site of any British-branded litter. In addition, three of the Cadets were actors, included to misdirect any suspicious Cadets and to help reinforce the illusion. Channel 4 had contingency plans if the contestants realised the hoax; Johnny Vaughan repeatedly suggested they would have to play old rerun episodes of Jamie's School Dinners, and after the "launch" some unchosen Cadets would have been used as a backup crew. The show was originated by comedy writers Ben Caudell and Richard Osman. According to Caudell, the idea of the programme was inspired by one of his favourite childhood films, Capricorn One, which centres on a fake space mission to Mars. The production team originally planned to fake a Moon landing for the contestants, before settling on the aim of orbiting the Earth. Participants Andrew Carter, 19, a student from London. Sarah-Jane Cass, 19, a media studies student from Kent. Cheryl Dearie, 23, a housing association assistant (receptionist) from Glasgow. Paul French, 26, a plasterer from Bristol. Keri Hassett, 25, a college administrator from Birmingham. Billy Jackson, 25, a recruitment consultant from Kent. Ryan McBride, 28, an electrician living in London. Louise Nisbet, 23, a teacher from Whitstable. Astrid Roberts, 19, a call centre worker from Glamorgan. French, Hassett and Jackson were chosen for the fake flight. Actors The three actor Cadets were Charlie Skelton, Ranie Daw and Steve Hester. Hester dropped out on day three after a bout of gastroenteritis and after Skelton accidentally kicked his toenail off. Skelton, also a comedy writer, was chosen to take part in the flight. The two pilots were improvisational actors, Alex Humes and Drew Leavy, who stayed in character the entire flight, even when alone. Humes, portraying a Russian pilot, became noted for his bizarre and cryptic statements due to his method acting. Other cast Johnny Vaughan – writer, host Richard Campbell – Mission Commander Giles Boden – writer Michael Klesic – Dr. Vladimir Negovetic Valera Riazanov – physical instructor Space Cadets – The Satellite Show cast Johnny Vaughan – writer Alex Zane – host Jeremy Edwards (Episode 1.1) Myleene Klass (Episodes 1.1, 1.2) Richard Campbell (all episodes) Audition process In order for the hoax to stand a realistic chance of succeeding, the Cadets would have to remain unaware of the true nature of the show, even given any production mistakes and implausible explanations. In a 2021 interview, Caudell stated that following consultation with psychologists the