With just one episode remaining of the prime-time BBC2 show Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes, a Swindon-based spaceflight expert has been pivotal in deciding who would make it through to the final tasks.

In last week’s episode, five candidates faced a panel interview to ascertain who had the skills, knowledge and personality to be part of the trio heading to NASA’s facilities in Florida. Among those assessing the interviewees was Libby Jackson, the Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency, based in Swindon’s Polaris House.

Talking about recording the episode, Libby said: “It was very fun, it was a fascinating day. It’s been really interesting watching the series from the beginning through to the end.”

She was prepared for the interview by the judges who had been there throughout the process, she said: “Chris [Hadfield, a former astronaut and commander of the ISS], Iya [Whitely, space psychologist and director of the Centre for Space Medicine, UCL] and Kevin [Fong, anaesthetist and trauma doctor] had given me a bit of advice on how they saw the candidates before I spoke to them.

“The right people did make it to Florida: I provided a recommendation to Chris, Iya and Kevin, who made the final decision, and their observations matched mine.

“Of the three who went through, they all had different qualities and I don’t want to give anything away.

“You have three very different personalities: Tim is very bubbly; Kerry is strategic and calculated, she looks at everything and works out what she thinks she should be doing; and Suzie’s a bit quieter, and very aware of her skills. They all have different strengths and weaknesses.”

The six-part show has seen 12 candidates whittled down to a final three, who will face a final battle in Sunday’s episode in a bid to identify the candidate with the most suitable profile to be an astronaut.

Libby was full of praise for the authenticity of the programme, saying it closely reflected an astronaut selection process.

She said: “Each interview was half an hour long, and it was edited down to 10 minutes in total, so it was so much more than was on TV.

“I have worked with so many astronauts, and I have trained flight controllers and astronauts. I find that their way of responding to questions gives me an insight into what people would be like.”

Ahead of the final episode, of which Libby knows the outcome – not that she would be drawn on the issue – she is already hopeful that the programme can change the perception of the industry.

She said: “I think it’s a superb series – it’s wonderful to see people with lots of qualifications, people with lots of achievements, people so accomplished.

“No one knew what it would do for the winner of the first Big Brother, Bake Off, or The Apprentice. The process is what the candidates have won, things that even I – having worked in the industry for all of my career – mostly haven’t done.”