Brian Cox, the prominent UK science presenter and physicist, says the emergence of the likes of US president Donald Trump and even One Nation's ex-senator Malcolm Roberts has made him ponder entering politics to help counter the rise of "comedians and clowns".

Professor Cox, who clashed with Mr Roberts on ABC's Q&A program last year over climate change, said the appeal of insularity, nationalism and populism was being driven by unaddressed political issues, such economic dislocation leading to worsening inequality.

"There's lots of reasons for Brexit and Trump, and Malcolm Roberts, but one of them might be in the face of these challenges, people retreat and try to build walls around themselves," Professor Cox said. "That's the route, if not to the destruction of civilisation, then at least its stasis or decline."

Describing himself as a "pragmatic centralist", Professor Cox said his calls for more scientists to engage in debate beyond their laboratories logically extended to his own potential role.