My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding starts 14/02/2012 on Channel 4
It’s time to go frocking bananas, as the new series of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is almost upon us.Welcome to a world of bridal excess, where the cakes are the size of dresses, the dresses are the size of limos, and the limos are the size of small Central European republics. This is how to get married Gypsy-style, with enough sequins, spangle and stardust to make Liberace blush.
Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Aysha Rafael has commissioned 12 x 30 minute First Cut films which will TX early summer.
The First Cut strand showcases original and bold documentary films by up and coming first time directors as part of Channel 4’s continuous commitment to nurturing new and diverse talent. It first launched in 2007 and now in its sixth year. These forthcoming films chronicle a range of fascinating stories from the world’s first IVF lottery, a finishing school for Chinese students in London, Britain’s oldest stand-up comic – to the moving story of the mother of one of Ian Brady’s victims who is making one last plea to him to reveal where her boy is buried.
First Cut Commissioning Editor, Aysha Rafaele said: ‘First Cut continues to be one of the very few platforms on primetime TV for emerging film making talent in the UK. I am proud that Channel 4 continues to showcase and support distinctive singular documentary films and is always open to introducing fresh new opinions and ideas. This new series of First Cut once again delivers a run of thought-provoking films from a variety of talented first-time directors.’
Films for the 2012 run will include:
The Harry Hunters
Since the marriage between Kate Middleton and Prince William, Prince Harry has been thrust into the spotlight as the most eligible bachelor in Britain. Handsome and third in line to the throne, the remaining Prince has become an object of desire for girls across the globe. The Harry Hunters follows five girls on their quest to snag a royal including Cassie who grew up in rural Iowa watching Disney movies and dreaming she would one day marry Prince Harry. She’s done her background research and has a plan – to hit his favourite haunts – from Polo clubs to exclusive Mayfair nightspots. Production Company: Rare Day; Producer and Director: Emily Hughes; Exec Producers: Emily Renshaw-Smith and Peter Dale.
Dear Mr Brady
This sensitive and poignant film tells the story of Winnie Johnson, and her son Keith Bennett who was horrifically murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in the 1960s. Out of the five victims of the Moors Murderers, only Keith remains buried on Saddleworth Moor. Almost 50 years after Keith’s disappearance, Ian Brady still refuses to say where he buried the 12-year-old boy. Now 78 years-old and recently diagnosed with cancer, Winnie refuses to give up her quest to find and bring home her eldest son and makes one last plea to Ian Brady to tell her where he buried Keith. Dear Mr Brady examines the extraordinary relationship between Manchester Matron Winnie Johnson and Britain’s most notorious serial killer, Ian Brady, and reveals how Winnie has coped with every mother’s worst nightmare. Production Company: Century Films; Producer and Director: John Coffey; Exec Producer: Liesel Evans.
Fraud Lord
Lord Davenport is the extraordinary tale of ‘Fast Eddie’ Davenport and his spectacular fall from grace. How did this titled London socialite end up sentenced to 7 years behind bars? He was already notorious for a lifestyle that was said to include orgies, fast cars, and dodgy property, even before he hit the front pages following his conviction for a multiple-million pound financial fraud. Davenport has property around the world and who could not be impressed by his website which includes a gallery of photographs showing him at parties that were attended by the likes of Mick Jagger and Paris Hilton. It turned out he used the movie star pseudonym James Stewart to execute his multimillion pound con. Production Company: Ronachan Films; Producer and Director: Ruth Reid, Exec Producer: Helen Littleboy.
Stalked
Stalked is the story of how one man became entangled in the murky waters of 21st century sexual manners; and how easily the word of one person can transform your life, causing you to question your own past, and fear your own innermost thoughts. When a single, thirty-something writer living in London awoke to find a woman he’d met just hours earlier saying she loved him, an alarm bell started to ring. Six months later, his life changed for the worse. Told through dramatized sequences and interviews with friends, family, workmates and neighbours, Stalked reveals how a confident young man ends up as a terrified victim. What are the rules of contemporary sexual politics? How does it feel to be transformed on the say-so of one person, from victim to sexual assault suspect? And why does nearly everyone view the idea of a man being stalked by a woman as a joke? Production Company: ACME Films; Producer and Director: Lottie Gammon; Exec Prod: Jaimie D’Cruz.
A Tale of Two Chinas
China has an increasing impact on the UK. The Peking pound now props up the British housing and education market, Chinese hunger for haute couture accounted for a third of the spending in 2010 London Christmas sales and almost half of London’s Canary Wharf apartments are Chinese owned. The largest number of foreign students in the UK are Chinese, but they can find it hard to comprehend British culture. This is where Anglo-Chinese businesswoman Carrie Waley comes in. Carrie escaped to the UK from Beijing and now runs a strict, straight-talking finishing school for Chinese students studying here, eager to learn British customs and snap up the top international jobs, but also to take on the ‘correct’ etiquette, fashion and business persona. The film follows Carrie back to Beijing as she revisits the places of her childhood and hears her mother talking for the first time, about their family’s humiliation and persecution during the Cultural Revolution and asks if China too can reconcile past and present? Production Company: Keo Films; Producer and Director: Frankie Fathers; Exec Producer: Katie Buchanan.
Britain’s Oldest Stand Up
Chelsea Pensioner, 90-year-old Jack Woodward has a dream: to revive his career as a stand-up comic and perform on stage at the Hammersmith Apollo. This film follows Jack on a heart-warming journey as he attempts to make it in the modern world of stand-up comedy. Jack has grown restless and is looking for a challenge and wants to do one last gig to rival them all. His comedy CV is already impressive – he cut his comedy teeth in working men’s clubs in the North, performed on troop ships during WW2 and was a BBC warm-up comic in the 1960s. He complains that comedians today swear too much, but can they actually teach him a thing or two about modern comedy and help him update his act so he can compete with the best of them? For an old dog learning new tricks, the road to the Apollo will be littered with obstacles, both practical and emotional. But the reward will be the opportunity for Jack to feel the buzz of a live audience once again – and to finally achieve a life-long ambition. Production Co: Testimony Films; Producer and Director: Clair Titley; Exec Producer Steve Humphries.
Win a Baby
Fertility problems affect one in seven couples in the UK so when single mother Camille Strachan announced back in July 2011 that she would be launching the world’s first IVF lottery, it caused both a media storm and provoked a huge ethical debate. The scheme comes at a time when more and more people are citing a ‘postcode lottery’ with regards to receiving IVF treatment on the NHS and promises a monthly chance of winning a luxurious all-inclusive fertility treatment package worth £25,000, all for a £20 ticket online. Win a Baby follows Camille as she prepares and launches the first lottery of its type in Britain and meets the people who are planning on entering in the draw. Production Company: Roast Beef Productions; Producer: Danielle Clark; Director: Joseph Martin; Executive Producers: Mike Lerner and Martin Herring
What’s My Body Worth?
Could selling your hair, fingernails or eggs make you rich? Filmmaker Storm Theunissen examines the reality of the body parts industry and embarks on a hilarious yet painful personal journey; trying to sell every bit of her body she legally can from a lap-dance to her own eggs. Setting her sights on Hollywood – the market leader in egg-brokering for IVF – Storm learns that model looks and intelligence could easily net you $15,000. Egg donation must be altruistic in the UK and What’s My Body Worth is a timely contribution to this moral minefield. In April this year, the UK government is tripling the payment for expenses to £750 in a bid to solve a shortage of these donors. The film also follows Storm as she aims to discover whether her body is worth more dead than alive. Production Company: Ronachan Films; Producer and Director: Storm Theunissen; Executive Producers: Monica Garnsey and Angus Macqueen .
Channel 4 film follows ‘Harry Hunters’.
Since the marriage between Kate Middleton and Prince William, Prince Harry has been thrust into the spotlight as the most eligible bachelor in Britain. Third in line to the throne, the remaining handsome Prince has become an object of desire for girls across the globe. A brand new Channel 4 documentary, First Cut: The Harry Hunters is set to follow five girls who are determined in their quest to snag their very own Prince Charming.
The film follows 21-year old American friends Cassie and Whitney who grew up in rural Iowa, watching Disney movies and dreaming they would one day marry Prince Harry. They know that to achieve your dreams you have to be prepared to go the distance. Cassie and Whitney have done their research and have a plan – to hit his favourite haunts – from Polo clubs to exclusive Mayfair nightspots.
However, they have strong competition from the ‘queens’ of the social network in East London. School friends Joy and Jade know Prince Harry’s whereabouts at any time, day or night. Twitter is their medium of choice – whether Harry’s partying in Croatia or flying Apache helicopters, they will know within seconds. 16-year old Joy even has an engagement ring for the Prince when the right moment comes to propose.
And finally 14-year-old Flora who hangs out in Chelsea, London and avidly reads the newspapers to know what Prince Harry is up to each week. However, she is determined to impress her teenage heart-throb by working hard at school in her hopes to become an intelligent Princess.
Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Aysha Rafael says: “The Harry Hunters shares the romantic age-old dreams held by thousands of young girls around the world. They fantasise of fairy tale dresses, extravagant royal weddings and for that special day when they finally meet their Prince Charming.”
First Cut: The Harry Hunters is directed by first time producer and director, Emily Hughes and is executive produced by Emily Renshaw-Smith and Peter Dale.
First Cut is a collection of original and bold documentary films by up and coming first time directors and part of Channel 4’s continuous commitment to nurturing new and diverse talent. It first launched in 2007 and now in its sixth year and is commissioned by Aysha Rafaele.
Writers and creators, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa talk 24, the process behind Homeland and ‘misunderstanding’ while shooting in Israel with Claire Danes.
When did you first become aware of Gideon Raff’s original Israeli television series Prisoners of War upon which Homeland is based, and what was the thinking surrounding the decision to adapt a U.S. version from the Israeli original? How is it similar/different to its predecessor?
Howard: I became aware of Prisoners of War when I got a call from my agent, Rick Rosen, who was stepping off a plane from Israel. He represents Keshet – the television company responsible for In Treatment, among other formats – and he said, pretty definitively, “I have your next show.” He described it briefly and it sounded good, and I suggested that it might be something Alex and I could do together (since Alex also happens to be a client of Rick’s). But the truth was, Alex and I were both so deep into the eighth season of 24 that when we agreed to do the project, we had no idea how different our final product would be from the original. So while the source material offered some compelling ideas for us to work with, making it work as a series for a U.S. and, really a global audience, required some wholesale reinvention from us.
What were some of the challenges in both story and character with translating Gideon Raff’s original vision? What are some of the factors involved in writing for an Israeli audience versus and American audience?
Howard: The imagined homecoming of two long-time POWs was really the dramatic engine of Gideon’s story. While this has a deep and immediate resonance with Israeli society (the capture of Gilad Shalit by Hamas for the last five years has been a national crisis) we have no analogous situation in the U.S. While Gideon’s was essentially a family drama, ours became a psychological thriller when we posited the possibility that the returning soldier had been turned into a terrorist and was being sent back here as the tip of the spear of a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
How did your experience on working on 24 influence your decision to do Homeland?
Howard: It felt like an opportunity to explore some of the same themes which we are still grappling with ten years after 9/11 – national security versus civil liberties, the nature of real threats versus imagined threats which we create out of our fear – but in a more nuanced way than we would ever achieve in the relentless pedal-to-the-metal narrative that 24 required. And while 24 was born and came of age in the shadow of 9/11, so much has changed in the world since then, the complexities and tangled consequences of our military actions being one of them, and Homeland lives in this far more complex world we now find ourselves trying to navigate as a nation.
Homeland premiered in the US almost directly after the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Was that a conscious decision?
Howard: It was just a confluence of events, which in the end turned out to be quite fortuitous, as did a number of other things. Osama bin Laden was killed when we were on Episode 2, eerily like the scene of Damian’s rescue; the Arab Spring. So a lot of the issues, you know, that seem to be a conflation of war on terror and the two wars we find ourselves in. This is after Abu Ghraib, after Guantanamo, after the prosecution of two wars of questionable merit. So this looks at the price to this country of what happened to us ten years ago. So the timing of it, I think, is significant, accidental, and fortuitous.
Both 24 and Homeland share similar themes of national security, terrorism and politics. Can you talk about your interest in exploring these subjects and how the two shows differ in their approaches?
Howard: Although the real-time format of 24 gave it a certain energy and a seeming realism, the fact that it told a story inside the course of a single day inevitably made it embrace improbabilities. So the idea of exploring themes like national security, terrorism and politics was subverted to the rigorous requirements of an almost impossible format. Because Homeland isn’t bound by the real-time format, we’re able to dramatise relationships and story arcs that take place over a longer time period, which has given us an opportunity to explore some of the same themes in a deeper and more nuanced way.
Alex: We also wanted to address the experience of veterans. The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are arguably the longest wars in U.S. history. Members of the armed forces are struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress and physical disabilities in record numbers. How will their experiences overseas find a context once these soldiers are back home? Brody’s journey is a way to ask that question in depth. What was he was fighting for? Just what are the values of his homeland? “24” existed in a real post9/11 world. And Jack was an action hero. In response to that, ten years later, things have become deeper and more complex. And the heart of this show is really psychological, how America is dealing with that tenyear period. And now it’s post Osama bin Laden.
Tell us about the cast. How did Claire Danes and Damian Lewis come to join the production? And can you describe the greatest attribute and flaws in the characters they play – Carrie Anderson and Sgt. Nick Brody?
Howard: Claire Danes was our first choice from the moment we sat down to write the pilot. She had just appeared in Temple Grandin and we were blown away by her performance. We even named the character Claire in our first draft. As much as Alex and I were fans of Damian’s from Band of Brothers, he became our first choice when we saw him in an independent movie called Keane.
Alex: Carrie has an extraordinary passion for life; her mental illness gives her an unparalleled intuition and appetite. But the highs give way to crippling lows, and that can be an intensely lonely experience. Brody trained as a sniper. He’s focused. He has incredible will. He’s survived an experience that would break most people. He’s also a soldier with a strong sense of duty and justice. As the season unfolds, we’ll learn how his eight years in captivity changed him, or just uncovered something he always carried inside him. Carrie and Brody are a great match in this season-long cat and mouse game. Each harbours secrets. And each understands the other in a way that no one else can. They have an intense connection-despite the fact that they might have radically opposing goals.
What can you tell us about the end of these 13 weeks? Will you solve the mysteries of Damian’s character?
Howard: This is a very, very interesting narrative experience. We’ve all discussed it. The first conversation we had with Damian and Claire was, how long can we keep the “is he or isn’t he” of it alive without feeling like we’re annoying the audience. And I think we have found a really satisfying way to tell that story where this uncertainty is actually compelling. And the answer is that we hope, that we answer those questions at the right time.
Are you working with any official consultants from the CIA or another government agency to advise on storylines? How do you make the plotlines authentic?
Howard: Alex and I have very different processes when it comes to this. Alex tends to do a lot of research, and I tend not to because I’m lazy and I prefer to keep my imagination unencumbered by the facts – and usually find myself able to retrofit reality to what I need the characters to do. I find that plotlines are authentic when the characters are authentic – which is to say, act like people you recognise.
Alex: At the writers’ office, we do a significant amount of research in order to get the details right – and given the subject matter, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find that we’d been flagged for the terrorist watch list. We’re very lucky to have a few official consultants, including a contact at the CIA and the representatives of Muslims On Screen & Television. We even have an imam on set to work with non-Muslim actors to perfect their salat prayer rituals. But, as Howard says, the authenticity of the characters comes first.
Where is production set? Did any of the filming be on location in the Middle East?
Howard: The production is set in Charlotte, North Carolina, which will double as Washington DC and Virginia. For the pilot, we were able to film in Israel, which doubled as Baghdad. There was a little misunderstanding with the location person, and so there was a little bit of an adventure while we were there.
What do you mean by “misunderstanding”?
Howard: Well, it wasn’t like shooting in L.A. where you lock down a street and, you know, get a license from the city. This was a little bit more ad hoc than that, and so let’s just say certain people didn’t get distributed their location fee. And then the rumour circulated that we were actually CIA plants, and then you can imagine what happened.
Alex: And the next thing –
Howard: The next thing, Claire was being rushed away in a van by security.
Alex: Claire was in the back of a car going a hundred miles an hour out of town. We got it on film
Howard: We hope we’ll have the chance in the future to do some more remote shooting in that part of the world.
Frost would like to thank Channel 4 for this interview.
Damian Lewis is sitting opposite me, drinking tea in a wood-panelled library in a discreetly opulent Central London hotel. With his clipped Old Etonian accent and understated self-confidence, he seems the epitome of Englishness. Which is why it’s surprising that so many of his highest profile roles have been Americans.
His latest drama, Homeland, is no exception. Lewis plays US Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody, who has been held as a prisoner of war for eight years by Al Qaeda. On his return, he is feted as a hero. But CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) believes that, far from being an All-American patriot, he has been turned, and represents a grave threat to national security.
Here, the charming and affable Lewis talks about the series, his career to date, and how he’d give it all up in a heartbeat just to change one single moment from his past.
You had a great education, went to Eton, and at the end of it, you turned around and said to your parents that you wanted to go into the most capricious business imagineable. Parents dread their children wanting to act. How did yours react?
They were brilliant, and oddly supportive. They had seen me on stage at that point. A group of us put on a play at school, and my parents saw me, and I think they decided that it wasn’t going to be a complete waste of time. And so in the last two years, when I should have been working for my A levels, I decided that I wanted to go to drama school. I’d stopped working, and my shocking A level results reflected that. So I was only going to go off to a not very exciting university anyway, and so I went to drama school. My mum said “Go, with our blessing.” And what she really meant was “And that means you can stay at home with me for another three years.” I grew up in London, so I lived at home throughout drama school. It was a very un-studenty three years. I went back to a nice family house every night where, if I was lucky, mum had left out a fishcake.
You went to The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Have any of your contemporaries from there gone on to stardom?
There was a very rich seam of talent all around us. Joseph Fiennes was a contemporary of mine. Ewan McGregor was in the year ahead, Daniel Craig was in the year ahead of him. Just in front of them were people like Ben Chaplin and Rhys Ifans. Dominic West was just behind me.
And from there you went on to the RSC. Was that a valuable part of your education as an actor?
Yes it was. It gave me a campus life that I hadn’t had. It was a bit like going through another training – you’d have voice lessons and verse lessons, and you’d rehearse all day and perform all night. And you just happened to be living in a small wendy house of a 17th Century workman’s cottage right next to the River Avon, with Shakespeare’s graveyard 300 yards one way and where he lived a couple of miles the other way. It was a rather extraordinary, rarified existence for a year. I loved it. And I would imagine, having visited Oxford and Cambridge many times to go and see my friends who were studying there, and I played cricket there quite a lot *cough* – where I scored a century – (the only one I’ve ever scored, and it was against a team called The Grannies!) I imagine our existence [at the RSC] was quite similar, just living in these beautiful, bucolic surroundings.
Jumping forward a bit, somewhat out of the blue, you land the lead in the most expensive TV show ever made [Band of Brothers]. That must have carried quite a lot of pressure with it.
It was totally out of the blue, because they didn’t know me from Adam. I think part of the reason I got that role was because he was a 1940s war hero, and even though he was an American, there was something old-fashioned about him, and upright. I think they felt they might find him in England, in a stiffer, more upright actor than a cool American hipster. It was a big sea change, and it was a huge hit, although it had a pretty inauspicious start, because the second week it was on air, 9/11 happened, and people’s appetite for death and destruction and a rather realistic vision of war – it just wasn’t what people wanted at that point. But it sort of regenerated itself. It’s the most extraordinary beast, Band of Brothers. It still feels like it only happened last year, because people are still so connected to it. It’s ten years ago now, and people are still watching it for the first time, or for the 100th time, and people still want to come up to me and talk about it. Armed forces in Afghanistan watch it as inspirational tools, soldiers are actually taught it for lessons in leadership. And the manoeuvre that Winters perfected the day after they landed at Normandy, when he took the four 88s shelling the beach- that’s taught in West Point. I was filming in Crete about five years ago, and the US Navy landed, and they’d been watching it. It’s got an extraordinary reach. And I did feel pressure. There’s a huge responsibility – as there always is if you’re playing somebody who’s alive – to represent him well. And as Tom Hanks said, as we started the whole endeavour, on our first day at boot camp, “Don’t think of this as making a piece of TV. Think of this as an historical document. That’s what we’re going to try and recreate here.” It was brilliant.
Where does Band of Brothers sit in terms of work that you’re proud of, and what else is up there?
It sits right up there; it’s certainly the thing that I think I’ve done that’s had the biggest profile. One of the things that’s had the smallest profile is arguably what I’m most proud of, which is a small independent film called Keane, which I made about four years ago. I’m very proud of The Forsyte Saga, I enjoyed that enormously, and an Ibsen I did at The National Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing for the BBC, I loved doing that. And I’m extremely proud of Homeland.
Moving on to Homeland, what attracted you to the role?
After my experience on Life, which I loved, but it was at quite a lot of personal cost, from a family point of view – that sounds a bit melodramatic, we’re all still together! – but it was long hours working with Helen sitting in the house with the kids. I wasn’t prepared for quite the workshop hours you work on some American TV shows. So I said to my agent ‘Only if it’s extraordinary, and if it’s on Cable TV, so it’s a five-month commitment rather than a ten-month commitment. [Cable series tend to be 12 episodes as opposed to 24 on networks.] Unbelievably fortunately, this thing came my way, and I very nearly said no to it, for all the reasons I’ve just explained. But it was really compellingly written. The pilot – which was all I read – had political ambition, it was psychologically detailed and specific, dark in places, and so ambitious. It was tapping into conditions that interest me – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and men returning from war, and bipolar disorder in Claire’s character. While tackling these rather serious issues, it also managed to be a page-turner. And it also managed to be a political show at the same time, posing the question ‘In our pursuit of terrorists, have we gone about it in the right way?’ It just seemed brilliantly representative of a slightly uncertain, paranoid world we live in now. It’s a bold claim for one hour of TV, but I spoke to them, and they convinced me that these were all themes that they wanted to pursue. And they sustain it. They’re brilliant, and I’m unbelievably lucky to be working with them. Thank God I said yes to it.
Is it quite attractive playing a character who’s so ambiguous, who might be good, or might be very, very bad?
Yeah, ambiguity is a complex thing to play. It can leave you being a little unspecific, if you’re not careful – if you’re consciously vague, and you then allow the audience to project onto you. But if you’re doing it well, the reverse is true – you commit yourself to decisions totally, and it’s just about how adroit you are with your changes, that is in the end what creates the ambiguity. You have to be lightning quick and nimble, there’s a mental and imaginative agility in the performance which is really fun. It’s a challenge – there are so many things to play, and if you try and play everything at once, then it’s a bit of a pudding, so you have to make specific choices and then just change on a sixpence. Another thing that really appealed to me is it’s very subversive. It’s very controversial to have a US Marine, who is as great a symbol as anyone or anything you can think of that upholds our Western freedoms and our beliefs, and goes and fights on our behalf all over the world. To have one of those people ‘changed’ is very controversial.
How was it working with Claire Danes?
Lovely. She’s whip-smart, and extremely committed and focused. Quite disconcertingly, sometimes. She can be in this extraordinary scene, and the director says cut, and before you’ve turned around, she’s walking back to her chair and just out of character. She plays ‘Words with Friends’ endlessly, which is that interactive Scrabble game. She’s always got about five or six games going on with different people around the world. It’s her way of relaxing. She’s got half the crew doing it with her as well. She’s just lovely. I love being in scenes with her, it’s thrilling.
The drama touches on PTSD, terrorism, death, torture and mental illness. It’s not a knockabout comedy. Does that affect your mood during filming? Do you take any of that home with you?
No, I don’t take work home. Stay an American all day long, that’s one thing I do do. It’s too confusing to switch in and out of accents. So I go to work as an American, and until my make-up’s taken off at the end of the day, I remain that way. And then I actually switch off from work alarmingly quickly. I have to rev myself up quite a lot to go back into work, because I’m quite good at down time.
Homeland has been described as 24 for grown-ups. What do you make of that?
I think the parallel with 24 is inevitable, because Howard [Gordon] is a co-creator on this, and had run 24 for the last four or five seasons – he took over from Joel Surnow. It’s not really 24. It’s far more of a psychological, political drama – I think the paranoia plays much more strongly. Just the style in which it’s filmed is very different. It takes its time, it allows it to breathe, whereas 24 was a high-octane, crack-like experience. It made me just feel extraordinarily uneasy, watching 24, it was a very uncomfortable feeling. I think Homeland is too, because of the subject matter, but there’s an enjoyment in just being able to sit in things a bit more. I think this allows you to do that.
Is it true you used to practice being interviewed by Wogan in front of the mirror at the age of ten?
I did. And now I’ve been on Wogan. Finally! I did his radio show.
The ten-year-old you craved that fame and adulation. Now you have it, how does it feel?
It sounds awful, doesn’t it? I’m not very good at just sitting and considering. I’m always on the charge a little bit. But sitting and reflecting now, I suppose it’s quite romantic, when you put it like that. Yeah, I did used to do that as a ten-year-old. When I couldn’t sleep, I would get out of bed in my pyjamas and turn on the light in the bathroom upstairs and just talk in different accents and pull faces in the mirror, pretending I was being interviewed by Wogan. He’s part of our cultural history. He’s commentated on something I’ve done before – a celebrity golf thing or a celebrity football thing I did.
Ah, the celebrity football match in which you lobbed Arsenal and Germany keeper Jens Lehmann from 25 yards, and hit the bar. How much of your success and your gongs would you give up to have that shot go six inches lower?
All of it! It was unbelievable. 70,000 people at Old Trafford. It was about the 15th minute. I was playing alongside Jamie Redknapp in the centre of the park. I just looked up and saw him inching out of his six yard box, and I just went for it. And I saw him, he had that look in his eyes as he backpedalled, saying “F*** me, I’ve been done”. And it just rattled the crossbar. The last thing Bryan Robson said to me – he was our coach – he said “Damo, you’re on Zidane. Keep yer legs closed.” And I clattered into him – I’ve always been a shocking tackler, I’m like Paul Scholes. I’m always late, and just bad at it. I clattered him. Jamie Redknapp came over and said “Damo, Damo, calm down. You can’t clatter into Zizou like that. You could’ve broken his ankle.” I thought “Alright, it’s just that the twice-world footballer of the year was a bit quicker than me!” And in about the 30th minute, we were right by the touchline, and I thought “He’s going nowhere!” And he just looked at me, and nutmegged me – straight through my legs! And the whole stand erupted in spontaneous laughter. Still, I suppose he’s nutmegged much better players than me!
Frost would like to thank Channel 4 for this interview. Homelands will be aired in the UK by Channel 4.
The British Comedy Awards will be starting soon so we brought you a quick clip to whet your appetite.
@ComedyOn4 will be live tweeting from the British #ComedyAwards tonight.
They have a AAA rating (the French can’t interfere here) and will be announcing winners, taking backstage pictures and dishing out gossip along the way. Please follow and RT. They will be retweeting the best tweets from people there on the night as well as the funniest comments from people at home using the #ComedyAwards hashtag.
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To whet your appetites here’s a compilation of some of the best bits from the Comedy Awards. Check out @Wossy’s hair! Link to view and embed code attached – http://bcove.me/2r9rkwiu
The British #ComedyAwards 2011. Tonight, 9pm, Channel 4. @ComedyOn4 will be live tweeting from the awards. Join them.
SECOND SERIES FOR FRESH MEAT AND BEAVER FALLS
NEW RUNS GREENLIT FOR HIT CHANNEL 4 and E4 DRAMA
FRESH MEAT
‘it has hit written all over it’ – Sunday Times
‘smart, sympathetic and pretty much adorable from the get-go’ – The Guardian
‘brilliant new comedy drama’ – The Sun
Channel 4’s critically-acclaimed smash-hit show Fresh Meat has been recommissioned mid way through its first eight-part run.
The Jesse Armstrong/Sam Bain created comedy drama centres on a group of six housemates embarking on the hilarious and painful business of being a student and features an ensemble cast of hot young talent.
Made by Objective Productions and Lime Pictures and produced by Rhonda Smith, the series is executive produced by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, Judy Counihan, Phil Clarke and Andrew Newman for Objective Productions and Tony Wood for Lime.
BEAVER FALLS
‘heart-warming and gut-wrenchingly funny .. you’re guaranteed to fall for Beaver Falls!’ – The Sun
E4, home to BAFTA award-winning series Skins, Misfits and The Inbetweeners gets set to get out the Factor 50 (safety first) as it heads back to Beaver Falls for a second six-week run.
It’s Summer 2012 and while all is not perfect between Barry (John Dalgleish), A-Rab (Arsher Ali) and Flynn (Samuel Robertson) the three of them are ready and raring for another summer of mischief. But with a night in jail, a shotgun wedding and a run-in with the locals, the Brits are going to have their hands full …
The 6 x 60’ series was created by Iain Hollands, produced by Liz Lewin and executive produced by Charlie Pattinson for Company Pictures.
Commenting on the recommissions, Channel 4 Head of Drama, Camilla Campbell, said: ‘I am delighted that our strong series output has been recognised with a double recommission. Our series continue to reach the heart of the 16-34 audience, and consistently bring loyal viewers to Channel 4 and E4.’
Picture by Lottie Davies.
Film4 has commissioned a unique and innovative multiplatform experience to support the release of Carol Morley’s feature film Dreams of a Life.
Dreams of a Life, which is co-produced and co-financed by Film4, movingly pieces together the true story of 38-year-old Joyce Vincent, whose skeleton was discovered in her bedsit three years after she had died. The accompanying digital commission, www.dreamsofyourlife.com, has been developed by interactive agency Hide&Seek, as a thought-provoking and immersive experience which engages users in the themes explored by the film.
Award-winning writer A.L. Kennedy has crafted the absorbing and sometimes unnerving narrative, which prompts responses to questions on society, friendship, love and loneliness. This is played against the backdrop of beautiful and haunting time-lapse imagery, created by photographer Lottie Davies.
The launch of www.dreamsofyourlife.com will also be supported by a mobile touring installation, allowing audiences to interact with the experience on iPads at selected venues in the cities where the film is playing.
www.dreamsofyourlife.com, commissioned by Hilary Perkins, Channel 4’s Multiplatform Commissioning Editor for Drama and Film, launches on 1st December 2011. Dreams of a Life is released in selected cinemas on 16th December.
The Film
Dreams of a Life, directed by Carol Morley
Released in cinemas on 16th December by Dogwoof
Nobody noticed when 38-year-old Joyce Vincent died in her bedsit above a shopping mall in North London in 2003. When her skeleton was discovered three years later, her heating and her television were still on. Newspaper reports offered few details of Joyce’s life – not even a photograph. Who was Joyce Vincent? And how could this happen to someone in our day and age – the so-called age of communication? Dreams of a Life is Carol Morley’s quest to discover who Joyce was and how she came to be so forgotten.
Discover the Touring Installation from 12th December (more venues tbc):
Manchester Cornerhouse; Sheffield Showroom; Stratford Picturehouse