Making BP (OTUKOGBANI): sometimes you have to lie to tell the truth
Ben Mycroft responds to Gary Bellamy's night of drinking:
Our executive producer, David, was now sending notes twice a day, saying how concerned he was about Gary's appearance, interviewing style, nervousness and lack of charisma. I think the tipping point was when Gary read an email over my shoulder from David saying that he needed to stop walking like someone had stuffed a paddle up his arse. Gary took this personally, saying he was just as capable of relaxing and having fun as the next man, so I set this interview up as a challenge to him really to see whether he could step up to the plate.
Our researcher, Holly, set this one up for us. (And by the way, I was not obsessed with Holly, coming from Gary that's the pot calling the kettle a cheating bastard. Holly was smart, funny and could easily have got modelling work, but my relationship with her was purely professional.) She had got work experience working on a documentary about underage drinking in Britain a few years ago and got in touch with a couple of the girls who'd featured on it. They were now in their twenties but were up for being on telly again if it meant we paid for their night out.
I have to admit even I was impressed by the volume that the girls drank and it was clear that there was no way Gary would be able to keep pace with them. I remember after the show got commissioned we'd had a celebratory glass of champagne at the Champagne bar in Westfield Shopping centre and he had gone all flushed and slurry. So I told the shots girl to replace the tequila with a mixture of water and dilute washing up liquid.
When Gary found out he went Jurassic and said that it was misleading the viewers (I rue the day we sent him on that Editorial Policy course). I quoted Robert Flaherty at him saying "sometimes you have to lie to tell the truth" and this seemed to shut him up for while, but later on when he was queuing for a kebab he just kept on shouting "trust" at me and telling all the people around him that we were betraying the viewers. He really was drunker than I thought. In fact, he only really shut up about it when I told him I'd tell Michaela about the fact that he left in a cab with the girl in the hat.
He shut up about it after that, which was a relief - what goes on location stays on location, eh Gary?
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Ben Mycroft is the Director/Producer of Bellamy's People. Read more about the making of the show and watch exclusive clips on the Comedy Blog.
Our executive producer, David, was now sending notes twice a day, saying how concerned he was about Gary's appearance, interviewing style, nervousness and lack of charisma. I think the tipping point was when Gary read an email over my shoulder from David saying that he needed to stop walking like someone had stuffed a paddle up his arse. Gary took this personally, saying he was just as capable of relaxing and having fun as the next man, so I set this interview up as a challenge to him really to see whether he could step up to the plate.Our researcher, Holly, set this one up for us. (And by the way, I was not obsessed with Holly, coming from Gary that's the pot calling the kettle a cheating bastard. Holly was smart, funny and could easily have got modelling work, but my relationship with her was purely professional.) She had got work experience working on a documentary about underage drinking in Britain a few years ago and got in touch with a couple of the girls who'd featured on it. They were now in their twenties but were up for being on telly again if it meant we paid for their night out.
I have to admit even I was impressed by the volume that the girls drank and it was clear that there was no way Gary would be able to keep pace with them. I remember after the show got commissioned we'd had a celebratory glass of champagne at the Champagne bar in Westfield Shopping centre and he had gone all flushed and slurry. So I told the shots girl to replace the tequila with a mixture of water and dilute washing up liquid.
When Gary found out he went Jurassic and said that it was misleading the viewers (I rue the day we sent him on that Editorial Policy course). I quoted Robert Flaherty at him saying "sometimes you have to lie to tell the truth" and this seemed to shut him up for while, but later on when he was queuing for a kebab he just kept on shouting "trust" at me and telling all the people around him that we were betraying the viewers. He really was drunker than I thought. In fact, he only really shut up about it when I told him I'd tell Michaela about the fact that he left in a cab with the girl in the hat.
He shut up about it after that, which was a relief - what goes on location stays on location, eh Gary?
Ìý
Ben Mycroft is the Director/Producer of Bellamy's People. Read more about the making of the show and watch exclusive clips on the Comedy Blog.
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