When
I get into Manchester I realise I've brought last year's diary, no
notebook and no pen, hardly the best start to my first press
screening. Still, my name is on the list and I'm welcomed into the
foyer of The Printworks' Vue in time for the viewing to start. I
manage to cadge a pen and use the back pages of my diary.
I'm
not exactly sure how this has happened, but Sky TV have invited me to
a press screening of Brassic,
a new 6-part comedy series set in Hawley, Lancashire. It's Tuesday
20th.
The cast and crew have been given an arc of seats in front of the
screen for a discussion before the start, including ITV's Katy Rickett,
screenwriter / cast member Joe Gilgun (also Eli Dingle in Emmerdale
and Woody in This is England), Cast member Ryan Sampson, Sky exec John Montague, screenwriter
Danny Brocklehurst
and cast members Tom Hanson and Michelle Keegan (Tina
McIntyre in Coronation Street and Lance Corporal Georgie Lane Our
Girl).
John
explains that Brassic is part of Sky's 'biggest push' into comedy.
Breeders, Intelligence and Hitmen are also new shows coming down the
pipe.
We'll
be getting a sneak preview of the show, which Joe describes as 'out
there and potty-mouthed.' Michelle tells us that, although the
characters are misfit minor criminals, the location is beautiful and
was filmed offering a very different light to the image TV frequently
portrays of 'grim-up-north.' It's not for BBC1. Shameless it ain't.
Plenty of wide shots of the countryside lead into scenes of ponies,
pikeys, stolen cars and formaldehyde, which all play their part in
the twist-filled laugh-a-minute pilot. Joe describes it as 'a love
letter to the North West.'
“A
few people have said, 'It reminds me of where I'm from,'” says Joe.
“Little towns where people find ways to survive. I grew up in
Chorley. I've had a colourful past.” He takes a sip of beer. “I'm
pissed, by the way.” This gets a cheer.
Michelle
agreed, as a northern lass, that it was great to “come back to her
roots.”
“The
script made me laugh out loud. I've loved every second. It's been a
year since filming ended but it felt like last month.”
The
people of Hawley, the fictional town based on Chorley, are working
class and underserved, something Joe hopes the show will redress, but
they make the town what it is. Brassic will also highlight bipolar
disorder, something Joe himself has. “It was definitely important
to bring that into the show,” he tells. “The information you see
is accurate, including the meds. I'm not a role model. I'm raising
awareness, but I'm telling a story. I would always encourage talking
therapy before medication. You must talk about those thoughts.” Joe
explains he always tries to respond to people about mental health. He
questions the appropriateness of multiple choice questionnaires being
used with bipolar patients, in which “one minute you're up in the
fucking air and the next minute you're down.”
What
was also accurate were the colourful characters from which he drew
inspiration: the local wheeler dealers who perhaps blurred the lines
of the law. “I had to reassure people that nothing from real life
will get anyone in trouble,” admits Joe. So far, so good.
“How
much is true?” asks one journalist.
Joe
scratches his head. “Let's not go there,” he replies. He admits
he had to talk to his legal people on a few issues.
Before
the talk ends the conversation weaves through similar themes to the
show: researching a scene in a sex dungeon by visiting a naked club
in Berlin (it's debated as to whether this was really research), Joe
having a meltdown over the wrong dildo being brought to set, and
actor Ryan Sampson researching his character's stutter with help from
the British Stammering Association.
“One
neurologist there has a stammer,” explains Ryan. “He'd he tried
to kill himself. That's why no-one in the programme takes the piss. I
tried to make it authentic for the stammering community.”
“Sky
TV,” tells Joe, “are unbelievable. We couldn't be with a kinder
network: the way they treat and promote mental health. They never
missed a single note. I think that's why it is the way it is. I'm
gonna need some water, me, I'm fucking smashed out of me head, I'm
sorry. I forget that I've gotta eat. Y'know? I'm so off me head that
I forget that you've gotta fuel yourself. I kept having these moments
with my PA, Jack. I said, 'Jack-' I have a PA 'cause I can't read.
It's not 'cause I want a smoothie at 3 o' fucking clock. I said to
Jack, I keep having these moments, Jack, I think it's like vertigo!'
He's like, 'You've not fucking eaten anything, you stupid cunt. I
gave you a banana 3 hours ago and it's still in your pocket!' I'm so
lucky to have the network around me.”
After
this we dropped into nearby Pilcrow.
 |
| Joe Gilgan |
 |
| Michelle Keegan |
 |
| Free t-shirt |
The
pilot is set to air Thursday night on Sky One at 10pm.
