Making BP (OTUKOGBANI): Ian Craig-Oldman and Marinho
Ian was one of the few people I was genuinely excited about meeting. I had heard all the stories from my father, who was working as a producer at the Â鶹Éç at the time of the famous interview he gave about the raw power of rock 'n' roll, and obviously I've used the music from a lot of the bands he managed on loads of the VTs on Top Gear. There's nothing like a good bit of 60s rock and roll to bring out the best in a Renault Twingo!I had a friend who'd interviewed Ian for Rock Family Trees a few years ago, so I knew what to expect about the drinking. I made sure we arranged the interview for the morning, although he seemed half-cut by the time we arrived at his club anyway. The interview didn't last long, as he was pretty drunk after an hour and became far more interested in Marinho, the good-looking waiter who was bringing him his drinks.
After the interview Marinho and Gary (who had been trying to keep up with Ian in the scotch stakes and didn't really seem to know what was going on) went back to Ian's for a little 'party' while we went off to film some background stuff and GVs for our next interview. Gary was very tight-lipped about the escapade the next morning, and claimed to have no memory of the incident, which has since been erased from the history books, shall we say.
I got a postcard from Ian after we had finished filming thanking us for the interview and introducing him to Marinho, who he was now holidaying with in Morocco. How it made it to me I don't know, as it just had my name and 'Â鶹Éç Television Centre' scrawled on it. That's the magic of the good old Beeb - everyone knows where it is!
Anyway, that's it for my blogs! I hope you enjoyed them more than Gary's and that they've given you a bit of an insight into making the program. I'm off to start working on my next documentary project - The Great British Road Race, a fact-based race around Britain featuring Christine Bleakley, Jon Snow, peter Sissons, Jodie Marsh and a host of other celebrities (think Challenge Anneka, meets Trivial Pursuits meets A History of Modern Britain). It's a brand new genre we're calling 'Docu-Challenge' and is going to be on Â鶹Éç One next spring. We're very excited about it - we're going to have Jon Snow on a bike and Jodie Marsh in a tank scrambling around the country, how brilliant is that?
Funnily enough it's based on an idea David and I stumbled upon in our first meeting with Gary, but it's only now we've had a chance to concentrate on it. If it comes off it will be nice to think that some good has come of making this program - every cloud and all that!
Ben Mycroft is the Director/Producer of Bellamy's People, which starts tonight at 10pm on Â鶹Éç Two. Read more about the making of the show and watch exclusive clips here on the Comedy Blog.
PLUS! Press the Red Button directly after each episode of Bellamy's People to see Ben Mycroft in action.
You can also join Bellamy's Babes and of Bellamy's People on Facebook.
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