Whites: Opportunity and Betrayal
Oliver Lansley, co-creator of Whites, writes...
Episode Five was a very exciting episode for many reasons. Firstly it starred Mark Little (Joe Mangel?!), but also it was a huge story with Roland's TV show, Bib finally being pushed beyond breaking point and quitting, and finally because we had a 'stunt' in it.
Yes, as you'll see from this clip the Whites set was abuzz with excitement as the 'explosives' experts turned up to rig the back windscreen of Darryl's car to shatter as Roland's golf ball smashes through it. Everyone was eager with anticipation - we knew we'd only get one chance (we couldn't afford a second windscreen!).
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We had three cameras pointing at it, each one ready to capture the action. The crew were all gathered round, the scene was played, the moment came, and… nothing. Well I say nothing, I think there was a mild popping sound somewhere along the line but it certainly wasn't quite Michael Bay style carnage we were all expecting. We tried again… nothing. We ended up doing the whole thing about three times before the windscreen actually smashed! But still we got it in the end. The magic of television…
As I say, story-wise episode five was a big one for us. It's all about opportunity and betrayal: Roland's opportunity to be a TV star, Bib's opportunity to be a head chef, Skoose's opportunity to be a sous chef. But also about Roland's betrayal of Bib, firstly by choosing Skoose to be his sous chef and then on a much larger scale by belittling him in front of Darryl. It's quite an emotional rollercoaster, particularly for a half hour comedy show, and we were keen to the episode on a real cliff hanger.
However, getting Bib to a level where he was ready to walk out and not come back wasn't that easy. Roland's betrayed Bib before, he does it every day. But this time it was different, and our challenge as writers was to raise those stakes sufficiently so that in that final moment when Bib and Roland go into that office and argue you know that something is different. That something has been irrevocably damaged. That we've broken Bib!
This sets us up for our final episode. But what happens now? Has Bib really gone? Will he go to Australia? How will Roland cope alone? You'll have to watch episode six to find out…
The current series of Whites concludes on Tuesday at 9pm on Â鶹Éç Two.
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