About The Toll
Welsh comedian Benjamin Partridge explains how his preoccupation with suspension bridges inspired his new radio sitcom pilot, The Toll.
The ancient Greeks believed that in order to pass from the world of the living to the underworld of Hades you had to cross five rivers: the rivers of woe, lamentation, fire, oblivion, and the Styx, the river of hate. Luckily, between South Wales and London, we've just got to worry about the Severn, although you'll get a good idea of what the five rivers of the underworld were like if you make the journey by coach.
As someone who travels between Cardiff and London regularly, I know that there are few cheerier sights from a coach window than the Severn bridge lumbering into view. Once it appears, you know that in an hour you'll be home and then you can go to a chiropractor, or scream into a paper bag, or drink Bailey's on your own in your greenhouse for 5 hours 鈥� whichever method you've found for successfully getting over a coach journey.
The bridge means a lot to us South Walians. In 1966, while the English were trying on mini skirts, the Russians were landing a space craft on the moon and the Americans sat down to enjoy the first ever episode of Star Trek, in Wales we faced our very own final frontier and built a bridge that meant we'd be able to go shopping in Bristol more easily.
The bridge is also a great source of mystery 鈥� what happens if you get to the toll booth and you haven't got the wherewithal to pay? Do you have to work in WH Smith in Severn View motorway services until you've paid off your debt? There is a wonderful bit where the road narrows from the 14 lanes at the toll booths to the normal 3 motorway lanes, without the help of any road markings whatsoever. Why aren't there any road markings there? On paper, that bit should be like a scene from Ben Hur but with Ford Fiestas instead of chariots with spikes on their wheels. By then end of rush hour it should look like the aftermath of the Robot Wars roadshow, but somehow it seems to work. God knows how. I can only assume a mixture of its good manners, incredible spatial awareness and magic.
It always looks like quite a jolly place to work. Never underestimate the energizing effect of a hi-vis jacket. Also, I assume that all the staff get to go across the bridge for free, which is a staff perk only bettered by Barry Island (unlimited free goes on the log flume).
Given my preoccupation, it came as no surprise that when the opportunity came for me to pitch a sitcom at the 麻豆社, I had an idea about a group of characters working on a fictional toll bridge somewhere in Wales. Once a pilot was commissioned, the most important thing for me was that everyone had to be Welsh. Having suffered 26 years of English actors attempting Welsh voices and achieving accents ranging from India to the moon, I wasn't going to add to the problem. Luckily, we managed to snag Steffan Rhodri (Gavin and Stacy), Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat), Steven Meo (Grownups), Melanie Walters (Gavin and Stacy) and Katy Wix (Not Going Out). All of them not only brilliant actors but also firm suspension bridge fans. Let's face it: who isn't?
