Alex Wiseman Interviews David Renwick
Alex: This is a huge honour for me. David you are on the greatest TV writers ever.
David: Well, I’m still just amazed that I’ve managed to make a career out of it. Mainly, I think, especially in the early days, through sheer persistence. Which is weird in itself as I’ve never been an overly confident person. And I can’t help but feel privileged to have kept working all that time.
Alex: First things first, how did you come up with all the plots for ‘One Foot in the Grave’? And did you sit there laughing whilst writing?
David: My standard answer of course is that if I knew where all the ideas came from, the job would be a hell of a lot easier. There’s obviously no science to it; it’s a purely intuitive process. I’ve likened it to wandering around in a very complex maze – you have to deal with so many dead ends and wrong turnings before you get to the right place. So, the first day on any new script was always purgatory. You just have to kind of wander off, mentally, exploring all sorts of random situations, until you find some unexpected comic spin or angle that could be funny. It’s like a really gruelling workout for the imagination, and even when I’ve come up with something that feels good, nine times out of ten I’ll have gone off it the next day. But when you get the germ of a really sure-fire concept, then you’re not in any doubt. And, yes, it was not unknown for a chuckle to arise as it took shape in my mind. But most of the time you’re working on pure instinct, and of course, the hardest thing is maintaining your interest in an idea over a period of several days, as you’re writing it. Because the initial appeal has obviously worn off, and you just have to somehow keep your nerve.
Alex: I’m really not lying when I say I have actually cried with laughter at so many moments in the series. From Vince’s gravestone to the aftershave which attracts donkeys! Victor’s brother visiting, the visit to the BBC… so many moments to mention. It’s one of the greatest BBC comedies of all time. I do wonder if it would get commissioned today?
David: Getting anything commissioned today I’d imagine must be a nightmare. There’s so much executive scrutiny, and so many voices that all have to be heard. So, I think the chances of something growing organically, the way that all those sitcoms did twenty or thirty years ago, are greatly reduced. When we were making the first series in 1989, we were given completely free rein, and in hindsight, you can see how it gradually evolved into a much richer product. But that’s a gradual process that can’t be forced. And the mind boggles at the kind of notes we’d be given today, about how the characters and the stories and ideas would work better in a different way. And it’s all just completely arbitrary and makes no allowance for the creator’s intuition. Ultimately, of course, it’s not much of a premise to go in and pitch to someone – a guy who’s just been prematurely retired. The whole essence of the show is the characters and the rather eccentric comic style that I was bringing to the standard domestic sitcom. You can imagine how that would go down with most of today’s commissioning editors.
Alex: Did you always have Richard Wilson and Annette Crosbie in mind to play Victor and Margaret? They have such a beautiful and believable partnership.
David: I’d worked with Richard twice before, on the film version of Whoops Apocalypse and the second series of Hot Metal at LWT. Apart from being obviously star comic material, he was also a delight to be with, and clearly deserved a vehicle of his own. So, I wrote the part of Victor specifically for him to play, knowing he’d be perfect for all that acerbic, high-intensity dialogue. As you probably know, he initially turned us down, mainly because, at 53, he didn’t see himself playing someone of Victor’s age. But happily, he was later persuaded to change his mind. Once I’d got the idea of Annette for Margaret, after watching her in a BBC drama called Take Me Home, I couldn’t imagine anyone else bringing that sheer acting class to the role. She came in and read for us and it was instantly funny, because all her instincts were absolutely spot on, and although she would never describe herself as a comic actress, she understood exactly how to make it work. As a couple, they were wholly truthful and believable the whole time, and it was that bedrock of reality that gave all my mad ideas and jokes the space to function.
Alex: One of the greatest things about the show was the supporting cast. Who was your favourite character to write for? I think Mrs Warboys was hilarious!
David: It was nice to have that little team of regular characters, though I was keen to avoid making the show an ensemble affair. In many other series, those people would be there as a matter of course every week, whereas I would introduce them only if there was a strong comic reason, which meant their contribution was more significant. With all of them – Mrs Warboys, Nick Swainey, and Patrick and Pippa – I was blessed with fantastic performers, and had they not brought their characters to life so brilliantly they wouldn’t have been half as memorable. Once you introduce a new character like that, and see what the actor can do with it, you can gradually build upon their strengths, and it becomes a kind of symbiotic relationship. I don’t think I have a favourite; they’re all equally glorious to me. But you’re right that Doreen Mantle had many great moments as Mrs Warboys – getting into the car during the traffic jam, bringing back the gorilla costume from the dry cleaners, and finding a severed finger in her chips… once again, it was the honesty of her reactions that made it all work.
Alex: If you had to select your favourite episode what would it be? Mine has to be the ‘One Foot in the Algarve’ special. When we visited Portugal, we actually went to many of the places you filmed it.
David: One Foot in the Algarve, I think, emerged as a more pleasurable experience to watch than it was to film. For the first week we were out there, it rained pretty much solidly, totally scuppering our progress. Though having Peter Cook to chat to was a redeeming joy. It’s often said that our final series didn’t match the standard of the earlier ones but looking back, I thought it was actually quite strong. The Dawn of Man episode, especially, with Patrick and his gay brother, and the cop porn and all the 2001 allusions. I also thought the one with the power cut was packed with good stuff and some of my best-ever lines.
Alex: How did it feel writing a feature length (One Foot in the Algarve)? Did you feel like it was a gamble? Lots of comedies don’t translate into long episodes!
David: It still feels ridiculous that I sold this purely on the strength of a slightly punny title. One Foot in Gravesend, I guess, wouldn’t have had the same appeal. And it didn’t hurt that we’d just won a Bafta that week, and the show was doing really well in the ratings. So, the project breezed through the system with hardly a murmur. Any other writer, I imagine, would have taken themselves off to Portugal for a couple of weeks by way of research. But I thought that would just be a distraction, and the writing would be just as easy, or hard, in my office as it would out there, lying on some sun-kissed beach. So, all my background info came from a Fodor’s travel guide. I was determined from the off that if we were making a ninety-minute show, it should be more than just an extended version of our weekly episodes. And that was my approach with all our Christmas specials – that they should actually feel special, with a plotline and themes that had a lot more scale to them. With the Algarve, I arguably went too far, devising so many interwoven strands that the first rough cut came in at two hours ten minutes. So, we ended up cutting forty minutes of material out, including a whole storyline about Victor’s apparent affair with the shoe-shop owner. In one scene, for instance, after he’s stepped on a jellyfish Isabella’s there, sucking out the poison from his toe, in an echo of the opening scene by the pool, and Margaret appears and of course gets the wrong impression. But it just felt top-heavy, and I think all the streamlining that we did in the edit made for a better final product. Much of the credit for the filmic gloss, I have to say, should go to our director of photography John Rhodes and the wonderfully lyrical score by our composer Ed Welch.
Alex: Will we ever see any kind of revival? (And before you say it, I know Victor Meldrew is dead!)
David: No. I’m sorry if it’s a disappointing answer, but I’ve never believed in trying to resurrect a past success. So much of what worked then was of its time, and context is everything. One of the main reasons I opted for Victor’s death in that final episode was to seal the canon once and for all. Certainly, as far as TV was concerned.
Alex: Another of your brilliant creations is ‘Jonathan Creek’. Another series with such amazing storylines. A completely different show to One Foot. Do you have fond memories?
David: Jonathan Creek, of course, has had a longer life on screen, albeit with gaps along the way, so I don’t think it falls so much into the nostalgia category. I felt it derived some of that longevity from the ever-changing sidekicks, with Julia Sawalha, Sheridan Smith and Sarah Alexander each bringing an individual freshness to the stories after Caroline left. For me, it was a bit like David Jason moving over to Frost from Del Boy. From sitcom to crime drama was a very satisfying switch, though of course, I made a rod for my own back with the premise of apparently inexplicable puzzles every week. Any kind of detective story is hard enough to plot, but mine were, by their very nature, almost impossible. On the other hand, I felt it was a very powerful tool, to draw the audience in. Trying to work out how it was done, not just who did it, brought a whole new dimension to the genre. And I like to think that was the key. Plus, I was always careful not to short-change on the comedy, to try and make for an all-round piece of entertainment.
Alex: Will be ever see more ‘Jonathan Creek’? I must admit a few years ago we all got used to a new special every couple of years!
David: Well, it did get harder and harder to come up with the plots, and to be honest, I was surprised that I kept it going for as long as I did. And what with all the other pressures in TV today, as I’ve already mentioned, I think it’s safe to say the show has now come to an end.
Alex: Moving on to the book you have just released called ‘One Foot in the Grave and Counting’. What made you write a new book and think of those characters again? What should readers expect from the book?
David: This was very much written on a whim, as a kind of pastime, as I came to terms with my retirement. It’s nearly thirty years since BBC Books commissioned the first novelisation of the series, so I just thought I’d have a go and see if I had another one in me. The fact that people still seem to remember the characters, after all this time, with a lot of affection spurred me on. And writing for a book of course gives you so much more independence, and immediacy, than working in television, with a much lower level of risk. So, I just sort of pottered away at it for eighteen months, without telling anyone, and then eventually managed to find a publisher. As with the first novel, this one draws on a lot of favourite moments from the TV series, but there’s also much more original material this time. Just imagining the characters in a contemporary setting, rather than stuck in the nineties, I hope gives them a new lease of life.
Alex: What’s your next project? I think everyone reading this will be all wanting the same answer…
David: As I said, apart from that little experiment with the novel I’m enjoying being retired too much now and being free from all that writing pressure. The industry and tastes in comedy have all moved on, as they’re bound to, and I’m not remotely tempted to try and tackle anything new these days. I just feel incredibly grateful to have produced the work that I did, when I did, and how wonderful that it’s all still available for people to check out. When I first started out, in the early 1970s, that’s something no one could ever have contemplated.
Alex: It’s been the biggest pleasure and honour interviewing you. I can speak for the whole nation in saying thank you for the laughs and for creating what is a very relatable character in Victor.
David: Thank you so much for all your flattering comments and interest.
