We’re all in it together – even TV stars
LAST week, I visited the set of River City as the cast finally got back to work following lockdown.
It’s funny how you assume actors or those in the public eye won’t be as affected by a global pandemic as the rest of us, or I did anyway.
Love it or hate it, River City is an institution in Scotland. I am firmly part of the former camp and I’ve always been a massive fan. My love affair started when the show first hit screens in 2002, and it had a lot to do with how close the stars and fictional Shieldinch sets felt to me.
Growing up in Balloch, I was a mere hop, skip and a jump down the A82 from the BBC studio in Dumbarton. Its arrival caused much excitement for me in my sleepy tourist town, which until then was known for a one-off Oasis gig in the 90s that I wasn’t allowed to go to and the fact it was where Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri was raised.
As a student working a summer job in a local hotel which the cast and crew of Scotland’s brand-new soap liked to frequent for a spot of lunch back in the day, I got a kick coming face-to-face with the characters I watched on TV every week.
For an easily impressed teenager who’d be bowled over by meeting any celebrity, it was a thrill. I remember struggling to keep my composure as I handed over a bottle of beer to “Deek” and “Shellsuit Bob” one sunny afternoon, doing my best to play it cool while having just the right amount of banter so they’d remember me if there was a bit part going, or needed dates for a glitzy award ceremony.
It’s bizarre then to fast-forward a few years and find myself heading off to interview the likes of Stephen Purdon, the man behind the legend that was formerly known as Shellsuit Bob (he doesn’t remember me, despite my best efforts back then).
And it’s even stranger to hear his own fears and concerns about heading to work after months in the house, just like the rest of us.
The thing about River City is the actors and crew are like a big family who love what they do, and their enthusiasm is infectious. So my own nerves about being on a job in a public place, one of only a handful I’ve been on since lockdown ended, were quickly calmed.
Chatting with those on set, it soon became clear everyone felt apprehensive about being back in the real world, even with all the new safety precautions in place.
But in order for us to start getting back to a wee bit of normality, familiar things from our old lives need to get back up and running.
If you’d have said to me, or Shellsuit Bob, back in 2002 what we’d experience this year, we’d have more than likely laughed in your face.
But we’re all in it together – even the well-known faces from our TVs.
And one day all this will hopefully seem like a surreal plot line from our favourite TV shows.