My second day of filming was in the Queen Vic – what an honour
over – I get emotional [talking about it] now – and on the shelf, there’s a little cab. And I knew that was my dad because my dad was a cab driver. He’s gone – he went 20 years ago – and it was just this [sign saying], ‘You’ll be alright’.
It was incredible coming home and telling my family about it.
I wanted to take photos with everyone, and nick something. I took a beer mat home.
I’ve always had the gift of the gab, and I’m a cheeky Cockney lad
We just got a phone call out of the blue. They went, ‘This is the character, and we’d love you to be in it.’
I was very lucky, I didn’t have to audition and I’m glad because I’m rubbish at auditions; I can’t turn it on in an office room.
So for me to be part of it, and to have not gone through all that rigmarole – the stars aligned. them, but he is a romantic and a bit of a gentleman. And I am a bit of a gentleman; I think it’s my age as well, I’m very respectful.
Initially, the writers didn’t know who Terry is, and I didn’t.
But as these last couple of months have gone by, I can tell they’re writing it for me now, and I have some input. I can go and talk to them.
So, it does become you. which of course it’s not in theatre; [there] you have time to go away, think about it, sleep on it.
What’s nice is when you’re [filming] in the market or outside you can be a little bit closer and it feels more natural because you would be having a bit of banter and standing away from someone. But inside, it is hard.
But we all know that it’s important to do this. So we have masks, we do Covid tests very regularly.
Much to the amusement of my wife and my kids, they [the producers] have said, ‘There might be bits where you might have to cuddle someone’ – so my wife has been asked if she would come in and do a bit [of filming].
And one of my daughters is studying drama at Oxford, so she was like, ‘I’ll come in!’.