DINNER DATE
SIMON BIRD AND TOM ROSENTHAL REVEAL THEIR RECIPE FOR SITCOM SUCCESS…
With its prankster brothers and odd parents – plus a peculiar neighbour thrown into the mix – Friday Night Dinner has ensured viewers are left with an appetite for more. As the series returns for its fifth run, Inside TV caught up with on-screen siblings Adam (Simon Bird) and Jonny (Tom Rosenthal)…
Does it feel like a family reunion each time you all get back together?
Simon It does, actually. It was really fun this time around.
The storylines sound great – particularly Jim going on a date with another Jackie…
Tom Jim on a date is hot stuff! Simon We all thought, ‘I can’t imagine a woman that would work for Jim’ – but Rosie Cavaliero pulls it off. For a while it really looks as though that relationship is a goer.
The first episode starts with Adam and Jonny finding their parents Jackie and Martin in the hot tub...
Simon Yes. Scarring.
Tom Robert [Popper, the show’s writer] told me he wrote that scene quite a long time ago and he’s been trying to work out a way to get it in.
Simon He had to sell it to Tamsin [Greig, aka Jackie] and Paul [Ritter, who plays Martin].
Tom They were apprehensive as they didn’t necessarily love the idea of being filmed in a hot tub, but actually it was snowing so it was much worse for us out of the tub than it was for them inside it!
There’s a lot of physical prank-playing between the two of you, as always – any injuries this time?
Simon Of course, loads. In the first series, we didn’t really know each other, so we sort of held back a bit. But now we hit each other very hard! Tom It makes it a bit better on camera. But in every series, one will punch the other two per cent harder than they should, and the other one will remember that for next time, so they’ll go another two per cent harder. We suffer for our art.
It’s been a couple of years since the previous series – is it something you can see carrying on for years?
Simon What I love about it is that Robert finds different ways to be interesting, original and funny within quite a restrictive set-up. He has said he has lots of ideas and could keep writing it, so I think it could definitely go on – but that’s up to other people, not us.
Jonny’s friend comes round in this series, doesn’t he?
Tom Yes, he’s depressed because his marriage has broken up, and Dad tries to cheer him up with this weird puppet that he found in the attic. I really enjoyed that.
And there are no ‘females’ around for the lads?
Simon No, there aren’t… Tom It’s weird, that.
What’s sort of dinner is on the menu this series?
Tom We had a Chinese this time. Having duck wraps at
nine o’clock in the morning is actually not bad. And we had a crumble crumble.
Simon Without any fruit in it. It was pure crumble.
You both appeared in play The Philanthropist last year – how was working with each other outside of this show?
Tom We spent so much time together that I think if we were going to fall out, we would have then. We clearly get on at some level that we’re able to spend so much time together.
Simon That’s very sweet. Tom As sweet as it’ll get.