“Playing yourself is harder than it looks!”
AN ALL-STAR CAST PRESENTS THE UK TWIST OF HIT FRENCH SERIES CALL MY AGENT!…
With a glittering raft of much-loved faces including Jack Davenport, Maggie Steed, Jim Broadbent, Lydia Leonard, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Tim Mcinnerny, this new comedydrama – telling delicious tales of the trials and tribulations at London talent agency Nightingale Hart – is the UK’s answer to award-winning French series, Call My Agent!.
As per the original, we’ll be treated to enchanting cameo appearances from the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Kelly Macdonald, David Oyelowo and Dominic West. So Inside TV joined Jack Davenport (who plays Jonathan Nightingale, agent and son of agency boss Richard) for a very showbiz lowdown…
Hello, Jack! Please tell us about Jonathan…
He’s a gloriously flawed human. And his dad is played by Jim Broadbent, who everyone would like as their dad – I’ve taken a poll! I felt I’d be a fool to say no.
How much of the series rings true of your own experience with acting agents?
Well, I mean, it’s not that far from the truth. As an actor I take care not to be too needy, as agents’ jobs are hard enough. I took my own agent out for a long lunch and made copious notes before filming, and something he said that stayed with me is that as an agent, you’re either Father Christmas, or the Grim Reaper. Either changing someone’s life or breaking their heart. That makes for quite complex emotional territory!
Was there any pressure involved in making a new version of an existing show?
You’d have to be born on another planet to not be aware of the warmth with which the original is considered. But our writer [W1A writer] John Morton is a kind of genius in my view, and it felt really good when we were doing it. We have a lot of laughs at the expense of the entertainment industry, but there’s affection and tenderness in there too.
There are brilliant cameo appearances lined up for the series – would you rather play a character, or have a cameo role?
A character, 100%! Playing yourself is harder than it looks – and they’re playing heightened versions of themselves, for laughs. Almost all our guests are old friends of mine, coincidentally, and it was disconcerting – but once I got used to it, it was great fun. They have something difficult to do, but do it with great elan.
And what a wonderful cast to be working alongside…
Oh, yeah! Everyone puts their own stamp on the characters very quickly. I so enjoyed it, I’ve watched it three times, because I wanted to see what everyone else was up to. I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much I love it, as it seems narcissistic. But there you go!
Catch it if you can as Paddy McGuinness and his ball-consuming game show bounces back into Saturday nights with a brand-new star-studded series featuring celebrity competitors – all desperate to avoid the drop…
“I quite like watching that little change as they go from too-cool-for-school celebrity to ultra-competitive person, which usually happens after the first round!” grins Paddy. “They’re diving on the floor, beating themselves up if they don’t catch the ball. They’re playing for charity, so if they drop it, they’re genuinely gutted because they know what they’re playing for.”
This week’s showbiz battle features RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars Tia Kofi and The Vivienne, up against BBC Radio 1 DJs Scott Mills and Chris Stark – with celebs including H and Faye from Steps, Strictly’s Karen Hauer and JJ Chalmers, Denise Van Outen and Fred Sirieix, plus Martin and Shirley Kemp pairing up across the new r un. And for some unlucky contestants, the competitive pressure can have rather painful consequences…
“Everyone who’s been on the show has loved it – and really got into it,” Paddy shares. “But Louise Minchin misjudged the length of the stage when she was on with [fellow presenter] Mike Bushell, and ended up on her backside! Luckily, she was okay.
“And we didn’t know what kind of outfits The Vivienne and Tia would turn up in – the weather presenter Owain Wyn Evans wore a threepiece suit for his game, and I said to him, ‘Have you seen this show? You’ll be jumping about all over the place!’ But everyone has loved it and been really competitive. Hence Louise going off the end of the stage…”
THE CELEBS GET ULTRA-COMPETITIVE”