Big-budget dramas may be seen as wasteful, says actor

LOCKDOWN could spell the end of big-budget television dramas as viewers will see that shows can be made for less, says actor Robert Glenister.

He is one of the stars of Isolation Stories, an ITV drama conceived, written and shot in the space of a month.

It has been made on a shoestring budget as each of the four episodes had to be filmed in the actors’ homes without a crew, and directed via Zoom.

The Spooks and Hustle star said seeing the show could make viewers question the need for lavish budgets.

“If things carry on like this, we might reach a point where people start wondering why we’ve been spending £250,000 a week making television shows when we can do things in a far simpler, quicker fashion,” he told Radio Times.

Explaining how the programme was made, Glenister said: “Usually, when a film crew takes over a house, they’ll gut the whole place and then put everything back when they’re finished. But props guys obviously couldn’t come to us, so we had to do things ourselves, like putting curtains up with crocodile clips where we usually have window blinds.”

The writer is Jeff Pope, who has previously brought dramas about the Hatton Garden heist and the Moors Murders to the small screen.

He was inspired to make stories about people in lockdown after he, his wife, and his three sons all contracted

Covid-19. Film equipment was delivered to the homes of the actors, who were asked to sterilise it, and family members operated the cameras.

“Talk about a cottage industry – each household was taking care of make-up, wardrobe, props and lighting,” Pope said.

The series features Sheridan Smith as a pregnant woman isolating alone and Darren Boyd as a hypochondriac talking to his therapist online.