Interviews
- meet members of the cast and the writers
Joe
Prospero (Dillon Phillips)
Robert
Bathurst (Michael Phillips)
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman (writers)
Joe
Prospero (Dillon Phillips)
 What
do you think of Dillon, the character you play?
I think he is a good character to play, he is funny but he has quite
a difficult time at school because his dad is the Prime Minister.
At school there is a bully called Flash who has a gang and they
hassle him, but he does have good friends as well.
Dillon
is really embarrassed about the fact that his Dad is always in the
public eye.
What have you worked on previously?
I
recorded two series on ITV of My Uncle Silas and have recently finished
making a film called Neverland where I worked with Johnny Depp and
Kate Winslet.
It was really good and I am about to go to LA to do publicity for
the film. Johnny was really nice, I worked with him every day for
14 weeks.
What
do you think about the other members of the cast?
All
of them were nice, I got on with them all. None of them were horrible
to me, luckily.
We
had a good laugh making the series, it was a bit like a real family
in a way.
Do
you think the programme is funny?
I
like it, I think it is really good. I have seen some clips of it
and it looks funny.
One
of the other boys in the series had to sing Annie at some auditions
and it was so funny I kept laughing and we had to keep doing retakes.
Who
in your family would make a good Prime Minister?
My
Mum. I think women would make better Prime Ministers, especially
her though.
Robert
Bathurst (Michael Phillips)
 What
do you think about the character you play in the series?
He
is just a father who happens to be Prime Minister.
What
is it like playing the Prime Minister?
Even
real Prime Ministers are compared to their predecessors. My fictional
Prime Minister has the memory of Jim Hacker and Francis Urquhart
to contend with. The attempt is to find an original take on a familiar
theme.
What do you think are the pros and cons of being the Prime Minister?
There
are plenty of obvious pros but you had better ask Cherie Blair about
dealing with the obvious cons.
Did
you have fun with the other members of the cast?
I
have worked with some of them before, like Carla Mendonca, so that
was fun.
The
producer, Francis Matthews, dragged in a few of his theatre friends;
at times the set resembled the National Theatre canteen.
Joe
Prospero and Emma Sackville were assured and delightful.
What
did you think about the script when you first read it?
It
felt different.
Why
do you think you were chosen to play Michael Phillips the Prime
Minister?
Casting
is one of the dark arts - don’t ask.
Did
your Dad ever embarrass you, if so how?
When
I was six, living in Dublin, I was allowed to go to school on the
bus by myself. After all, I was a grown up and my parents needn’t
worry. I got off the bus at the right stop (of course), crossed
the road in the approved manner (naturally) and as I walked down
the street to school I happened to glance round and saw my father,
who should have been at work, peeking out from between parked cars,
checking me all the way. How dare he!
If
you could influence the Prime Minister what would you like him to
do?
Not
to listen to actors.
What
do you think about politicians?
I
admire politicians’ noses; their instinct to do the one thing
least likely to get them into trouble. Worldwide they are a bunch
of chancers on the make. I should know - I am an actor.
Are
there any politicians in your family?
No.
Is
this job the highest ‘position’ you have had?
The
Prime Minister is the most powerful person I have played, though
I have yet to be a newspaper proprietor.
Ian
Hislop and Nick Newman (writers)
 How
did the idea for the series come about?
Ian:
Originally it was Nick's idea. We had been talking for sometime
about writing something our children would watch.
Nick:
We were both quite keen to do something for children as we both
have kids, and up until now we had worked on things in a more adult
vein. The initial thought for it came from a friend who had been
to one of Tony Blair's parties at Downing Street. Euan Blair was
allowed to join the party, as long as he had finished his homework.
It struck me that he was in a rather unique position and I thought
it might be a basis for some jokes. Ian agreed and we took it from
there.
Ian:
The basic idea was that all children find their parents embarrassing,
so how much more would that be magnified if your father was Prime
Minister.
 Nick:
The idea is about an ordinary family in extraordinary situations.
When
did you both first work together?
Nick:
We have worked together for nearly 30 years. We were at school together,
we did school revues and then at University we did a magazine together.
After that we started writing television together.
Ian:
We worked on Spitting Image, Harry Enfield and Murder Most Horrid.
We also collaborate on Private Eye and have done pretty much since
I first started there.
Do
you work alone or is it always as a pair?
Nick:
I worked on the Clive Anderson Show and the Jack Docherty Show.
I have also done some radio series where I have collaborated with
other people, so we both have our independent lives as writers as
well but for the most part we enjoy working together.
When
you work together do you write separately and then compare notes?
Nick:
No, we are indeed locked in a room, until the series is over and
then they let us out. Writing is rather a solitary thing on your
own so it is much more fun to be able to bounce jokes off people.
Ian:
We always sit in the room together and try to make each other laugh,
that sort of basic mechanism really.
How
long did the process take, from the initial idea to the finished
series?
Nick:
About two years ago we first took the idea to the 91Èȱ¬, we wrote
a pilot script which then led to a read through in front of Lorraine
Heggessey. After that we were commissioned to write another script.
Ian:
After being commissioned and then doing rewrites, suddenly it was
being filmed this autumn.
Did
you find it easy modifying your style for a younger audience?
Nick:
There are elements of the show that are directly aimed at children
and elements that we are trying to make cross over into adult territory.
Ian:
Yes, we are trying to do something different. It is comedy but each
one is a little adventure plot. There is stuff for adults and lots
of stuff that I hope children will like also.
Nick:
Although Ian and myself try to keep up on what children like these
days we did buy magazines and find out what rap music is to make
sure we are up-to-date.
Ian:
Trying to get into the idiom of the children was fun and the cast
seem to have done it very well.
What
did you think of the cast?
Ian:
Robert Bathurst was our original idea. He is a natural to play a
Prime Minister. I have known him a long time and he is very good
at those professional parts. Joe who plays the son is fab - very
good. There are also a lot of cameos from adult actors. Francis
Matthews, the director, is very good at getting people to appear.
Do
you have children and are there any similarities to the character
in the series?
Ian:
The answer is yes but I am not going to point the similarities out
in case they read this.
Nick:
I have three children - a daughter and two boys. A lot of my input
into it has been based on what I found amusing about my own children,
but I hope they don’t feel it is a rip off of their lives.
Ian:
I hope they enjoy the programme, because it was partly written for
them.
Do
you ever embarrass your children?
Nick:
I think continually. I think that is one of the starting points
for the series. Ian is more in the spotlight than I am but the great
thing about your children is that they don’t rate that at
all. They are not remotely interested in anything you have done
and that is something we have tried to get in our show. Although
he is the Prime Minister, to his children he is just a father who
is on television far too much and is rather embarrassing. I think
most fathers can relate to their children not taking them, as parents,
too seriously and my children have certainly found me acutely embarrassing
on occasions.
Ian:
All the time, I am well aware of it. They always point it out. "You're
so embarrassing" is the high concept of the series.
Which
past Prime Minister would you say you are like?
Nick:
I hope I am not like any of them.
Ian:
Obviously the list starts with Churchill, goes through Gladstone,
Disraeli - all the greats. William Pitt the younger, that's my man.
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