91Èȱ¬

Outnumbered returns to 91Èȱ¬ One

Production notes

It's a well-known adage: never work with children or animals. But Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's comedy series Outnumbered puts three small children at the very centre of the story – and allows them to improvise into the bargain.

 

Set somewhere in South London – actually filmed in Wandsworth – two middle-class parents engage in a battle of wills with their three small children: two boys aged 12 and eight and a six-year old-daughter.

 

Outnumbered explores easily recognisable situations that have the potential to turn into a nightmare – such as endeavouring to get small children to stay on their best behaviour at important family gatherings and being stuck at a foreign airport for hours on end with three small children who have nothing absolutely nothing to do, and an elderly and increasingly confused grandparent in tow too.

 

Andy laughs: "The traumas are so recognisable because they have happened to most people and these new episodes are like a form of comic counselling. In fact, the whole series basically says 'Don't worry if you think you're a c**p parent, because we all are'."

 

Guy agrees with Andy: "Outnumbered is a very natural evocation of the daily rollercoaster of family life with all the chaos and all the little details."

 

The series is based, in part, on Andy and Guy's own experiences of bringing up young families, as Guy, the father of twin daughters, explains: "We'd been talking about doing a comedy half-hour for some time and since we both have young families that seemed a good place to start."

 

Andy was also inspired after he wrote a few scenes for his daughter Isobel, who was seven at the time, for his 2001 Hat Trick sitcom for 91Èȱ¬ One called Bedtime – which ran to three series.

 

He explains: "Co-star Kevin McNally suggested I didn't show Isobel the script – just gave her my thoughts. Isobel customised her lines, and it did look very natural."

 

Guy continues: "That made us start thinking about the practical possibilities of getting genuine, realistic looking performances out of young children.

 

"But we noticed this great dichotomy between the representations of parenting in sitcoms with the complete chaos of real life.

 

"You rarely get the feeling that children in sitcoms are real. They tend to be the same type of character – the smarta**e who says adult things – and they are rooted to the spot, staring at the camera, because they've been told to stand in one place and say the lines.

 

"We decided to attempt to do something that hadn't been tried before, bounced some ideas around and we got very keen on this idea of involving improvisation very quickly."

 

This certainly gives viewers the feeling of being a fly on the wall, although it can be somewhat nerve-wracking for the production team and the other cast as they are never quite sure what the children are going to say, while having to ensure they follow the natural arc of the storyline.

 

Andy elaborates: "The children were allowed to improvise their lines. We write the storyline and we write the dialogue, but we try to create an environment where the kids will spin off into something or they'll express themselves in a way that's very individual to them.

 

"In most cases, the adults don't get any real warning, and then we step into genuine improvisation."

 

The father of two children, and a veteran of such comedy shows as Mock The Week and My Hero, Hugh Dennis, who plays the Dad, Pete, loves the fact that the kids in Outnumbered don't have their conversations scripted.

 

He says: "It is quite difficult sometimes not to laugh when the kids are improvising, although if we are going for naturalism – which is I think different from naturism – laughing is actually quite an appropriate response.

 

"The best thing to do is to laugh when you know you are off camera.

 

"As for keeping the scenes going in the right direction we quite often had a line we knew we had to head for; sometimes you would have to abandon it if the scene went too weird, but generally it was possible to get there by a circuitous route.

 

"Anyway, normal conversations do usually change direction without warning... it is only scripted conversations which don't."

 

Mum Sue, played by actress Claire Skinner (Burn Up, Sense And Sensibility) laughs in agreement: "I love the element of surprise in the kids coming up with really weird ideas – it keeps you on your toes and in the moment."

 

So there were scripts, but the children did not have to learn any lines. Instead they were given a verbal outline of whatever situation the characters found themselves in and were then encouraged to express things in their own way – often with surprising results.

 

All three children think that working like this is "good fun". Daniel thinks it is funnier still that the "grown-ups aren't allowed to make things up" and that that honour is reserved for the children.

 

Andy adds: "We decided we'd try and create an atmosphere on set in which the children could relax and be themselves. Filming comes with a lot of ritual and paraphernalia, and we tried to get rid of as much of that as possible."

 

Crew and equipment were kept to a minimum to avoid pressurising the children and a subtle lighting plan was devised.

 

Andy explains: "This enabled us to follow the action rather than having certain spots where people had to be at certain moments."

 

There wasn't even a make-up artist: "Being primped and prodded by a stranger before going on set is one of the things that generates tension," Andy explains.

 

Despite its unusual scheduling – it ran at 10.35pm across three nights a week in just two weeks – the first series of Outnumbered was a resounding success.

 

Andy comments: "The scheduling of the first series was inventive and generated a sense of event about the show. However, because all six shows were transmitted inside a fortnight, the series was over before some people got to hear about it.

 

"But the audience it did attract – we know from websites and postbags – was hugely passionate about the show.

 

"Obviously, moving to weekly transmission at 9.00 gives more time for word-of-mouth to spread and gives us a chance to reach those sections of the population who are heading for bed at 10.35pm – which I suppose includes the young, the old and people who've got a long day tomorrow."

 

He adds: "The critical response to the first series was tremendous. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive but, more importantly perhaps, we seemed to strike a real chord with our audience who clearly felt that the show was a funny and realistic portrayal of family chaos that they recognised.

 

"The other major reaction was that everyone was very impressed by the naturalness of the kids' performances which made the show feel unique.

 

"The Radio Times said that Outnumbered attracted its biggest positive postbag of the year, and a fans' website called TV Scoop also reported that we were their most praised programme of the year.

 

"They sent us the comments – a couple of hundred of them – which were immensely enthusiastic and demonstrated how clearly viewers of all generations (from 12 years old to 83, in fact) had identified with the show."

 

Hugh Dennis observes: "It was fantastic that the first series was a success – but the most common question I was asked after the first series was 'why is it on so late?' and would the next series be once a week rather than spread over two weeks?

 

"I think people found it rather difficult to devote that amount of time to it – I am delighted that both those things seem to have been addressed!"

 

As a hands-on and practical father himself, Hugh recognises a lot of the situations that Mum and Dad find themselves in in the programme.

 

He says: "I think the longest car journey we have ever taken with the kids was 10 hours – 10 hours which took 10 years off my life! At Christmas we are flying to Australia... oh my God!

 

"As for the small domestic details, they were also very recognisable – for example the fact that when I load the dishwasher my wife reloads it because apparently I haven't got it right.

 

"I found it all rather comforting though – as did a lot of the crew with kids – because we realised that we were all in the same boat; that everybody's family life is full of little foibles and eccentricities and that raising a family is hard work and that try as you might you are going to get stuff wrong most of the time."

 

Hugh hopes viewers enjoy watching the second series of Outnumbered as much as he enjoyed making it.

 

He says: "People should watch because it is a very funny programme but viewers should watch mainly because if you are a parent with all of the doubt and chaos that it brings this series will make you realise that you are not alone… watch us cock it up and feel better about your whole life!"

 

Claire Skinner is a parent too, and feels that Outnumbered differs from other family comedies in that it is very child-centric.

 

She says: "It's got some lovely, natural performances from the kids and Hugh and my reactions to them are very fresh as we were never quite sure what they were going to do from take to take."

 

She loved the relaxed atmosphere on set, carefully nurtured by Andy and Guy, and thinks that this really helps to get the best performances out of the children: "The more the children feel like they are playing, the better they are I think.

 

"Andy and Guy use a really light touch and create a very playful and non-pressured atmosphere which helps the kids feel free.

 

"It's important that they feel they can try anything and that there are no mistakes. I think they cope brilliantly and really come up with some cracking stuff."

 

Claire laughs: "Viewers will, like me, recognise many of the scenarios: situations like re-loading the dishwasher just after my partner has done it. I think most people will be able to relate to those sorts of things.

 

"The family gets pushed to the nth degree, and there are some wonderful observations on family life – I know Hugh and I found them very familiar! We were constantly saying 'I had this very conversation last night' or 'I've just had this argument'.

 

"I think we all found out a lot about each others' marriages and it was quite comforting to know everyone bickers as much as we do about daft things!"

 

Andy adds: "We have brought back a couple of the strong additional characters from the first series. David Ryall plays the Grandad who is slowly drifting into his own twilight world of confusion and Hattie Morahan again plays the Mum who is always using everybody else as a babysitting service.

 

"However there is a new character; Lorraine Pilkington plays the woman who lives next door. She is the world's most perfect Mum. She raises perfectly behaved children with immaculate ease and secretly other women want to kill her."

 

The explosive on-screen relationship between Claire's character Sue and her sister Angela, played by Samantha Bond, continues in the first episode of this series.

 

Claire describes the dynamic between the two as "loaded and edgy".

 

And Sue doesn't just have her volatile sister to deal with.

 

Claire says: "Coping with her ailing father is very complicated for Sue, and the triangle of Sue, Dad and Angela has lots of interesting tensions. David Ryall is so completely 'Frank' when he's acting that it makes what happens between the three of them easy to play."

 

Hattie Morahan's character Jane – neurotic Mum with no self knowledge – is another worry for Sue. How does she confront her about her constant lateness and asking for impossible and cheeky favours?

 

Claire says: "Hattie plays her so wonderfully; she is so wrapped up in herself that it was often hard not to giggle – especially when Jane is absently stroking Pete's arm.

 

"Then of course there's the dreaded Barbara next door who highlights all of Sue's shortcomings with her seemingly perfect life and children. Lorraine Pilkington was so funny as Babs – again it was quite hard to hold it together!"

 

Claire concludes: "Outnumbered has been so beautifully written and observed: it has a big heart."

 

Andy and Guy had not hesitated when it came to casting the adults in Outnumbered.

 

Andy Hamilton explains: "We were confident that Hugh and Claire would both have the right mixture of fearlessness and the ability to adapt to what was going on around them. And they've both got great comic timing."

 

But the writers also knew that the roles would offer their own special challenges.

 

Guy Jenkin: "It's a fiendish job for actors in that you've got to be funny, you've got to be real and you've got to respond to what the children do while staying in character and I suppose we were looking for actors who would relish the thought rather than be scared by it."

 

When it came to casting the children, the casting director avoided stage-school talent and instead undertook a lengthy audition process which involved lots of game playing.

 

So the three juvenile leads came out at the top of the fairly exhausting casting process: "They're all really interesting to watch and they've all got very interesting, funny personalities. They are confident but also excellent actors."

 

Tyger Drew-Honey, who plays 12-year-old Jake, was most recently seen as a regular character (Frank Dad's somewhat bewildered son) in 91Èȱ¬ One's The Armstrong & Miller Show (Hat Trick Productions).

 

He will be making an appearance on the small screen shortly in the form of an elephant called Lester Large in the cartoon The Large Family for which he provides the voice.

 

As for his character Jake, Tyger says: "He is a typical 12 year old: he wants to be seen as independent and grown-up."

 

Daniel Roche has appeared in a number of commercials and in an episode of Casualty and will be seen in a Whistling Thorn short film called Off Season towards the end of the year.

 

Daniel is quite a character and can get up to a bit of mischief on set because he is so inquisitive: he freely admits that everyone is always telling him not to touch things.

 

Daniel says that they have a lot of laughs when they are on set which makes for a fun working environment.

 

For the youngest child, seven-year-old Ramona Marquez, the first series of Outnumbered marked her first acting role.

 

She was spotted by Guy's wife at a birthday party, as he explains: "She had an interesting personality and was sure of herself without being precocious."

 

Ramona quickly endeared herself with her natural and warm performances as Karen.

 

And she learnt a good deal from her on-screen siblings, adding that she now looks upon Tyger as a big brother – to add to her real-life two brothers and one sister.

 

Hugh says that the children were as fresh and enthusiastic as ever when it cam to filming the second series of Outnumbered: "The kids are all really great and seem to be unaffected by their new celebrity status!

 

"It sounds facile to say it but the major change really is that they are all a year older. Kids change very rapidly but they have all maintained their charm, their wit and boisterousness – they really are the stars of the series and are as exhausting as ever!"

 

And the writers, cast and crew must be doing something right as all three children, when asked what they wanted to do when they grew up, said that they would like to work in television.

 

In fact, Daniel went on to say that he wanted to be like Andy and Guy and write and direct.

 

Andy concludes: "This is not like any other comedy about family life. This is family life as we've all experienced it."

 

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