Blog posts by year and monthApril 2012
Posts (7)
Bang Goes The Theory's human-powered plane experiment: The results
When invisible forces suddenly pluck you off the ground it's a massive shock, even if you've just spent weeks trying to make it happen. And up until that moment I was far more worried about dealing with the consequences of failure than those of success. But as I started to get a good vie...
Meet The Romans - and not just the toffs
Making Meet The Romans has been one of the most fun things I've ever done. It's been extraordinarily hard work (don't think making a documentary series is very glam!) but it has let me share some of the things I do in my day job as a Cambridge classics professor with a much wider audience. ...
Playing Sam in Lip Service's love triangle
Sam is everything I would like to be. Smart, cool, brave, steady but with a spark and a wicked sense of humour. She doesn't suffer fools and she intrinsically knows herself. Heather Peace as DS Sam Murray In series two of Lip Service I was given some real challenges with the writi...
The 70s: An eye-opener and a joy
I've always been fascinated by the 1970s. As I was born in October 1974 I can vaguely remember some of it - mainly Bagpuss, The Wombles and the excitement of seeing Star Wars - but the politics of the day completely passed me by. But there's something oddly compelling about the day before ye...
Creating The Matt Lucas Awards with my childhood friend
This corner of a school quad in Elstree, Hertfordshire is where this story begins in in the winter of 1986. The spot where Ashley and Matt first met Over 25 years ago I approached Matt Lucas on this exact spot to tell him that the day before I had been off school sick and I had been w...
Writing The Preston Passion from the ground up
Here's the brief from Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC's Head of Religion and Ethics: a) Tell the story of Christ's Passion, his suffering and crucifixion, in a way that's fresh and universal. And b) Set it in Preston. That's it. Writing drama for TV normally means having a detailed series ...
Our Food: Exploring Britain's colourful history
Our Food is a celebration of the nation's food - its origins, its tastes and the story it can tell us about our island's history. I'm passionate about food and where it comes from. At home I try and grow as many fruits and vegetables as the garden and greenhouse will allow and firmly bel...