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| Martin Clunes rises to Perrin role | Martin Clunes rises to Perrin role |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| By Rebecca Thomas Entertainment reporter, BBC News | By Rebecca Thomas Entertainment reporter, BBC News |
| Advertisement | |
| A scene from the new Reggie Perrin | |
| In the 1970s, sitcoms were king on British TV and among the most regal of these was The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. | In the 1970s, sitcoms were king on British TV and among the most regal of these was The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. |
| It starred the late Leonard Rossiter as a businessman in the throws of a mid-life crisis. | It starred the late Leonard Rossiter as a businessman in the throws of a mid-life crisis. |
| More than 30 years later, the show has been remade with Martin Clunes in the title role. | More than 30 years later, the show has been remade with Martin Clunes in the title role. |
| Much of the humour of the original came from recurring jokes that heightened Reggie's growing exasperation at the absurdity of his monotonous life. | Much of the humour of the original came from recurring jokes that heightened Reggie's growing exasperation at the absurdity of his monotonous life. |
| Reggie's ridiculously pompous boss CJ, the "farting" chairs in his office, Perrin's "hippo" of a mother-in-law, all pushed Reggie further and further towards the edge. | Reggie's ridiculously pompous boss CJ, the "farting" chairs in his office, Perrin's "hippo" of a mother-in-law, all pushed Reggie further and further towards the edge. |
| Simon Nye, creator of Men Behaving Badly in which Clunes also starred, has written the updated version, closely assisted by David Nobbs, the brains behind the original. | Simon Nye, creator of Men Behaving Badly in which Clunes also starred, has written the updated version, closely assisted by David Nobbs, the brains behind the original. |
| Clunes shares his memories of the old Reggie Perrin and tells us what we can expect from the new. | Clunes shares his memories of the old Reggie Perrin and tells us what we can expect from the new. |
| Do you remember the original? | Do you remember the original? |
| Oh yes, it was compulsive viewing. In those days when there was a good programme on everybody watched it as there were only three channels. We never missed it. I was growing up and it was considered to be intelligent comedy and so I wanted to be seen to be "getting it". | Oh yes, it was compulsive viewing. In those days when there was a good programme on everybody watched it as there were only three channels. We never missed it. I was growing up and it was considered to be intelligent comedy and so I wanted to be seen to be "getting it". |
| Leonard Rossiter made the role of the desperate Reggie Perrin his own | Leonard Rossiter made the role of the desperate Reggie Perrin his own |
| I was at drama school and going there on my moped over London Bridge and past Bank, everyone on the streets coming out of tube stations was wearing bowler hats. | I was at drama school and going there on my moped over London Bridge and past Bank, everyone on the streets coming out of tube stations was wearing bowler hats. |
| That's how business men dressed, as they did in Perrin. If you were in business that is what you wore. Society has changed so much. | That's how business men dressed, as they did in Perrin. If you were in business that is what you wore. Society has changed so much. |
| The show didn't depress you at all? | The show didn't depress you at all? |
| I don't think it is depressing. Reggie is depressed but I think we can all enjoy his release in the fantasies and visions even if he is still trapped in his own life, poor fellow. So, from the audience's point of view it's vicariously enjoying that release. | I don't think it is depressing. Reggie is depressed but I think we can all enjoy his release in the fantasies and visions even if he is still trapped in his own life, poor fellow. So, from the audience's point of view it's vicariously enjoying that release. |
| Were you daunted at the prospect of taking on such an iconic character? | Were you daunted at the prospect of taking on such an iconic character? |
| Everyone says that, but I don't really know what it means - even Bugs Bunny gets called iconic! But there were scary things about it, such as doing a show with an audience again. | Everyone says that, but I don't really know what it means - even Bugs Bunny gets called iconic! But there were scary things about it, such as doing a show with an audience again. |
| But really I was just absolutely thrilled, honoured and flattered to be asked. The whole package was appealing: it meant working with Simon Nye again and also David Nobbs. | But really I was just absolutely thrilled, honoured and flattered to be asked. The whole package was appealing: it meant working with Simon Nye again and also David Nobbs. |
| David's presence legitimised all talk of iconic characters. Reggie is his character - and his book that the show was based on - so I felt fine. People are bound to make comparisons and say, 'He's no Leonard Rossiter' and all that but they do that about things all the time anyway. | David's presence legitimised all talk of iconic characters. Reggie is his character - and his book that the show was based on - so I felt fine. People are bound to make comparisons and say, 'He's no Leonard Rossiter' and all that but they do that about things all the time anyway. |
| What elements of the original will we see in this new version? | What elements of the original will we see in this new version? |
| Things have been slightly changed: there's still a CJ but this time he's Chris Jackson and he's not a tall, posh boss but a sort of wide boy terrier. There's no hippo and no mother-in-law but there is a father-in-law. There's no cutting to stock footage like in the original but there are recurring visions and fantasies. | Things have been slightly changed: there's still a CJ but this time he's Chris Jackson and he's not a tall, posh boss but a sort of wide boy terrier. There's no hippo and no mother-in-law but there is a father-in-law. There's no cutting to stock footage like in the original but there are recurring visions and fantasies. |
| What about the farting chairs? | What about the farting chairs? |
| No, I was gutted! I wish they had been kept in. | No, I was gutted! I wish they had been kept in. |
| And why does he now work for a male grooming company and not Sunshine Desserts as before? | And why does he now work for a male grooming company and not Sunshine Desserts as before? |
| I think it was because it doesn't really sound very plausible, Sunshine Desserts. Not that any of it is meant to be grounded in reality but I think they thought it would be better to move it on and that there was more scope for humour in the area of male grooming and I agree. Desserts seem a bit silly now. | I think it was because it doesn't really sound very plausible, Sunshine Desserts. Not that any of it is meant to be grounded in reality but I think they thought it would be better to move it on and that there was more scope for humour in the area of male grooming and I agree. Desserts seem a bit silly now. |
| Obnoxious boss Chris Jackson (Neil Stuke) makes Reggie's working life hell | Obnoxious boss Chris Jackson (Neil Stuke) makes Reggie's working life hell |
| A lot of the nature of the jokes in the original were very much of their era... | A lot of the nature of the jokes in the original were very much of their era... |
| Yes, television has changed hugely. You can't have a wife who is just a wife who says: 'Honey, dinner's ready.' | Yes, television has changed hugely. You can't have a wife who is just a wife who says: 'Honey, dinner's ready.' |
| She needs a life and an agenda and I think it's better for that. I wouldn't like to say TV is better now than it was then or vice versa but I think that sort of thing is better. | She needs a life and an agenda and I think it's better for that. I wouldn't like to say TV is better now than it was then or vice versa but I think that sort of thing is better. |
| Audiences now ask more questions and people need to be given more in a character. | Audiences now ask more questions and people need to be given more in a character. |
| Reggie's increasing hysteria in the original gives it momentum. What sort of outrageous things does your Reggie do? | Reggie's increasing hysteria in the original gives it momentum. What sort of outrageous things does your Reggie do? |
| It's about a man having a nervous breakdown. In episode one he's already in third gear. He gets just as frustrated by the people on the train to work, but this time they are all on laptops or have their headphones in and he starts fantasising about the things he could do to stop them. | It's about a man having a nervous breakdown. In episode one he's already in third gear. He gets just as frustrated by the people on the train to work, but this time they are all on laptops or have their headphones in and he starts fantasising about the things he could do to stop them. |
| And he has moments of semi-martial arts where he dispenses of people he finds tiresome, especially his boss who is unreasonable and picks on him. | And he has moments of semi-martial arts where he dispenses of people he finds tiresome, especially his boss who is unreasonable and picks on him. |
| The new show seems quite timely given the frustrations people are having with work... | The new show seems quite timely given the frustrations people are having with work... |
| Yes but it would be applicable at any time as his frustration is just his own ruttish existence. But maybe nowadays people are more lucky to actually have a job and they wouldn't be quite so rude about their own. | Yes but it would be applicable at any time as his frustration is just his own ruttish existence. But maybe nowadays people are more lucky to actually have a job and they wouldn't be quite so rude about their own. |
| There are quite a few TV remakes at the moment - Minder, Survivors and the forthcoming Day of the Triffids - what do you make of that? | There are quite a few TV remakes at the moment - Minder, Survivors and the forthcoming Day of the Triffids - what do you make of that? |
| It's interesting. When this was first sold to me I was told they wanted to do for Reggie Perrin what they did for Doctor Who. You can't fault remaking Doctor Who as so many people love it and I hope, as long as we don't let people down, there will be a similar sort of appetite for this. | It's interesting. When this was first sold to me I was told they wanted to do for Reggie Perrin what they did for Doctor Who. You can't fault remaking Doctor Who as so many people love it and I hope, as long as we don't let people down, there will be a similar sort of appetite for this. |
| There is always going to be curiosity with something that has a sort of brand. I find a lot of people think they have memories of Reggie Perrin and they are in fact confusing it with Rising Damp and Cinzano commercials and anything Leonard Rossiter did, they lump it all in together. | There is always going to be curiosity with something that has a sort of brand. I find a lot of people think they have memories of Reggie Perrin and they are in fact confusing it with Rising Damp and Cinzano commercials and anything Leonard Rossiter did, they lump it all in together. |
| Can you relate to Reggie in any way since, as an actor, you don't have the monotonous existence a lot of people do? | Can you relate to Reggie in any way since, as an actor, you don't have the monotonous existence a lot of people do? |
| No I am very, very fortunate in that. But as I get older things get to me that perhaps shouldn't, tolerance gets less. You know, grumpy old man sort of thing. And fantasising about dealing with annoyances definitely - but I won't go into any detail! | No I am very, very fortunate in that. But as I get older things get to me that perhaps shouldn't, tolerance gets less. You know, grumpy old man sort of thing. And fantasising about dealing with annoyances definitely - but I won't go into any detail! |
| That's the joy of Reggie, the way he deals with frustrations. The fantasies kind of take him by surprise in the beginning but then he's almost egging them on. | That's the joy of Reggie, the way he deals with frustrations. The fantasies kind of take him by surprise in the beginning but then he's almost egging them on. |
| All of those elements were out of my control but I did put in requests for some fantasies! | All of those elements were out of my control but I did put in requests for some fantasies! |
| How does Fay Ripley play her character as your wife? | How does Fay Ripley play her character as your wife? |
| It's very hard for Reggie's wife with the sort of two lives that he lives but I don't think you could now get away with putting on the sort of marriage of the 70s. | It's very hard for Reggie's wife with the sort of two lives that he lives but I don't think you could now get away with putting on the sort of marriage of the 70s. |
| Reggie's wife (Fay Ripley) looks on as he loses the plot | |
| Fay sort of grounds it in truth as well as humour, she's naturally a very warm and funny person. | Fay sort of grounds it in truth as well as humour, she's naturally a very warm and funny person. |
| There is a good grounding to their marriage. It's the sort of marriage you believe in so you invest some care in it, its demise or not. And you can see that she is aware of her husband's deterioration. | There is a good grounding to their marriage. It's the sort of marriage you believe in so you invest some care in it, its demise or not. And you can see that she is aware of her husband's deterioration. |
| What was it like working with Wendy Craig, who plays Reggie's mother? | What was it like working with Wendy Craig, who plays Reggie's mother? |
| It was just great. I couldn't believe it! She was so tied up with my TV watching back then that to have her in it was a real treat. And there's no change to her. She plays my intensely annoying mother and every time she annoys me she gets smashed down with a wrecking ball [in Reggie's imagination] - the special effect was alarmingly good, you worry for her. | It was just great. I couldn't believe it! She was so tied up with my TV watching back then that to have her in it was a real treat. And there's no change to her. She plays my intensely annoying mother and every time she annoys me she gets smashed down with a wrecking ball [in Reggie's imagination] - the special effect was alarmingly good, you worry for her. |
| The 70s were the era of the sitcom but these days you don't seem them much and often they don't survive... | The 70s were the era of the sitcom but these days you don't seem them much and often they don't survive... |
| Yes, sitcom has become almost a dirty word. But you see things like Lead Balloon, which I absolutely love and also Free Agents on Channel 4 which I love too - I just love all the swearing! | Yes, sitcom has become almost a dirty word. But you see things like Lead Balloon, which I absolutely love and also Free Agents on Channel 4 which I love too - I just love all the swearing! |
| And then there's The Family but I don't think this is like that so it will be interesting to see how this is received. The BBC seems convinced that people do want to watch audience shows. | And then there's The Family but I don't think this is like that so it will be interesting to see how this is received. The BBC seems convinced that people do want to watch audience shows. |
| It's probably easier to make programmes without an audience but you don't really know how much they are down to taste or just ease of production. | It's probably easier to make programmes without an audience but you don't really know how much they are down to taste or just ease of production. |
| You do get a heightened performance if there is an audience and their reaction is as vital as the other actors'. | You do get a heightened performance if there is an audience and their reaction is as vital as the other actors'. |
| It gives you the other half of the music and with that sort of gag based script you need it. And if they don't laugh then last week's audience will! | It gives you the other half of the music and with that sort of gag based script you need it. And if they don't laugh then last week's audience will! |
| Reggie Perrin begins on Friday 24 April at 2130 BST on BBC One. | Reggie Perrin begins on Friday 24 April at 2130 BST on BBC One. |