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ROVERSPress Pack

Tuesday 24 May at 10pm

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3 Introduction

4 Characters

Interviews

6 Craig Cash

8 Sue Johnston

10 Joe Wilkinson & David Earl

12 Steve Speirs

14 Diane Morgan

16 Episodes

17 Contacts

CONTENTS

1 ches tost+ ketch

“It’s the biggest laugh I’ve had since doing The Royle Family”

SUE JOHNSTON

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INTRODUCTIONIn front of the camera for the first time since The Royle Family special in 2012, Craig Cash directs, produces and stars in a brand-new original Sky 1 comedy that drops in on the lives of the indomitable fans of Redbridge Rovers – a struggling lower league football team. Craig, playing the loveable die-hard Redbridge Rovers fan Pete Mott, is reunited with his The Royle Family co-star Sue Johnston, who plays Doreen – the slightly dotty club bar manager and de facto matriarch of the Redbridge community. The long-time screen partners are joined by a community of colourful characters, including Steve Speirs (Stella, Extras) as Tel, Pete’s best mate since childhood, and Seb Cardinal (Psychobitches, Cardinal Burns) as Tel’s trendy new love interest Mel. Diane Morgan (Weekly Wipe’s Philomena Cunk) also joins the stellar cast as the club’s resident vamp, Mandy. The series is written by comedians Joe Wilkinson (Him & Her, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) and David Earl (Derek), who also make appearances in the series as Pete’s bearded nemeses, wind-up merchants Bruce and Lee. The club has seen better days, but its fans are a passionate and tenacious force. Together they make for a hilariously dysfunctional family, who are bound together by a (some might argue) misjudged love of the perennial underdogs that are the Rovers. After all, it’s never just about the football; it’s about who’s singing in the stands next to you.

“Working with Sue again was just like putting comfy slippers on. It’s just a joy”

CRAIG CASH

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CHARACTERS

Pete MottCraig CashPete Mott (or Meat Pot – “swap the letters round, it’s good fun”) is Redbridge Rovers’ most ardent fan, and lives to see the day they are promoted to the Evo-Stik Premier League. His loyalty and reverence for the team is nothing short of inspiring – win or lose you’ll always find Pete singing either on the sidelines or in the bar. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm has also got him flagged as a nuisance caller on the local radio football phone-in.

DoreenSue JohnstonDoreen’s late husband was a legendary player at the club in the 70s and, the heart and soul of Redbridge’s clubhouse, she’s been around ever since (but don’t ask her to explain the offside rule). As well as pulling the pints and making the post-match sarnies, she’s the source of all gossip in the club and her meat raffles are legendary. It’s pretty rare she gets a pat on her back for her troubles, but the fans are her family, and she loves them dearly.

TelSteve SpeirsPete’s best friend from childhood and his Redbridge Rovers brother-in-arms. The pair have always been inseparable, but recently Tel has had to make difficult choices between spending rainy Saturdays at the Rovers clubhouse with Pete and going on trips to Malta with his new lover, Mel. His commitment to Pete’s bowling team ‘G-Force’ has also been called into question...

MelSeb CardinalSince they became a couple, Mel has been a transformative influence on Tel, decking him out with the finest designer clothing and dashing silk scarves for match day. Pete has been overheard saying he’s spoiling Tel. We’re not sure if he meant that in the pampering sense.

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CHARACTERS

Sam Lolly Adefope

The new girl in town. At first the club and its patrons are a little bewildering to her, but it’s not long before the new barmaid is learning the bar snack shorthand technique from Doreen and joining in with the Rovers chants.

Bruce and LeeDavid Earl and Joe Wilkinson

Pete’s southern nemeses. Twin brothers, Bruce and Lee are a pair of wind-up merchants who like nothing better than riling Pete. Whether it’s arguing over who has been to more games, or critiquing Pete’s new football chants, there is no level of one-upmanship deemed pointless enough by this terrible duo.

Willy Pearce Quigley

The editor of The Little Red Rover fanzine, there isn’t a statistic about the team that Willy doesn’t have perfect recall over – although this often causes him to be berated by his overbearing mother for showing off. Some might say he’s a little dull and robotic, but the resident vamp Mandy has taken something of a shine to him.

Francis Judith Barker

Willy’s mother, and another die-hard Rovers supporter. Now under the care of her long-suffering son, Francis may be blind but nothing gets past her, and she is determined to have a say in everything that goes on at the club. She can still be a powerful presence, especially when cornering the club’s managers to tell them to pull their fingers out.

Mandy Diane Morgan

Mandy’s a plumber who is currently working on getting every Rovers striker’s name tattooed to her backside. It’s a work in progress and, last we heard, “it stings like a bastard”. She’s a carnivorous presence in the club, and she currently has her eyes set on Willy.

Tom Jamie Demetriou

One of Redbridge’s youngest fans (for some reason the club has difficulty in attracting the under-21s), Tom has been taken under Pete’s wing as something of a protégé. He’s picked up a bit of a crush on the new barmaid, Sam, but can’t quite muster the courage to tell her how he feels. A foray into poetry helps him find the words... unfortunately those words don’t really rhyme.

We’re joined by Craig Cash, who in a dual role directed the series and leads the stellar cast as the Rovers’ biggest fan Pete Mott. He speaks to us about directing as well as starring in the series, working with Sue Johnston for the first time in four years, and being force-fed fish fingers on set.

So how would you describe Rovers?It’s very funny. It’s got two romances and two bromances. It’s just a story of a disparate bunch of crackers, individuals who’ve not got much in common other than Redbridge Rovers, but they all get along very nicely. It’s warm and full of laughs. What more do you want from half an hour?

You direct as well as star in Rovers. Were there any particular challenges in taking on both roles?Well I’ve written, produced and starred in series before, but it is difficult. I didn’t really want to act in this because there’s so much to take on, but the boys [series writers Joe Wilkinson and David Earl] really wanted me to do it and at the last minute I gave in. It always serves up lots of challenges because it makes the whole process that little bit longer. Ordinarily I’d just be watching it, but when you’re in it, you have to stop everything and play it back and watch it. But it’s handy because everything I’ve ever done I’ve been around the set for every second and every shot, so I’ve kind of got used to it.

So Joe and David refused to settle on anyone else? Why the initial reluctance?To be honest with you my memory isn’t as good as it used to be! I used to be able to come into work and I’d be reading my lines in the car (not driving obviously) and by the time I got to the set

I’d know them. Now it takes all weekend with me saying to the wife “Test me, test me!” and I still don’t know it. The old grey matter isn’t working as well as it was when I was 21. I knew how much it would take to direct it, and I knew how much it would take to be in it as two separate jobs, so I knew how difficult it would be to do them both. So I was kind of pleading with the boys to get somebody else, but they’ve always kind of seen Pete as me, so I knew it was difficult for them to shift the idea. It just took a while for me to get my head around it, but I’m glad I did now.

Most people will be once they see the finished product!I hope so. It’s a lot to take on, but it was a labour of love so I’m happy with that.

Everyone we’ve spoken to on this project has said it was a joy to work on. Even with the hours being long it seemed like a very happy ship. How did you manage to keep everyone at their best?I think it’s so important… There are so many sets that aren’t happy, have a hostile atmosphere, and are difficult to work on. Directors can be demanding and sometimes not very nice to be around. I always see it as if we’re not having fun shooting it, then it ain’t going to be funny for the viewers when they see it on the TV. So I kind of go out of my way to make it a nice experience for everybody. The best way to get the best out of everyone is to be a helping hand and not an iron fist. You’re there a long time when you’re filming – you’re doing 16-hour days. It’s hard enough as it is, so I want it to be a pleasant experience.

Did having so many comic actors on set help with that atmosphere?

Well comics are instinctive actors. They know where the laugh is, so you’re not having to point it out in order to get the most out of the line. Most comics, even when they haven’t done it before, have a natural aptitude for it. Because stand-up is just acting – they write a script, usually about their own lives or observations, they go on stage and kind of act it out. They know how to pick up a line and run with it and find the character. They basically play a character on stage. But they’re good with drama as well because you observe life as a comedian – that is your job, to observe the minutiae of life and see how it can be funny and how it can get a laugh, and that’s all you’re doing in a sitcom.

CRAIG CASH INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW: CRAIG CASH

We can’t talk about your co-stars without mentioning Sue Johnston – how did it feel to be reunited with her for the first time since we last saw The Royle Family in 2012?Sue’s just brilliant. She’s a consummate professional and she’s lovely to work with. When I’m choosing actors, first off I think, “can they act?” and then I think about how they are going to fit in to this family (and a set is like a family once you get up and running). I knew Sue would fit in perfectly.

She brings so much more to the part than is on the page. You can’t ask for more than that from an actress. Working with her again was just like putting comfy slippers on. It’s just a joy. She doesn’t need any directing, she just needs to know whereabouts the camera is and you set her off. She works so hard – she has a central role in the series so she was on set for a heck of a long time. By the end of it she would have been totally knackered, but she really enjoyed it in spite of that. Hopefully you’ll see the fruits of that when the series airs.

Your character, Pete Mott, is very much the hero of the series, isn’t he?[Laughs] I’ve never been a hero!

We disagree! What are your favourite aspects of the character?I just think he’s kind of a lovable loser. His heart’s in the right place. He just can’t get around the fact that people aren’t as devoted to the club as he is. For example, he struggles with the romance of his best friend and the fact that he’s putting it before Redbridge. I’m quite used to playing the loveable loser – if the cap fits, wear it I say!

Funny you should say that, as one thing Pete has in common with Dave from The Royle Family is that they’re simple people, but also very happy. What would you say is the secret to their happiness?

Well, Pete doesn’t have much left. He’s lost his wife, who’s taken his boy, probably because he spends more time with the club. But he’s content with his lot and I suppose he just doesn’t need much. All he needs is for Redbridge to win really.

Pete is Redbridge’s most ardent fan in the series. Of course you’re a Manchester City fan…I am. Much further apart than Redbridge Rovers. It’s going from the ridiculous to the sublime!

I was going to ask if you could understand that unconditional love for something that is pretty rubbish, but obviously Man City are doing pretty well…Well yes, because I’ve been a City fan since I was born. City spent many years in the doldrums believe you me. I’ve had a lot of pain over the years being a City fan. But that’s what keeps me optimistic about Redbridge – one day they might be bought by Sheikh Mansour and have their lives turned around. I’ve got a good memory – it wasn’t so long ago, 1999, that City were in the Second Division playoffs. So yeah, I can understand it all right.

In the series Pete attempts to break a world record by eating as many fish fingers as he can. It doesn’t go well. Best estimate, how many do you think you could actually put away?Having done that scene… I initially thought I could easily do 15-20. But it’s much harder than you think! So I’d go with 10.

So just two fistfuls of fish fingers?It’s difficult, it really is. I once had to eat a Crunchie on The Royle Family, which ended up being six or seven Crunchies. Obviously you have to eat more than it looks like you’re eating on screen because of all the retakes and different angles. By the end of it I didn’t want to see a Crunchie ever again.

INTERVIEWSUE JOHNSTONWe catch up with Sue Johnston and talk about working with Craig Cash again, supporting Liverpool, and the differences between working in comedy and drama.

How would you describe your time working on Rovers?A huge amount of fun. I love working with Craig Cash, and the script itself and that it’s about the world of football and everything that makes me laugh about that.

It’s the first time you’ll have been on screen with Craig since we last saw The Royle Family in 2012. Was that the main draw when you got involved with the series?Well, yes, because if Craig sends you a script and he thinks it’s great you’ll read it. I trust him implicitly. Originally he wasn’t going to play the lead part, he was just going to direct – so when he wanted to direct me and sent me the script, I read it and that was it for me. I loved the writing, I loved doing the job. It was the biggest laugh I’ve had since doing The Royle Family. I loved the jokes, I loved the characters, I loved the writing, I loved working with this cross-section of actors and stand-ups; it was really a wonderful mix, you know.

Yes, it’s an amazing ensemble gathered for the show…Oh it’s a wonderful ensemble, yeah. That’s why there were no egos flying around, it was very relaxed. Craig is so laid-back – there was no stress.

Obviously Craig played your son-in-law in The Royle Family. Was it like a family reunion?Well, he was directing me, and because I know Craig – I’m his friend so I’d never worked with him

as director – it was a bit new and strange at first. But he’s such a good director and I knew he was from other people who’ve worked with him. You change your relationship, but he never changes, he’s just Craig, so lovely. And he knows what he’s talking about – he’s not Dave, he’s a very clever guy. It wasn’t like I was working with Barbara and Dave anymore; it’s Sue and Craig working. And when we act it’s Doreen and Pete. Our two characters are so bizarre – all bonkers it seems to me.

A lot of viewers will know you best as The Royle Family’s matriarch Barbara, and you play another quite maternal figure as Doreen. How would you describe her?She’s a bit more upmarket and has achieved more than Barbara, but she’s got that same characteristic of being bewildered by life, I think. She’s got a heart of gold, and while she’s not very bright, she’s very trusting. She loves them all, she does mother them. She just wants to please, she’s a crowd pleaser. Her club is everything to her. I think she’s in a bit of a world of her own. She’s a lovely woman who just sees the best in everyone. And slightly dipsy.

You’re also well known for drama roles in Brookside, Waking the Dead and Downton Abbey…I’ve done more drama than I have comedy. It’s only really The Royle Family and this that have been my ventures into comedy. Maybe other people have found my work laughable…

No, perish the thought! Do you find the comic roles a chance to let your hair down or do they come with their own challenges?

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INTERVIEW: SUE JOHNSTON

To me, there’s not much difference really. You still have to find the character and immerse yourself in it, and find a truth there. I was going to say you have more fun, but then on Waking the Dead we had a lot of fun because we had to have fun outside the script, because it was so dark. The differences in the script mean that with comedies you laugh a lot at people doing ridiculous things, but really you’re still taking on a character and you’ve got to be truthful and know your lines. And be believable. That’s what you’re always striving to be. Whether it’s a drama or comedy. But I suppose doing Rovers was very relaxed. So with that came enjoyment. Although I worry every time I start a scene about whether I’ll get it right. I’m a terrible worrier about that.

The Rovers clubhouse is a fairly knackered location to base a light-hearted comedy in. It could be quite easily seen as a bit depressing, but it really isn’t – it’s quite uplifting in terms of the community of characters, which is something it has in common with The Royle Family. Do you think this is the case?Yes, that’s what I felt about it. The subject matter is totally different but it’s character driven, and it’s the characters themselves you can’t help liking, and caring about them in their silly daft ways. They’ve all got something that you care about. I think that’s what it is. It’s also because it’s able to laugh at itself as well – because we’re all so mad about football, we’re a football-crazed nation – but for the majority of people that means the Premier League. It does also laugh at that stuff, but this is the grassroots down here where most people are watching and playing in clubs that are desperate to buy new goalkeepers for £75. And what I found wonderful were the actual lower league

footballers who came in who seemed to enjoy the whole thing as well.

I think because it’s not a cruel jibe at lower-league football – it’s not cruel in any sense, it laughs at itself. Yes it pokes fun at football, but in a way that we all rather love. But it’s about the characters really. You could put the characters into a pub or in a different situation and you’d still find humour and love in it.

You’re well known as a Liverpool fan. Would you be happy minding the bar during a game or is your place in the stands?I still sit in the stands but I have upgraded myself in my old age – I’m in the lower echelons of the upper-class watching football now [laughs].I like to get a bit of a drink and food before the game. But I’ve always been watching, I used to go in to the Kop with my dad, I used to sit in the Kop End for many years but I’ve switched to the mid-stand now. When you get to 72 you want a bit of comfort when you go to the game – it’s hard work!

Were there any particular favourite moments filming the show?Most of the stuff I loved was with Craig. He makes me laugh so much. His eating the fish fingers was lovely. But the whole thing was such fun; I loved working with all the characters, all of them. I couldn’t separate anything out.

I loved the sitting and talking. I can honestly say with all truthfulness that I had the best time on this job. Every day going to work was a joy. It was just a happy ship and it makes such a difference if you’re filming in that way. It brings the best out in everyone.

Doreen loves a meat raffle…And she also loves her rattle!

She does! The raffle and the rattle. A lot of people, though, aren’t going to see the attraction in a plate of greying meat wrapped with cling film. Could you help explain it to us?I don’t know how you can say no one would welcome that meat! We had to replace it every

couple of days so it never got to go grey. When it started going the dear old props department would replace it with fresh meat. A lot of people would give an arm and a leg for a free couple of pounds of mince and a couple pounds of sausages. I don’t know what you mean!

Clearly we’ve been spoiled.You have! I should tell your mothers they’re feeding you too well.

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INTERVIEWJOE WILKINSON & DAVID EARLWe sit down with series writers Joe Wilkinson and David Earl to talk about Rovers. Known for appearances on Him & Her and Derek respectively, we talk about the inspiration behind the series, and getting Craig Cash to play the lead role.

How would you describe Rovers?JW: Good Luck, Dave.

DE: It’s about a group of non-league football fans that support potentially the country’s crappest team, the long and short of it. They love Redbridge so they’re forced together every Saturday before and after the game talking balls about how badly they’ve played.

JW: The only thing they’ve kind of got in common with one another is their bad football team I guess.

DE: Basically that’s why they’re forced together.

How did the idea for the series come about?DE: I was having some cheese and bread with my girlfriend and I said “I might text Joe Wilkinson and see if he fancies trying to write something…”

JW: So I said no.

DE: So I texted Joe and he was up for it, and we just got talking about our favourite sitcoms, and Craig Cash’s came up – so we attempted to write a pilot. To begin with it started out as a roadside café, then we turned it into a football clubhouse.

JW: We basically sort of write about what we know and we’ve both been obsessed with football our whole lives – it seemed the only

thing we know about. We only know about wasting our lives obsessing about football, basically.

It definitely seems like there was a lot of inspiration from real life in the series. Have either of you supported a really terrible football team?JW: Well I support Gillingham…

DE: We went to watch a lot of non-league football, so we started following a Crawley side and a side near Brighton. They were in the Ryman South, which is like the southern equivalent of the Evo-Stik. We watched quite a few of those games, and made contact with a guy who worked at Burgess Hill FC, so whenever we needed any details of how they do the day-to-day running we’d get in touch with them.

JW: Yeah and we got into the games for free eventually.

DE: Show off.

JW: So that was a big bonus. He was our Wikipedia page, basically.

DE: We’d text him randomly on Tuesday morning asking what time the chairman would get in, and he’d go, oh, about 1pm. He basically knew non-league football inside out, so a lot of the inspiration is him and Burgess Hill FC. Except they were doing quite well… Which was annoying.

You’ve amassed a great cast for the series. What was it like working with such a fantastic comic ensemble?

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INTERVIEW: JOE WILKINSON & DAVID EARL

JW: They made it so much better than we ever could have hoped. We genuinely had to pinch ourselves that we got who we’d got really.

DE: It seems obvious, but we were so desperate to get people on set who made us laugh and it would be so easy to go for second best, but we wanted to get the people on the stand-up circuit who made us laugh, character comedians that made us laugh, so we were over the moon.

JW: We didn’t really realise until afterwards how lucky we were. But, as David said, we didn’t settle – it was hard getting good people, but so worth it.

DE: And also getting Craig and Sue is ridiculous.

JW: They’re royalty really – I got flustered every time Sue walked on to the set.

It’s the first time Craig and Sue will have appeared on screen together since 2012. How were you able to get Craig in as the lead role and director? DE: We wrote the pilot and, as Craig is one of our heroes, we sent it to him. Amazingly he liked it and he’s worked with us on it for the past year or so, and we just kind of kept saying we’d like him to play the part, and we wouldn’t let it go…

JW: We wore him down eventually.

DE: We just said, you’re the only person we want to play the role of Pete.

JW: He’d come up with suggestions of other people for the role of Pete. He wanted to direct it but he wasn’t sure he could play the lead as well. So he’d suggest someone for the role and we’d say no, and that just went on until he basically crumbled.

Was there a lot of room for improvisation or did you stick closely to the script?DE: Well not really, because the script was quite tight, but whenever we could we would allow the cast a bit of space to play for a bit.

JW: Yeah, we got the stuff down on the page and then where there was a chance to improvise there was space. Someone like Steve [Speirs], you can’t really stop him. As a character he makes all sorts of these weird noises that you’ll see in the show. That was all Steve.

The team is rubbish, and the club has seen better days, but at the same time it’s really quite an uplifting series. Why do you think that is?JW: It’s basically about their lives, it’s not about the club. It’s not about football really. It’s about friendships and stuff. I guess that’s why, hopefully, it’s uplifting, because they forge friendships. It’s not about the team getting relegated – that’s hardly the face of it – it’s about spending time with these characters. We just wanted to write something where as a viewer you’d want to sit with them. You’d want

to sit in that room, talking rubbish, with that bunch of people. We wanted it to be a fun place

to hang out. So hopefully that’s why there’s a bit of joy in it. Because it’s just a bunch of wallies talking nonsense.

As well as writing you play the parts of Bruce and Lee in the series. How would you describe them as characters? DE: Well we wrote them as a two-headed monster. They’re a couple of wind-up merchants who dedicate their afternoon to annoying Pete.

As a pair of southerners supporting a northern team, they kind of add a north-south divide to series, don’t you think?DE: We wrote some small parts for ourselves and asked how these two brothers could be involved in this club if it’s set up north, so we thought an easy way in would be to bring that conflict in. Plus neither of us can do accents.

JW: Yeah it’s just another reason for Pete to get wound up by them.

Another clash in the series is how the old-school club comes up against the modern world on a number of occasions. Is that based on any real experience?JW: A lot of what people know of football is Premier League, Manchester United, Man City… all that kind of stuff. That’s how people perceive it, but this is what most clubs are. Basically 50, 60 people going to the game, no money, players getting paid £20 a week – we wanted to show people that’s what real football is. Most of the clubs are in the dark ages because they don’t have any money.

DE: Our clubhouse set was actually quite nice compared to come of the ones we found when we were scouting around.

JW: Some of them were too bleak! The bar’s a kind of combination of a few we saw, but it’s mainly based on where we filmed the exterior stuff, which is a club called New Mills, who strangely had an article in The Independent the other day saying they were officially the worst club of all time. We thought that was quite apt. How many games on the trot have they lost David? Something like 23 or something? Might be more now.

DE: Yeah something like that. It’s the idea that, I guess, there are only 10 or 12 teams in the country, or maybe the Premier League, that are doing really well for themselves, and all the other thousands of clubs are really struggling. And the fact that you support Gillingham…

JW: Yeah. Our teams struggle. A lot of it was based on truth – most football fans have a torrid time. That’s the truth of it.

We catch up with Steve Speirs, who viewers will recognise from previous comic roles in Stella, Extras, and Big School. He speaks to us about playing Tel in Rovers and winning meat raffles.

What would you say Rovers is all about for you?Well I need money for Christmas… No, I think it’s about the little things that happen in between our lives. I suppose it’s about relationships and idiosyncrasies – if you like the small and weird things about human nature, then this is a show for you. There are a lot of independent people in it that are all drawn together by a common cause – they all support a football team which is pretty ropey, to say the least, but it’s the love of that team that every Saturday takes them to this club. And in a way they’re all outsiders that need each other and the club. And if that makes it sound a bit serious, that’s wrong because it’s incredibly funny.

I think it’s fantastic Sky is doing this as this is the sort of commissionable comedy that, for me, is good, clever comedy. You don’t have to love football to love this but you do have to like comedy to love this.

The fact that you have Craig and Sue together for the first time since The Royle Family, and then you have these very current comedians from the stand-up world, and then you’ve got seasoned comedy actors like myself thrown into that mix. It was a really fantastic set to be on. It was never the sort of set where you thought, oh I’ll just pop in and see what happens today. You looked around you and went, “I’d better try to be on top of my game

today. There are a lot of people here who know what they’re doing”.

Was it the other cast members that drew you to the show?The script itself made it a no brainer. When I was asked to do a read a year or so ago I just thought it was a terrific script. I thought that David and Joe were very clever, and the thought of working with Craig and Sue was just really appetising. These were people who, in terms of Craig who’s been instrumental in certainly two of the most iconic British comedies of the last 20 years in terms of The Royle Family and Early Doors, and then you’ve got Sue who is such a master of her craft – I just think everything she touches she adds class to. You just know you want to be in that environment.

It was an incredibly long day, because of the fact that everybody is in every scene, even if you’re just a shoulder or arse passing. Normally if you stick me for 12 hours a day for six days a week with anybody I’m going to rock the wall. But it was the sort of cast that you really look forward to going to work with the next day. Everybody was a joy to work with.

You play Tel, one of the Rovers’ diehard fans. How would you describe the character?He’s Pete’s best friend. He’s a man who’s recently divorced, but very loyal to Pete and the club.

INTERVIEWSTEVE SPEIRS

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INTERVIEW: STEVE SPEIRS

I would say that he’s deep, but I think he’s just thick. The reality is I don’t think there’s a lot going on there. You know he’d be on your side, but I doubt you’d let him take the dog for a walk.

Tel’s quite a modern guy, in a club that in some ways is stuck in a bygone era…Yeah well there is his sexuality that is revealed in the first episode. What I like about that is that I don’t think he thinks he’s being modern, with it, or right on, or politically correct in the way he says things. I just think he’s a very honest, innocent man, who just sees his relationship as very normal and very healthy. He doesn’t have any problems with that at all. He just thinks, I had a wife, now I’ve got a boyfriend. The fact that he says it so matter of factly, that of course raises eyebrows with the archaic world of some of the other characters, but that adds to the comic clout of it.

One of the great things about the community of the series is they barely register Tel as being any different since coming out, although Pete is clearly a little uncomfortable about it. Would you say the community is the appeal of the club rather than the actual football?Absolutely. They go to the club for each other as much as the football. Although they sit in the same places and they don’t mix within the geography of the room, they’re really close and I should imagine that if anybody from the outside had a go at them they’d probably stick together like street cats. That’s part of the charm really. Tel’s sexuality isn’t an issue to him and it’s not an issue for them.

What’s really nice about it is that’s becoming more and more the norm, and rightly so, right across Britain in working men’s clubs and pubs now. Whereas not so long ago, ten years ago say, you’d still have a football team that would call somebody names, whereas now you get kids in school who are 16 who are able to be open and comfortable with themselves . It’s a good sign of what’s happening in the country and how embracing we are and I think that’s reflected in Rovers.

Do you follow football?I haven’t got a clue! I didn’t even know that Wales played football until somebody told me while I was up there. I don’t watch football at all, but I’m a massive rugby follower, the whole thing of supporting your team and knowing what’s happening to them, and the fact that you stick with them through thick and thin is universal to both sports. I understand the whole thing of what makes a supporter of a team tick.

So you can understand that kind of unconditional love for a pretty rubbish team?Oh Absolutely. It’s a blind love. And the thing is, you can slag them off, but God help anyone else who does.

Tel is the lucky winner of the meat raffle in the first episode. It looked minging. Have you ever won anything like that in real life?It was minging, wasn’t it? Do you know what? I’ve never, ever won a raffle, I’ve never won a game of Bingo, I’ve never won anything in my life. So I’d personally have taken that meat as a result. It’s all relative, that was a good prize as far as I was concerned.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. It looked like it might have been hanging around the set for a little while…I tell you what, we were on that set for 12 hours a day and it was very, very hot. The meat would go from pink to a dull brown by mid-afternoon, so because that episode took a

week to shoot we went through quite a lot of those platters of meat, and it was given a lot of attention. I would go as far to say that the meat was treated a lot better on that set than any of the actors! I wouldn’t mind being refreshed at three in the afternoon, but I was told to get on with it.

INTERVIEWDIANE MORGANDiane Morgan, previously known for playing Philomena Cunk in the Weekly Wipe series, talks to us about playing Mandy in Rovers and releasing dogs on to the pitch at half-time.

How would you describe the series?Weirdly it’s not about football, surprisingly. It’s insane. In a good way. I think if you’re a comedy connoisseur, it’s for you. It’s about relationships more than football – it’s about the relationships of all these people who spend all their time in this football club, in a nutshell. Has that sold it to you?

Are you a football fan?No, although if I was my team would be Bolton Wanderers.

What drew you to the series? You’ve worked with Joe Wilkinson, one of the writers, before, haven’t you?As soon as I read it I thought it was brilliant, and really different. And I love everything Joe does anyway so I didn’t take much convincing. I just think it’s great and the part of Mandy is sort of based on someone that I knew as well so it was a good chance to get that out.

That’s interesting. How would you describe Mandy?An alcoholic? [Laughs.] Slaggy alcoholic is probably the best way to describe her. With no dress sense. She couldn’t care less about anything really and most of the time she’s sort of half-cut. I mean who wouldn’t want to play a character like that?

That may touch on our next question, which is what are your favourite aspects of Mandy?

Oh yeah, all those. I mean it’s a funny part to play and it’s very different to anything I’ve ever done. I’ve never really had any, sort of, romantic scenes [laughs], not that you could describe many of the scenes in Rovers as romantic – but I suppose they are! They’re more seedy than romantic… But that was good fun to do.

Yeah she’s just a great character – I like paying oddballs, basically. You don’t get many of them. Especially female oddball characters, they’re few and far between so when this one came up I was like, “oh my God, it’s a dream come true.”

Mandy’s the closest thing the series has to a vamp, don’t you think?Absolutely. A northern, alcoholic vamp. With no dress sense. She’s not got much competition in the vamp stakes though – most of the other characters are over 60.

She seems to have a crush on Willy – the editor of the team’s fanzine. Do you mind if we ask what the attraction is?Well, I mean look at the other characters! They’re all completely insane. He writes the magazine doesn’t he? He writes the football magazine so maybe that’s the attraction. That he can spell! Maybe that’s what it was. He’s like the Arthur Miller of the gang.

That must be it. Could it be that maybe Mandy likes getting one over on Willy’s overbearing (but blind) mother?Aww! I don’t think she’s quite that devious. I think she’s genuinely attracted to him. But the more the series goes on the more you find out how horrible his mother is, so I think it

would also be nice if she could drag him away from her as well.

On that note, Mandy is probably the girl that every mother dreads their son will bring home…Yes absolutely. A nightmare on legs.

Viewers will instantly recognise you as the amazing Philomena Cunk from the Weekly Wipe shows, with her Moment of Wonder. They’re quite different characters – Philomena’s much more of a philosopher. What was it like playing a more grounded character?Playing Philomena is like… it’s like I have to throw a certain switch in my head. But once I do that, everything in life becomes easier, because nothing is your

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INTERVIEW: DIANE MORGAN

responsibility any more. You can say anything you want, and it’s fine because you’re this character. It’s sort of like wearing a suit of armour. It’s so much fun. But Mandy is a different kettle of fish completely. It’s nice to do something completely different. They’re poles apart. One’s naïve and one’s sort of streetwise, and one’s completely sexless as well.

Do you think Philomena would ever be a football fan?

I don’t think she’d realise what was going on. Imagine someone trying to explain the offside rule to her! It would be a nightmare. Maybe with the addition of some dogs on the pitch it would be exciting for her. If at half time they released some dogs on to the pitch.

I think they should do that with every football game anyway.It’s the only thing that would get me watching.

Some Irish Wolfhounds being released on to the pitch.

In Rovers there is a widespread group of characters united only by an unconditional love of their team. What do you think the appeal is for Mandy?There’s alcohol. She gets to have a nice sit down and stare at Willy. I don’t think she has anything else in her life – she’s a plumber by day and I reckon their local bingo club got shut down, so it

was her only option. I don’t think Redbridge has a massive social scene.

So if Mandy and Philomena were both playing the club quiz machine, who’d do better?Oh Mandy! Mandy would probably take the back off the machine and get the money out. That wouldn’t even occur to Philomena. She would never cheat. She’d just get distracted by the bright lights. Then wander off and find something else.

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EPISODES

The Meat RaffleDoreen shows the new barmaid, Sam, the ropes while gossiping about the club captain, Mike Nolan. Meanwhile, Pete gets locked in the club’s toilet cubicle.

The Biscuit PlatePete is fuming about the Rovers’ keeper Dave Head losing them the game. Doreen is excited about a trip up the Shard.

The TankardPete attempts to break the world record for eating fish fingers. Doreen gets a little flustered when Redbridge Rovers legend Roger Small makes an appearance.

England V MacedoniaIt’s exciting times at the club as the gang watch England draw nil-nil with Macedonia. Doreen’s friend Gillian loses her blue cat and Tom writes a poem.

Bonzo The Redbridge RoverPete’s son Stanley experiences his first ever game and there’s a surprise in store for him. Mel cooks Tel a summer roast and Doreen has a twitchy eye.

The AnniversaryIt’s Doreen’s 25th anniversary at the club, but no one seems that bothered. Pete reveals to Tel that he is worried he is losing him to Mel.

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Alexander WoodPublicist – Sky Content PRalexander.wood@sky.uk020 7032 1488

Ben BratchellEditor – Sky Content PRben.bratchell@sky.uk020 7032 1532

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