He's the creator, writer and exectuive producer of Being Human and he's here to wish you, the fans, a Merry Christmas on behalf of everyone at Being Human Towers. Take it away Mr Toby Whithouse...
Me: I feel I've been remiss in my blogging duties. Do you want me to write something?
Barry P: That would be nice. How about a Christmas message to all the fans?
Me: Ok. Good idea.
Barry P: To make it festive, we could get a picture of you and superimpose a crown on it.
Me: No need for that. I have one of my own. I wear it when I'm writing.
Barry P: What?!
(pause)
Me: Nothing.
So here we go.
Actually, what does the Queen talk about in her Christmas message? I'm usually too busy playing with my new toys by that point on Christmas Day to watch.
She talks about everything that's happened in the previous year, doesn't she?
So what happened in 2010?
Well, in descending order of importance, we wrote and filmed Being Human series 3.
I started to experiment with facial hair.
There was an election.
Yeah, that just about covers that. Ok, what else can we talk about?
Oh yeah, I'd like to say thank you to all the bloggers for all their lovely messages when I won the Writer's Guild Award. You asked for a picture, well, if you go to the Writer's Guild award website and click on the Awards page, there's a picture of me and my face and the award. No, that's not me with the flaming red hair, that's Jane Goldman.
It was a genuine shock to win. Mainly because I won last year. I thought there'd be a rule saying I couldn't win again. I thought it was like being the American President. The statute of limitations. Or something. And yes, that IS a fair comparison. Consequently... well, as I said when I got up to get the award, "If I'd known I was going to win, I'd have drunk less."
But anyway, thank you to all of you for saying lovely things.
And how good are those Annie Broadcasts? You might already know this, but Lenora shot the whole lot in one day. It's an incredible performance, I think. She's really quite extraordinary.
Usually we do a prequel or two, introducing new characters. But this year we wanted to do something a little different. Barry insists it was my idea to do The Annie Broadcasts. I think it was his. Then we thought it might have been Rob Pursey's. Then we realised it was Garret Keogh's. Then we saw a shiny thing.
Anyway, you'll have noticed there's been a concerted effort to expand the on-line presence of the show. Not only with the glorious Annie Broadcasts, but comin' atcha in early 2011 is Becoming Human, our own little on-line spin-off series.
The on-line life of the show has always been an integral part of the BH DNA, and Barry and the gang are working tirelessly to develop new ideas and new treats for you. We hope that you'll stay with us on that journey.
So. Looking to the future, I think 2011 is going to be a very good year for BH fans.
Series 3 is our best one yet. The performances of the core four are never short of jaw-dropping. And then there are some amazing guest performances, from Robson, Lacey and Michael Socha to name but three.
I've never worked with a more enthusiastic, committed and talented crew, both editorially and on set. The quality of the show is as much down to them as anything I contribute.
Personally I'd like to give a manly nod to Phil Trethowan, our new producer. Working with him on series 3 has been a delight. When it comes to story, he's a bit of a genius, and has made my job this year so much easier.
Also, let me introduce you to Laura Cotton, our new script editor. Lovely Laura. She keeps us in check, makes me laugh, and crucially asks all the narrative questions we wish she wouldn't.
Also, a word or ten should be said about the BBC. They have allowed us an extraordinary degree of creative freedom. Being Human is good because Ben Stephenson, Danny Cohen and Eleanor Moran (our exec on series 3) at the BBC respect us and respect the show.
And then there's you lot.
Working on Being Human is a joy and an honour, and we've got a lot of stories left to tell. It means a lot to us that we have such a tenacious and passionate fan base. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think we have the most well behaved and supportive fans. Unlike... certain fan forums, there's rarely any rancour or sniping on the BH Blog, and I am very proud of you all for that.
But most of all it's wonderful to know that there are people about there who love and value (and obsess about) the show as much as we do.
So keep watching, keep posting, keep chatting and keep being nice.
And have a very Merry Christmas.
Big kiss.
(the Queen says that at the end of her message, doesn't she?)
Photo taken by Simon Denton and used with permission from The Writer's Guild of Great Britain.
