Interview with Tim Crouch

What was the genesis of the project?
I grew up in Bognor Regis but I live in Brighton, so I haven’t strayed far from home. To the east of Brighton there’s a coach park on the seafront. I used to jog along past the coaches and I would see the drivers hanging out, washing their vehicles, reading the papers and chatting to each other. I was intrigued by what the narratives of those people would be.

I started taking coach trips with a firm based in Bognor, writing notes, taking photos. That’s how it all began. We wanted to follow the life of a driver through the daytrips he takes.

And then June 2016 happened and the country voted to leave the European Union. We didn’t want to write about Brexit directly, but we wanted to introduce into the story some ideas around freedom of movement. Each episode has a nice rhythm, where we see the driver going out and coming back in again, but woven through this is a bigger story about belonging - to a family and to a country.

How did Toby Jones get involved?
Toby and I have been friends for 20 years. We worked together once before - for one night only - in a play of mine that uses a different actor at each performance. As the idea of a coach driver began to develop, I asked Toby if he’d like to get involved. I knew he’d be perfect casting for the character that was forming.

He’s perfect for just about anything, but he feels particularly right as this coach driver. When we were developing the story I sat at a laptop and Toby paced around the room, improvising and trying different things out. The part was written for him to play, so it was fantastic to have him right there. It’s been a very happy and equal collaboration.

Why did you want to write for television?
I usually write for theatre, but I knew this story wasn’t a play. It’s too big, it travels to too many places. Toby Jones is one of the most experienced screen actors in the country. He brought his huge experience to the process. He’s educated me in the medium from an actor’s point of view. Also, neither of us has written for TV before - so there's been a freshness to our approach - a strong feeling of discovery.

Why Bognor Regis in particular?
There’s something I find beautiful about Bognor. I spent 18 years there. My dad still lives there. Every time I visit I’m swamped by nostalgia. There’s a particular quality of Englishness in this small town - a sense of the world passing it by somewhat. It’s what we all feel - that life is happening somewhere else. It’s also by the sea, our biggest border in a way, so it felt right to do it here at a time when our borders are being re-examined.

Tell us more about the themes of the series.
First and foremost, it’s a comedy about a coach driver.

But I suppose it’s also about stagnation - a sense of bewilderment about where we are now, the threat to our identity, and the fear of change and integration. It’s about staying still, rather than moving forward. It shows a family grouping in Bognor who haven’t got involved in the world, but who are suddenly faced with events that come from wider, geopolitical actions.

We try to do this as lightly and subtly as possible. It’s not heavy and it’s extremely funny in places. Over the course of the series, we have an understanding of Europe encroaching on our little island state. But it’s really all about the story and the characters - as soon as we felt that anything was too heavy handed, too obvious, then we stepped back.

Where does the comedy come from?
The comedy comes from contrast. A small town caught up in a big situation. A small man trying to hold his life together - but forced to look beyond himself. It’s not a sitcom, because the situation in which the characters find themselves is often quite serious.

What’s refreshing is the honest and often hilarious sense of confusion and bewilderment in the midst of these turbulent times. And if anyone plays bewilderment well, it’s Toby Jones...

Pictured: Toby Jones and Tim Crouch (right)

Set in the seaside town of Bognor Regis, Don’t Forget The Driver observes the beauty and ugliness of life in small-town Britain, following a group of people struggling with their sense of identity and place in the world.

Don’t Forget The Driver has been commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two, and Shane Allen, Controller, Comedy Commissioning at the BBC. The comedy is Executive Produced by Jane Featherstone (The Split, Broadchurch, Humans) and Naomi de Pear (Flowers, The Bisexual, River) for Sister Pictures, and BBC Comedy Commissioning Editor Kate Daughton.

Don’t Forget the Driver also sees Holly Pullinger (previous Line-Producer credits include Save Me, Flowers and The Bisexual), step into her first producer role to produce the 6x30’ series for Sister Pictures.

IR

Credits

Peter Green / Barry Green - Toby Jones

Fran - Claire Rushbrook

Joy - Marcia Warren

Squeaky Dave - Danny Kirrane

Kayla - Erin Kellyman

Rita - Luwam Teklizgi

Brad - Jo Eaton-Kent

Lech - Dino Kelly

Cameron - Harry Gaythwaite

Micheal - Tim Preece 

Maureen - Carol MacReady

Colin - Stephen Bent

Parish - Krrish Patel

Manju - Bharti Patel

Kieran - Wils Whittington

Ade - Luke Sullivan

Executive Producers Jane Featherstone, Naomi de Pear

Created by Tim Crouch

Written by Tim Crouch and Toby Jones

Produced by Holly Pullinger

Directed by Tim Kirkby

Related Programme Information

• Episode one
• Episode two