Puppy Love

A warm and energetic character-based comedy about owners' problems with their dogs and dogs' problems with their owners, Puppy Love is set around a dog training class on the Wirral, ‘For All Your Dogging Needs’. The indubitable Nana V (Joanna Scanlan) runs it, and West Kirby altruist Naomi Singh (Vicki Pepperdine) starts attending the puppy classes. The series charts the relationship between two very different women as they navigate their headstrong dogs, impossible teenage kids and preoccupied husbands.

Scanlan and Pepperdine develop the blend of crafted writing and improvisational techniques they used in the award-winning Getting On, in this warm and witty new comedy, where a dog features in every scene.

Rivalries flair in episode one when Naomi Singh enrols unruly Golden Retriever pup, Charlie into Nana V’s classes. There she meets Labradoodle Toffee, who embarrasses his owner Alexander (Tobias Menzies) with the unpalatable habit of coprophagia (muck munching). Things take an even more complicated turn when Naomi’s school-refusing teenage daughter, Jasmine (Selina Borji) meets Nana V’s grandson Eron (Aron Julius), when Naomi plays a professional visit to Nana V’s rural mobile home in her capacity as scourge-of-poverty maven.

Nana’s live-in ex-husband (her ‘wasband’) Tony Fazackerley, played by Simon Fisher-Becker (Getting On, Doctor Who) is joined by Naomi’s husband, Ravi, played by Gordon Warnecke (The Bill, My Beautiful Laundrette).

A host of guest stars step in across the series to play all manner of Wirralites, including Sunetra Sarker (Casualty), currently starring in Strictly Come Dancing, Kayvan Novak (Sirens, Phonejacker, Four Lions), Margi Clarke (Coronation Street), John Henshaw (Born and Bred, Cilla), Phil Cornwell (Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa), Mark Lewis-Jones (Stella, 55 Degrees North), Gerard McCarthy (Hollyoaks, The Fall), Justin Edwards (The Thick of It), Polly Kemp (The Thick of It, Four Weddings And A Funeral). Plus Alvin Hall, the popular financial advisor, author and media figure takes on his first acting role.

Shane Allen, Controller, Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, said of the series: “Joanna and Vicki have once again used their immense comedy talents to create what is set to be one of this winter’s comedy gems. The hybrid of professional actors, members of the public and a four-legged supporting cast, is a daunting blend, yet makes Puppy Love all the more of an authentic passion piece.”

Set to air in November 2014, Puppy Love is a co-venture between BBC Comedy North and Woof Productions. It is co-created and written by Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine, directed by Susan Tully (Getting On, The Mill), produced by Jo Willett (Birds Of A Feather) and executive produced by Gareth Edwards, Saurabh Kakkar and David Baddiel.

JB 

Q&A with Joanna Scanlon

Nana V definitely knows her own mind but also has a certain fragility about her, can you tell us more about this character and how you set about creating her?

We wanted to create a character who has lost all faith in human beings and has replaced it with the unquestionable loyalty of a dog. Against her better judgement she bounces back time and time again to care about all the people around her.

In the opening episode of the series, we meet No Name (Millie), a ‘dangerous’ dog your character rescues and comes to adopt, what was it like to act alongside your own dog?

It was difficult to combine being proud showbiz mum with leading lady, I didn’t know whether to push the dog into the limelight or elbow her into the wings! It’s a very special feeling to have your co-star stare deep into your eyes with cupboard love.

Why did you choose to set the series in The Wirral?

We both have close family connections to the Wirral. I was born in West Kirby and visited for many years when my grandparents lived in Caldy. The ‘insular peninsular’ is a wonderful combination of town and country surrounded by the most exciting maritime waters. It’s a place of harbour and adventure, seemingly with more dog owners per square yard than any other location in the UK, the perfect setting.

Do you have a favourite character that you enjoyed writing for or playing opposite?

Of course, Naomi Singh! I adore working with Vicki, both in our writing room and together on camera, we just understand the way each other thinks and yet at the same time she constantly delights and surprises me.

What is your approach to writing comedy?

Start at nine in the morning and don’t stop until six at night, with a break for a nice homemade lunch. We tend to write with character first and the character’s actions then create the plot for you, oh and that small matter of research!

How did you set about casting the dogs, what was it like to work alongside them?

We wanted to work with local dogs and their owners, to capture real relationships and allow ourselves to respond to the dogs’ behaviour rather than training the dog to ‘interpret’ our script. It turned out to be one of our best decisions as we think all the dogs are magical on camera, giving some BAFTA-deserving performances.

Q&A with Vicki Pepperdine

Why did you choose to write a comedy about dogs?

Some are born with a dog, some achieve a dog and some have a dog thrust upon them…

We wanted to write a series about dogs, but more specifically about why people choose to get a dog. What is it that is missing from their lives that they hope to get from a furry companion? The series is about getting a dog to love, getting a dog to love you back and by accident learning that a dog can teach you everything you need to know about loving yourself. And we wanted to tell some of the stories of why 7.3 million people in the UK choose the joy of owning a dog when the reality of mishap, adventure and tribulation, is often more than they bargained for.

How would you describe your character, Naomi Singh?

Naomi is a dedicated youth worker in the voluntary sector and is married to cycling enthusiast Ravi Singh. Naomi is motivated, precious and demanding both of herself and her spirited daughter Jasmine, who is about to turn 16.

Naomi and Ravi have bought Charlie, an expensive pedigree Retriever to try and teach Jasmine a sense of responsibility, but Charlie totally disrupts their family life and Naomi ends up in desperate need of help.

From local dog owners to the former Commodore of West Kirby’s Sailing Club, why did you cast members of the local community rather than using actors?

We wanted to use ‘real people’ to populate our world and lend it authenticity (like the elderly ladies in their hospital beds in Getting On). There is such obvious authenticity when you get a real lifeboat crew member or a genuine police dog handler. For the members of Nana V’s dog class we used local people with their own dogs. The on screen relationships between pet and owner meant we were able to use the dogs to greatest effect.

This clearly is a labour of love, how did you straddle the roles of writing, starring and producing on the same project?

With difficulty. But it was well worth it.

Q&A with Director, Susan Tully

How did you come to work with Joanna and Vicki?

I’d worked with Joanna on Stella (Sky 1, written by Ruth Jones) and a few months later I was asked to direct Getting On. I was a huge fan of the show.

It is generally advised to avoid working with animals, were you apprehensive about directing Puppy Love’s canine cast, how did it go?

An animal of some type appears in every scene throughout the series (bar one or two scenes but lets not be picky). I wasn’t as apprehensive as you’d think - occasionally the animals had to do something specific and the approach was - if they can do it fine - if they can’t then we find a way around it. Finding creative solutions to problems - thinking about different ways to illustrate story beats if the animals wouldn’t play ball (which was rare) is easier when you’ve got the writers on hand.

Joanna and Vicki have sited improvisation as a key tool in crafting their brand of comedy, how do you set about directing the unexpected?

Improvisation is a key tool but it’s not the only one. Jo and Vicki put enormous amounts of time and effort into their scripts. There is depth and subtlety to their comedy, the way they structure their stories are solid yet unexpected and complexity of character are all on the page. So it’s rare that something truly unexpected happens during filming. Improvisation doesn’t work without a context. The key for the actors was to know and understand the intention for every scene but not to get hung up on knowing the lines. With some of the smaller parts we didn’t bring the script into play at all - we just talked it through and started shooting - (I’m not a fan of rehearsing). For some actors this can be incredibly liberating. I work at my best when I’m working collaboratively so I try to create a working environment that encourages experimentation - but the script is always in the forefront of my mind.

Puppy Love is set against the beautiful backdrop of West Kirby, what was it like working with that community and how involved were they?

West Kirby is a true gem. It's a joy to photograph - even on a grey day that view across the River Dee towards Wales is stunning. The community of West Kirby and beyond were absolutely invaluable to the making of Puppy Love. The series features all local shops and services, all local emergency services including the RNLI, the West Kirby Sailing Club and of course local dogs and their owners. We needed their co-operation and their participation and we got it in spades.

Related BBC Links

• BBC Four