Recording with Colin Baker

Me and Colin Baker go back a long way. Not that he realises this, (I'm guessing!) When I was 7 I saw him for the first time in Blake's 7. On my 18th birthday I met him at a convention in Darwen, and embarrassed myself by throwing camera batteries in his face. And on the 15th July 2012 I met him at Cottage Road, Headingley, not entirely by accident, as he'd arrived to record the part of Mr Cutler in my latest bank-balance massacre, Menston Green!

"There is nothing you can do to prevent the catharsis
of spurious hilarity!"

I can only imagine Colin's bewilderment as this mop-haired corduroy-wearing baby-faced scarecrow / man bounded over to him, palm outstretched. "Hello sir!" says I. "Good to meet you, I'm Alex!"

Colin very politely shook this stranger's hand. "Alex, hi," he replied. "What are you then?"

"I'm the producer, and the director," said the scarecrow, "and the writer. Oh and I'll be reading with you as well."

That sentence always makes me cringe. At best I must come across like a stuffed haystack with a God complex. At worst I must look as if I don't have a clue what I'm doing.

Mind you, I can't see myself as others see me. And I'll probably never know what Colin Baker thought of me. Maybe I wouldn't want to. Maybe I'd be pleasantly surprised.

After the recording I had a bit of a downer for two days. This is nothing unusual for me. However, once I saw some of the production stills, and listened to some of the scenes, my enthusiasm was re-ignited, and I was SO relieved. Thinking about it, absolutely nothing went wrong, which is phenomenal when you consider all the things that could have gone up in smoke: nobody got lost / ill / broke down, everyone had scripts, the scenes were acted / technician'd / recorded without a SINGLE hitch, not only did the cast and crew get away on time, they got away EARLY. After the carnage that had engulfed my last project, (Life on Earth Retold where, on some days, I didn't even know if I had a full cast, although not because of anyone who appeared in the finished product, I must add), Menston Green has been an absolute breeze.

So far. But it's onto post-production now...!

Obviously I'm hugely grateful to everyone who's given up their time to take part in this project. I love you all. I'd just like to give an extra special shout-out to my parents, (all three of them!), for their moral and financial support, the lifts to and from the studio, and for the mighty fine catering.

Also a massive thank you to Mr Tim, Mr Ash and Mr Matt, who did a, haha, "sound" job at tech'ing the project, (that joke never gets old.) Tim and Ash will also be handling the post-production on this, and I have every faith in them.

Finally - thank you Colin Baker! A legendary actor with a career that encompasses so many of my favourite shows: Blake's 7, Doctor Who, Jonathan Creek, Come Dine with Me... He drove up from Cambridge just to record this quirky comedy about a village convenience store, produced by a Ray Bolger lookalike. I don't know how many other celebrities would travel hundreds of miles to record with an unknown production company, but he's made my year.

"I did offer Paul Darrow a role in this," I told Colin during a recording break, (Paul Darrow was Avon in Blake's 7, and has acted with Colin Baker a number of times.)

"Could be worse," Colin said, with a cheeky grin. "You could have got Sylvester McCoy!"

The sixth doctor is a gentleman - I know he was joking. Which is just as well, as I have Sylvester ear-marked for the sequel!


In the meantime, though, stay tuned - the release date and format for Menston Green will be announced in due course.