'Derek'
This was Ricky Gervais' third major television project to feature himself in a leading role and was aired on Channel 4 in 2012. I had also worked on the sets of 'The Office' and 'Extras' so was delighted to be invited back to shoot some stills in the summer of 2012 by the producer Charlie Hanson.
The sections of filming that I covered were based at a church in Highgate and featured one of my favourite female stand-ups Kerry Godliman as well as David Earl (known to comedy fans as Brian Gittins), Ruth Bratt and the legendary figure of Karl Pilkington. Karl and I were due to meet at my first shoot with Ricky way back in 2003 but he wasn't able to make it. I am constantly asked "what is he really like? Is Karl a character or is he really like that?"
The cast also included a large number of elderly characters from the care home where Derek works and these made for some really pleasing portraits.
All of Ricky's projects generate a massive amount of interest and long-lens shots of the previous day's shooting were splashed across the tabloids. I was genuinely gobsmacked to be standing on the inside of the churchyard railings to witness an elderly lady walk through the security cordon and stand next to a pair of make-up artists. As we all gazed at a camera rehearsal taking place outside the porch of the church, the pensioner dipped into her cloth shopping bag and pulled out a 400mm lensed digital SLR, snapped 3 frames and shuffled away - a cool customer for sure!
I found the ending of the final episode of Derek especially touching, at the funeral of a friend, Derek's long lost father returns and is initially rejected by the hero and then finally welcomed back into his life and to watch the action being rehearsed, improvised and filmed was a rare treat.
