Interview with Charlie Condou for Time Crashers

12 August 2015

Why did you want to do this show?

I’ve said no to a lot of reality TV stuff, but this felt more to me like a documentary in the sense that it was genuinely much more about the period in history that we were going into, about how people lived and about how we lived in that time, though I didn’t realise quite how hard it was going to be!

 

Were you worried about giving up your 21st century gadgets? 

I really was, actually! One of the things I found hardest is that I am attached to my iPhone and computer as much as anyone, so that was obviously a concern. But I think one of the things I think I was worrying about the most was not being about to speak to Cameron, my partner, and also the kids, because I had never done that before.

 

Were you interested in history before this? 

I was kind of interested in history, but not massively. I know Greg Rutherford was a big history fan and knows a lot about it, but I was much more interested in knowing how I would survive. I wanted to see how I would cope being in these situations, so it was more about that than looking at the era and going, “Yes, I’ve always been interested in medieval times, and here I am, living it!” It wasn’t really about that so much for me, it was much more about how would I cope if I had to skin a deer and get it on a spit, all that kind of stuff, because it’s stuff I’m just not used to. 

 

What did you make of the other celebrities? 

We all got on really well, and I think that was probably the best thing. Because it hadn’t been set up in any way and they hadn’t chosen people that they thought would clash, certainly from my point of view that was one of the best things. We all felt like we were in it together and everyone had each other’s’ backs, so everyone was incredibly supportive of each other.

 

What was your favourite era? 

It’s hard to say. I really enjoyed the Victorian era because it was slightly different – we were down at the coast being fishermen, and I thought that was a really nice day where we all worked really well together. I also quite liked, weirdly, the Iron age, which is the one I thought I would struggle with the most, just because we didn’t have anyone telling us what to do as in previous eras, it was the first time we didn’t have somebody cracking the whip.

 

The women were surprised at how badly servants were treated in those times, were you? 

Yes! That was one thing that I hadn’t prepared myself for, although it does make sense. We were servants in every era we went to, but of course it was probably because if we had been upper class it would have been quite dull, just sat around being fed and watered, you know, and not really doing very much, because that was how it was. So yes, it was really hard work, and not particularly rewarding – we weren’t paid well, we weren’t given anything. I remember sometimes they paid you, if you did really well you would get a treat at the end, and the treat was always really rubbish!

 

Did you say you skinned a deer? 

Yes, I did that twice! The first time was when we had just arrived in Elizabethan times and I had just met another couple of people, I walked out onto the yard and Kirstie, Greg, Fern and Zoe were there, and suddenly this guy came out and said, “I’m the Master Cook, this is what we’re doing today. We’re preparing for a big feast - I want you and Greg to get this deer, skin it, joint it, get it on the spit, get the spit going,” and that was that! He left us to it.

 

Did you do anything that pushed you out of your comfort zone? 

We did the weirdest things possible! We made these things called cockentrices they were the centrepieces for the Elizabethan feast and we got a dead pig and a dead goose, and we had to saw them both in half, and we had to then stitch the pig’s head to the goose’s body, and vice versa, then roast them. I mean, it’s the oddest thing I have ever had to do – me and Greg did that, and it was just bizarre! I’m glad we didn’t have to kill any animals though; I think I would have found that tough. I am a meat-eater, so I guess it’s hypocritical not to, but I think I would have found that quite difficult actually, to kill animals. I am glad they were already dead. 

 

It sounds like you really had no luxury during filming?

No, it definitely wasn’t luxurious! The first night that we stayed over – bear in mind we’d just met each other – half of us were sleeping on the stairs somewhere, and the other half – me, Greg, Fern, Kirstie and Zoe – were sleeping on a cold, hard, stone kitchen floor on some sacks filled with straw, and with Fern snoring all night! It was so unbelievably cold, you have no idea! It really was fully immersive, there really wasn’t any of this, “If you want a break, it’s all right – just go and sit in the trailer and have a cup of tea”. There was none of that! And I sort of thought, being naïve as I’ve been on loads of film sets, that we could have a break whenever we wanted – and we really couldn’t!

 

Are you a good servant, do you think? 

I’m definitely somebody who, when I’m given a task, I want to get it done, and I want to get it done properly, and I thought I would probably be one of the more lazy ones! I thought I would be like, “I’m too tired, I’m not doing this,” but I feel like I committed to everything; I definitely felt like that’s how it was for me. So I think I was an all right servant, actually!

 

Do you think you’d be good on Downton Abbey now? 

I thought that the Edwardian would have been the easiest because I’ve watched Downton and it all looked so pretty and chocolate box, and we have this romantic notion of what that time was like, and actually it wasn’t like that at all – it was quite hard, and servants weren’t even spoken to, and certainly the women had to turn their backs if the master or the lady of the house walked through, they had to turn away and not be seen. The way things were politically at that time, and the way women were treated, it just got my back up – and I think it was because the Edwardian era was sort of the closest we came to now, really.

 

Has it made you realise how well you've got it now?

Oh, my God, yes. Although interestingly, the Iron Age, which is the furthest back that we went, they have really got it together with the whole sustainable diet thing – they were self-sufficient, you know? They grew what they needed to eat and survive, and they would trade with other people for the stuff they didn’t have, and it worked really well for them. It was only when the Romans turned up that things started to go wrong!

 

Has the experience made you take a step back from it at all? 

Yes, definitely. I’m not really as bad as I was with it, and it’s not the end of the world when your battery dies, and you’re on the tube and you’re like, “Oh my God! How am I going to play Candy Crush now?” But it isn’t as bad as all that, so yes, I am much better – I’m not nearly as bad as I was with all that stuff. I like to think that, anyway! 

 

Why should people watch Time Crashers? 

I think it’s really interesting, not necessarily seeing how a bunch of celebrities deal with different periods of time, but just to see how it was and how things have changed so much. It doesn’t feel like one of those celebrity shows; well, not for me anyway. I think it will be fascinating for people to watch and see how times have changed.