Interview with Will Macdonald for TFI Friday

26 May 2015

 

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How did the TFI reunion come about? 

I’d call it a clerical error. Someone at Channel 4 said, “Oh look, it’s 20 years since TFI started, we should do something.” They asked Chris if he’d be interested and he said yes, so he called me up about it. I went “Hang on a second”, did some maths and quickly realised it was actually 19 years. But by that point, everybody had gathered together such enthusiasm that we couldn’t stop. We’d gone too far to turn back. It was an unstoppable accidental train. In a way, though, it’s quite TFI to celebrate the 19th anniversary. The 19th anniversary is an underrated milestone.

 

Maths aside, did you think the time’s right?

Yes. Once we all started to talk to each other again, we got rather excited by the prospect. It went off-air 15 years ago but in all that time, there’s never been anything quite like TFI. And there’s still warmth towards it. Or as Chris calls it, “residual heat”. 

 

What are your fondest memories of first time around?

Memory’s quite strange when it comes to TFI Friday. Right now, there are lots of people around the office watching old tapes and there’s a whole bunch of stuff I can’t recall at all. Apparently I laid in a bath of hot water for an entire episode but have no recollection of it whatsoever. We were in such a bubble, it all came thick and fast and was fuelled by alcohol, so there’s a startling amount I can’t remember. It’s a bit like childbirth - you look back and have fond memories but conveniently forget the pain involved.

 

How has the show aged, looking back?

Not too badly, surprisingly. Better than I feared. There’s some unfunny or dated bits obviously but there’s still a real energy and attitude to it. The way we shot the bands differently, did daft things and put the whole show together, there’s not a lot like that on TV at the moment.

 

Which bits make you cringe?

Anything that involves me being forced to dress up. I was put in a Geisha costume and full make-up, then sent down Fulham Palace Road. I was made to march around Piccadilly Circus in Geri Halliwell’s Spice Girls dress, smoking a pipe and holding a placard saying “I’m Will Macdonald and I’m nuts about the Spice Girls”. They’re the bits I watch through my fingers. 

 

It was basically workplace bullying, wasn’t it?

I couldn’t agree more. Institutional bullying. The problem was, I was used to it. That’s what an all-boys public school does to you. 

 

Was TFI influential? Did it change the face of TV?

Well, people try to copy it all the time. From the moment we went off-air, I’ve heard endless people in TV industry saying, “We want the next TFI Friday” or “Make it more like TFI.” Latterly, James Corden is an example of someone who grew up watching TFI. He’s talked about that being the sort of show he wants to make in America. And when Jimmy Fallon took over from Jay Leno, the production team watched clips from TFI as an example of how to loosen up The Tonight Show. But I don’t really see TFI as a format; it’s more of a mood. 

 

Is it daunting to revive something so iconic?

Not really, everyone’s just giving it a go and seeing what happens. If you say with trepidation “Yes, we’re doing a big 90-minute anniversary special”, it immediately sounds much more bombastic than we are. It’s not about saying “Weren’t we great?” The show was always slightly more self-effacing than that. And we were helped first time around by the stars aligning. We happened to coincide with Britpop, Brit Art, New Labour, Cool Britannia, Euro 96… It was all going on, there were interesting people around and it was all good for the show. 

 

Does TFI being so quintessentially 90s make a 2015 revival harder?

No, I’d argue that attitude and energy is pretty ageless. The reason people describe TFI as being very 90s is because of the guests and bands we had on. We had the big names of the time and they were, by definition, very 90s. If we were going to start a new series today, you’d have people who are around now. If you say, “Here’s Benedict Cumberbatch and Ed Sheeran”, suddenly it feels like 2015 and not the 90s. That’s why, for me, it’s not bound by its decade. 

 

Is the old team back together?

Pretty much. It’s the same team of producers putting it together: myself, Suzi Aplin, Clare Barton and, of course, Danny Baker and Chris. Most of the crew are back. The way we’re writing and producing the show is the same now as it was back then. It feels like picking up where we left off. 

 

Are the meetings a bit calmer now, because you’re all older and wiser?

I feel older and tireder. That’s maybe because I’ve now got three teenage daughters. But yes, everybody is calmer and wise. We’ve all spent the intervening years doing other TV shows and I think now we realise how special it was, what we had back then. It’s fun doing it again and we’re very grateful for the opportunity.

 

Can we expect familiar features to be making a return?

To be honest, ask me the week of transmission! But it would be churlish not to nod to the old favourites, especially as it’s an anniversary special. It’d be like a band coming on-stage and playing their latest album but none of their greatest hits. Hopefully we’ll end up with a healthy balance of fresh 2015 stuff and fun stuff that people remember.

 

Can you reveal any star guests yet?

Not at the moment. But there’ll be some good ones. 

 

Have you spent the last 20 years with people saying “Wiiiiiiiillll” at you?

Yep, I still get pointed at in the street, which is strange. Although the people doing it now are slightly older with a paunch. These days, it’s mostly fat, bald painters and decorators. But mainly I walk past people in the street and they give me a look that says, “I know you from somewhere.” But they can’t quite place me and carry on walking past.