RUSSELL TOVEY - No.249

The cultural divide strikes again!

Above is the cover of Gay Times magazine issued in Jan-Feb 2010 to celebrate the fact that Being Human has a big gay following.

Below is the Australian version. Here in Oz nobody bats an eyelid when you walk into a shop and ask the proprietor for some Gay Times. I think it's quaint that we still use the word to mean what it originally meant!

This is an edited section of the GT Being Human article:

Our cover story on the best ruddy show on TV

It’s a freezing cold winter day and GT is huddled in a sparse flat in Bristol. The letterbox pops open and a familiar pair of eyes peers in. It’s Russell Tovey and we’re sat on his couch.
No, we’ve not finally been caught out for stalking (Madonna, you can’t prove it was us), it’s the set of the massive BBC drama Being Human. We’re inside the actual house that’s used for exterior filming. They’re shooting some scenes outside and we resist the temptation to twitch the net curtains and get in frame like a French and Saunders extra. But rest assured, faithful reader, during one of the scenes in the new series, we’re in that house. Oh yes.
Somewhat alarming though, what with the great big writing in blood on the wall behind us that says “GET OUT”. Ooh, spoilers...
Did we forget to mention that the three 20-somethings that live here are a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost? And you thought your housemates were bad.
There’s Annie, the tea-making spook, played by Lenora Crichlow (Material Girl, Sugar Rush, Doctor Who), Mitchell, the vampire who’s trying to stick to having kicked his blood habit (Desperate Romantics’ Aidan Turner) and George (Russell Tovey – The History Boys, Little Dorrit, Doctor Who), for whom things get a little hairy every full moon.
Originally a one-off pilot, it’s now BBC Three’s biggest show. It’s new (not a spin-off, remake or copy – it was around before True Blood), it has a stellar cast – in short it’s Britain’s best cult drama. No surprises that an American version is already in the pipeline.
“I’ve heard rumours that Mitchell’s a girl and Annie’s a man!” Lenora, joining us on the couch as Russell comes in, laughs when we bring this up. “I think it’ll be very different because there’s something very British about this series. I’m intrigued.
“I’ve been practicing my accent so I’m ready to play the American Annie. I’m just waiting for the call now.”
It’s probably no surprise the Americans have jumped at the chance, given the recent success of all things supernatural.
“It does feel like the market is quite saturated with this genre at the moment,” Lenora agrees. “But, I must say, Being Human to me still stands out because it’s got the aspect of three heroes – if you like – all playing against their supernatural. They’re not vamping it up or ghosting it up...” She pauses. “Or growling it up? They’re all trying to be human, so it kicks against the genre and keeps the show real.”
And – here comes the probing question – if she were a real ghost..?
“I’d be a bit freaked out. Once I got over the shock I’d be like ‘cool’. Mince around. I’d haunt Russell,” she laughs, looking over at him. “I just want to know what you do in your flat! I’d probably be very dull and mince on people I know...”

Sniiiiip! You're gonna just have to go to post No.254 to read the rest.