Desmonds, Chef, Extras, Life’s Too Short and Derek – just to name a few. What do all these successful TV shows have in common? They were all produced by Charlie Hanson.
I first met Charlie soon after landing in London. I didn’t know a single soul and spent most of my days online, basically bombarding the urban jungle with my CV, applying to any suitable nine-to-five that could help pay the rent.
Now, this can be quite depressing. It takes a lot of heart to write a covering letter advocating that all you’ve ever dreamt of is learning the art of making a smooth flat white. Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee. Every now and then, I’d add an extra caffeine shot and try to reach out to ‘people I’d actually like to work with’ – as you do.
Turns out, it’s not only the happy that go lucky, but cheeky go lucky as well. Charlie picked up my message in a cyber-bottle and offered to meet up for a chat. Bingo. So here I am, all nervous, walking down Newman Street, heading to a suite where Mr. Hanson himself is editing Life’s Too Short.
Charlie greets me with a cheery, “Welcome to London!” He literally welcomes me like he’s my uncle. Trying to act cool and not-impressed-at-all, I told him I had just landed in the UK and felt like Billy no-mates (note to self – need to reassess the notion of ‘cool’). Hearing that from someone with a French accent made him laugh and that’s how Billy and Charlie became friends. A simple, genuine encounter.
This is how Charlie operates. He’ll give you time, open a door and turn London into a friendly village. This explains why renowned artists such as Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant keep entrusting him with their projects, while emerging talents looking for a mentor keep knocking at his door.
Charlie’s first steps in ‘the industry’ were actually on stage. He wanted to direct, so he studied Drama in Manchester and then started off as a stagehand. He then trained as a stage electrician and eventually started to direct his first plays.
“When I started working as a theatre director, I was earning less than I had been as a stage electrician,” he tells me. But it was a price worth paying. “It can be hard to make ends meet, but you’ve got to know what you want and go for it. It’s a cliché but it's true: no-one will fight to make your dreams come true but yourself.”
Five years down the line, an unexpected phone call gave him his first rendez-vous with comedy. “Life has its ways I guess! At the time, black talents were pretty scarce on British television. I had been working with the Black Theatre co-operative for a while when Humphrey Barclay – then Head of Comedy at London Weekend Television – called me. He was keen to bring more diversity to the small screen so we developed No Problem! together.”
Charlie produced the series which ran for three years and became Channel 4's first original black-made sitcom for British television. A couple of years later, Humphrey came up with the idea of Desmonds, which they co-produced. “We reached five million viewers for one episode, which was unheard of for a black sitcom. It truly felt like a huge achievement.”
“Humphrey Barclay took a chance on me. I was a theatre director and yet he gave me a shot as a TV producer. We all need a champion at some point, someone ready to trust his or her instinct, someone willing to give you a chance. I’m truly glad it’s now my turn to gamble!” Success only comes to those who dare. “I’ve always worked freelance. There’s definitely an element of uncertainty which can get quite risky at times. But that’s my fuel!”
In 2003, Charlie produced his first feature film, Amma Asante’s BAFTA award-winning A Way of Life. He also gained international recognition with Ricky Gervais’ and Stephen Merchant’s Golden Globe award-winning series Extras, which they co-produced for the BBC and HBO.
Perhaps as an answer to a rather gloomy economic climate, there seems to be a global craving for comedy. The relentless expansion of online platforms and the incessant social-media frenzy also imply a significant change in terms of distribution.
“It basically enhances massive global potential,” he tells me. Indeed, today you can post a clip online, it goes viral and all of a sudden you’re reaching out to your ‘sans-frontières’ audience. “It’s actually a thrilling new challenge. Now we all need to figure out a way to translate this into a viable industry.”
Charlie is definitely keeping on track, subtly navigating as a freelance director-producer. He’s recently teamed up with Ricky Gervais again to co-produce Channel 4’s hit show Derek. They’re bringing David Brent back for a special one-off episode called The Office Revisited for Comic Relief which will air on Red Nose Day. The team has also been working on a one-off episode of Life’s Too Short, starring Warwick Davis and guest-starring Val Kilmer, Les Dennis, Keith Chegwin and Shaun Williamson.
Still committed to championing new talent, he lately produced Through the Looking Screen, written and directed by Anne Chmelewsky (The Office: The Opera, BBC Comic Relief 2009). This one-woman operetta brilliantly interpreted by Clare Presland offers a witty reflection on how our social-media playgrounds and so-called ‘wireless’ communication tools have changed the way we all interact, sometimes ironically enhancing our own isolation. Life, as Charlie says, has its ways, indeed.
Pictured: Ricky Gervais as Derek, Celia Sanchez
Celia Sanchez is a Masters graduate in International Journalism (DIT Dublin). She is a freelance reporter, aspiring writer and hopeful wanderer.
