Richard Gadd reveals why new drama Half Man simply had to air on the BBC
Richard Gadd started working on Half Man before Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, but his new drama was always destined for the Beeb.
Richard Gadd has insisted new his drama Half Man needed to air on the BBC.
The 36-year-old actor stars with Jamie Bell in the new co-production with HBO, and he has revealed how the idea for the show predates his Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, and he always hoped the British broadcaster would be involved.
He told media in a recent Q+A: "I always come up with ideas for things, but if I can shake them within a day I’m like, ‘Well, they weren't worth thinking about.’
"But this one, I couldn't shake, it stayed with me. And it stayed with me all the way through Baby Reindeer and I would always be, ‘Oh, please, can it still be there [on] the other side?’
"Because I knew BBC were interested, and I really wanted to do it with the Beeb. And I just would always hope and pray it was still there. And, luckily, it was."
He insisted the BBC is the right home for the show because he loves the corporation, and the work it does.
He gushed: "I think it's an incredible channel, it's done incredible work. I think about all the work that's inspired me down the years, God, I could list so many things.
"When I saw The Office when I was a kid, that blew my mind, I still think it's possibly the best television show ever made.
"I suppose my life sort of changed, when I would research into Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais and I'd research into them doing The Office, and I was like, ‘Oh, they wrote it, they were in it…’ "
Seeing how involved they were with the shows sparked something in himself, and he was determined to follow that path.
He added: "I caught the dream when I saw it and I was like, ‘That's what I want to do with my life.’ I was very young and I knew, thanks to a BBC show, what I wanted to be.
"I think the BBC is incredible. I think in this day and age, not to get too political, information without bias is now more important than ever. So it's an honour. It's a privilege to be part of the BBC."
Richard wrote the first episode of Half Man before Baby Reindeer.
The drama follows two men who met in their youth and became like brothers to each other.
Ruben turns up at Niall's wedding 30 years later, but things take a violent turn as viewers see their lives from the 1980s to the present day.
