alan45
22-08-2011, 19:46
DS You’re widely recognised as being the man behind Corrie’s first ever gay kiss, but that’s not the case is it?
JH Nothing to do with me! I came in after that. I came in after Todd had told Sarah he was gay in 2004. So I wasn't brought in with a gay agenda. I was just given the job!
DS That’s a common misconception though, isn’t it?
JH It is, and it's unfair. There are other gay people on the team, who worked very hard for many years to get a gay character on the show, but because I have a high profile they pin it on me, and it looks like I'm taking all the glory.
DS So how did you end up writing for Corrie?
JH Well the Executive Producer at the time was a woman called Carolyn Reynolds. I'd done a couple of different jobs with her and she'd always said to me "you'd be brilliant on Corrie", and I'd always go "Joking aren't you!” No, I'd always thought "I'll do that for my pension, or when I'm older". But I was getting a bit sick of writing stuff and waiting ages for people to make a decision, and Carolyn was a very good sales woman. She'd say "You write a script for Corrie and it's made in 8 weeks". 80% of what I write never sees the light of day, so it was liberating to get a job where everything you write has a function. Also, it was the only thing I had on my Sky plus box that I watched religiously, it was in really good shape at the time, and it was just too good an offer to miss out on really. They've always looked after me really well.
DS Have you always been a Corrie fan?
JH Always. But the other thing is, writing is such an isolating experience, it could send you mad - so it's lovely to be part of a group of writers. Having been there 7 years now, you share so many experiences. It was like the writers group I joined at the Royal Court when I first came to London. It was like an AA meeting or something - finding all these people who had all the same hang up's as you. It’s a really nice working atmosphere.
DS Do you have a favourite scene or episode that you’ve written? The scenes where Blanche and the Barlows attend Peter’s AA meeting was a particular favourite of mine!
JH Hilariously that won the best Corrie moment of the best 50 moments. Basically, I had written it in about 2 days because an actress was taken ill, and they were a few scenes short. So I had a phone call from the office asking if I could write something for the Barlows that could run across two episodes but never be mentioned again. I thought "what if Peter took them all to an AA meeting," and that was that. I suppose I am very proud of that, actually. I loved Maggie Jones, who played Blanche; she was just a dream to write for. She always delivered and it's such a shame that she's died. She was such a nice person. I'll also always be proud of when she looked in a book about serial killers and said "Ooh, nasty gash!” There's a lot that I'm proud of - but it's not all camp stuff. I created the character of Tony Gordon for example - who was a big villain on the show. Me and another writer on the show, Julie, wondered what to do next for Carla. We thought "what if she gets a psychopath boyfriend who ends up stalking her," and that mushroomed into a much bigger character. I'm also very proud of an episode I did which was the night before Tracy went on trial. It was a two hander between her and Deirdre which was lovely to do. There have been some nice highlights along the way.
DS Certain elements of the press of accused the show of having a “gay agenda” in recent months. What are your thoughts on that?
JH It's just homophobia and a load of fuss over nothing. Out of a cast of 70 something there are 4 gay characters. I don't think that's misrepresentative. There's also, of course, a transsexual and a transvestite - at the moment. But look, it's a show that was created by a gay man - it's got a great gay sensibility - it always did have, and whilst it didn't have gay characters there were always feisty matriarchs and the camp sensibility.
It's just irritating when it comes from someone like Brian Sewell - who is gay - but criticises the likes of me as a gay writer. Plus, he got all his facts completely wrong! He blamed my friend and colleague Damon for it all. If only he knew how many gay people there were working on Corrie - then he really would think there was a gay agenda! There isn't, though!
DS You also wrote the Corrie play, which received fantastic reviews. How did you land that job?
JH ITV decided they wanted to do a reduced Shakespeare company style play to celebrate the 50th Anniversary, so they asked all the writers if anybody was interested and I said that I was! So I got the gig and just had to sift through 50 years of storylines to find the best bits!
DS Have you got any more plays in the pipeline?
JH Not at the moment. I'm busy working on a novel at the moment, which is taking up the same amount of brain power as a play - so there won't be any more plays for the time being.
DS What can you tell us about the novel?
JH It’s about a soap actress who gets very, very drunk at the soap awards and wakes up the next morning to discover that A) She's won best actress but B) that she's been fired because of what she's said on national television! It's not too showbizzy, it's then about how she then gets her life back together afterwards.
DS So is that quite campy?
JH Well of course I don't think it is, but I let my manager read it the other week and she said "Oh Jonathan! It's so camp!" So yes, it is!
DS So what does the future hold for Jonathan Harvey?
JH Well I’m writing for Shameless now, I’ve only just started that.
DS But you’ll still be staying at Corrie won’t you?
JH Yeah, I don't want to leave unless they fire me!
JH Nothing to do with me! I came in after that. I came in after Todd had told Sarah he was gay in 2004. So I wasn't brought in with a gay agenda. I was just given the job!
DS That’s a common misconception though, isn’t it?
JH It is, and it's unfair. There are other gay people on the team, who worked very hard for many years to get a gay character on the show, but because I have a high profile they pin it on me, and it looks like I'm taking all the glory.
DS So how did you end up writing for Corrie?
JH Well the Executive Producer at the time was a woman called Carolyn Reynolds. I'd done a couple of different jobs with her and she'd always said to me "you'd be brilliant on Corrie", and I'd always go "Joking aren't you!” No, I'd always thought "I'll do that for my pension, or when I'm older". But I was getting a bit sick of writing stuff and waiting ages for people to make a decision, and Carolyn was a very good sales woman. She'd say "You write a script for Corrie and it's made in 8 weeks". 80% of what I write never sees the light of day, so it was liberating to get a job where everything you write has a function. Also, it was the only thing I had on my Sky plus box that I watched religiously, it was in really good shape at the time, and it was just too good an offer to miss out on really. They've always looked after me really well.
DS Have you always been a Corrie fan?
JH Always. But the other thing is, writing is such an isolating experience, it could send you mad - so it's lovely to be part of a group of writers. Having been there 7 years now, you share so many experiences. It was like the writers group I joined at the Royal Court when I first came to London. It was like an AA meeting or something - finding all these people who had all the same hang up's as you. It’s a really nice working atmosphere.
DS Do you have a favourite scene or episode that you’ve written? The scenes where Blanche and the Barlows attend Peter’s AA meeting was a particular favourite of mine!
JH Hilariously that won the best Corrie moment of the best 50 moments. Basically, I had written it in about 2 days because an actress was taken ill, and they were a few scenes short. So I had a phone call from the office asking if I could write something for the Barlows that could run across two episodes but never be mentioned again. I thought "what if Peter took them all to an AA meeting," and that was that. I suppose I am very proud of that, actually. I loved Maggie Jones, who played Blanche; she was just a dream to write for. She always delivered and it's such a shame that she's died. She was such a nice person. I'll also always be proud of when she looked in a book about serial killers and said "Ooh, nasty gash!” There's a lot that I'm proud of - but it's not all camp stuff. I created the character of Tony Gordon for example - who was a big villain on the show. Me and another writer on the show, Julie, wondered what to do next for Carla. We thought "what if she gets a psychopath boyfriend who ends up stalking her," and that mushroomed into a much bigger character. I'm also very proud of an episode I did which was the night before Tracy went on trial. It was a two hander between her and Deirdre which was lovely to do. There have been some nice highlights along the way.
DS Certain elements of the press of accused the show of having a “gay agenda” in recent months. What are your thoughts on that?
JH It's just homophobia and a load of fuss over nothing. Out of a cast of 70 something there are 4 gay characters. I don't think that's misrepresentative. There's also, of course, a transsexual and a transvestite - at the moment. But look, it's a show that was created by a gay man - it's got a great gay sensibility - it always did have, and whilst it didn't have gay characters there were always feisty matriarchs and the camp sensibility.
It's just irritating when it comes from someone like Brian Sewell - who is gay - but criticises the likes of me as a gay writer. Plus, he got all his facts completely wrong! He blamed my friend and colleague Damon for it all. If only he knew how many gay people there were working on Corrie - then he really would think there was a gay agenda! There isn't, though!
DS You also wrote the Corrie play, which received fantastic reviews. How did you land that job?
JH ITV decided they wanted to do a reduced Shakespeare company style play to celebrate the 50th Anniversary, so they asked all the writers if anybody was interested and I said that I was! So I got the gig and just had to sift through 50 years of storylines to find the best bits!
DS Have you got any more plays in the pipeline?
JH Not at the moment. I'm busy working on a novel at the moment, which is taking up the same amount of brain power as a play - so there won't be any more plays for the time being.
DS What can you tell us about the novel?
JH It’s about a soap actress who gets very, very drunk at the soap awards and wakes up the next morning to discover that A) She's won best actress but B) that she's been fired because of what she's said on national television! It's not too showbizzy, it's then about how she then gets her life back together afterwards.
DS So is that quite campy?
JH Well of course I don't think it is, but I let my manager read it the other week and she said "Oh Jonathan! It's so camp!" So yes, it is!
DS So what does the future hold for Jonathan Harvey?
JH Well I’m writing for Shameless now, I’ve only just started that.
DS But you’ll still be staying at Corrie won’t you?
JH Yeah, I don't want to leave unless they fire me!