Vic and Bob back to their best with House of Fools series two
Our exclusive report from the set as filming begins.
As soon as Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer step in to their mocked-up living room, on the strangely tiny set of House of Fools, their chemistry is palpable.
This is the duo behind The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Shooting Stars, Catterick to name just a few. Living comedy legends. And boy, do they deliver.
Today is the first day of filming on series two of Vic and Bob’s BBC2 sitcom, and it’s the Christmas special. To get us in the mood, we’re treated to all the festive classics – from Slade to Wham and even a dud Michael Buble number – while warm-up Barbara Nice does her best to keep us laughing.
READ: Vic and Bob Q&A
Behind her the cast and crew are setting up – Vic and Bob, looking dapper as ever, are chatting away while there are glimpses of Matt Berry, Dan Skinner and Morgana Robinson, who all look amazing for very different reasons.
The episode, which takes around an hour and a half to shoot, is set on Christmas Eve, and in typical last-minute fashion, Vic, Bob and the gang are desperately looking for a Christmas present to give Erik – an elusive, yellow, bobble hat, as it turns out.
Of course, nothing goes to plan, and after a series of crossed-wires, fights, verbal fracas and ‘amazing sex’ between Julie and Vic, the Fools head off to find the only person in the world who might have a similar yellow bobble hat. Phil Collins, of course.
The episode, which will likely launch the second series in December, also sees a surprise appearance from the brilliant Reece Shearsmith, who you might remember as the ghost of Martin Cooper in series one.
Martin hasn’t been revived for the Christmas special. Instead, Sheersmith plays a very different character, one who comes bearing gifts and hate speech about foreigners. Don’t worry, it’s all very self-aware, and crucially very funny.
BUY: Our House of Fools-inspired t-shirt
There were rumours in the summer that House of Fools faced the axe after just one series due to a huge dip in ratings. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, as given time to breathe House of Fools has all the makings of another Vic and Bob classic.
Locked Out Of the House
Hundreds of fans were left disappointed as they queued with tickets and were unable to get into the studio for the recording. We were numbers 105 and 106 in the queue, and there were at least five times as many people behind us in a line that circled the café in The Studios.
The current system, whereby the BBC massively oversubscribe standby tickets to fans to ensure 100% capacity for shows, is clearly flawed and surely disadvantages those who don’t live a bus ride away from MediaCityUK.
This morning we spoke to one fan who had travelled via train from Barnard Castle, in the North East of England, only to be turned away just after 2pm – half an hour before fans were due to gain access to the building. He took a day off work and paid over £70 to see the show.
The BBC have since contacted turned-away fans and issued new tickets for the November recordings, but they too are standby only.
Were you at the recordings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
