And it suitedPsychovillea bit more.
And do these urban myths.
They were meant to be things that really happened.
Theyre stories that are being told about the characters.
It was a nice way to explore the characters we already had.
And we thought the framing equipment with Mylenes character would be good.
It kind of fitted with having this haunted location.
Im quite obsessed withMost Hauntedanyway, so I thought it would be good to explore that.
SP:There was a lot more talk aboutMost Haunted, wasnt there?
But it got cut out.
But we thought Dale Wintons Overnight Ghost Hunt was a good idea.
So, where does your obsession with that lie?
Do you watchMost Hauntedout of irony or do you actually believe in it?
RS:It just stems from loving watching mediums, especially Derek [Acorah].
I mean, theyre all so terrible.
SP:We used to watch it on tour, didnt we?
Wed watchDeal Or No Dealon the way to the venue, andMost Hauntedon the way back.
[laughs]
RS:Which was scarier?
SP:Cosmic ordering or cosmic bullshit [laughs].
But when we tried to write this teenage speech we found ourselves completely out of touch!
We couldnt do it, could we?
It was quite, quite excruciating.
And Drew was actually a character that was written to house one of our websites.
That became the framing machine, and then all we had to do was think about the stories.
It came quite organically, really.
That was the starting point.
It was great to completely embrace the horror again.
When we tried to do the horror, we wanted to make it scary as well as funny.
Apart from what goes on at the end, where youll go, What the hell was that?
When you create these characters, what comes first?
Is it a voice, or a personality quirk?
SP:A psychosis!
It can be a variety of things.
Sometimes it is a voice.
Other times it can just be putting two completely separate things together, like with Mr Lomax.
Which is a line that one of Reeses friends dads said once, and that kick-started the whole thing!
[laughs]
You kind of draw all these separate, different things together, and there you are.
Youve got a character who seems rounded, and you think, Where did they get that from?
but its just different things youve taken from separate people.
RS:Or itll be an idea for a funny scene thats almost sketch-like.
Leaguewas more sketch-like, but [Psychoville] is much more narrative in the way weve written it.
It matters what happens to the characters, even though theyre horrible.
Maureen and David are quite sympathetic, strangely, but theyre serial killers.
But youre on their side, oddly.
How did Imelda [Staunton] get involved?
We wrote this character and thought it would be great for Imelda.
We wrote it so we could ring her a year later and say, Can you do it?
She was delighted to do it.
Its such a strong performance that she gives.
It totally fits in with the world ofPsychoville.
Her character will come into series two a lot more, and well find out more about her.
We just wanted to give this little hint that this wasnt the end.
RS:That was a hard thing to write, because we wanted the mystery to go on.
Its good, though, in a way, that viewers are so emotionally involved.
SP:Thats a good point a good way of looking at it.
And we take it all on board, as well.
RS:Theyre obviously really into it if theyre so concerned that they dont get answers.
Thats what series two will be.
Its a good job the second series was commissioned, then.
RS:It is a good job, otherwise wed be left with half a mystery.
[laughs]
And the locket was very significant to the Halloween episode.
RS:Yes it is.
SP:Its as if we knew what we were doing all along.
[laughs]
Did you feel any pressure beforePsychovillestarted?
Because, obviously,The League Of Gentlemenwas such a huge success.
So, if it turns out a little likeThe League Of Gentlemen, so be it.
Psychovilledoes have shades ofThe League Of Gentlemen, but I think its different.
It has more narrative, and has a different flavour.
Its its own thing, and were completely proud of it as a standalone project.
But it can be inhibiting to begin with.
Youve just got to go along with it.
RS:Its hard, yeah.
Oh yeah, these are the guys that do dark scary stuff.
We try never to repeat ourself, other than in tone, because thats the furrow were plowing.
As a piece of television, I think its interesting to look at.
If you were flicking around, and you saw it, I think youd say, Whats that?
You might not like it, but youre impressed by it.
How did you go about mixing the horror and the comedy?
How do you get the balance right?
SP:In the series, the horror takes you by surprise.
It was trickier, in a way, to write, because theres an expectation that itll be scary.
But we wanted it to have that really creepy, spooky atmosphere to it.
We decided to look at different genres of horror as well.
So, theresThe Eye,The Grudge,Ring.
Theres that ghostly thing you cant quite make out.
And it suited Mr Lomax because he has no sight.
So, it just comes naturally to us.
Is there an element of self-censorship when you writePsychoville?
RS:Were very good on swearing, I think, arent we?
Theyre parked in a lay-by.
Otherwise wed never be able to film it.
So, were experienced now to know what is achievable.
If you look at the Halloween special, it does look fantastic, I think, for a comedy.
We get the same as everybody else.
People leave us alone, generally speaking.
We dont have reams of notes, and we dont have interference, because we dont cost a fortune.
RS:We dont even have a script editor, do we?
RS:Because its not diluted or dumbed down.
Its how we intended, and thats the heart of it.Leaguewas like that.
It arrived on television very sure of itself, which is really fortunate.
But obviously, youre quite established.
So, would it be harder for newcomers to do something odd, comedy-wise, do you think?
SP:Weve had to jump through all the same hoops withPsychoville.
Wed had success withLeague, but we still had to go through read-throughs and script approvals and all that.
SP:But it is hard for new people getting in, as it was for us.
Not everyone will love it, but enough people might like it to make it a success.
[The BBC] could easily have said, We dont wantPsychoville.
Weve seen that kind of thing before.
So, it is serving a need for someone.
RS:Probably just me and you!
Psychoville Halloween screens on 31st October, as you might expect.
Our spoiler-free review is up tomorrow…
