The final day of filming at the home of my fictional parents in the posho village of Cobham. It's the last time (for the moment at least) that the cast are all together as in the last week we film all the earlier parts of the script where people are at their own homes getting ready, or driving to the party.
The cast spirit has remained high and I think everyone was a little bit sad that things were over so fast. Lots of photos were being taken (I'll put some up on the site very soon) both by the actors and a professional for publicity purposes. It turned into being like a real family gathering as we were asked to pose in various family groups. Anton and Julia sat on a wooden bench, while Robert, Claire and me stood behind them. I joked that I might put this picture up in my house and pretend these were my real family and if people recognised these famous faces I could tell them that we are all part of a ridiculously successful acting dynasty, who have been forced to take various stage names because of some embarrassing real surname or something. And if my real family disown me after all this, then it will be nice to have this false substitute.
But I have started to love these people like they were my real family - maybe more as I can pretty much control everything they say and haven't had a lifetime of exposure to them. Yesterday when Anton's character told us how pleased he was that we had all made it to their big day, I didn't have to do any acting. I was totally convinced and genuinely moved.
Julia got a big bunch of flowers after her final take (Anton still has to do a fantasy sequence, swimming around in a big pool) and just as it had started to sink in that thei was actually happening, I had to start the process of realising that it's almost over. It sort of felt like the end, even though we have five more days and lots more stuff to get done.
It was touching to see the actors playing the grandkids all saying goodbye to Anton, who they will not be doing any more scenes with. They all gave him a kiss, just as if he was their real grandad. He's a lovely, funny man.
So I am very pleased with the way things have gone so far. It's impossible to know how it will all look when it's finished or what people will make of it, with it's lack of lesbian vampires and long scenes of people talking about stuff and then failing to crash their cars. It's being broadcast on the 15th June at 9pm, so put it in your diaries and tell your friends.
