Matt Berry wants to keep making C4 comedy

Matt Berry says he wants to keep making Toast Of London – as he’s got plenty of ideas that haven’t been used yet.

Speaking at a preview of the second series at Bafta’s London HQ last night, he said: ‘There’s loads of stuff that we bandied about, which we could put into it.’

The comedy, about a character co-creator Arthur Mathews describes as ‘the best actor in the world in a high wind or under a helicopter’ is set to return to Channel 4 later this month.

Episodes screened last night included a celebrities and prostitutes Blow football tournament, a theatre producer with a VERY peculiar facial disfigurement – and, of course the return of preposterous voiceover producer Clem Fandango.

Berry explained how the inspiration for the series was ‘staring him in the face’ after doing a lot of voiceover work. ‘There are often two idiots behind the glass, who are well paid and have to look as if they are doing something to have an opinion,’ he said.

He also revealed he did one voiceover job when the client kept his back to him at all times. ‘I never saw his face…’

Berry said the idea for Toast came very quickly, after which he wanted Father Ted co-creator Mathews on board.

As they live in London and Ireland respectively, they never write in the same room but ‘send each other ideas we like and try to find a way to get them into an episode,’ Berry explained.

He also said that his nemesis Ray Purchase, as played by Harry Peacock, came about because ‘every actor has someone who looks a bit like you and always gets the job.’

But when asked about his own nemesis, Berry joked: ‘I don’t think anyone would want to do what I’m doing.’

He described the surreal musical interludes in the show as being ‘a mix of Dennis Potter and The Hulk… the moment that Toast is against the wall and it can’t get any worse – that’s when he bursts into song.’

And he added that getting the right tone for the sex scenes with Tracy Ann Oberman’s Mrs Purchase was important, professing to hate the usual comedy treatment of a couple pulling pictures off the wall in the throes of passion. ‘We wanted to make it disgusting,’ he said. ‘Joyless and unerotic,’ Mathews added.

Mathews also explained the secret to some of the outlandish plot twists, ’If someone in the show voices the concerns of the audience, you can get away with it,’ he said.

Channel 4 have yet to announce the scheduling of series two, but producers are hoping for a better slot than the 10.40pm Sunday-night placing series one received.

Published: 1 Oct 2014