Scott Handcock

Ha! A bit like Tell Me You Love Me, it was pretty much defined by production restrictions. It had to be a story that focussed on Quill and Charlie (with maybe only one other main voice in the form of The Cleaver), but I wanted these new volumes to feature the other characters as much as possible. So it struck me an examination hall would be the perfect setting: all the characters are present, but nobody’s allowed to talk! Ideal for audio (mad, I know) - or at least what I needed. I actually wrote quite an in depth scene breakdown - just outlining the basic beats per scene - but wanted to introduce more writers to Class rather than write myself, hence handing it over to Alfie. And Alfie was fantastic. He took the scene breakdown I’d given him and brought it all to life, adding lots of new ideas and elements along the way. There wasn't any conscious set up for Queen of Rhodia, if I’m honest. It’s just the case that, when you’re dealing with Quill and Charlie, that’s sort of what defines their relationship, so it’s natural for the drama to stem from that.

As with any casting, you have to trust your actors, so first and foremost, it was about finding brilliant actors who could brings the characters to life. My focus was never on finding an impersonator - otherwise you find the performer is concentrating more on sounding like the original than bringing the character to life. I don’t think Dervla sounds identical to Katherine, for instance. However, she’s a damned fine actor and, having worked with her before, I knew she’d enjoy the fun of it, and absolutely nail Quill’s cynicism. Joanna, on the other hand, was completely new to me, but happened to be represented by an agent I know well and, listening to voice clips for other things, just sounded right for Tanya - both in terms of energy and vocally. If she sounded that good on other things, I knew she’d be fabulous playing the part. Thankfully, people seem to agree!

I think, boringly, it sort of stemmed from a budgetary consideration. I’d allocated a lot of our guest voice budget to other episodes (and I think Jenny Colgan’s script added a few more) so I knew one slot would have to feature just the regulars, which is always an interesting challenge. I love the intimacy of audio anyway, so those claustrophobic chamber pieces appeal to me hugely. I suppose I also had my director hat on - I always like to think of what will engage me as a director, and also engage the actors - and when you’re limited in resources, it means you have more opportunity to try something more complex with the script. 

I’ve always loved the Doctor Who episode midnight - from a technical point of view, it’s brilliantly pulled together (I was working behind the scenes at that time, so remember in detail the different layers of complexity just shooting that brought) and thought this would be a good opportunity to try something similar with Class. That led me to the idea of a creature that infiltrated your mind, and sort of expunged your memories by making your articulate your thoughts. I liked the idea of continuous talking (except for a few cutaways here and there) and I couldn’t think of anything that had done that before.

Of course, it’s easy to think about doing something like that, but you still have to structure a story the same way, even if you’re pretty much in the same room for the bulk of the story. It may feel like one long scene, but it was still broken down into about thirty distinct smaller scenes, just to make sure the dramatic beats kept coming at regular intervals, and revelations kept being made too. Plus, of course, timing is everything - there are huge chunks of dialogue that play out under other characters’ conversations, so I ended up having to write lots of script that ultimately wouldn’t be heard... otherwise, you run the risk of an actor stopping, which kills the whole point of the episode. Or worse, you ask an actor to ad-lib, and you suddenly hear a desperate actor making stuff up, rather than the character reacting. So that was fun to do - especially as those ‘unheard’ speeches that play out under the other characters then need to reconnect back to the main conversation. (I’d forgotten just how involved that script was until you asked this question!)

So yes, in short, it was inspired by the Doctor Who episode Midnight, just in terms of ambition. In terms of Class, I knew which three leads needed to feature, so the character drama sort of naturally stemmed from that. I was quite lucky to have to work with Quill, Charlie and Matteusz because they’re a natural trio thrown together. I’m not sure the same story would have worked if I’d had to write it for Ram and Tanya, for instance.

Ha, don’t worry about the delay in messages. The first volumes of Class took a while to pull together - partly because it was at a time when the series was just airing on BBC One (following the original BBC Three transmission) and no one knew where the series may be headed, but also because the approvals process took longer (on account of it being a new licence, etc). When we had storylines, I contacted the actors’ agents to explain who we were and what we do, and if they’d have interest in reprising their roles. If any had declined, we’d have altered our plans (unfortunately on the recent volumes, the decision that certain actors didn’t want to return was made very late in the day, having previously suggested they’d be keen for more). Anyway, they were all keen, so we commissioned scripts, then had to await approval from Patrick, and then try to schedule them all together. We’d deliberately constructed them as two-handers (at least) so there’d be a sense of reunion, coming back into it. It’s easier for slip back into a role when you have someone recognisable on the same journey. So finding the characters (even after a year or two) was relatively easy. Getting to grips with the audio vibe was a little harder, as none of them had previously done any radio work like this. But that’s my job as a director - to hear what’s needed for the scene (in terms of vocalisations to not only cover the emotional beats but interact with the FX and soundscapes) and suggest the details that will tie it all together. And these guys are TV actors, so they have to do similar stuff all the time for screen productions (ADR recordings often capture voices in post for various reasons) - so once they got into the rhythm of how we worked, it all came relatively easily. Then again, when we did the most recent sets, and they’d all heard how what we did in studio translated to the finished product, they were even more relaxed because they trusted what they were doing wouldn’t fall flat, and felt comfortable pushing it even further.

Script editing takes lots of different forms. There’s an element of tidying up, as you say - making sure details are clearly conveyed for the medium, and flagging up any character/continuity clashes - but that’s generally the smallest part of a script editor’s role. From the beginning, you work with the writer to develop a storyline, ensuring it fits the brief of the series, but also that it has a satisfying beginning, middle and end. There’s a lot of back and forth - if you put the work in here, the script itself will be in better shape - as you can nail down the structure and the pace, and flag any issues with the plot, etc, before the writer sits down to do the hard part. You sort of have to have an eye across everything. These stories have to be satisfying dramatically - you need to keep the listener engaged, so you have to make sure there’s always something happening or being discovered to drive the plot forward - but equally you need the character development, otherwise the audience has no reason to invest in events. Having worked with different script editors myself, I always much prefer those who rip a storyline to shreds and help build it back up over another who just scans for typos superficially. Like anything creative, the more you collaborate, the more you get out of it...

Filling the gaps was undeniably an issue - but it was a condition of the licence that was issued (before the TV series was formally cancelled) - hence no wriggle-room to do adventures beyond the cliff-hanger. In terms of tone, I’d already spearheaded some series aimed at a more YA audience (like The Confessions of Dorian Gray) and had actually worked at BBC Wales on Doctor Who and its related shows for several years, so had a strong understanding of the ‘rules’ when it came to compliance for each property. We also had Patrick looking at each storyline and script.

Very happy!