We decided to catch up with Vikki Dale.
She was part of the production team behind Rock & Chips.
Rock & Chips – Behind the Scenes
OFAH.net. What other shows have you been involved in?
Vikki. I have worked in various roles on different shows, I’m going to tell you about the cooler ones! I was the Floor Assistant on My Family, Floor Runner on Perrin, Assistant Floor Manager on Michael McIntyres Comedy Roadshow, 3rd Assistant Director/ AFM on Miranda and 2nd Assistant Director on Red Dwarf: Back to Earth and I’m going onto be Floor Runner on the IT Crowd. These are to name a few, sometimes its actually hard to keep track! I could send you my CV if you like?
Behind the scenes rock and chips
OFAH.net. What does your work involve in the production of Rock & Chips and how long have you been working in that area?
Vikki. I was the Floor Runner on Rock and Chips in the Assistant Director Department. I have been working as an AD and in that department since late 2007 when I got the Floor Runner job on My Family. My first AD job was as AFM on the Pilot for Bewitched with Sheridan Smith which sadly didn’t get picked up. My job basically involves assisting the 3rd, 2nd and 1st AD in anyway I can, this usually involves looking after the actors, making sure they get through Make Up and Costume and that they are fed, watered and generally looked after. I make A LOT of tea and coffee!
OFAH.net.What was it like working with Nicolas Lyndhurst?
Vikki. Nick is one of the nicest people I have ever worked with. Very nice and easy going and happy to make his own tea! He has a very sarcastic sense of humour, and he made me laugh a lot!
Now some questions on Rock & Chips (which was a massive hit with the fans of OFAH.net)
OFAH.net.We know there are often scenes cut out to make it into the allotted time, can you recall any scenes that didnt make the final?
Vikki. I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say in regards to this so I’m going to be quite vague. There was a scene in the Nags Head between Del Boy and Alfie, some of the school stuff was cut and there was some stuff which was cut before we had a chance to film it as the schedule was so tight. It was an awesome shoot but sometimes a bit stressful in terms of scheduling but thats all part of the fun of filming!
OFAH.net.Were there any funny moments that required a retake
Vikki. The atmosphere on set was amazing and a lot of laughter was had. I can’t really remember any specific moments except when I was meant to be cuing Kelly to answer the door but we didn’t know they had gone for a take so Nick was left standing on the doorstep alone!
Vikki with Nick
OFAH.net.If there was enough demand, do you think we could see a series of Rock & Chips
Vikki. I think the general attitude on set was that we were hoping for a series. We had a great time filming it, even though it was a bit tight. I certainly want it to go to series!
OFAH.net.Where did most of the filming take place?
Vikki. The majority took place in Greenwich, then we moved to North West London and all the interiors were done at Pinewood Studios.
I notice on wikipedia there are mentions of other characters and actors that werent seen namely:
- Samantha Beach as June Snell
- Marc Pope and Jethro French as The Driscoll Brothers
- Shaun Lippet as Monkey Harris
- Vicki Pope as Blossom
- Mick Lippet as “Knock Knock”
OFAH.net. Did any of these get used or are they casting for potential future filming
Vikki. The Driscoll Brothers were used but the others don’t really ring a bell but I don’t really retain names! There was so much going on that it was hard to keep track!
OFAH.net.Any other gems that you can tell us? Any thing else, please feel free as the fans wil love any extras you can tell us about?
Vikki. I loved working on this project I have worked on loads of cool things and this was defintiely one of my favourites. Everyone was lovely and the whole atmosphere was great. It was a project made from Love and I think that showed in the final product!
Behind the scenes
Thanks for asking me to do this and I hope I’ve been interesting!
Thanks ever so much for your time
Ofah.net
Why were the Margate pub scenes not shot in margate