FRIGHT VAN MAN
THE GLAMOUR OF TELEVISION production is in full effect today. On a gloomy October afternoon in 2019, SFX is standing in a Nabisco factory which closed back in 2012. Standing outside in the long weeds, the ghost of a giant Shredded Wheat logo is still faintly discernible on the wall. Inside, traversing the space requires taking detours around giant puddles, and we’re pretty sure the graffiti shouting “so-and-so sucks cock” isn’t the production designer’s handiwork.
Standing by the director’s monitors, we wonder why an open umbrella has been rigged up above them, until flapping heralds the arrival of a pigeon through a broken window, which perches on a pipe overhead. Suddenly clocking the layer of bird shit underfoot, we take a precautionary step sideways…
We’re on location for Nick Frost and Simon Pegg’s new eight-part series , which centres on Gus, a Wi-Fi installer and amateur ghost hunter played by Frost. Pegg – resplendent in a wig a Playmobil figure would reject as looking artificial – is Dave, his boss at broadband company Smyle. Today, the former home of Shredded Wheat is standing in for a disused power station as they), who plays agoraphobic cosplayer Helen.
