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The sequel to Queer As Folk
arrived on our screens here in the UK on 15 February 2000.
One rainy afternoon, the previous Autumn, I came across the crew on Canal Street,
as they filmed some scenes for the final episode. I had my camera with me, so
I was able to take these shots.
The weather was awful. They were struggling to get the shots they needed and so
was I -- my camera kept telling me 'not enough light'.
If you look at the finished programme, and the final daytime sequence on Canal
Street, you'll see the weather changing.
Charlie Hunnam (Nathan) was a bit reluctant to have his photo taken. Perhaps he'd
been told not to pose or maybe he thought I was some kind of pervert and would
put his picture up on my website (ooops!).
A couple of weeks later I was an extra on the wedding reception scenes (below),
which were filmed at Knutsford.
HOW I GOT TO BE AN EXTRA
So how did that come about? I heard about the filming of the first series too
late to apply. Besides which no one had any idea what it was about. There are
some awful gay shows on British TV -- including 'That Gay Show' and 'Gaytime TV')
-- so I was worried that QAF might turn out to be something equally embarrassing.
However, when the second series was announced, I knew I wanted to be part of it
and kept my eyes open. I walk through Canal Street just about every day and soon
I saw them filming. So I asked one of the crew how to apply.
He advised me to 'phone Red Productions, which is based at Granada TV in Manchester.
I got in touch with them and was asked to complete an application form with my
measurements and a photo.
The slightly odd thing is that, instead of getting to play a gay boy on Canal
Street as I expected, I ended up being a 'straight' guest at the wedding reception!
I saw an American film crew making a documentary and discovered later that it
was for a behind-the-scenes video called 'The Boys of Manchester: On the Set of
Queer As Folk 2'. This only seems to have been released in the USA and, unfortunately,
now appears to be unavailable even there. If anyone has a copy they can loan me
(I'm in the UK remember) I would love to see it.
I had a great time on location, met some good people, and we even got paid and
well fed! The actors don't usually talk with the extras. Denise Black
(Vince's mum) was an exception and was very friendly.
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