Doctors, BBC1 - Aashiq Sawney
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve blogged anything, and in that time, the world has turned upside down. I don’t need to go into what we’ve all endured, but suffice to say we’re not done yet. But hopefully there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
In early March 2020 I was offered a few episodes of Doctors for BBC 1. I was already tied to another TV show, so my agent was trying to juggle the schedules with the production companies. I was offered the role of Aashiq Sawney, a charming restaurateur who has a twinkle in his eye for the ladies. He attracts the attention of two ladies Valerie and Emma (played by Sarah Moyle and Dido Miles) from the Leatherbridge surgery, and then fireworks fly.
Then the first lockdown happened.
The industry was decimated and while the pandemic raged on, there was little or no help for actors. Then as we entered the late summer months, the TV and film industry slowly started to resume. I got a call saying Doctors would be going back soon, so “get ready.”
After the months of lockdown, it was quite something to brace yourself for working back on a set. What was it going to be like? How would we do it? Would I remember the lines? After months of purely doing voice overs and reading lines, would I be able to learn lines, then walk and talk??
As it was a new world we were all living and working in, it was a steep learning curve. The answers to the previous questions are yes I could learn the lines, walk and talk. It was strange at first, but we adapted very fast, and you look for the joy in the situations. Doctors films in Birmingham, so I was having to commute on the train which I found a bit stressful at first, but I got used to it.
Different productions handle the situation in different ways, and Doctors filmed maintaining social distance, which meant it all had to be thought out long before the actors walked onto set. The directors and crew had roughly mapped out the scene to ensure that we were able to maintain social distance and adhere to the guidelines. There is a 2 metre measuring stick that’s used to ensure distance is kept, and temperatures are taken at regular intervals.
My first scene was set in an industrial kitchen as Aashiq was demonstrating a cookery course, but in reality we weren’t allowed to turn the hobs on owing to Government guidelines, as the heat from the hobs would cause moisture in the air increasing Covid risk. So it’s things like that where we had to simply get on with it, and figure out what, and how we were going to act our storyline's. But you have to act like it’s all still happening.
From an acting perspective, I thought Aashiq is very flirtatious, usually tactile, likes to get up close and personal with the ladies, would probably stand slightly closer to the ladies he’s attracted to, and his posture would be crotch centric. SO, I then had to rethink on the spot, as on set, I realised I had to flirt from behind 2 desks to ensure the 2 metre rule was observed, no touching and no proximity closer than 2 metres! How do you make that sexy?? I worked out a few things, they were successful, and so we carried on.
The cast and crew on Doctors are brilliant, so friendly, and worked so hard to maintain the rules and regulations. In a world where the guidelines were changing constantly, everyone pulled together even more than normal. Usually in TV and film, hair and make up is done for you by the professionals, but this time we had to do our own, with the make up artists watching and advising from a safe distance. I felt sad to leave once my time there was up.
Aashiq’s storyline's continued, with Emma winning out over Valerie (much to Valerie’s annoyance). In today’s episode we found out that Aashiq is actually married (wife played by Perveen Hussain). So what will Emma do about the situation?? You can find out in tomorrow's episode (Feb 11th) to see what happens. No spoilers here!
