BECTU on Bodyguard - Christian Rigg

Jed Mercurio’s drama series Bodyguard broke records last month with viewing figures so impressive (10.4 million) they made national news.

It was a thrilling and unmissable drama, one which couldn’t have been possible, as Mercurio said himself, without the entire production team.

In celebration of BECTU’s presence on this high-profile show, we speak to three of our members about working on Bodyguard and, in our Eyes Half Shut wellbeing week, get their opinions on what it’s like working within an industry reliant on a damaging long-hours culture. You can sign the Eyes Half Shut petition here.

We start our series of three interviews with Christian Rigg, second assistant director.

Christian Rigg

"Our day began with early starts, mornings were busiest getting everyone through make-up and costume and down to set. I was getting our armed police ready first and sending them to set to rehearse their moves with the action vehicle team. There were also quite a lot of featured supporting artistes and I would be double checking we had the correct continuity for the following day. As members of the cast were getting ready we had advisers from police and bomb disposal available to chat through scenes and guide them on how they would approach a particular scenario that day.

"Bodyguard had some particularly complex exterior sequences which required much discussion and plotting beforehand, and there were certainly some tense days in terms of getting the results everyone wanted. But despite the challenges I think the crew knew they were producing the results for a great series.

"BECTU’s Eyes Half Shut campaign is so important because there needs to be a healthy balance within the industry as far as possible.

"As a runner driver many years ago, I drove into the back of a taxi - not at high speed - but enough to give me a jolt. This was because I was so tired from the combination of doing driving missions around the filming hours for production, including bringing in cast members, and then floor running all day. Some locations were not in London either, so travel times were long.

"I think we all understand we work in an industry that will never be 9 to 5. But we don't want to see accidents at work or on the way to work because crew are so tired."