Making friends

Rachael Popow

If you've been watching High & Dry, Marc Wootton's sitcom about the survivors of an air crash who find themselves stranded on a desert island, you might be surprised to discover it was inspired by a real flight the comedian and writer experienced.

Luckily, it didn't have to make an emergency landing, but he did have an unnerving experience with an air attendant.

It began promisingly enough with the steward offering him an upgrade to first class, but then things took an uncomfortable turn. Wootton says: "The weird Faustian pact that I'd made, which I didn't realise until it was too late, was that by agreeing to the upgrade, I had to then endure a long-haul flight, with him... talking to me all the time about a show that I'd made for Channel 4 that he was really into. He knew all the details."

He adds: "So I sat there and pretended to be really engrossed in a film, and he still came over to talk. Or I'd pretend I was listening to music, or one time I pretend to be asleep, and he came along and asked me to change into pyjamas that were far too small for me. And then, at the end, he asked for my number and I changed a digit."

But at least Wootton got the beginnings of his character, the sociopathic steward Brett, who is rather enjoying being stranded on the island, if only because it's a chance to make friends.

And if its any consolation to the real steward, not only does Wootton say that the character is only loosely based on the experience, he also hopes that Brett has a sympathetic side.

Wootton explains: "He says in episode one that he's been up in the air too long, and hasn't been able to create any meaningful relationships. He lives on his own; he's a lonely figure, who thinks he's got a friend when he upgrades one of the passengers, Douglas. He's mistaken, but he's holding on to it for dear life."

And he hopes that viewers will relate to Brett even more as the series progresses: "I think he's just a man in need of love and understanding. He's a lost soul, isn't he? Certainly, when you watch episode one you think 'Who is this nasty man?' And maybe, by episode six, you might see something else going on."

We're now on episode four though, and Brett might not seem that relatable as he struggles to understand why Douglas (Harry Peacock) would want to build a raft and set sail to what he thinks is an inhabited nearby island that he spied through the telescopic lens on a salvaged camera.

Meanwhile, Susan (Grace Rex) is feeling low after Douglas spurned her advances, and Brett manages to manipulate her into starting a witch hunt that sees the object of her affection on 'trial' for assault - which rather gets in the way of his raft-building plans.

However, Arnab (Asim Chaudhry) is working on his own plan to get to the other island - and it involves constructing a glider.

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