This is Nottingham --
IT'S the type of role that many young actors hanker for – a pivotal part in a hotly-tipped new TV series playing opposite an attractive, young starlet. But for the previously unknown teenage boy playing the love interest of the titular lead in BBC3's Ja'mie: Private School Girl, there were some shocks in store.
Primarily, that the 'starlet' in question was actually 39-year-old Chris Lilley, the acclaimed Australian writer and comedian behind cult TV comedies Summer Heights High and Angry Boys.
"The funny thing is that the young guy who plays the boyfriend did his audition and thought he was in a cool new drama series," explains Lilley, who is also the creator of the mockumentary We Can Be Heroes.
"I'm sure in his mind, he was probably like, 'I'm probably going to be in some cool show with some cool good-looking girl'. I said [to my colleagues], 'Can you tell him in the final audition that it's me playing the girl and get it on camera?'
"His face dropped and went another colour [when we told him]. Then he said he'd still do it and I just thought, 'Poor guy!' They have some pretty intimate moments."
Part of that intimacy sees Ja'mie and her sweetheart snuggling up on a couch under a blanket together, which is "a little weird", admits Lilley.
While the young actor playing Ja'mie's crush (Lester Ellis Jr) may be left a little red-faced by some of the scenes, Lilley insists that he too has his fair share of uncomfortable sequences, including a few dance numbers.
"It's so nerve-racking doing the dancing scenes," he says, laughing.
Lilley usually hires ordinary people instead of actors for his programmes, and likes to throw in the odd off-the-cuff comment to see what reactions the cast give him.
"Often, the others are the ones sticking to the script, and then I decide I'm going to say something ridiculously outrageous, which I often do," admits the Sydney-born star, who has a degree in Education.
It seems there will be plenty of opportunity for humour in the new six-part series. Spoilt Ja'mie's in her element as she approaches her final few months at the prestigious Hillford Girls Grammar, after enduring the trials of Summer Heights High public school.
The demanding queen bee has set her sights on winning the prestigious Hillford Medal given to the 'Best Girl' in Year 12, and she has some pretty unique new catchphrases.
"Ja'mie's invented a way to describe herself which is 'quiche', and that basically means more than hot."
Lilley, who says he's always had a "good reaction" from fans in the UK, was surprised by the attention the expression received after the series was shown in Australia.
"You never know which phrases will take off when you're writing," he explains, confessing that he had some T-shirts printed with 'Quiche' written on them.
"It's funny because in Australia, that word went crazy and was trending on Twitter, but it was spelt as 'keesh' as well as 'quiche'.
"It's fun to think of people saying 'quiche' in the UK. That would be really cool."
Ja'mie: Private School Girl starts on BBC3 on Thursday. Reported by This is 14 hours ago.
IT'S the type of role that many young actors hanker for – a pivotal part in a hotly-tipped new TV series playing opposite an attractive, young starlet. But for the previously unknown teenage boy playing the love interest of the titular lead in BBC3's Ja'mie: Private School Girl, there were some shocks in store.
Primarily, that the 'starlet' in question was actually 39-year-old Chris Lilley, the acclaimed Australian writer and comedian behind cult TV comedies Summer Heights High and Angry Boys.
"The funny thing is that the young guy who plays the boyfriend did his audition and thought he was in a cool new drama series," explains Lilley, who is also the creator of the mockumentary We Can Be Heroes.
"I'm sure in his mind, he was probably like, 'I'm probably going to be in some cool show with some cool good-looking girl'. I said [to my colleagues], 'Can you tell him in the final audition that it's me playing the girl and get it on camera?'
"His face dropped and went another colour [when we told him]. Then he said he'd still do it and I just thought, 'Poor guy!' They have some pretty intimate moments."
Part of that intimacy sees Ja'mie and her sweetheart snuggling up on a couch under a blanket together, which is "a little weird", admits Lilley.
While the young actor playing Ja'mie's crush (Lester Ellis Jr) may be left a little red-faced by some of the scenes, Lilley insists that he too has his fair share of uncomfortable sequences, including a few dance numbers.
"It's so nerve-racking doing the dancing scenes," he says, laughing.
Lilley usually hires ordinary people instead of actors for his programmes, and likes to throw in the odd off-the-cuff comment to see what reactions the cast give him.
"Often, the others are the ones sticking to the script, and then I decide I'm going to say something ridiculously outrageous, which I often do," admits the Sydney-born star, who has a degree in Education.
It seems there will be plenty of opportunity for humour in the new six-part series. Spoilt Ja'mie's in her element as she approaches her final few months at the prestigious Hillford Girls Grammar, after enduring the trials of Summer Heights High public school.
The demanding queen bee has set her sights on winning the prestigious Hillford Medal given to the 'Best Girl' in Year 12, and she has some pretty unique new catchphrases.
"Ja'mie's invented a way to describe herself which is 'quiche', and that basically means more than hot."
Lilley, who says he's always had a "good reaction" from fans in the UK, was surprised by the attention the expression received after the series was shown in Australia.
"You never know which phrases will take off when you're writing," he explains, confessing that he had some T-shirts printed with 'Quiche' written on them.
"It's funny because in Australia, that word went crazy and was trending on Twitter, but it was spelt as 'keesh' as well as 'quiche'.
"It's fun to think of people saying 'quiche' in the UK. That would be really cool."
Ja'mie: Private School Girl starts on BBC3 on Thursday. Reported by This is 14 hours ago.