The Den of Geek interview: Richard ‘Herr Flick’ Gibson

With coffee and cake.Richard Gibson spends many of his days as a professional writer.

And presumably, you got the acting bug reasonably eerily?

And in some of the places we went to they had a proper theatre in them.

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And then we moved to Kampala, where theyd just built a very large theatre.

So all the people who did any sort of acting got involved with that.

And my parents had been into amateur dramatics since they arrived.

One of the centres of activity was putting on plays.

In fact, I was usually banned from things like that for being too disruptive.

But when I was a bit older I started doing it.

Only because I had blonde hair and blue eyes, so I was a pretty boy.

So that was how I cut my teeth, in drag.

Yeah.Allo Allowas the first comedy Id ever done.

Because I have no sense of humour you see!

So comedy was never a thing you particularly looked for?

Because I suppose even as Herr Flick, the trick was that you played it very straight.

You werent going for the overt laughs?

And only because they were desperately pushing against someone did it become funny.

He didnt end up in quite so many ludicrous situations until the back few years of the show.

He was there to proved the threat that they were driving against.

So they had to have freelance generals!

Can I go back to how Allo Allo came to you in the first place?

It was an unusual programme for lots of reasons.

It was a serial, as opposed to a series.

So how did it come to you?

So I knew the family a bit.

So when they were casting it, they originally had Tom Bell you remember him?Yes.

That was their original idea.

Because theyre a shoo-in: Herr Flick was put there by his Godfather, Heinrich Himmler.

And so everyone has to obey him because the system says hes the most powerful person.

With a word, he can wipe them all out.

So people you knew looked you in the eye and thought theres a Gestapo officer?!

They might have thought he looks a bit sinister!

You know the guy who singsTomorrow Belongs To Me?

I was constantly being offered parts like that, and I used to play parts like that.

And erm, thats what they had in mind.

Because they thought itd be interesting.

And thats the idea of the casting.You were the youngest German officer?

And actually their originally intention was to make me look like a member of the Hitler Youth.

Which was a mistake, as it turned out.

Was that a distinct thought then?

That you wanted to grow up?

And Im also a character actor by nature anyway.The first three series seemed very David Croft driven?

He was writing, directing, producing and presumably had a very large sway with the casting?

Yeah, yeah.So how did it come to you in the first place…

He didnt just offer it to me, I did have to read for it.

But he was very casual about it, because at that time it was just a pilot.

Because I wanted to arrange to send you a script.

But since I couldnt get hold of you Ive taken the liberty of posting it.

I hope you dont mind.

Nobody ever says that to actors!

Hes that sort of person, hes so modest.

He doesnt assume that youre going to say yeah, yeah, yeah.

And when you did get that script, was it there on the page at the time?

No question at all.

For the most part, you start at the beginning and read it through.

And suddenly I turned the page and there was this scene.

But by God, it was such a good part.

And I went along and saw David and Jeremy and they said would you mind awfully reading.

And I said course I dont!

And I think its different now.

People accept that they have to.How quickly did you nail it?

Well, apparently straight away, but I didnt know that.

I had a character to present to them.

But then I didnt hear anything.

And she said, oh you got that, did I not tell you!

You start on Tuesday!

Do you still have the same agent?

No, but not because of that!

About an eighteen month broadcast gap?

The pilot got massive viewing figures, it was on just after Christmas I think.

So I think it was a captive slot.

But the word got round.

And they worked with the same crew, so I think that was it.

Or do the outside filming in the Autumn.

And they repeated the pilot, which they very rarely do, and it got extraordinary viewing figures.

I knew looking at the script that it was something different.

I dont think that was a feature of those days, I think that was a feature of David.

In the old days, the BBC would have said what have you got for us this time.

They would start shows on BBC 2 at 10 oclock at night on a Thursday.

And they would sort of let them buckle up a bit.

And the point is that they didnt mind really about ratings.

It wasnt even that important.

The BBC actually believed in and likedOnly Fools & Horses, and thought it was worth making.

And actually, Sue Belbin David Crofts PA actually find it and she nursed it.

And when the BBC did put it in a prime time slot on BBC One it got massive ratings.

But now it would have been strangled at birth.Allo Allowouldnt get made now, because it was too risky.

Even at the time, when it was first broadcast, there was discomfort in the media.

Some of the accusations were quite harsh?

Yeah, but its all grist to the mill isnt it?

Nobody really meant it.

And they all have their place.

But I think the controversy died down very quickly because first and foremost it was funny.

There were things inAllo Allothat you would never imagine people would make jokes about.

You got fan mail for playing a Nazi officer!

But I think it fit.

[adopts Herr Flick voice] Im gradually eliminating the competition!

And because they had a particular kind of humour, it was utterly confusing for the enemy.

The Germans couldnt cope with the English, the British.And the Germans have bought Allo Allo now?

No, they watch it on satellite.

They still havent actually bought it.

Although all the stand up comedians in Germany seem to do Hitler.

Thats their way of dealing with it.

So I think that lampooning the Germans has been going on since the war itself.

But Id like to say its lampooning Nazis, not the Germans themselves.

And thats another thing.Allo Alloisnt having a go at Germans themselves, its having a dig at Nazis.

And the Nazis represent in the series a throw in of person that isnt necessarily German.

Thats how the stereotypes are made.

So when did you begin to appreciate that it was the role of your lifetime?

I think when we were making the pilot.That early?

The audience reaction, the fact that it was so good.

And also I think the fact that it was so lavish.

I genuinely believe that.

I dont think he realises the extent of his talent.

His shots always look three dimensional, there are always things happening in the background.

He just has an eye that is very seductive, and withAllo Alloa lot of it took place outside.

And in the pilot there were lots of scenes outside, so it looked lavish.

Apart from that it was funny, and there was a chemistry between the people in it.

All those things together.

And a very, very funny script.

And Gruber comes up the bar and in conversation produces all the codewords.

And they had to cut out some of the laughter in that when they were editing.

And she finds me hysterically funny.

And the trouble is shes a prankster as am I.

So half the time there were pranks being played.

It was a great shame when he went, but there were so many other people.

Yes, because I think you cant always get a perspective on things.

I mean Gavin Richards [Captain Bertorelli] was funny but he was different.

Sam Kellys uniquely funny, hes that sort of actor.

Its surprising to me that hes never actually carried a show himself.

It wasnt our only job.

There must have been a budgetary impact when the episode order went up?

Because Allo Allo never looked as shoestring as some of the shows around at the time?

There was a permanent set though at Elstree.

And they didnt have to keep building the sets and knocking them down.

And I think they had guaranteed money from America anyway.

Did that filter down to the show?

Yeah, I imagine so, I think it did.

I think because David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd always loves those kind of special effects.

The BBC were always willing to lavish a bit of money.

I think that was good management really.

I think they were probably given decent budgets because they knew their shows were worth investing with.

Did the increase in the number of episodes come as a bolt out the blue?

It was likeLittle Britainwas a year and a half ago, and nowLittle Britainhas settled down a bit.

I cant explain that to my kids.

Theyre beginning to understand it now.

Theyve hardly ever watched it!

They werent interested!Do you still watch it?

And I still find it funny!

And often for different reasons that I did in the beginning.

To go over it again… its very interesting, and watching how good they all were.

When I say they all were… one took it for granted they could all act.

You look at what Kim Hartman was doing in it.

And Vicki Michelle what a wonderful actress!

They even list your old salary on there.

Yeah, I dont like all of that.

Telling people how much you earn!

It really is Big Brother isnt it?

Thats why I wont join Facebook.

The whole thing about distilling stuff into an IMDB or Wikipedia page has gone like that though.

Although Im an actor first.

Is it a conscious decision to not make your full living from acting?

Because you do a lot of writing too?

[He had as well.

Gobbed on by a Gestapo officer.

Yeah, Ive always done a lot of theatre.

I was constantly tinkering, because I had this feeling that I wasnt really professional at it.

That was my weekly thing.

And it kind of went from there.

And I thought at that time that it might be awkward because I was quite recognisable then.

And the worlds are quite similar, they are similar people.

It means I can be more choosy about it.

Im not saying Im inundated with offers.

Can we ask you: how is your back?

Walking around like that cant have done it much good?

Did you know that Id had back problems after that?

It damaged my neck and I have to say they did compensate me for it!

Gorden Kayes accident cast a real shadow over the show.

That must have been a horrible time?

It was because we were just about to go on tour in Australia.

And they thought he was going to die.

He went into a coma for weeks, so they werent sure hed even recover from the coma.

And he was up and doing another series!

You left the show one series before it finished?

I didnt know that the series Id left would be the last one.

But it wasnt the same show it had been in the beginning.

I just felt it was time to get cracking on other things.How did you feel about being replaced?

I think were going to do some more of those.

My family always used to sit and watchSinging In The Rain, that was our family Christmas film.