‘A lot of comedians don’t have a sense of humor’: Jack Dee on creating Loser Lead Balloon Rick Splaine | culture

Jack Dee, creator and co-writer, played Rick Splaine

I was doing a lot of stand-up comedy, working with other comedy writers. I was interested in the relationship between writer and performer. I wondered: What if the writer was funnier than the performer? I approached Pete Sinclair, who I’d been writing with for a long time, and said, “What do you think?” BBC4 commissioned a pilot.

We developed the world of Rick Splaine and his relationship with his writer and the audience. The spleen is outdone by everyone in his life. His wife is more successful than him. Magda, his Polish cleaner, is more logically intelligent. His daughter and her boyfriend are cooler and his writer is funnier. Everywhere he looks, he is attacked by people better than him. It’s basically a “what if” version of me. If I hadn’t had success, I would have done this: trick myself into believing it would happen, or believe it wasn’t my fault it didn’t happen.

I’ve had some of that happen to Rick, like when he hosts a company party. These things are always terrible: everyone is waiting to see if they’ve won a prize, they’re all angry, and no one comes to see you. Rick finds this out the hard way.

We certainly weren’t the first show to focus on the private life of a comedian, but it had a very British feel: the audience could understand how this comedian, who wasn’t very funny, was still able to get work. If I slip on a banana peel and find it funny, I will have a sense of humor because I can see the joke. A lot of comedians like Rick don’t have a sense of humor and can’t laugh at themselves, which is really weird, but I think we’ve nailed that quite accurately.

I’m sure I share Rick’s frustrations with the world, but he allows them to ruin his day and ruin his career. I make a conscious effort not to let all of these things get in my way. It doesn’t get any easier – because the older you get, the more certain you become that your path is the right one. This is a recipe for disaster.

Raquel Cassidy played Mel

I’m the type of person who likes to spend a lot of time preparing, but it was literally: “There’s an audition this afternoon, can you go?” I knew it was a big deal and I was appropriately nervous. Obviously I had to do more of that because I got the job, and we went to the table read and shoot almost immediately. Rick is a failed comedian, so my approach was: How do we get together? Obviously I think of him as this unfortunate man who compulsively lies. Rick can’t help but be outdone by Magda or the kids, but as his wife, I still love him and stick by him. The only time I get angry is when he brings a pig home. I say: “No, that’s too much.”

I’m not smart enough to be a mile. It’s totally together. If Raquel Cassidy was married to Rick Splaine, it would be a complete nightmare. We were sitting on the couch trying to be more rubbish than the other. But Mel manages to find Rick fascinating, even if he repeatedly takes the wrong path and gets himself into such unnecessary scrapes. There’s one scene in the theater where Rick leaves his phone on, and the actor eventually dresses him off stage, and it’s excruciating. We had to fill the stage with friends and family, in a state of fun, while the actors on stage performed deep and meaningful acting. My father is sitting behind us, so I really like this scene.

It’s a show I really miss. He still stops me in the street. Some die-hard fans quote scenes word for word to my face. Most of my scenes take place at home, so we would change in the bathroom and film at home. It felt like we were on a reality TV show. Having it last for four series was fun. Jack is clearly a genius. He was very good to work with. All I had to do was say my lines and keep a straight face. It wasn’t really hard work.