By Shy Yeti
A two-part interview with three of the puppet cast: Cromitty, Jay and Crispin.
Part One: Park Life...
"Oh my! You've not changed at all!"
Not every actor gets to hear these words, when they bump into a fan several years after they last appeared on television. It must feel as strange to them and it does to you. It's probably even stranger when the passing fan happens to be a passing squirrel squatting up on a branch just a few feet above your head when you're about to have your picture taken.
Over the years that Sutton Park was made, between late 1992 and early 2001, a number of the cast were probably guilty of giving wooden performances to rival the trees in the woods where our ever-youthful actors are currently having their photo taken in late March 2007, a little less than a decade since they last appeared regularly in the series.
But these actors could never be accused of being wooden. Plastic maybe.
On this overcast afternoon in March, the puppet team of Cromitty, Little Jay and Crispin, the ever-flamboyant dinosaur (often mistaken for a duck!!) seem quite happy to be called anything at all. It's been a while since they appeared on television and they're only just getting used to having their photos taken again. In September 2006, 14 years after the very first episode of Sutton Park was filmed, they accompanied Sutton Park's creator and ever-busy author/poet Paul Chandler to Paris to appear in photos for a forthcoming Mouse of Commons novel. Since then they have been all over the country… "It's almost like the old days…" comments Cromitty, arching his distinctive eyebrows in what can only be described as pride.
We are hear today, not in Sutton Park itself - but in a woodland in Surrey that often passed for an area of the ill-fated Park during the late 90s; an area where a lot of their episodes were filmed.
Being a bit of a Sutton Park fan myself - I have to hold back from being too anoraky. I come armed with a whole swath of questions and once the photos are all taken I set about making my enquiries!!!
1. What memories do you have about your time in the show? You all joined the cast in 1995, about 3 years into the show.
Cromitty:
This ist correct. We were enlisted into the show at a time when the series was due to relocate away from Birmingham, however - as it turned out, Paul then proceeded to get a 6 month job in the area - so the series relocated again back to the Park until April 2006. One must never forget that the series was based around Paul's character and wherever he happened to be living at the time.
Crispin:
That's right, dear. Filming Sutton Park was one of Paul's two jobs - the most glamorous and supertastic of the two, obviously! But that hardly needs to be said. It has to be said that I remember very little about my early episodes. As is often mentioned, I was regularly mistaken for a duck - rather than a dinosaur, which my mother never quite got over. I must say that it's quite clear to me that our arrival on the show came not a moment too soon.
Jay:
Yeah. Awww. That's right! Cos we were like weally kind of like the coolest characters in the series. Which is why Paul has enlisted us again to be in his Mouse of Commons books. Aww. Yeah, it's true!!
2. What had you been doing prior to working on Sutton Park. The rumour goes that Paul met you all in a pound shop in Birmingham, before asking you to work together.
Cromitty:
This ist quite true. I was shopping with my friends in the same pound store as Paul and he mistook us for inanimate props that he could use in the series.
Crispin:
Little did he realise that we were icons in our own right - walking, talking superstars in the making. I was modelling underpants at the time, but if Sutton Park hadn't come along then I'd have probably focussed on my singing career.
Jay:
When I first met Paul I shook his hand. And then bit his finger. Yay!! :) Awww….
3. Is it true that you had stunt doubles on the series? Also, how often did the events of the show interfere with real life.
Cromitty:
Well, to answer your last question first - ist was sometimes very easy to become confused. Some of the other actors, especially the ones playing the villains, would forget that they were just actors like ourselves. The spider who played Azrael was especially guilty of that, but sometimes the trolls on the show would play pranks on him. They were known to snip off his rubber legs and the superglue them on again, back to front.
Crispin:
Oh!! They were devils… He's right though. As for stunt doubles, it's true - all three of us had doubles - but not necessarily stunt doubles, they were more for different scenes. For instance, Jay had a double who was extra irritating - I had one who was dressed extra glamorously and Cromitty had one whose German accent was stronger than his normal one.
Jay:
Awww. I also had a double for scenes when I had to eat stuff I didn't like. Stuff like beetroot or worms. He was also the same double who got hit around the head by baddies with sticks. I used to make him do all the horrible stuff.
4. What were your favourite plotlines in the show?
Cromitty:
Well, I alvays enjoyed working with Little Jay here - and with Crispin, of course. When I first joined the series the plot involved me not being able to remember who I was. I was actually the first of the puppets to join the show, I think I'm correct in saying. So it was very flattering to be able to spearhead a whole new era of the show. The trouble is, I was involved in so many plots over the years that I really can't remember all of them - I'd like to rewatch the tapes, to be honest - just to see how good it looks after all these years.
Crispin:
My favourite plots were anything with me in, dearheart… Which luckily was almost everything. As I say - a lot of my memories are a bit dim from those days; I do remember a rather splendid plot involving time travel back to the past - but that was pretty much standard everyday behaviour on Sutton Park during my era. I look forward to be reminded of some of my adventures through this brand new website of Paul's. I must say, one of my least favourite times was when we used to film with Paul's brother - Graham, who seemed to delight in trying to swallow me. Quite a strange boy, that one.
Jay:
Aww. My favourite things were working with the real people. Especially with a lady called Michelle who played my mum. We used to giggle all the time and sometimes I would giggle so much that I'd nearly do a widdle.
5. Can you tell the readers what you're up to at the moment?
Cromitty:
We're all working with Paul again on photos for the new Mouse of Commons books. Reunited after all these years!! In September 2006, all three of us accompanied Paul to Paris to appear in pictures for The Mouse of Commons novel GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE BEARGRRRIAN DILEMMA. Some of us had previously been involved in filming in Paris back in the 90s with Paul on Sutton Park - so it was lovely to go back.
Crispin:
Absolutely! It was ever so chic!! We've also been back to some of the woodland locations in Surrey where we used to film and as you have seen, we've been in Virginia Waters filming by the lake today. Some of these photos have been for other Mouse novels and some for Paul's Shy Yeti Yearbook - a collection of photos. We're also playing quite a large role in another of the Mouse books: GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS THROWS IT ALL AWAY and we're told Paul is planning a story set in Sutton Park itself for later in the year.
Jay:
Awww. In January we filmed in Belgravia, in London - in the snow. They took photos and everythink and it's going to be in one of the books. It was so cold I almost had to widdle. But I didn't. Yaaaaayyyyy!!!
6. How does it feel to now be immortalised in a series of books, a website and a forthcoming retrospective DVD.
Cromitty:
It's amazing! It really is. As I've already said - I can't wait to see all the clips that get chosen for the DVD, book and website. It'll be lovely to see clips from all the old episodes - not just the ones with us in, either. I was always a particularly big fan of the actress Elaine Bull who appeared in the show - she played "The Madame Elaine", a clairvoyant. She was always extremely funny, I recall.
Crispin:
Well, I do have to say - unlike Cromitty - I'm less bothered about seeing everyone else, although I do like laughing at all their 90s hairdos. But really - I'm looking to seeing just how amazing I - err - we were I our episodes. I must say, it is very flattering that we've been asked back to do the Mouse of Commons books - but I do hope that we'll all be getting a spinoff series eventually. I want to be on every page, darling!!
Jay:
I like being in books.They take my picture and EVERYTHINK and I get sweets and other stuff. I also get to save people and be brave and be rude to evil monsters off Sutton Park. Awww. I'm hungry. *giggles*
7. How did you find working with other members of the Sutton Park cast?
Cromitty:
As I was saying it was a joy to work with all of them. Even Paul's brother, Graham who was a little peculiar. Lee Freeman was another member of the cast who no-one really sees any more who was always making all these excellent costumes and props. Of course, I enjoyed working with Paul very much and there were a lot of other puppets in the show; Gorgongast, Ramases and Valguard, for instance - not to mention other characters who came into the show after I'd joined. We were like a little family.
Crispin:
Well, to be honest - not everyone was as glamorous as myself - but that can't be helped and I suppose it only helped to make me look even more fabulous than I already was; which can't be bad. Other than Cromitty, Paul and Jay I tended not to socialise with the staff after hours - as I was so busy being at parties with Kate Moss and Jarvis Cocker. You must remember that this was during the mid-90s, when the whole Cool Britannia thing was going on. The only person I really kept in touch with after the show ended was Mr Trowbridge who played Professor Trowby in the series - we used to meet up for ginger beer in Wiltshire tearooms during summer months and discuss how wonderful I was back then.
Jay:
I liked everyone. But because of my little problem with needing to widdle quite often, sometimes people avoided me. I didn't mind too much. I used to steal sweets from their dressing rooms and they never knew. My favourite was Michelle who played my mum although I never hear from her anymore - so I think I choose Paul now as my bestest person to act with. And Cromitty. But not Crispin because he loves himself too much.
8. Was there ever any anonymosity between the puppet and human members of the cast?
Cromitty:
Of course not. We got on fabulously. The mix of the two worked so well on the show and I still send Christmas cards to all my friends from the cast. I even attended Nick Goodman's wedding back in 2003 and was best man at Crispin's civil ceremony just last summer. All sorts of people turned up at that.
Crispin:
Oh yes… I was rather wonderful. People were selling invitations on Ebay it was such a big event and we had to move the whole thing from a pub in Tooting to the Millenium Dome. I did get on pretty well with most people - as long as they were fabulous. Just not more fabulous than me, mind. I've always gotten on well with humans - I married one after all.
Jay:
Humans are nice. On toast. Hehe. I like them. Awwwww. I'm sleepy now.
9. Were you sad when the show came to an end and would you agree to appear in any final episode that might be made to round up the show?
Cromitty:
Oh yes - we were all very sad indeed. It's all a bit of a blur to be honest - a lot of the cast had gone towards the end; Elaine, George - who played Basil, Lee Freeman, even Graham and a lot of the other puppets had gone as well - it was pretty much just us and Paul and, of course, Nick and Paul were even filming episodes in Las Vegas in December 2000 and I was hoping things would take off again - but it just never happened. Of course, I'd return. I see these Mouse of Commons books as being a sign that there's a certain fondness for the old series and I'd like to work with everyone on a regular basis again.
Crispin:
I was furious when the show came to an end and that there wasn't any last episode. We'd all been side-lined by the last year or so and it was a great shame that the series didn't go out with a bang. Initially I hoped that we'd all get some sort of spin-off show, but that never happened. I had to go an work in Panto in Swindon. Those were my lowest days. Of course, I'd return for a special one-off last episode - I'd expect top billing though.
Jay:
When I heard that there was no more Sutton Park I cried and then I did a widdle. And then I cried some more. I'd definitely come back - especially if there was cake and sweeties. Awww.
10. What was Paul like to work with - and did he pay you well?
Cromitty:
He paid us with love and respect, dear boy and that is all we required. If it hadn't have been for Paul then we might well have ended up playing punch and judy shows or even worse in the toy box of some dreadful small child.
Crispin:
Darling! I never got a penny - it was like being in the army. The accomodation just wasn't up to scratch as far as I recall. Luckily I had a luxury cave of my own and at the time I was just glad to be in regular work. Thankfully we now get appearance fees for all the books we've been appearing in - at last we have decent contracts!!! Not a moment too soon!!
Jay:
I got sweeties. I LOVE SWEETIES!!! AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW…
In the second part of this interview Cromitty, Crispin and Jay discuss the past, present and future of Sutton Park and discover what other members of the series are likely to be making appearances in the forthcoming Sutton Park/Mouse of Commons crossover story.
