Music

The Kemps: All True: When Gary and Martin Kemp’s mockumentary with Rhys Thomas is on BBC Two – and what to expect


Mockumentaries have proven popular over the years, with the likes of People Just Do Nothing and This Country being some of the most talked-about comedy series in recent times.

The Kemps: All True will see comedian and filmmaker Rhys Thomas mock-interview Spandau Ballet stars and brothers Gary and Martin Kemp about their lives and careers following Spandau Ballet’s 40th anniversary celebrations. Thomas has worked with Martin Kemp before on the critically-acclaimed The Life of Rock with Brian Pern.

In the spoof documentary The Kemps are more than happy to send themselves up, as a TV camera crew follows them around as they prepare to release new music.

The brothers look back at their musical history, as well as their other passions, such as Martin’s attempts to launch new film franchise The Hardest British Bastards of the Galaxy, and Gary’s vegan meat-substitute, Wonge.

When is it on?

The show will air on BBC Two, on Sunday, July 5 at 10pm, and it will run for an hour. The show is a one-off, but the brothers say they would love to do one a year, and have lots of ideas for future plans.

Who else is in it?

While Gary, 60, and Martin, 58, are veteran actors, having appeared in a number films and television roles previously, the programme saw some members of the family keen to get involved.

Martin’s wife Shirlie Kemp also appears as herself, and there are also cameos from Christopher Eccleston, Anna Maxwell Martin and Daniel Mays. Apparently, celebrity lookalikes were also used for some characters.

Comedian Rhys Thomas wrote, directed and stars in the film (Photo: BBC)

Where did the idea come from?

In December 2018 the BBC screened a documentary about Matt and Luke Goss, from the band Bros, as they worked together, had monumental fall-outs, and offered their extraordinary nuggets of cod-philosophy to the world. It proved to be a genuinely bizarre and hilarious film. However, the brothers say that their spoof doc has been in the works for a long time, and actually was a work in progress when Bros came out.

“It took a long time to get on screen, apart from coronavirus,” Thomas told the Evening Standard.

”So the Bros thing happened while we were in production, writing it. So this isn’t like a spoof of the Bros documentary. This is its own thing.”

“The Bros documentary wasn’t intentionally funny, you’re laughing at them. While this is different, this is meant to be funny. A lot of the jokes came from Gary and Martin, a lot of the ideas came from them. This is intentionally funny, I hope.”



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.