Phoo
Action
Car chases,
kung-fu and comedy come together in the wonderfully warped world of
Phoo Action – an offbeat 60-minute drama special for
BBC Three.
Based on
characters created by Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz, Tank Girl) for
The Face comic strip Get The Freebies, Phoo Action
is set in 2012, when London is in the grip of mutant criminals, The
Freebies.
Only Terry
Phoo, a hapless Buddhist kung-fu cop, and unruly teenage heroine Whitey
Action, the daughter of Police Chief Benjamin Benson, can save the nation.
Together
they form an unlikely but effective crime-fighting team who bring together
chaos and comedy, mischief and mayhem, to become heroes for a future
generation in the face of Britain's super-vile, super-famous mutated
criminals.
Jaime Winstone
(Kidulthood) stars as teenage anarchist Whitey Action, Eddie
Shin (ER) as martial arts sweetheart Terry Phoo and Rocky
legend Carl Weathers as Benjamin Benson, Chief of Police and long-suffering
father to the rebellious Whitey.
Jaime Winstone
loved playing the role of Phoo's resident teenage anarchist Whitey Action:
"It's not every day that you wake up and become a super hero…
I was happy to be sucked into the comic strip madness!"
Producer
Matthew Read says: "Jamie Hewlett is one of the most visionary
talents of his generation and so it was always going to be a major challenge
adapting his work for the screen.
"Throughout
production we were incredibly careful to be true to the tone and visual
flair of his original comic strip. The project managed to attract a
really wide variety of talent, both in front and behind the camera.
"Their
professionalism has resulted in a film that is very off-the-wall, but
also mixes genres to create a visually dynamic, definitely silly and
surprisingly British piece of television which has a real sense of cohesion
to it and is ultimately very charming."
Phoo
Action also stars Danny Webb (Still Crazy, Life Begins)
as the sinister and power-hungry Lord Rothwell; Talulah Riley (St
Trinians, Pride and Prejudice) as Lady Eleanor Rigsby,
Whitey's party-loving posh pal; and Sanjeev Kohli (Still Game)
as Alan Arthanayake, a celebrity-obsessed news anchorman.
Phoo
Action was the first drama to be filmed in BBC Scotland's new state-of-the-art
headquarters at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
It is one
of six bold and vibrant new dramas for BBC Three, being shown as part
of the channel's relaunch. The others are: Being Human, Mrs
Inbetweeney, The Things I Haven't Told You, W10 LDN
and Dis/Connected.
The dramas
combine hot new talent and established names, covering a wide range
of maverick tales set both in the present day and the future.
Phoo Action
is directed by Euros Lyn whose credits include the award-winning episode
of Doctor Who: The Girl In The Fireplace.
It is produced
by Matthew Read (Miss Marple) and the Executive Producers are
Anne Mensah for BBC Scotland and Tom Astor for Deadline Productions.
Phoo Action
was commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, Fiction.
Interviews
with the cast and creators of Phoo Action can be found in the
links below.
Phoo
Action
Creator Jamie Hewlett
and writer Mat Wakeham
Eddie Shin interview
- Terry Phoo
Jaime Winstone
interview - Whitey Action
Carl Weathers interview
- Chief Benjamin Benson
Being Human
Being Human features
