" MRS. BROWN " 1996 - Day 1 with Anthony Sher

On 24th November 1996, I arrived at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire to be in " Mrs Brown " starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly & Sir Anthony Sher.
On this first day I was in a scene in the ballroom playing the part of a court official where Prime Minister, Disraeli, played by Sir Anthony Sher, hands me his coat as he enters the Ballroom to exclaim " Ah, the greasy pole".
In another scene on that day I am playing the part of the same official and am in a downstairs scene with Gerard Butler( who went on to play the lead role of in the film version of "The Phantom of the Opera"), who
played the part of  John Brown's brother Archie. The part of John Brown was played by Billy Connolly, Queen Victoria by Judi Dench and Disraeli by Anthony Sher.
The scenes were intended to look like we were at Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, and the rooms at Luton Hoo were very similar to those at Osborne House.
It was a twelve hour day shoot and I had arrived for a 7 am call and was wrapped at 9 pm. - a 14 hour day.
I was only 50 miles from home and arrived back around 10.30pm -  a 15 hour day.
This was before mobile phones were as popular as they are today, and during the time I was returning home, the production team had called my home and requested me back for more scenes the following morning.
At the time of filming, it was intended to be for television, being filmed by BBC Scotland, but was later issued as a major film and became a very successful hit.
Tomorrow I will be recalling my day in a scene filmed with Billy Connolly, which has been the only time I have met him.