Martin Compston and Phil McHugh are launching the second season of their travel series, this time exploring Norway.
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00:00 You've got a headland.
00:02 [Laughter]
00:04 My job is done.
00:06 I'll get a hunny to do it, a good enough person to square a sausage.
00:08 Norway, what was the idea? How did this all happen?
00:12 Well, I guess Scotland was kick-started season one and it resonated so well with people
00:18 and then we thought, where do we go? We've got the world as our oyster.
00:22 Just went, wob it up there.
00:24 We kind of thought, we wanted to tie season one into whatever we're going next.
00:30 And ultimately there's a lot of affiliations and connections to Norway,
00:36 specifically in Orkney and Shetland.
00:38 And we thought it was quite a good country to explore.
00:40 We don't really know much about it.
00:42 I don't think it's even spoken about widely enough about the country.
00:46 And it was quite an easy option when it came on the table, wasn't it?
00:50 Yeah, it was a funny one.
00:52 But didn't it really...
00:54 Wasn't it mentioned in an initial conversation?
00:56 And then when somebody said Norway, everybody kind of went, oh, that's interesting.
01:00 Just because you don't want to do something as if it's been done before as well.
01:04 I've never seen it properly explored.
01:06 Explored, yeah.
01:08 And it's right across the water. It's right there.
01:10 It's a little far.
01:12 Bergen's closer to the part of Scotland than London is.
01:14 So it's quite strange that we don't...
01:17 I said, maybe we all...
01:19 We go south to try and get some sun.
01:21 But no, I feel quite ashamed, actually.
01:25 It took me that long to go now because it's...
01:27 It's never really had the attention, ever.
01:29 There are a lot of historical links between Scotland and Norway.
01:32 I wonder, as two lads about Norway,
01:35 whether you found people who connected with the fact that you were Scottish
01:39 and had those conversations about where you're from and stuff like that.
01:42 We were lucky. We went on National Day.
01:44 There's the Independence Day.
01:46 There's the whole country's on the champagne and hot dogs at 9 in the morning.
01:50 But there's a huge parade going through Bergen.
01:52 We were a part of the parade with the pipe band, with the Bergen pipe band.
01:56 And I had those people from Gurok.
01:58 Yeah, it was incredible.
02:00 People from Belgium and people... It was amazing.
02:02 And it was brilliant to hear the pipes as part of this amazing parade.
02:06 And it was Robert LeBruce's sister was buried in the little cathedral behind where we were going.
02:11 Yeah, Bergen's got a lot of connections.
02:13 A ton, yeah.
02:14 I guess because of the industry types, especially oil and gas.
02:18 A lot of the oil and gas industry go to Bergen specifically.
02:21 So you don't really find them in Oslo or Tromteim or Tromso.
02:25 But Bergen's got that affiliation with Scotland.
02:28 For the first series, Martin, you were a bit out of your comfort zone
02:32 in the sense that Phil probably knew some of the places you were going a bit better.
02:36 There was elements of that.
02:37 But you could still retreat.
02:39 You still had a can of Tents at the end of the night.
02:42 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:43 It wasn't that unusual.
02:44 It was more like going to somewhere like Norway
02:46 where all of a sudden the food and even the city life is just completely different.
02:49 You're spot on because with the first one, as you said, there's a safety net there, knowing the Scottish.
02:55 You know you're going to get a bit of the part of each other and stuff.
02:57 So in this one, we were really going into the unknown.
03:00 You're going like, are we still going to have the same kind of chemistry with the contributors?
03:03 Is it going to be fun?
03:05 I mean, they're quite direct in Norway, which could be funny.
03:08 But they're a different breed.
03:10 But actually, I think the series works better than the first one because of that,
03:14 because there is no sort of safety net for us.
03:17 We just had to really get stuck into it.
03:19 And it was amazing finding out all the different things and getting part of the culture.
03:24 Yeah, really try to absorb it and get involved in it, not just sort of phone in.
03:29 Amazingly, there's no kind of hierarchy across Norway,
03:32 regardless of where you come from, who you are, your status, your job title.
03:36 They don't kind of have...
03:38 The class system.
03:39 The class system is just brilliant.
03:41 So you feel very...
03:43 They're very warming that way and they can relate to you very quickly.
03:46 After watching the first episode, are you both naturally adventurous people?
03:51 Like, Martin, when you're away on holiday, do you say to the wife, "Where's the nearest zip line?"
03:55 I'd be...
03:57 I wouldn't be the first, but I do love all that stuff.
04:00 He's not so keen.
04:01 I usually find the flume park.
04:03 That's my adventure skill.
04:05 No, anything like that.
04:06 I love jumping off stuff.
04:07 I do.
04:09 Weirdly, I'm not overly great by it, but I kind of get a buzz out of the scare of it.
04:13 I think that's why we kind of dovetail quite well,
04:16 because he likes his food in the fine restaurants and the nice wines and all that kind of carry on,
04:21 and I just like, as I say, just falling after them and getting put through the wringer.
04:25 It's funny because you're a bit more kind of like, "Okay, let's get into it. Where do you want me?"
04:30 and you're a bit more kind of like, "How high is this, mate?"
04:33 You're a bit more precise.
04:35 I like doing that, though, to freak him out.
04:37 Yeah, that's exactly what he's doing.
04:39 He's not doing that. He's doing that to freak me out because he knows exactly that my...
04:43 I'm having a tingle.
04:45 In terms of the whole way that this is set up as a travel program,
04:48 in terms of you making this epic journey across the whole length of Norway,
04:52 you guys knew each other before this, right?
04:54 Yeah.
04:55 As people, I've known my entire life.
04:57 I've never been in a car traversing an entire country with.
05:01 Can you give me some kind of tips on road trips?
05:04 How did this work?
05:06 Actually, it worked very, very well.
05:08 In the car, there's a good chance for us to have a good conversation.
05:13 Yeah.
05:14 Specifically, men of our age don't do that or don't tend to do that.
05:18 When you're in that atmosphere, you talk about things, about your careers, your professions, your family,
05:27 and you open up a little bit more to each other.
05:30 That's something we noticed in the first series when we were traveling across Scotland.
05:34 That just elevated itself in season two because the journeys were way longer.
05:39 We didn't anticipate what a big part of the show that would be.
05:42 We just bring up cameras and say...
05:44 I think it's that thing as well of not forcing it.
05:47 Don't try to be funny in the car.
05:49 Because the journeys are so long, it's always the stuff that you don't expect
05:54 that turns out to be the funniest.
05:56 He is just a great travel companion.
05:59 But he's very gullible.
06:01 Yes.
06:02 He takes it.
06:03 We were doing this thing.
06:04 This was for Naby's amusement other than my own.
06:06 I think the guys could see it in the cameras.
06:08 We always go through...
06:09 There's just so many tunnels in Norway.
06:11 I kept saying, "Let's see if we can hold our breath the whole way through."
06:15 I was just breathing through my nose.
06:17 He's literally choking, hanging himself.
06:20 "How are you doing this?"
06:22 Because he's too trusting.
06:24 But we have a lot of fun in the car as well.
06:27 In Norway, as you were saying, the tunnels.
06:30 But some of them became almost like a nightclub.
06:33 Flashing lights through it.
06:34 We just energise ourselves through music and through conversation
06:37 and then keeping that alive.
06:39 As I say, it's quite important.
06:41 We might be doing four or five interviews a day or ten a week or whatever,
06:44 but it's the first time they meet you.
06:46 You have to try and give them the best version of yourself
06:50 because people are giving you their time.
06:53 So it's only right that you turn up enthusiastic about what it is you're doing
06:58 and not turn up jaded and going, "We've been out all day."
07:01 I think it's really important to give those people the best version of you.
07:05 This is entertaining.
07:07 The journey's great fun.
07:10 But you do actually learn a fair bit about the culture
07:13 and I think that's one of the joys of this season
07:16 is that you jumping in and actually talking to people in their daily lives.
07:21 You do get a very good appreciation of normally.
07:23 Did you take away a lot from the journey yourself?
07:26 I definitely dare ahead of the game.
07:28 In terms of their green energy, their investment, their infrastructure.
07:32 The one thing that really got me is how much they trust their young people.
07:36 Whether it be the members of Parliament or those young lads building this huge bonfire.
07:41 But they just let them get on with it.
07:42 There was no going, "What's these ruffians up to? They shouldn't be doing that."
07:47 There seems a lot of trust between them.
07:50 Just clean as well.
07:52 We'd turn up to places where it'd be a beautiful wee beach
07:54 and it broke your heart a wee bit.
07:56 You're thinking, "If I was in the UK here, you'd be a bit trashed."
07:59 There'd be crisp packets or something.
08:01 But everywhere was clean.
08:03 You just got this respect they had for their own country.
08:06 It's theirs and they take care of it.
08:08 We were so proud to see the cultural side of it as well.
08:12 In the north of Norway, we went to visit the Sambie community
08:16 and that was just fascinating as well.
08:18 I've got a massive affiliation with the Gaelic community
08:21 coming from the Outer Hebrides.
08:23 That, for me, was a really special moment to see a play drawn out
08:28 with young kids taking part in that,
08:31 hearing the songs of their heritage.
08:34 I didn't really know much about the Sambie community
08:37 so for me it was really nice.
08:39 It felt really connected to my homeland and the Gaelic side of life.
08:43 For sure, that was really interesting, watching Phil connect with it.
08:47 I love that.
08:49 It was part of that same thing in part of a country that is a culture
08:53 that was some way nearly on its way to being extinct.
08:57 Similar to Gaelic in that way.
08:59 But now it's the same with Gaelic, it's getting a renaissance.
09:02 It's something we're all really proud of now.
09:05 There was definitely the parallels for the Gaelic and the Sambie people
09:08 and it was fascinating watching Phil talk.
09:11 They were so impressed that you could speak Gaelic.
09:14 Yeah, it was a really nice moment actually.
09:17 What about, because language is part of this show as well,
09:20 right from the very start, have you updated your actor resume now
09:24 that you're available for Scandi Noir?
09:27 I would love to see him in a Scandi Noir.
09:29 I'm a huge fan of Scandi Noir.
09:31 There's a few already. I think Language Duty does quite well out there.
09:34 But the show is so worldwide.
09:39 And NRK, which would be the Norwegian equivalent of the BBC,
09:47 have bought it. It's not on a streaming service out there.
09:50 So it's going to be on their main channel right after it comes out here.
09:54 So that's amazing for us to think.
09:57 It's exciting.
09:58 It's exciting but terrifying as well.
10:01 I guess they're seeing their country, our perspective.
10:05 Yeah, from our point of view.
10:07 We're very cautious to be respectful of people's cultures.
10:12 One of the things I hated about other travel shows,
10:16 and I was very keen not to, they can be quite mean-spirited.
10:20 They can be like, "Oh, how you doing?"
10:22 And as soon as they get in the car, they're like, "Oh, look at the state of these."
10:25 I really find that it's unkind.
10:28 And we never try to be that.
10:31 There's obviously things that we do that we don't particularly like at times.
10:35 Different characters, different personalities.
10:38 We just try and keep it natural, but always try and keep it respectful.
10:41 But we're also very lucky that everybody we met was phenomenal.
10:45 Brilliant contributors, and they always had good stories to tell us.
10:50 So that made it easier.
10:53 What was the surreal when we went to see the pagans?
10:56 Oh, weren't there pagans? People who still practice Viking culture.
11:01 Yeah, but that was lovely.
11:02 When we got out there, they gave the blessing.
11:04 They gave us those flowers.
11:06 Yeah, dry flowers that we had to soak in the ground.
11:09 It was great.
11:11 Doing the survival training and putting him over the boat.
11:16 That was an adventure.
11:17 We weren't aware.
11:19 We were dumped in the middle of the North Sea.
11:20 They just disappeared.
11:21 Thank you. Brilliant.
11:22 We thought it would be a support boat or something, but it's not.
11:24 This is what happens if you're floating in the North Sea.
11:27 I was waiting for a whale to come under me.
11:29 I was like, "What's happening here?"
11:30 We both got to do it, but we'd left Phil for longer.
11:33 You can't see anybody, and you're just floating.
11:37 You're like, "What's below me here?"
11:39 One of the guys we spoke to said he'd been in the situation.
11:42 Yeah, so it makes it very real.
11:45 I don't know how these guys do that in the day and day in an oil rig.
11:50 But that, for having one day of understanding what that must feel like, was incredible.
11:57 I definitely felt like Ken Doll the whole time.
12:00 I was part of the Forestry Commission one day, and then the oil rig of the next day.
12:05 You were a lumberjack Ken.
12:06 Lumberjack Ken.
12:07 You were a rig Ken.
12:08 I was. It was all the Kens.