Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh are launching the second season of their travel series, this time exploring Norway.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 What was the idea? How did this all happen?
00:03 Well, I guess Scotland was kick-started Season 1 and it resonated so well with people
00:09 and then we thought, where do we go? We've got the world as our oyster.
00:13 Just went and wobbled up there.
00:15 Well, we kind of thought, we wanted to tie Season 1 into whatever we're going next
00:21 and ultimately there's a lot of affiliations and connections to Norway,
00:27 specifically in Orkney and Shetland, and we thought it was quite a good country to explore.
00:31 We don't really know much about it. I don't think it's even spoken about widely enough about the country.
00:37 And it was quite an easy option when it came on the table, wasn't it, to try it out.
00:43 Yeah, it was a funny one. It wasn't mentioned in the initial conversation,
00:47 and then when somebody said Norway, everybody kind of went, "Oh, that's interesting,"
00:51 just because you don't want to do something as if it's been done before as well.
00:55 I've never seen it properly explored.
00:58 And it's right across the water. It's right there.
01:02 You're saying Bergen's closer to the part of Scotland than London is.
01:06 So it's quite strange that we don't, but maybe we all, when we get a holiday,
01:10 we go south to try and get some sun.
01:13 But no, I feel quite ashamed actually it took me that long to go now because it's such a beautiful country.
01:18 It's never really had the attention, ever.
01:20 There are a lot of historical links between Scotland and Norway.
01:23 I wonder, as two lads about Norway, whether you found people who connected with the fact that you were Scottish
01:30 and had those conversations about where you're from and stuff like that.
01:33 We were lucky. We went on National Day, there's the Independence Day,
01:37 there's the whole country's on the champagne and hot dogs at nine in the morning.
01:41 But there's a huge parade going through Bergen, and we were part of the parade with the pipe band,
01:46 with the Bergen pipe band, and there was people from Gurok.
01:49 I just felt at home all of a sudden.
01:50 Yeah, it was incredible.
01:51 People from Gurok, people from Belgium, and people, it was amazing,
01:53 and it was brilliant to hear the pipes as part of this amazing parade.
01:58 I think it was Robert the Bruce's sister was buried in the little cathedral behind where we were going.
02:03 Yeah, Bergen's got a lot of connections.
02:04 A ton, yeah.
02:05 I guess because of the industry types, you know, especially oil and gas,
02:09 it's like a lot of the oil and gas industry go to Bergen specifically.
02:12 So you kind of don't really find them in Oslo or Tromteim or Tromso,
02:17 but Bergen's got that affiliation with Scotland.
02:20 For the first series, Martin, you were a bit out of your comfort zone in the sense that
02:24 Phil probably knew some of the places you were going a bit better,
02:27 and there was elements of that, but you could still retreat,
02:30 you still had a can of Tents at the end of the night.
02:33 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:34 It wasn't that uncomfortable.
02:35 You're not going to somewhere like Norway, where all of a sudden the food and even the city life is just completely different.
02:40 You're spot on, because with the first one, as you said, there's a safety net there,
02:46 knowing the Scottish, you know you're going to get a bit of the part of each other and stuff.
02:49 So in this one, we were really going into the unknown.
02:52 You're going like, are we still going to have the same kind of chemistry with the contributors?
02:55 Is it going to be fun?
02:56 I mean, they're quite direct in Norway, which could be funny, but they're a different breed.
03:01 But actually, I think the series works better than the first one because of that,
03:06 because there is no sort of safety net for us, you know.
03:08 We just had to really get stuck into it.
03:10 And it was amazing finding out all the different things and getting part of the culture.
03:15 And you had to really try to absorb it and get involved in it, you know, not just sort of...
03:19 And amazingly, there's no kind of hierarchy across Norway, regardless of where you come from,
03:25 who you are, your status, your job title.
03:28 They don't kind of have...
03:29 The class system.
03:30 The class system is just... it's brilliant.
03:32 So you feel very... they're very warming that way and they can relate to you very quickly.
03:37 After watching the first episode, are you both naturally adventurous people?
03:43 Martin, when you're away on holiday, do you say to the wife, "Where's the nearest zip line?"
03:47 No, I do.
03:49 I wouldn't be the first, but I do love all that stuff.
03:52 He's not so keen.
03:53 No, I usually find the Flynn Park.
03:54 That's my adventure skill.
03:56 No, anything like that.
03:57 I love jumping off stuff.
03:58 I do.
03:59 I just...
04:00 And weirdly, I wouldn't say I'm overly great by it, but I kind of get a buzz out of the scare of it.
04:04 And also, I think that's why we kind of dovetail quite well,
04:07 because he likes his food in the fine restaurants and the nice wines and all that kind of carry on.
04:12 And I just like, as I say, just falling off stuff and getting put through the wringer.
04:16 But it's funny because you're a bit more kind of like, "Okay, let's get into it. Where do you want me?"
04:21 And you're a bit more kind of like, "How high is this, mate?"
04:24 A bit more precise.
04:26 I like doing that, though, to freak him out.
04:28 Yeah, that's exactly what you're doing.
04:30 He's not doing that. He's doing that to freak me out because he knows exactly that my...
04:34 Everything will tingle.
04:36 In terms of the whole way that this is set up as a travel programme,
04:39 in terms of you making this epic journey across the whole length of Norway,
04:43 you guys knew each other before this, right? You were pals.
04:46 There's people I've known my entire life that I've never been in a car,
04:50 traversing an entire country with.
04:52 Can you give me some kind of tips on road trips?
04:55 Like, how did this work?
04:57 Actually, it works very, very well.
04:59 You know, in the car, there's a good chance for us to kind of have a good conversation.
05:04 And, you know, specifically men of our age don't do that or don't tend to do that.
05:09 So when you're kind of in that atmosphere,
05:13 you talk about things about your careers, your professions, your family,
05:18 and you kind of open up a little bit more to each other.
05:20 And I think that's something we noticed in the first series when we were travelling across Scotland.
05:25 And that just, you know, elevated itself in season two
05:28 because the journeys were way longer, you know?
05:30 But we didn't anticipate what a big part of the show that would be.
05:33 I mean, we just rigged up cameras and say,
05:35 "But I think it's that thing as well of not forcing it.
05:38 Like, don't try to be funny in the car."
05:40 Because the journeys are so long,
05:43 it's always the stuff that you don't expect that turns out to be the funniest.
05:47 And he is just a great travel companion.
05:50 But he's very gullible, you know?
05:53 And he takes it. I mean, we were doing this thing.
05:55 And this was for Niamh's amusement other than my own.
05:57 And I think the guys could see it in the cameras.
05:59 We always go through, there's just so many tunnels in Norway.
06:02 And I kept saying, "Let's see if we can hold our breath the whole way through."
06:06 And I was just breathing through my nose.
06:08 And he's like literally choking, hanging himself.
06:11 And he's like, "How are you doing this?"
06:13 Because he's too trusting.
06:15 But we have a lot of fun in the car as well.
06:19 In Norway, as you were saying, the tunnels.
06:21 But some of them became almost like a nightclub.
06:24 You know, flashing lights through it.
06:25 And we just kind of energise ourselves through music and through conversation
06:29 and then keeping that alive.
06:31 It's quite important.
06:32 We might be doing four or five interviews a day or ten a week or whatever.
06:35 But it's the first time they meet you.
06:38 And you have to try and give them the best version of yourself.
06:42 Because people are giving you their time.
06:44 So it's only right that you turn up enthusiastic about what it is you're doing.
06:49 And not turn up jaded and going, "Well, we've been out all day."
06:52 I think it's really important to give those people the best version of you.
06:56 This is entertaining.
06:58 The journey's great fun.
07:01 But you do actually learn a fair bit about the culture.
07:04 And I think that's one of the joys of this season.
07:07 Is that you kind of jumping in and actually talking to people in their daily lives.
07:12 You do get a very good appreciation of Norway.
07:14 Did you take away a lot from the journey yourself?
07:17 I definitely did.
07:18 They're ahead of the game.
07:19 They are.
07:20 In terms of their green energy, their investment, their infrastructure.
07:23 The one thing that really got me is how much they trust their young people.
07:27 Whether it be the members of parliament or those young lads building this huge bonfire.
07:32 But they just let them get on with it.
07:33 There was no going, "What's these ruffians up to? They shouldn't be doing that."
07:37 There seems a lot of trust between them.
07:40 And just clean as well.
07:43 We'd turn up to places, whether it be a beautiful wee beach.
07:45 And it kind of broke your heart a wee bit.
07:47 You're thinking, "If I was in the UK here, I'd be a bit of trash."
07:50 There'd be crisp packets or something.
07:52 But everywhere was clean.
07:54 You just got this respect they had for their own country.
07:57 It's theirs and they take care of it.
07:59 I was so proud to see the cultural side of it as well.
08:03 In the north of Norway, we went to visit the Sámi community.
08:07 And that was just fascinating as well.
08:09 I've got a massive affiliation with the Gaelic community, coming from the Outer Hebrides.
08:14 And that, for me, was a really special moment.
08:17 To see a play drawn out with young kids taking part in that.
08:22 Hearing the songs of their heritage.
08:25 I didn't really know much about the Sámi community.
08:28 So for me, it was really nice.
08:30 It felt really connected to my homeland and the Gaelic side of life.
08:34 For sure. That was really interesting, watching Phil connect with it.
08:38 I loved that.
08:40 It was part of that same thing in part of a country.
08:43 It's a culture that was some way nearly on its way to being extinct.
08:48 Similar to Gaelic in that way.
08:50 But now, it's the same with Gaelic. It's getting a renaissance.
08:53 It's something we're all really proud of now.
08:56 There were definitely parallels for the Gaelic and the Sámi people.
08:59 It was fascinating watching Phil talk.
09:02 They were so impressed that you could speak Gaelic.
09:05 It was a really nice moment, actually.
09:08 Language is part of this show as well, right from the very start.
09:13 Have you updated your actor resume now that you're available for standing noir?
09:18 I would love to see him in a standing noir. I'm a huge fan of standing noir.
09:22 There's a few already. I think Live At Duty does quite well out there.
09:25 The show is sold worldwide.
09:30 And NRK, which would be the Norwegian equivalent of the BBC, have bought it.
09:39 It's not on a streaming service out there.
09:41 So it's going to be on their main channel right after it comes out here.
09:45 That's amazing for us to think.
09:48 It's exciting, but terrifying as well.
09:51 I guess they're seeing their country from our perspective.
09:56 So it's going to be a little bit different.
09:58 We're very cautious to be respectful of people's cultures.
10:03 One of the things I hated about other travel shows, and I was very keen not to,
10:09 they can be quite mean-spirited.
10:11 They can be like, "Oh, how you doing?"
10:13 And as soon as they get in the car, they're like, "Oh, look at the state of these."
10:16 I really find that it's unkind.
10:20 We never try to be that.
10:22 There's obviously things that we do that we don't particularly like at times.
10:26 Different characters, different personalities.
10:29 We just try and keep it natural, but always try and keep it respectful.
10:32 But we're also very lucky that everybody we met was phenomenal.
10:36 Brilliant contributors, and they always had good stories to tell us.
10:41 So that made it easier.
10:44 Even when we went to see the pagans.
10:47 There are people who still practice Viking culture.
10:51 Yeah, but that was lovely.
10:53 We got out there and they gave the blessing.
10:55 They gave us those flowers.
10:57 Yeah, dry flowers that we had to soak in the ground.
11:00 It was great.
11:02 Doing the oil rig survival training and putting him over the boat.
11:07 That was an adventure.
11:08 We were just putting Phil off the boat.
11:10 We were dumped in the middle of the North Sea.
11:12 Thank you.
11:13 We thought it would be a support boat, but it's not.
11:15 It's literally like this.
11:16 This is what happens if you're floating in the North Sea.
11:18 I was waiting for a whale to come under me.
11:20 I was like, "What's happening here?"
11:22 We both got to do it, but we'd left Phil for longer.
11:25 There is a bit of you, you can't see anybody, you're just floating.
11:28 You're like, "What's below me here?"
11:30 One of the guys we spoke to said he'd been in the situation.
11:34 So it makes it very real.
11:36 I don't know how these guys do it in the day and day on an oil rig.
11:41 But that, for having one day of understanding what that must feel like,
11:46 was incredible.
11:48 I definitely felt like Ken Doll the whole time.
11:51 I was part of the Forestry Commission one day,
11:55 then the oil rig of the next day, lumberjack.
11:57 You were a rig Ken.
11:59 I was, I was all the Kens.