Happy Birthday Maidstone Studios - Interview with Neil Buchanan

We are delighted to share a wonderful Q&A we had with the one and only Neil Buchanan of Art Attack! The catalyst to so many childhood and adult creative awakenings across generations and the world.

A show we are immensely proud to have called home too!

Check out the interview below and you might just learn something know about a truly iconic show in television history.

We hope you enjoy...

Who invented the iconic Art Attack logo and set?

I created the set on my lounge floor amidst an array of art materials. We wanted the logo to look as if it had been drawn by an 8-year-old - so Tim Edmunds did it!!!

Was there a particular item that turned into a logistical nightmare?

There were no real logistical nightmares as the show was very self-contained and formulaic. However. the outdoor big pictures had their own complications, especially the ones in the USA and Barbados.

?

Did the weather ever get in the way of a Big Picture?

The biggest complication of all was the weather! Wind was a problem that we solved with hairpins, but rain generally stopped play and we had to put tarpaulins over the work we had done so far.

?

Although Maidstone and the surrounding area was the main base for the programme, you did the odd item further afield.?What was it like creating Big Pictures in New York, Barbados, and Colorado?

The foreign shoots were a real blast! They came about when Tim and I decided that we wanted to take our team on a holiday! We approached the network and asked them if they wanted a Xmas Art Attack special. They nearly bit our hands off!! So, we upped the budget and offered them a Xmas special big picture. They bit our other hand off! So, we had our team holiday for the next 4 Xmases!!! USA, Barbados, New York, and Austria - fab!

?

How much fan mail did you receive and was there a favorite letter?

We actually got so much fan mail that I had a team opening it. However, there was a favourite that I still have somewhere from a tribal prince in Africa offering marriage to my daughter - who was 10 at the time!!!

?

Can you remember your first day at Maidstone Studios, and what was the programme.

I don't actually remember my first day at the studios, but it would have been for N0.73. I think we did about 7 series there. It looked soooooo much different. The bar was absolutely full every night and everyone was there. The car park was huge and there was no Grove Green housing estate opposite, let alone houses ON the car park. The whole studio was surrounded by countryside.

?

What was your most memorable make and why?

There were 3 lots of props for each make, so we only had 3 chances to get it right. We used two lots on many occasions, but only once did we ever do 3 takes. That’s not bad in over 500 shows, 2500 items, and 20 years! I suppose that was the most memorable, but I don't remember what it was.

?

Was there a particular moment when you realized how successful Art Attack had become?

We always said that we wouldn't do a book or merchandise until art attack became a verb. Then, sometime in the third series, one of our fan mails said, " I have been art attacking". That was the moment. It was big - and getting bigger all the time.

?

As a viewer many of us were calmed by your tone of voice when you drew the most intricate pictures – was this inspired by other artists or something else?

It was just me concentrating!! Some people stick their tongue out, others bite their cheek, I talk quietly. It is very intimate and "one-to-one'.

?

Was it a conscious decision to make Art attack accessible for all and how did you go about that?

We always wanted Art Attack to appeal to everyone. When I was writing the show, I wrote for me. It had to give me an art attack or it wasn't in. I guess I am just a very average person, and it really struck a chord with others. There was no dastardly plan, it just struck a chord with everyone.

?

How did you record the big pictures? And who came up with this genius idea?

The big pictures came about because I decided I wanted to do art in all sizes - table top tiny ones to huge outdoor ones. The first series big pictures were all shot in real time and took about half an hour. We shot two a day. By series 20, they were major productions that took a full day.

?

What was it like sharing the limelight with ‘The Head’?

The head was fab. He was originally conceived for my mate Richard Waites (Cuthbert Lilly in ZZZap) but Richard couldn't do the filming dates. We used a couple of different actors in the first two series then I came up with the idea of a Spitting Image style puppet. He was so good - and so well received.?

?

You are synonymous for the phase ‘try it yourself’.??Was it important to coin a phrase or did this happen organically?

'Try it yourself" came about purely accidently. It just felt right to say something at the end of the item and that was it. And yes, it really did become a catch phrase. In fact. the BBC's attempted answer to Art Attack - Smart - even copied us and coined their own phrase "Give it a go". It never caught on! In fact, Smart tried to rip us off in many ways but never got it right. When we originally did a Pilot for Art Attack, there were three researchers on it - Helen, Driana, and Julie. We got them straight from Maidstone College. When the series was finally commissioned, Helen and Driana stayed with us, but Julie went to the BBC and several years later emerged as a researcher on Smart.?

?

One particular make involved you famously using cash courtesy of The Bank of England. ?How much did they let you borrow??

A quarter of a million pounds. The interest was ￡65! Tim phoned the Bank of England to see if they would lend us the money. The manager was a huge Art Attack fan, so he agreed on the proviso that we shot the item at night, and there was no one in the studio apart from me, Tim, the camera man, and an armed security guy. We did the shoot and got the final shot of me and the money. Literally five minutes later, the studio caretaker came in to start his workday, turned on the studio A/C and fan, and the whole picture was blown away!! We were so lucky!! The armed security man had a special machine that you fed the money into which counted it. At the end, we collected the money and fed it into the machine. It took about half an hour, and I held back one ten pound note to test it. It got me.

?

Did you get to keep any of the makes?

Most of the makes went off to be photographed for the books, videos, and other merchandise. I do still have one make - the fish I made in Vishious Fishious! It's a really cool fish sculpture whose idea I got from a sculpture that was in a shop in Florida when I was on holiday.

?

Where did you do all your shopping, and did you get help buying all that salt for the ‘pourers’?

We had a team of buyers who would source everything for us and a very nice art shop in Maidstone who provided most of our art materials. We must have been a gold mine for them.

?

What was it like meeting the Queen?

The Queen was lovely. She was very serene, very complimentary, and had a great sense of humour. She asked what the princess castle was made of, and I paused and said to myself "oh god, am I gonna end up in the tower now". "Can you say loo roll to the Queen?'?Anyway, I did .... and she replied....... "Ingenious!"

?

What is your fondest memory of that era?

It lasted way over 25 years and yet flew by. We were running our own company, employing ourselves and chosen friends, and having a ball making programmes which we had written and devised ourselves. Oh yeah, and all of that was done in Maidstone!! All of it was awesome.

?

Apart from Art Attack, which other shows did you present here?

Jeez, I'll see if I can remember. Art Attack, No.73, 7t3, Finders Keepers. ZZZap, It's a Mystery, Animal Crazy, The Pocket Money Show, Terror Towers, Wow!, Teleganticmegavision. I'm sure I've missed one!!

?

And finally…. are you Banksy?

What do you think!

A huge thank you to Neil for taking the time to answer and give this detailed insight into Art Attack behind the scenes!