The second series of Play for Today kicks off with an episode set in the Scottish Highlands, and the cast have described the landscape as "absolutely epic" despite relentless rain.
Wild survival dramedy
The first episode, titled Wild, is a survival dramedy that follows three old friends clinging to their annual wild camping tradition. Starring Daniel Mays, Joel Fry, and Amit Shah, the story begins with banter and nostalgia but soon unravels into a battle of egos, secrets, and survival when they get lost and food runs short.
The synopsis reads: "Lou (Mays), Dev (Shah), and Alistair (Fry), three old friends clinging to their annual wild camping tradition, begin with banter, nostalgia, and amateur vlogging, but soon unravel into a battle of egos, secrets, and survival when they get lost, food runs short, and friendships fracture."
It adds: "At once funny, poignant, and unsettling, Wild explores the line between adventure and recklessness, and how toxic masculinity has become a huge part of the epidemic decline in men's mental health."
Filming in the Highlands
Speaking about filming in the Highlands, Daniel Mays said: "The prospect of going up to Scotland for a week was really enticing – we were filming around Loch Lomond and the landscape up there is absolutely epic. It doesn’t matter which direction you point the camera in, you always get an incredible vista, and that was a huge part of my reason for doing the job."
He added: "But my God, it didn't stop raining! Day one, it rained for the entire day, and I remember looking out of the hotel window thinking I'd never seen rain like it… but also realising I was about to go out and film in it! But it was great, the location is a huge part of this drama, it’s like another character in the piece, and the cinematography adds an epic element to this very personal story of friendship."
Mays also revealed a scene in the loch: "There’s a scene where we go into the loch itself in our very becoming wetsuits, and I loved it, but I desperately wanted to do it in just our boxer shorts. They said it was too cold, but the day we filmed it there were three old ladies swimming there without wetsuits!"
Cast on the challenges
Amit Shah recalled the freezing loch scene: "We were all very fearful about it – we knew it was going to be tough because none of us do any cold plunges or outdoor swimming and our bodies are not acclimatised to things like that. But once we got in there it was actually quite energising and invigorating rather than frightening, so I can see why people do it."
Joel Fry reflected on the weather: "Filming outside can always be a bit of a problem, because you're at the mercy of whatever's going on with the weather, so we did spend a lot of time turning up to a wet spot and then trying to get through filming before it rained too much!"
He added: "But Scotland is so beautiful up in the Highlands, you forget that kind of landscape is even possible, it’s so different. And we were super lucky that we managed to get through filming in the bad weather, it could have been a complete write off."
Play for Today: Wild airs on Friday, September 25 at 9pm on Channel 5.
