Channel 5's anthology series Play for Today returns with Wild, the first play of the new series, which was filmed in the Scottish Highlands around Loch Lomond. The drama stars Daniel Mays, Joel Fry and Amit Shah, and airs on Friday, September 25 at 9pm on Channel 5.
Survival dramedy set in the Highlands
Wild is billed as a survival dramedy unfolding against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands. The synopsis states: "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."
The play "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."
Cast on the filming experience
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."
Icy loch scenes
Mays continued: "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!"
Amit Shah reflected: "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."
Weather challenges
Joel Fry commented: "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."
