Did the newsroom scenes from ITV’s bittersweet Fat Friends look all too familiar?

There’s a very good reason – the production company decided to use a real life regional newsroom rather than create a set for the series.

The scenes featuring the larger-than-life newspaper columnist, Val, were shot on location at the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The production crew set up at the newspaper in early September and for a full week, newsroom staff were treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the new programme.

Newsdesk secretary Sandra Callard said: “When they came down to film, we happened to have a lot of building work going on around the building so there was all this scaffolding around the place. It was quite chaotic.”

But Sandra said that having the filming going on in the same room made a nice change.

She explained: “It was quite an interesting diversion. The crew were fairly quiet and kept themselves to themselves but it was fun having them there.

“It was surprising how quiet they were, you had to listen really carefully to hear what the actors were saying.”

If any Post reporters saw the filming as their big chance to break into acting, they were going to be disappointed.

Sandra explained: “They had their own section, cut off from the rest of us so we didn’t really get a chance to be on film.

“The best we could hope for was to be seen in the background during scenes. Some people, not naming names, even walked near the set to try and be caught on camera!”

Yet for many Post staff, the most interesting part was watching the series on the telly and seeing their familiar surroundings become part of a fictitious series.

Sandra said: “We all watched the series when it came on and it was quite strange to see our office on the telly. We kept watching to see if we could be seen in the background.

“You could make out a few people, but unfortunately I never saw myself.”

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