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And now for something extra

1/ 9/2002

THERE I was in my white coat - a young, new doctor on duty in casualty on the night of the Oldham riots!

This was certainly a shocking introduction to emergency medicine - and, frankly, I attempted to avoid the worst cases. Like the white guy they brought in who had a knife thrust right though his shoulder. The blood was pouring out and he just sat there and began to actually lick his wound. In a deranged way he announced it was like banana and asked me if I'd like to try some.

Instead I turned to a man with a swollen finger - unprofessional I suppose but I just couldn't handle the wounded man's mental instability.

Now I have to tell you this scene at St Vincent's Hospital was not real as many of you may now know having tuned into to the new Granada soap A&E and the wound was make-up and was actually made out of banana and honey. I am in the series playing one of doctors who walk on, walk off and sometimes bustles about but have no lines. So I'm no star, simply what they call an 'extra artists' and sometimes, the more important sounding 'supporting artists'.

The main role of an extra is to help the principle actors by creating an environment which suits the particular script setting. This makes it easier for the main players to put themselves into their characters.

You see extras all the time but often do not really notice them. For example they are all over the scene at Mark Fowler's fruit and veg shop in Albert Square or at the bar or in the lounge at the Rovers' Return. They are usually silent but can get a 'speaking part' which usually means mumbling in the background but sometimes involves real speech like "watch out" or "hello".

I got into the extra game by applying directly to Granada Studios, Manchester and I haven't looked back since. I have been a social worker, been to a party, a funeral and for a meal (on the set of 'Clocking Off'). I gained a speaking part in a Commonwealth Games advert but it ended on the cutting room floor and my presence in the ad turned out to be no more than a pink dot.

It has not all been TV. In Steve Coogan's 'Parole Officer' I was a passenger on a tram. It sounds like fun and usually is fun but the work is tiring with early stars and late finishes. An occupational hazard is being trapped in repeated scenes.

Sometimes I have lost count of the times the director has yelled cut. It can happen for dozens of reasons - technical, the need for another camera angle, or, more usually, a cock-up, as shown on the 'It'll be all right on the Night' programmes. Being an extra involves more than just hanging around and then getting into position when they roll.

You have to have a strong sense of self-control when filming. In busy scenes, many in A&E for example, there is a lot of rushing around and you must think ahead and maintain body co-ordination. If, for example, you have an unscripted bump with someone, you have to make it look at natural as possible and carry on.

Filming is expensive and mistakes can be embarrassing. I remember a scene in A&E which was nearing a successful end until yours truly accidentally slammed a door drowning all the dialogue on the set. Another time I dropped a phone on A&E reception with the loudest clatter I have heard. But the response to these blunder is general good natured and the extras have a good laugh afterwards.

If you have the time, it's an interesting way to earn money. If you are asked to make yourself available on a certain date, you may be hanging around all day just working for half an hour. But you get paid for the entire day and the rate is the same for all, extras - the last time I got paid it was £64.95 a day with extra for overtime.

Apart from the cash it gives you an opportunity to find out how the acting world works. You can ask the main actors, directors, and film crew questions about their profession. It is rarely boring and there is a good deal of bonding on the set.

In a typical off-set scene in A&E there were teachers, caseworkers, taxi drivers, models, cleaners, joiners etc., etc., on the extra's bus. You can imagine it lead to some very interesting conversations. You may not be centre stage but extra-ing allows you to step out of your everyday existence into, literally, another world.