Mitchell & Webb’s favourite ‘Peep Show’ moments

"Where's the turkey, Jeremy?"

For 12 years, nine series and 54 episodes two of TV’s most dim-witted numbskulls ran riot across our screens. From secret pet dildos to accidental canine snacks, Mark Corrigan and Jeremy Usborne never failed to entertain us with their nonstop ineptitude. Yes, classic moments are a dime a dozen on Peep Show, but which rib-tickling tête-à-têtes will we still be talking about in ten years time? Which of Mark and Jeremy’s catastrophic adventures will live longest in television memory? We asked Messrs Mitchell and Webb to name their favourite scenes from the series. Prepare to be pulled into an emotional fuck pie all over again.

When Jez eats a dog

Robert Webb: “It was actually Turkey. I love it because it’s so extreme. You also get there in these very small steps: he accidentally runs over the dog because he’s stoned. He tries to bury him but he can’t. They set fire to her and it doesn’t work. Then he puts the dog in a bag and is suddenly confronted by the owner he’s trying to sleep with. It’s such brilliant and clever writing.”

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David Mitchell: “It’s a very weird thing to happen in a story that’s broadly realistic. But it’s still believable which is brilliant.”

When Jez forgets the Christmas turkey

DM: “My wife absolutely hates this moment. It’s the only episode she refuses to watch because she feels Mark is so cruel to Jeremy. He’s just screaming at him on Christmas morning. But I am always happy to do that!”

RW: “David was so livid and he just went for it. It was one of the most enjoyable scenes to shoot, but it ‘wasn’t very Christmassy…'”

When Johnson makes Jez an offer

RW: “This is Johnson making Jeremy a real life indecent proposal. He’s initially affronted in this slightly queen-y way but eventually he starts to come round to the idea. Any scene with Paterson Joseph was a complete joy.”

When Jez pisses himself in church

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DM: “It was so funny to film. The thing they rigged up in Rob’s trousers to make it look like he was pissing himself was so immediately realistic. Every time we laughed it was a 20-minute reset and a fresh pair of trousers for Rob. It really costed us time every time we got the giggles but it was so hard not to.”

The appearance of Kenneth, Mark’s dildo

DM: “It’s just funny. It’s funny that he got a dildo. It’s funny that he was frightened of his dildo. It’s funny that it was in his drawer that he was scared to open. Everything about it is funny. On a normal filming day, you do a little rehearsal for the crew first. Then you do it for real. For this scene, they were absolutely loving it.”

When Mark buries Olivia Colman in balls

DM: “There was no dummy. Olivia was such a great sport about it all. It doesn’t hurt by the way, being buried in balls, there are sufficient air gaps to breathe. It’s easy to forget now that she’s done so much incredible serious acting, but Olivia has an amazing gift for making funny things funny. There’s a real streak of clownishness in her.”

RW: “I love what the writers did with Sophie’s character in that last series. She started out as everyday nice girl and by the end she went off the rails and became quite a bitter person. You can see she’s about to have quite a disappointing life. It was a joy to watch Olivia [Colman] really get her teeth into that. She’s behaving so badly that you can almost understand why Mark would want to bury her in the balls!”

When Nancy gives Jez a makeover

RW: “The massive look of unhappiness on Jeremy’s face is perfect. He knows it is just wrong but he does it anyway. I was expecting it to be weird, but I was so delighted when I read it in the script for the first time.”

Mitchell & Webb’s new series ‘Back‘ airs every Wednesday at 10pm on Channel 4

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