My Comedy Career: Simon Mayhew-Archer

As sitcom Funboys arrives on screen, executive producer Simon Mayhew-Archer offers up some insight and advice.

Tell us what you do in your job.

Hello! I am a writer and a producer and I view my job as trying to come up with ideas for scripted comedy series and help other people come up with ideas and hopefully help them be really good.

After doing This Country I left the BBC to set up my own production company and so I've spent a lot of time working on my own. Now that we have two series coming out, I'm very fortunate to have a development producer called Ruth Vassallo. I also have a freelance accountant and lawyer who help me with all the important business things.

In terms of work, I am currently writing a new sitcom for BBC One which will film in March and we have the first series of Funboys coming out which I am very excited for people to see.

In terms of misconceptions as to what I do... well, there are loads. But I suppose the big one that immediately springs to mind is that the streamers are better than the BBC and Channel 4. They're not. Without the BBC and C4 actually creating the stars, Netflix and Apple wouldn't have anyone to pay for their next project. New talent is the lifeblood of the British comedy industry and the streamers don't really commission it; the terrestrial channels do.

How did you first get involved in the comedy industry?

Nepotism. A cold, ugly truth. My dad [Paul Mayhew-Archer] worked as a BBC radio producer in the 80s, then became a comedy writer and commissioner and worked on some shows that are beloved... and some that are not.

In practical terms, he didn't get me a job but it did mean I grew up with a comedy professional and the thing we most connected over was comedy. I used to watch The Day Today with him when I was 10 and I was the kid at school who would make my friends come home and watch the VHS of I'm Alan Partridge with me. I remember being 13 or 14 and he brought a tape home from work and asked me to watch it as a bit of 'youth research'. It was a new sitcom pilot and I watched it and loved it. He said "you don't mind it's all in one room?" and I said 'no, it's just brilliant'. Turned out it was The Royle Family (disclaimer: this is not me taking credit for that commission!).

Aside from my upbringing, my actual start was getting some work experience on an ITV show for a couple of weeks, then a BBC running job for a week, then another BBC running job for a couple of months and then I managed to get my feet under the table. Mainly, I think, by being very very passionate about comedy and also being happy to do almost anything... I wouldn't do that.

What key skills do you need to be able to do your job well?

A genuine interest in comedy - not just cos it's nice to make people laugh, but because it's more important than that.

A strong sense of your own taste. It's miserable trying to make (or sell) something you don't believe in.

Clarity of thought. Waffle is nobody's friend.

What has been your biggest career achievement to date?

Very proud of This Country. Loved making it and there are so many elements of that programme that went against the grain and so the success was all the more gratifying. There is no better feeling than making something that people have watched and enjoyed.

I'm very proud of Funboys and seeing Ryan Dylan, Rian Lennon, Lee R James and Ele McKenzie develop so fantastically. They are so inventive and funny and genuinely lovely that it is a great feeling to help them find a bigger audience.

And what has been the biggest challenge/disappointment?

I've had a couple of miserable professional experiences but, thanks to some therapy and meds, I came out the other side. And without wanting to sound totally wafty, I now look back on them with gratitude because they lit the fire under me to be where I am now.

One of the worst things I've found about getting older is that I've started to resonate more and more with italicised Instagram quotes. Really praying the assisted dying bill passes before I start hanging them on my walls. My children don't need that.

Talk us through a typical day.

When I'm writing it's all the cliches: tea, reddit, anything but writing. But once I start, I just go and do everything I can to suppress the internal critical voice.

When I'm producing, it's quite a lot of emails. The best bit about the job is working with nice, funny people and trying to come up with interesting ideas. The worst bit is trying to sell those ideas to other people. But if you manage it then the next best bit is making it. And then the absolute best best best bit is editing.

My work-life balance is quite bad because when I'm thinking about a script or an episode, I am thinking about it every minute I'm awake, including when my children are crossing main roads.

Tell us a trick/secret/resource that you use to make your job quicker/easier.

Genuinely can't think of anything. I guess I use thesaurus.com quite a lot?

If you could change one thing about the comedy industry, what would it be?

I would put more people with a comedy-making background in charge at the highest levels of TV. Too many news/factual types making decisions for the whole industry. And then I would hope that there would be more money allocated to scripted comedy programming.

I would also make it illegal for anybody to think that "young people" only watch TV with other "young people" in it. "Young people" are the same now as they were when I or you were young. They want things that are inventive and authentic and make them feel something. I grew up watching The Day Today and I'm Alan Partridge - with spoof news reports about "blind tube mares" and jokes about Gerry Adams looking like a deputy headmaster and Martin McGuinness looking like a clown without make-up. Be truthful and funny and you will find an audience of all ages - even if your references are niche or your show is about three weird priests and their housemaid living on a crap island.

What tips would you give for anyone looking to work in your area of the industry?

Comedy is a small, dysfunctional family and it can sniff out people who are faking it. If you need comedy in your life and that passion drives you, then pursue it - go to gigs, put on gigs, watch new talent, be new talent. And getting entry level jobs is all about coming up and being knowledgeable about the new generation. In cold professional terms, you're not much use to anyone if your favourite show is After Life - you're not getting Ricky Gervais' next project. But if you just loved someone you saw do 10 minutes at The Moth Club or has a YouTube video with 1000 views, then that is very useful indeed.

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Funboys is on BBC Three and BBC Northern Ireland on Fridays at 10pm. Watch the whole series via iPlayer.