I got really excited about half an hour before I was due at the Charlotte Street Hotel. Michaela texted me a story about a 19-year-old kid from Hartlepool who got knifed outside a McDonalds last Friday night. Today, his family decided to switch off his life support.
Michaela says she had already sent up one of her development researchers to nail down the family and get them to sign an exclusive agreement. Obviously the tabloid hacks were up to their usual and frankly tasteless dirty games and wanted to do the story, but fortunately for us (I hope) Michaela reckons she's got the deal.
I have to hand it to her. Her methods of persuasion this time rank high on my list.
Michaela's pitch to the family was all about how, in this modern age, that their son died innocently because a) our young people are eating fucking shit, and b) because he wouldn't give up his salt-excessive Quarter Pounder to this terrifying oaf. We've obviously got a fantastic, heartfelt film on our hands, with two poignant stories running through it. One. How sick are our kids? Eating this junk. One of them is even prepared to kill for it. Two. A lovely lad named Aaron, only 19 years of age, father to two lovely daughters (Kayleigh, 2 and Sammy, 13 months) innocently dies *just* because he was eating a burger and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Huge potential for amazing reconstruction scenes. Think the story will really tap into the heartland ABC1 viewers that the channel I'm ready to inherit has been sadly lacking for a long time.
Must admit to spending most of the 'crisis' Castaway talks just thinking about this. Real chance for incredible start to my job with this as one big noisy one-off. Talk about punching through the schedules - more like kicking a fucking hole right through them! Can probably get Stephen Glover on the Mail right behind it, which will make a change for the Corporation!
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