Trivia / Peep Show

• Actor-Inspired Element: Olivia Colman lobbied the writers to have Sophie be portrayed in a more negative light in later series.
• The Danza: In Series 9, the character "Angus" is played by Angus Wright though the podcast says the character was called Angus before Wright was cast.
• Deleted Role: Paul Clayton's one scene as Ian in Series 9 (from the episode "Kid Cave") was cut out (it can be seen on the DVD's deleted scenes).
• Friday Night Death Slot: Along with the POV shooting style, one possible reason for the show's low viewing figures despite a dedicated fan base and critical acclaim is that the original airdate for episodes is always Friday evening, on a channel which has a lower viewing figure than the other major UK channels.
• Hide Your Pregnancy: Olivia Colman appears in every non-Talking Heads shot in Series 4 either straight on in black, in a big, flowy dress, or with a bag in front of her belly.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Whilst all the episodes are on DVD, there are at least two notable pieces of spin-off media that haven't seen an official release: "Peep Show & Tell", the documentary done for 2010's Peep Show Night, and the sketch done for the first Channel 4 Comedy Gala.
• Queer Character, Queer Actor: Like Jez, Robert Webb is bisexual; he came out in his memoir How Not to be a Boy two years after the show ended.
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger. Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger's lead singer) stated in an interview with some blog that Peep Show is "the only pop culture item the song has been associated with that feels like a kindred spirit to the original attitude of the lyric".
• Spared by the Cut: Johnson was originally going to commit suicide in the Series Three finale. This was scrapped for being too dark, even for this show.
• Star-Making Role: For David Mitchell, Robert Webb and Olivia Colman.
• What Could Have Been:
  • In the pilot, Sophie was written as the third main character, with her own inner monologue voice-over and (at least a larger amount of) camera POV. This was dropped for the series proper, although the series 5 DVD did include 'Sophie's Peep Show', a version of the final episode of the series re-edited with Sophie's own voice-over and POV shots.
  • The original concept for the series was described as a "live action Beavis And Butthead" with Mark and Jeremy sitting in their front room and commenting on clips from various TV shows as they flick between the channels. Like a scripted Gogglebox. An unbroadcast pilot was made in this format, with the pair never leaving their sofa, but it was decided that they could get more from the characters by showing the rest of their lives, which led to the series as we know it.
    [On the TV, David Hasselhoff is at a desk in Baywatch headquarters]
    Jeremy: That would do me – a desk job, where you occasionally get to wear a wet-suit.
    Mark: Yeah, but Hasselhoff's top of the lifeguarding tree. Couldn't expect to get in at the top.
  • Russell Brand auditioned for Super Hans
  • Series 3 was planned to feature the characters of Toni and Nancy but neither actress was available. They were replaced by Michelle [for the episode "Mugging"] and Big Suze [who was originally intended to remain The Faceless].
  • Isy Suttie revealed in a 2020 interview that Series 8 was originally going to be followed by a movie spin off set in New York, but the plan's fell through so it was replaced with series 9.
  • 2020 interview with co-writer Sam Baine revealed several examples of this:
    • The unbroadcast pilot [which had a similar plot to series 1's 'The Interview' had several other characters [including Sophie and Jeff] with inner monologue voice-over's which was a feature which didn't make it into the series
    • Jeff was played by a different actor in said pilot.
    • Callie in "Jeremey's Big Break" was to be played by Rosanna Arquette at one stage.
    • Toni was meant to return at one stage [a suggestion being for her to replace the Callie character in that episode] but it didn't pan out.
    • Jeremy's party in the finale was originally going to feature appearances from several of his ex's [such as Big Suze] but this was discarded as their appearances would basically be distracting cameos.
  • Vera Graziadei stated in her interview with Podcast Secrets of the Pharaohs that her character, Elena, was originally going to be English but was re-written upon her casting. She also stated that Elena was due to return in series 7 [with Graziadei booked to appear] but the writers felt Elena's story had run it's course and decided to bring in the new character of Zahra instead much to Graziadei's disappointment.
  • Daryl, Mark's racist friend from the series 2 episode "Jeremy Makes It" was originally conceived as a woman called Carol. Iain Morris, creator of The Inbetweeners, convinced Sam Bain that it would be funnier if she was a man.
  • There was a pilot made for an American remake, which wasn't picked up. Possibly for the best, as the nature of the comedy may not have translated well.
• Word of Saint Paul: Interviews conducted by Podcast Secrets of the Pharaohs have revealed some details or speculation on the part of the actors about their characters:
  • According to Vera Graziadei, Elena was probably lying about her musical skill and drug business to make herself seem more interesting to Jeremy, in the same way he lied about being a father to make himself seem more interesting to her.
  • Speculating about his character's future, Patterson Joseph reckons that working as the manager of a local bank would be too small-time for Alan Johnson, and that he would eventually go on to become a charismatic religious figure, putting his business skills to good use.
  • Paul Clayton's speculation for why Jamie is so much younger than Sophie is that Ian and Penny had him later in life in a desperate bid to save their loveless marriage.
• Working Title: POV.

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