Trivia / Philomena Cunk

• Actor-Inspired Element: Diane Morgan said that her partner Ben Caudell, one of the show's writers, will sometimes follow her around asking her questions and writes down what she says as things for Cunk to say. Morgan has also said of herself that she can "stare into space for hours", which may have inspired Cunk's tendency to stare glassily at random objects, such as the curtain rail around a hospital bed.
• Completely Different Title: Cunk on Earth was released in Spanish-speaking territories as La Tierra según Philomena Cunk ("The Earth According to Philomena Cunk").
• Corpsing:
  • Diane Morgan revealed in an interview with Seth Meyers that interviewees frequently start laughing at Cunk's ridiculous questions, but these moments are edited out in order for the show to play its faux-documentary conceit straight. Some moments of interviewees laughing or starting to laugh that made it into the finished episodes include:
  • Robert Peston, one of the interviewees in Cunk On Britain, at the end of a conversation where Cunk demands that he choose between describing the present historical moment in the UK as either "important" or "significant", stipulating that he can't say it's both.
  • Dr. Ruth Adams of King's College London breaks down laughing during the Cunk On Earth interview on Elvis following Cunk's remark that if people saw Elvis's penis they would have had a stroke. What's funnier is Diane Morgan doesn't break character, instead chastising Adams as Cunk by pointing out "we're talking about people's lives here."
• Creator Backlash: A rather downplayed example, but the creators felt that Cunk On Christmas didn't work quite as well as other shows because Cunk is funnier when she's dealing with weightier matters than Christmas. When Diane Morgan said this in a Q&A, Charlie Brooker joked "So the birth of Christ is a matter of no import to you, then."
• Creator Couple: One of the show's writers, Ben Caudell, is Diane Morgan's partner.
• No Origin Stories Allowed:
  • Practically nothing is ever revealed about Cunk's personal life or background, although she occasionally tells interviewees horrific and inappropriate stories about the misadventures of "my mate Paul". Diane Morgan said in a Q&A that she has an idea of what Cunk's personal life is like, but she didn't go into any detail about it. Charlie Brooker said that "she was on some sort of unknowable level, like a horse." On the Rule of Three podcast, one of her writers claimed to have a backstory that the main reason she has a career is that one of the producers has an unrequited crush on her that she's too stupid to realise, and so keeps putting her on TV in a desperate attempt to get her to notice him.
  • Cunk on Earth gives a few more glimpses into Cunk's personal life, including occasional mentions of an ex-boyfriend named Sean (who apparently had a bitter breakup with her) and an aunt who apparently fell into a sex cult in North Wales.
• Throw It In!: The linking sections are all written by the writers, but in the interviews, although Cunk's questions are all scripted, once people reply, Diane Morgan improvises her own follow-ups and the conversation that ensues is a real conversation. The interviewees are aware that they're talking to a (rather dense) fictional character but don't know what they're going to be asked, so their reactions are genuine. ^note In the interview with Robert Hazell, Hazell became so irritated with how stupid Cunk was that the director had to ask him to not be so hard on her. Diane Morgan thought it would have been great if Cunk had got punched in the face for real, but in the end it didn't happen.
• What Could Have Been: Since Cunk was originally created as a Distaff Counterpart for the grumpy, working-class Londoner Barry Shitpeas, she was originally conceived as being rather middle-class, hence her posh first name. Then Diane Morgan came in and asked if she could use a slightly exaggerated version of her own accent.

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