Twenty Questions: Andrew Eastel

WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF BED?

It’s my only window of opportunity to exercise, so I’ll either run or go to the gym. If not that, my sausage dog Alan likes to pee on the kitchen floor and then whine until one of us goes down to clean it up.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

Everything that I have no control over, so that’s quite a lot of the world. I read Stoic philosophy to combat this and have a tattoo of Marcus Aurelius on my inner arm. My tattoos are like Post-it notes – there to remind me of important things.

FAVOURITE DRINK?

Sanpellegrino or coffee. About four years ago, I worked on a particularly stressful show that I couldn’t do with a hangover, so I gave up drinking [alcohol]. I’ve not gone back.

FAVOURITE PLACE TO HAVE FUN?

Sunday morning parkruns with my seven-year-old daughter, Willow.

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT?

Cecconi’s Mayfair. I always sit at the bar rather than the tables, it’s less formal.

FAVOURITE SHOP?

I do so much shopping online my neighbours refer to themselves as a sorting office for my clothes.

WHAT ARE YOU READING AT THE MOMENT?

The Siege by Helen Dunmore, and I’m re-reading War Doctor by David Nott.

WHAT IS MIDDLECHILD’S USP?

We’re good at making observational documentaries at relatively low cost. It might not be the most high-profile TV out there but it’s some of the most challenging and rewarding to make. We have an unofficial ‘no dicks’ policy. We’ve made a big effort over a long period of time to be nice people and only employ nice people. When you’re running a business, you want to make sure everyone’s having fun but also working hard. Find that sweet spot and you can make great television.

WHO GAVE YOU YOUR FIRST BREAK?

Two people: David Gest and a C5 commissioning editor called Michelle Chappell. Before I was working in traditional TV, an agent I knew said David needed some work doing for a video he was putting together for a tour. David revealed he had a lot of Michael Jackson archived material and asked if I’d be interested in directing a documentary, and there began a three-year process of making a film.

The whole thing was stressful and slightly insane. I’d interview someone in LA, get on a plane, land and David would shout down the phone that I needed to fly straight back to interview someone else. Those three years of making the documentary – probably in every which way you shouldn’t make a film – were an education. With the money I made from it, I set up my own more traditional indie and Michelle Chappell gave us our first commission with Mutt Ugly: The World’s Ugliest Dog.

HOW HAS THE TV INDUSTRY WORK DROUGHT AFFECTED YOU?

Seeing good freelancers out of work has been shocking. The terrestrial broadcasters are still trying to work out how to position themselves from a business perspective. We’ve always made good programmes at lower cost and in high-volume, which stands us in good stead.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF TV?

Traditional broadcasters will have to find a way to exist in a different world, whether that’s live or streamed. The streamers do a good job of offering more choice and premium content, but it’s very international. What they’re not offering is the kind of regionally based material that audiences crave.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN TV?

Have an old-school work ethic. Get your head down, be ambitious, try the hardest you can. Don’t be exploited, of course, but be grateful.

MOST DIVA-ISH MOMENT YOU’VE WITNESSED WORKING IN TV?

David Gest arranged for me to interview Whitney Houston for the Michael Jackson documentary. It was terrifying because we only had an hour with her and one chance to get the interview. We dressed the room with tons of flowers and her manager went mad, saying Whitney’s allergic to pollen. We dragged all the flowers out but in doing so, a light fell on David’s head and set itself on fire. So the room was full of pollen and smoke, David was concussed and then Whitney Houston appeared. She said to me, “I hear you’ve been working with David for two years on this. I’m so sorry to hear that”, and gave me a massive hug. She couldn’t have been lovelier.

ANY TV-RELATED LEGAL PICKLES?

The most interesting legal dilemmas are when we’ve filmed someone up to no good and have to find a way to broadcast it without getting into trouble – some days I’m on the phone to Janet [at Abbas Media Law] every couple of hours. When we’re able to overcome legal compliance challenges and broadcast a story that has purpose, it’s incredibly rewarding.

MOST USED EXPRESSION?

The word ‘obviously’ followed by an eye-roll.

DREAM DINNER PARTY GUESTS?

Either the Plymouth Argyle FC squad from 93/94 or people that have contentious reputations such as Tom Cruise, the Kardashians, Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I’d be interested to meet them so I can form my own opinion, even if I could only stand a few minutes in their company.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I’d like to care less about being judged. And maybe have a lower-maintenance hairstyle.

LAST THREE WEBSITES YOU VISITED?

I sometimes refer to myself as the world’s dullest man. I’m a sober vegetarian that likes reading the news, so my browser history might not be interesting: The New Yorker, The Atlantic and endclothing.com.

LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

I’m a secret crier. I don’t know why – that’s for a therapist to work out. I think the last time [I cried] was at something on Gogglebox. I can’t even remember what it was, which is ridiculous.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS

Disciplined, frustrated, calm, realistic, self-aware.

ANY PET PEEVES?

Negativity and self-preservation when it hurts others, which isn’t uncommon in our industry.

People are too willing to throw individuals under the bus when it helps them, and I hate that.

IF YOU COULD RETIRE TOMORROW, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

I want to take fine art photos of Ibiza and sell them. I didn’t discover the island until I was in my 40s, but now we go every year. Ibiza is my happy place.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?

A 90-minute true-crime story for Amazon about an amazing British woman that tracks down a family member’s murderer in a foreign country from her front room in Kent.