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Cape Town - Friends for 16 long years, Tom Ford and Jonny Smith decided to take their friendship to television and in their own words, Motorheads was literally an extension of their real-life relationship.
The final episode of the first season of Motorheads is upon us and the presenters are more than happy with what they’ve produced. it airs on BBC Brit at 8pm, on March 1.
Formulating the show
Ford and Smith are no strangers to television, having previously hosted American TV show Motor and Gears. Following a stint away from set, the longing to chat to an audience became too much and plans for a new show started taking shape.
But how do you come up with something fresh and new?
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Like many “reality shows” (think Ridiculousness and RudeTube), the duo literally stumbled across the idea for their show after watching clips of people and animals doing awesome and funny stunts in vehicles. And just like that the basis for Motorheads was laid. Ford and Smith then set upon building the show around the people in the videos featured in their series, inviting guests on set to chat about their videos and stunts.
Interestingly, the two men don’t see Motorheads as a job. In fact, they treat it as “a day off” from their real jobs as motor journalists. And they have free reign as to how and what they do in each episode because they are “fairly unaccountable", as they put it.
Image: Supplied
Accommodating personalities
Even if the two are friends for the last 16 years, television always has a way of breaking up relationship; and they are not oblivious to it. Somehow the chase for fame creep in and take a toll on the best of friendships, seeing it ruined and left by the wayside. But Ford and Smith could not be bothered with it at all. They believe that, like flowers, they’ve cross-pollinated over the years and have become intertwined with each other.
That’s why when asked on how they manage each other’s personalities, both men were adamant that Motorheads is another, new aspect of their near-unshakeable friendship. Neither man tries to overpower, overshadow or dominate the series, but instead allows the other to be and express himself in the series.
Sure, they bump heads and have different views and opinions, but to them it’s just like a marriage, before adding: “We’re like a married couple because there is no sex!”
Perhaps that’s why so many television friendships faulter…
Image: Supplied
