Q&A WITH P. F. FORD

Who would Norman Norman like to play him in a television series?

This is always an intriguing question. I’m not big on detailed character descriptions because I believe every reader “sees” their own version. So how do you choose an actor to suit everyone?

I once invited readers on my mailing list to answer this question, and the actor most often mentioned was British actor Mark Benton who currently plays Frank Hathaway in BBC’s Shakespeare & Hathaway.

His face and hair make him the actor I would choose if only he was a few inches shorter!

What was Norman Norman’s most challenging case?

Being a little older than his colleagues, and not athletically inclined, any case that involves chasing suspects is challenging for Norm. As he likes to tell his colleagues “I don’t do running.”

With pub garden weather coming up what would Norman Norman be found drinking in the sun?

Norm loves real ale, but sadly real ale doesn’t love Norm so he generally sticks to something lighter. A chilled Peroni or something similar always goes down rather well. He also likes an occasional Jack Daniels. (By the way I really hope you are right about pub garden weather – there’s no sign of it here in Wales!)

What inspired the name Detective Norman Norman?

I was always a big fan of the TV series Cheers which had a character called Norm who had lots of curly hair. For whatever reason he stuck in my head, and it was his name that came to my mind when I first thought of creating a sidekick for Dave Slater.

I had also recently read about a man called Neville Neville. I knew Dave Slater would find that hard to believe so I thought it would be quite funny if Norm had to explain how Norman was a family name and that his father was also called Norman, and his grandfather too.