Last Tango in Halifax âto use margarineâ
After long deliberations and âsome experiment in rehearsalâ, the producers of Last Tango in Halifax have opted to use a well-known brand name margarine in a much-awaited key scene. Director Mike Smillers said: âWe were pretty sure we werenât going to use butter, even as an âhomageâ to the French original âLast Tango in Parisâ. Someone bought 200 grams of salted Lurpak to the read through, but we ended up using it for sandwiches.â The cast did experiment with lard in an early rehearsal. Co Star Anne Reid told the TV Times: âThere was a lot going for the lard lobby. Very northern and down to earth, and no strain on the production budget. And luckily neither of us is a vegetarian. But after Dinner Ladies, I was uncomfortable with it, frankly, and so was Derek, eventually.â Ms Reid continued: âThen there was talk of using one of these olive oil based spreads, because of the link with healthy diets and longer-living older Mediterranean folk. So we tried it a couple of times, but it wasnât up to snuff. Nice on toast, mind. Of course we had to use a fresh spreading knife, each time. âWe also looked at the stuff advertised by Carol Vordemann, and she did, I have to say capture Derekâs imagination. Benecol is supposed to be great-tasting, and it lowers cholesterol, so there would be a double benefit. Carol came on set for a day, bless her, but it didnât work out, despite Derek giving his utmost. Letâs face it, this is meant to be Halifax. We had to say to ourselves, this is an unremarkable northern community. What would this lovely old couple use in real life? In the end we plumped for Stork, course we did. I mean itâs traditional, apart from anything else. My mother baked with it, and my father loved it.â The BBC then had to face product placement issues. âWe have tight guidelines on thisâ said the BBCâs Head of Spreads, Janet Smivvers. âLast Tangoâs popularity is such that we could have triggered a Delia Smith event, with millions of viewers using the ingredient as a result of seeing it on TV. The BBC must act responsibly and it is not allowed to advertise. We tried to get the production to refer simply to generic âmargarineâ in the dialogue, but they argued it was implausible. In the end we compromised. Product placement is always a matter of negotiation, especially where this product was placed. It was always going to be an uphill struggle.â