Why was Jon Hamm wearing an Ian McShane mask in Toast Of London?
Reference to the Lovejoy star is a homage to his nearly being in the comedy
Blink, and you may have missed it.
But in tonight’s Toast of London, Mad Men star Jon Hamm appears in one scene wearing a mask of Lovejoy actor Ian McShane.
He is found by Steven Toast in his "Hamm hole" - a gap between the bed where he hides from paparazzi - and is wearing the face of McShane.
A random bit of silliness in this madcap comedy? Not a bit of it.
RadioTimes.com can reveal that the use of the actor’s face is a very deliberate in-joke.
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McShane had been approached to appear in a role in the comedy – we have been asked by the producers not to say which one in order to spare the blushes of the man who got the part – but it came to nothing.
RadioTimes.com understands that the hullabaloo around his possible casting was legendary inside the production – hence the in-joke nod to the actor.
A spokeswoman for the show said: “Ian McShane was approached to be in Toast of London series 3. Sadly we couldn’t make it work but we wanted to give a nod to him nonetheless.”
