Waiting for the Out star talks filming in a real prison – with the real person his character is based on

New BBC drama Waiting for the Out is loosely based on the real-life story of Andy West, as detailed in his memoir The Life Inside.

The central character in the drama, Dan, is based on West, a philosophy teacher, several of whose family members have spent time in prison. He now teaches philosophy in prison himself, and the series charts his journey into that profession.

The show's prison scenes were actually filmed in Gloucester Prison, which was functional until 2013. West also makes a cameo appearance in the series, appearing alongside Josh Finan, who plays Dan, in one scene.

Finan spoke with RadioTimes.com and other press about filming in a real-life prison, an experience he called "interesting" and "eerie".

"It looks and obviously feels like a real prison, but it's sort of amazing how quickly everyone adjusts to the fact that it's a day at work," he explained. "Do you know what I mean? It's like, 'Right, OK, we're filming on this landing now, and so the green room is going to be this cell'.

"Everyone just sort of has a mental adjustment, where you focus on the work rather than your surroundings. But it is really interesting.

"I walked around with Andy, because Andy was a supporting artist, he plays the escorting officer that brings Dan into prison on his first day. And so Andy and I kind of had a little wander round, and what he observed, having been in prisons a lot, was sort of amazing.

"[It was] kind of cool to see it through his eyes and observe what's unique about the space. One thing he said about the prison classrooms was, 'Oh, I've never worked in a classroom that's this big and bright and where the chairs haven't been graffiti'd or f**ked up in some sort of way'.

"And he was like, 'But I get it, I like that about the show because it's a hopeful thing. It's like, yeah, why not give them brightness and warmth?'"

Finan was speaking along with the writer of the series, Dennis Kelly, who expanded on an incredible coincidence which occurred to them while filming.

"There's an interesting thing about that prison," Kelly said. "It's Gloucester prison, so it's closed now, and we spent quite a bit of time in there. And there's a scene at the end of episode 3 where the he goes and visits his brother, Lee, in prison, in the past. And that's a direct scene from the book.

"Andy didn't know that he was going to see him. His mum had kept saying, 'Your brother's working, and he's going to work. We're going to see him at work.' And so then he walks in, and he's like, 'This is a prison!' That actually happened."

He continued: "And I was talking to Andy about it, and we were having lunch in this big hall, and he said, 'Yeah, that scene was here.' And I said, 'Yeah, I know, they shot it here yesterday.' And he went, 'No, it was here. This is the exact same room that I visited my brother in in Gloucester prison, 30 years before.'

"None of us had known that, but that scene took place probably within about 20 feet of the actual table that it was filmed at. And it's an interesting reminder that it's a drama, but it's also real."

Waiting for the Out will premiere on Saturday 3rd January at 9:30pm on BBC One.

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