I watched the original Norm talk end-to-end a while ago.
He says it all started when they thought it would be good to film some house renovations/conversions. The NYW came later. He comes across as a pretty straight guy, too.
I'm ambivalent about the comments about UK tradesmen. Working in central London (which they were) is very atypical. For a start access and everything else about a site is difficult, and very expensive. People don't work there for the love of it. It's decades since I helped out my uncle doing property renovation in West London, but my memory of it is that tradesmen (and the merchants too) were sharp, and not in a nice way. That's not how it's done in the US, except in the cities. That said, if you've got a 90 minute commute to get home to see the kids (on the tube, with your hand tools), and something isn't finished at knocking off time through no fault of yours, you're
not going to be inspired to hang on for unpaid overtime. I've worked in the TV business: they almost certainly didn't have the right 'fixer' or one when they needed three (or whatever).
The other thing is that he's being just a bit disingenuous. Union power is still very strong over there, in pockets, with all the excesses that implies. I've run into them too, working on trade shows, and was struck how unnecessarily unpleasant it all was. There, the union card is everything, and obviously some are obtained without the qualifications. I've seen some really irresponsible work practices, with lethal potential, from people who were telling me not to do stuff because I was non-union.
My guess is they'd be just as bad in the construction industry, especially if he tried to film a show in a big city over there, with a low budget, and they didn't recognise him.
E.
