Interview: Aisling Loftus, Nick Preston and Oliver Huntingdon on Television Workshop's new play ' I Had A Wheelbarrow'

As you’ve been kind enough to give up your lunch break, the burning question of the hour has to be what's your favourite sandwich?

Nick: BLT, probably.

Aisling: Oh god, something with cheese, something oniony. Oh, I know, cheese and onion!

Oliver: The classic ham and cheese.

Scrumptious. So, what’s this new play, I Had A Wheelbarrow, about?

Nick: I’m not good at that stuff, go on Ollie.

Oliver: Energetic, lively and…

Aisling: High stakes?

Oliver: High Stakes.

Aisling: I thought I’d give the boys a chance. Anyway, basically, it's set at an important County match, and we're spending time in the dugout and also in the stands. And it plays off the people that are watching the match or training the players. It's a proper slice of life, and it's really, really funny.

But why should people see it?

Oliver: Just come and support Workshop. For starters, you know, we're a charity based organization, so it's supporting kids that are obviously very talented, but also probably wouldn't have been able to get a foot in the door in the industry. So, supporting them.

Aisling: And you'll see some cracking actors that will be in 10 years times on your tellies. So, you get to see those people first. And it's a proper good laugh. A really funny play.

Oliver: You know, when you see a Television Workshop play, you know you've seen one,

Why? 

Oliver: Because it's just got the Workshop stamp. It's got something about it. It's got a raw quality too. You won't get that anywhere else.

Why did you decide to be a part of this play here today?

Aisling: Because we’d do anything for the Television Workshop.

Nick: When the Television Workshop calls you always come running. It's given me a lot and a good foundation in life early doors. So, I think whenever I can help, if there’s an opportunity to be able to come work for the Workshop, I will.

Tell me one thing that you learned from the Television Workshop?

Nick: It's the mix of cultures. Whether you've been privately educated or whatever, it was always a place where everyone was on the same playing field. Everyone's equal. And we met some of the most funny, witty, sharp people I've ever met in my life there. And it changed a lot of the way I looked at life, to be honest.

Oliver: A chance to find your acting style. Letting go of insecurities and, like Nick said, just being on the same page as likeminded people from different backgrounds, right?

Aisling: It made me an actor, period. I wouldn't be an actor otherwise. I owe it all to Workshop.

Bearing in mind I Had a Wheelbarrow is about football, were there any challenges preparing for your roles?

Aisling: Getting over the nerves, to be honest.

Really? With all your experience? 

Aisling: Yeah, it’s really nerve wracking. Because, you know, it matters. And lots of Workshoppers could’ve been asked to do it. So, we're really lucky that we got to be the ones on the bench today. So, yeah.

Nick: I love football, so to sit in the dugout and whack on a kit was...

A shoo-in for you?

Nick: A shoo-in? Yeah, given the opportunity.  

Oliver: And the opportunity to play around with these guys as well. That's the fun part.

Do you have any fond football memories?

Nick: I do, yes, I’m a Derby County fan. Eleven points worst Premier League, that team of history. But I tell you what, the beautiful thing about football was, we got pumped every single week, but I spent it with my old man, created some memories. Yeah, I wasn’t bothered about losing, it was just spending time with my dad.

Oliver: I'm a bit gangly to run, so football stopped for me when I broke my arm, I was about 14. But going to see Derby games as a kid, as well.

Aisling: My main memory, because I grew up in Lady Bay, is the traffic. Yes, that's it. But this play did make me think, oh man, I missed out. I wish I’d had someone to take me to the football. Someone that was interested, you know.

Is football important to the community? 

Nick: Like I said, me and my dad didn't really have anything in common, bar going to football. And I think looking back, I only understand now how important that was to build that with my dad at that age. You know, otherwise, I never would have. 

Aisling: Yeah, you definitely get that feeling from this play, that it's this kind of extended family, people coming together and sharing in the triumphs and the tribulations all together. Just reading the play, I'm like, Oh man, I wish I'd been part of that. It sounds great to be part of that community, to be united in that way.

Are you guys playing footballers? 

Nick: I play a technical operator. 

Aisling: He’s the brains of the operation. I play a physio.

Oliver: I play a physio as well.

Really? I happen to have a strained bicep. Any advice?

Aisling: Just rest up.

That’s what my physio actually said! So, when can we see the play?

Aisling: It's on June 15 and 16th and we're a charity, so we really need people to come out and support Television Workshop, which is a great thing to support, because it makes you look good, because the Workshop is proper cool.

Nick: And it’s different to any other play. It’s a bit more immersive. You’ve got people on stage and got a bit going off on in the background and it jumps between the two.

If I Had a Wheelbarrow by The Television Workshop is screening at the Nest at Notts County Football Club, Meadow Lane Stadium on Monday 15 to Tuesday 16 June 2026.