Martin Compston’s Norwegian Fling: Interview with and Phil MacHugh and Martin Compston

Line of Duty star Martin Compston and good friend Phil MacHugh delighted audiences when they toured their beloved homeland of Scotland for a factual series in 2022. Their road trip then for Martin Compston’s Scottish Fling had it all, scenery, masses of amazing people and adventures, great giggles, cracking chat and some essential car songs, so how could they top that?

The answer was to jump over the North Sea to Scotland’s nearest Scandi neighbour, Norway.

Martin Compston’s Norwegian Fling is another captivating and often hilarious six-part series. Featuring a spectacular trip of almost 2,000 miles the length and breadth of Norway from Oslo to the North Arctic, they take in some dramatic remote scenery and unexpected urban exploits – the duo immerse themselves in modern Norway, sometimes literally and get under the skin of what it means to be Scandi.

And their adventures this time around are on another scale from roller-skiing to zip-lining down a sky jump towering in the sky on the outskirts of Oslo, to being on stage and crowd-surfing at a Black Metal concert to Martin getting up close with a wolf which has to be seen to be believed, as well as trips on truly epic roads, with of course Martin doing the driving, and both belting out ‘the tunes’. And over the course of the series, the friends ‘enjoy’ a dip in the water after a hot sauna, revel in an outdoor jacuzzi, and are ‘all at sea’ for a day of North Sea oil rig and helicopter safety training and for a day as deck hands on a fishing boat.

Q&A with Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh

So why Norway?

Phil: “They are our Scandi neighbours and I’ve always believed obviously being blonde and blue-eyed that I was Scandi in the first place anyway…

(Martin: Are you really blonde though?)

Phil: “So it was a given that we would try Norway with my obviously Nordic roots. Aside from that they are a close neighbour. Norway has always intrigued me, they have got a similar population to Scotland; similar kind of industries, fisheries, farming and oil obviously and culturally as well there are connections. There are similarities so it was kind of like, let’s go and see what the Norwegians are like and find out about the country, compare and contrast it with Scotland, find out how they are like us and not like us…

“Plus they’ve got as many rainy days as Scotland so if that’s not a reason to go, then what is? We are so close to them.”

Martin: “Yes they are close but when we Scots get time away, we tend to go chasing the sun, we tend to go south, we tend to go to Spain or Greece or Turkey or wherever so when we first floated the idea of going north to Norway I was so intrigued to go there. And now – and not just because we are punting a new series or trying to get a job with the Norwegian tourist board – I could not recommend it enough. I loved it.

“It was a bit like that moment in the first series, when I couldn’t believe it had taken me that long to get to the Hebrides, I felt quite shameful about that, and I felt the same about Norway…such a stunningly beautiful country, with so much going on, right on our doorstep and I’d never really thought to go there, unless it came up for work.

“But I will be back as much as I can.”

Phil: “I think with the first season, we knew the country so well; we are both from Scotland. We have been and travelled so much across it, but this was brand new for both of us. We didn’t really know much about the Norwegians, about their culture, about their heritage, what they are like as humans so it was kind of interesting to learn everything along the way rather than knowing a little bit about it as we did in season one. We were on a learning journey, much more than we expected.”

So what were your impressions of Norway, the place and the people? 

Phil: “A fascinating country with incredible people and we were lucky enough to meet a lot of them in different cities across the land.”

Martin: “They are big beautiful Vikings. You know they have got good genes and I think that is a lot to do with their connection with nature. We’re not painting it as some sort of absolute perfect place, it obviously has its problems like everywhere else but they seem to have a very healthy culture. They are very outdoorsy, even their diets and stuff like that. What I took away from it was that everywhere and everyone we met seemed in pretty good shape.

“One thing though they are quirky. Especially when we got more to the north of the country, they are very direct. I don’t know if it’s a kind of a thing with English being their second language, they don’t have time for b*****. They kind of just say what is on their mind a lot of the time.

“We had a phenomenal ‘man on the ground’ Preben, who was a godsend to our team, taking us round the country being our guide. But he had this amazing way where he would say some wild things to you and you didn’t know if he was being serious or not, but then he played on it. He would just say more wild things and then burst out laughing. I found him hilarious.

“Norwegians tend to just say what is on their mind. At first you are taken quite aback by it, but once you get used to it, it’s very endearing.”

Phil: “They don’t take themselves too seriously either. You know they are quite humorous that way. A lot of the time they were taking the mick out of us and we were like what, but it was something we found that really warming about them. Another thing which struck us was how vast the country is, we hadn’t taken that on board how big it is from top to bottom. Huge country…”

Martin: “Especially when you are doing all the driving…

Phil: “Well you know that’s your job darling. But it is a vast space, getting from even from A to B was a bit of a mission sometimes.”

Martin: “I know tell me about it. If we ever come to series three… Well last year it was a promise you were going to learn to drive, this year it will be contractual that you are learning how to drive.”

Phil: “Born to be driven my friend, you know that already.”

Lots of adventures and banter, but were there scary moments? 

Phil: “Yeah, there definitely was a few. I think. For me the oil rig training was intense. It was really intense, scary, at times very unnerving. When I was left in the middle of the North Sea alone, not knowing if what was underneath me was a Loch Ness monster type below and whales or whatever, I was very alone with my own thoughts. And then, on top of that, we did the helicopter survival exercise, and I’m not very good underwater. I couldn’t breathe properly. And, to be honest, I was in such a panic, I didn’t listen to the instructor. I didn’t care what he was saying, and I was just desperate to get out of that water tank. I said get me out immediately whereas Martin took it in his stride and listened and carefully went through the process, but for me that was a really tough day.”

Martin: “Yeah, I mean, I think that’s why we’re why we’re such a good team, those because all that stuff I kind of love. My Dad worked on the oil rigs so he used to come back home and tell me stories about the helicopter trade and stuff. So it was something I always wanted to try, and I love all that excitement, adrenalin stuff.

“But when it comes to like the fine dining and all that kind of high culture stuff, that’s really not for me, I’m out my comfort zone and that is where Mr MacHugh comes alive. So I think that’s where we kind of bounce off each other but all that kind of stuff – the oil rig training, the fire stuff was great fun. Really by the time they got into it, you were less than a meter from a blazing inferno on your face. That was so exciting!

“But my personal highlight was being in with the wolves. That was so primal, being in amongst a wolf pack. When they started howling, you know, I’ve never quite felt anything like that. There was something that just thought of tingling on your body, that that was just a sensation that that I’ve never experienced before. Even if that was the only thing I took away from the trip, you know that’s something I’ll always remember.”

So anything further you’d like to flag to the viewers about Norway and the series? 

Martin: “Spectacular. Really, really breath-takingly beautiful and you felt like you were in a live action Frozen at times, the fjords were just something absolutely breath-taking. You know, we pride ourselves in Scotland very much on our landscape and our scenery being kind of unrivalled throughout the world, but it was just sensational in Norway. Every time we stopped somewhere or we went on a drive, we were like this can’t get any better and it just kept going up and up a notch. So it genuinely is a stunningly, stunningly beautiful country. In terms of the amazing camerawork the team got, it’s going to be an absolute treat for the eyes.

Phil:” Yeah, it really is, I got to agree with that. The scenery is phenomenal, but also the people we met on the way, and you’ll meet some of these characters, and believe me, they are characters. Really kind natured and everyone was so open to us, coming into their own spaces, their own towns and communities, showing us everything that they’ve got to offer. The people really are beautiful in heart and head. So yeah, it was brilliant. Some of the characters we met that across the cities and the towns were just phenomenal, and a big highlight for me was definitely meeting Dagny, the Pop Star. I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I found out that we’re actually gonna hang out with her for one day, and it was phenomenal to get in the recording studio alongside her, well maybe not sing, but definitely dance.”

Martin: “You sang, you sang.. You did not stop smiling that entire day”.