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Q1. Did you audition for the part, how did you get the job? A1. Yes, I had to show I could speak German. The Casting Director said he had not understood a word I said, but as he couldn't speak German, I must be OK. Q2. In the episodes we only ever see you behind the bar, did you ever venture out into the building site? A2. No - I never left the bar area. Q3. Do you recall filming any scenes that didn’t make it to the final cut? A3. No - every scene I did was used. Q4. Did you think that when filming, that 30 + years later you’d be fondly remembered for playing the German Barman Kurt? A4. Frankly no, as it was such a small part I thought I would disappear into oblivion. Q5. Can you remember any filming dates, how long did you film for? A5. I went to the studios eight times to film 12 episodes - some days we did studio scenes for more than one episode. Q6. Do you have any props, costume or scripts that were used during filming that you have kept? A6. All the clothes I wore were my own. Q7. Who was your favourite character from Series 1? A7. Apart from the Barman of course, I thought that Barry (Timothy Spall) was the most amusing character. Q8. What is your fondest memory from filming Series 1 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet? A8. For the first episode we had this real beer machine imported from Germany. The machine looked great, but they had not got the book of instructions. I said if they found it I could read it as it would be in German of course. The props boys fitted it up by guesswork. When I started using it all we got was mountains of foam which flooded the studio floor. They could not find out how to adjust it and we just ended up with foam about four feet high! I had to go over to using the bottled (Becks) beer. The machine was never got working and we had to use the bottled beer all the time and I had to fake making it look as if I had drawn it from the machine. Q9. Do you have any funny stories that happened while on set? A9. Apart from the beer machine. The scripted part for the character behind the bar was for a busty barmaid called Helga. However, there was a point in the first episode where there was to be a fight written between the English and the Germans, so they got me in to end it by jumping over the bar and break up the fight (don't think I would have done too well against Pat!). They never got to a fight in the bar so they kept booking me each episode just in case. The trouble was that the scripts kept coming through with references to "Helga with the big tits" by the English boys to use. So at rehearsal I was always called "Big Tits Helga" until the actual takes when they dropped the joke of course. Q10. What are you currently working on/ involved with? A10. I gave up the acting - didn't really like it anyway - and in 1988 I opened a casting Agency for walk-on and supporting artistes (see  www.rayknightcasting.co.uk). It did very well and I have been able to retire. My son has taken over the Agency and has ten employees and they handle between 20 to 30 major productions at any one time. The team would like take this opportunity to personally thank Ray for taking time out of his schedule to answer our questions. Special thanks to Team Member Gavin Owen for his valued contribution! © The text & images are copyright awpet.com and are not to be used or copied without permission.