Chapter #19: Gene Hunt Reveals His Favourite Ford from 1993 and The Strictly Surprise
This chapter will be the last official one for BBC Ashes to Ashes fanfic "Daddy's Mini Me" as it finishes the storyline quite nicely. Gene Hunt reveals his favourite Ford cars from 1993 as Megan J Hunt has most things in common with her father just only with a 20 odd year age gap and Megan getting the Strictly Come Dancing tickets as a surprise present for her Mum.
Detective Superintendent Gene Hunt sat down on the sofa of MediaCityUK in Salford, Manchester built on the site of the former docks to buy the Strictly Come Dancing tickets with his daughter for ex Amanda Hunt. The main thoroughfares in the building are styled blue, white, pink, yellow, orange, purple and green where street furniture and coloured ambient lighting are colour-coded to match. A stylised map of the site has been devised on the indoor map. The Green and The Stage are capable of holding events for up to 6500 people. In front of The Studios there is a free-standing big screen, which is viewable from the piazza, most commonly used for The One Show.
One of the studios is Bridge House is where Blue Peter, Mastermind, Dragons' Den, CBBC, CBeebies and BBC Bitesize are produced. It also made use of the former Freshbake pie factory which was closed in 2006 and been refitted in three stages to be MediaCityUK's first working studio way back in 2007, which was part of the Auntie Beeb's plan to decentralise television and productions away from London. Strictly Come Dancing took place in the Elstree Studios or the Blackpool Tower.
"Feel better?" he asked opening his arms for Megan to lean into.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see Mum's reaction, when she opens up the envelope for tickets to BBC's Strictly Come Dancing!" said Megan Hunt excitedly.
"It's mummy's favourite show as she used to dream of being an actress and ballet dancer." Gene offered a story to his 27 year old daughter as Alex chose to come along too after the school run, while her foster son Jamie was at St. Michael's Primary School.
"So, what car was you driving when your little Megan was born?" DCI Alex Drake asked curious to know about Gene's favourite Ford saloons from the early 1990s.
"I had a bright red 1993 Ford Sierra RS Sapphire with the cool snowflake rims." Gene smiled "I used to rock up to the police station I was in at the time looking the dog's diamond in it, this was when I wasn't driving the brand new Mondeo Mk1 Ghia with red reflective trim around the boot door, a CD changer, mobile phone holder and an awesome fax machine in the glove compartment."
"What did you look like, then Super Guv?" DCI Drake gave Gene a playful slap and he was laughing.
"Oi! Leave the playful slap to Mandy, only my ex is allowed to do that." he teased "Okay, I had a mullet hairstyle which more or less I still rock; been having a mobile phone since I was a teenager with the very 80s white brick Motorola with a big black ariel, probably the first teen kid on my street to have one despite it's issues and I used to frequently wear American baseball jackets, with acid wash or light blue jeans and had a choice of trainers, Kickers or Doc Marten boots."
After the Strictly Come Dancing tickets were brought, Megan curled up on the MediaCityUK main reception sofa and buried herself into Gene's chest feeling tired out from the long journey. Gene held his 27 year old daughter, rubbing her back soothingly as she rested.
"Little treasure's knackered from our journey to Manchester to get her Mum the biggest present, that she could ever imagine." Megan rewarded her dad with a sleepy smile as Gene looked at his Casio digital watch "Her mum does a lot and I think it's only right that Mandy gets to see her favourite ball room dance show. Megan's going to be okay, she's my baby girl." Gene pulled his 27 year old daughter into his lap "Can I see The One Show studio in V studio? Let's take some photos sat on the lime green sofas in Studio V?" she asked excitedly as the V studio door revealed a very bright and funky interior inside with the lights changing colours.
"No, we're not allowed Megs otherwise we'd get into trouble." said Detective Superintendent Gene Hunt "This building is nicknamed the Ministry of Truth, and only people who have been cleared for security can use the studios." he was wearing an open pink collared shirt, jeans, black jacket and snakeskin effect boots with two gold necklaces and his usual earrings.
"Aww! But I want to see the colour changing Rubik's style cubes, please Daddy?!" Megan noticed they were recording an episode of The One Show in Studio V, it is a tea time magazine show.
"Nope." said Gene sitting Megan back down and holding her in place "You, Megs have only been around since late '92 or early 1993, so mummy, your sis and I often work you out like a book; we can watch from the main reception waiting area, but that's as far as we're allowed."
"Can I at least let the childminder know what's happening with Jamie's school run?" DCI Alex Drake asked her Super Guv.
"I suppose and I'll make sure we're back for 3:00 PM." Gene shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breath. Megan moves to the vending machine. "You were having a little rest with Daddy weren't you, darling." said the handsomely young looking tall older male, ruffling his 27 year old daughter's jet black hair and holding her little hand lovingly. Gene was a tough talker at times, mild-mannered and just very like the lead character in US animated series American Dad.
"You get guys my age who are out in the nightclubs five times a week. It's madly insane. If I fancy staying in, I'll stay in. I suppose it's different if you've got no responsibilities, but some of your primary school mummy mates really hate me. The great thing about having two grown up kids from your first marriage is that it means you have something bigger than yourself to care about; because I became a Daddy young. For me it was about Black Sabbath, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Meatloaf in the 80s and early 90s musically."
On the way to St. Michael's Primary School, Gene was off on a rant about the quality of television and reality shows in his executive Ford saloon as he has watched plenty of films and television serials ever since his childhood in the 70s-80s to know when it's terrible.
"I have a soft spot for EastEnders, it doesn't take itself too seriously, keeps you gripped and don't mind cop soap classic The Bill. Also EastEnders is my ex missus's and my daughters favourite soap. My favourite character is Phil Mitchell from that." replied Detective Superintendent Gene Hunt driving though some back streets "There's so much dumbing down on television. I'm pissed off that every television awards ceremony has a special category for the more rubbish programmes or silly soaps that have seen better days. There's so much cheapness with all this reality stuff. Someone dumb enough makes big bucks at someone else's expense and it's the sadistic or five minutes of fame element of those and I think it's about time the likes of X Factor has retired for good, it's well overdue!"
"It seems the better the quality of drama, the more the actors/actresses are penalised." answered DCI Alex Drake who was wearing her usual school run clothes of purple canvas shoes, jeans, bright coloured socks and a coordinating jumper to collect Jamie Murphy from St. Michael's Primary School. Alex wore a slightly softer fashion look for the afternoon hometime from school run.
Gene is slowly facing up to the fact that he is becoming 80s-90s era old school for want of a better description. "I'd have to wear dark glasses and the parents who have much younger kids on the school run would be looking at me with pity, thinking I've been out on the razzle with my copper chums, whereas all I've done is drunk too much red wine while watching the Sopranos or the Godfather…'" For Detective Superintendent Gene Hunt the best part of getting older is the knowledge that you can say no without feeling guilty. "So what? I will always be a cool dude to my little Megan; maybe these parents are SO jealous that I have two beautiful girls of 32 and 27 years old already from my youth and twenties, yet they only have toddlers to young kids being way older than I was." Gene Hunt remarked to his female DCI in the car.
Megan was looking out the window at the kids running around in the playground, her dad is sharing a joke with her "I'm starting up a new game show, Celebrity Cop Swap," Gene smiles.
"Is it for police officers who are challenged to swap stations for a week? And to experience life in a different constabulary?" asked the 27 year old young woman guessing what the answer may be to one of her Dad's famous jokes.
"You know what? I think you're right, Megs!" The Gene Genie said playfully and teasingly.
The epilogue will reveal what Jamie Murphy has been up to in St. Michael's Primary School. I given Gene Hunt my dad's sense of humour as it fits him so well especially with a reference to a certain Channel 4 wife swapping show, only Philip Glenister's ultra ego would make the contestants police officers swap stations for two weeks!