Staines residents share memories of Ali G filming and signing in town

Staines residents have reminisced about the filming of Ali G Indahouse, which celebrates its 20 year anniversary on Tuesday (March 22 2022). They shared memories of filming and a fondness for the show’s star Sacha Baron Cohen who took the time to sign everything from baseball caps to paper plates.

You might expect families in Staines to respond with the kind of eye-rolling you get in Woking when you mention That Pizza Restaurant. But the response was huge and positive, and showed the incredible fondness that many residents still have for arguably the town’s most famous fictional resident.

The film and character wasn’t for everyone. Nick Pollard, curator of the Spelthorne Museum in Staines explains that it has had its critics over the years, not least because it incorrectly identified Staines as being in Berkshire. He says: “The film is harmless entertainment but I don’t think people in Staines were all that impressed. It’s said that part of the reason for the name change to [‘Staines-upon-Thames’] was to get away from the Ali G image.”

Read more: Ali G’s legacy on Staines: Is the town’s rise down to the voice of da yoof?

There’s no doubting how huge a pop culture phenomenon Ali G was in the early 00s – this was someone who would go on to conduct mock interviews with everyone from Buzz Aldrin to the Beckhams to pre-White House Donald Trump. And for many living in and around Staines at the time, it was an exciting prospect having Sacha Baron Cohen and his co-stars filming in the area, especially since the character was a springboard

But Ali G was already hugely famous at this point from Channel 4’s Da Ali G Show and The 11 O’Clock Show, and had conducted interviews with Mohammed Al-Fayed, John Humphrys and even a young Jacob Rees-Mogg. His appearance in the music video for Madonna’s 2000 hit ‘Music’ also showed his recognition across the pond.

There are a number of scenes for those who are familiar with Staines – a town centre car chase between rival gangs that never breaks the 20/30 mph speed limits, the scenes of Ali G at his house (identified by globalfilmlocations.net as Grosvenor Road) and a hunger strike scene that sees the character with his underwear pulled down outside the town hall area, across the road from The George pub.

Nicola Clarence remembers meeting Baron Cohen in costume, just outside the town hall in a directors chair. She says: “Several people have said he gave Staines a bad name, actually I don’t believe he did – You can say ‘Ali G’, and people know where Staines is, so it’s quite nice to refer to that when you say where you live.”

“It was around 2001 I think, when I was doing my GCSEs at Magna Carta [secondary school] up the road. There was a bunch of us that had finished our exams, so we were walking home, and there were a lot of people around the town hall. Us being us, we were very nosy and went over.

“It was surreal they were filming in Staines. I got his autograph, I can’t remember where it is now, but I went over having grabbed a scrap of paper, and he was actually really friendly and did it for us, which was really nice.”

She’s not the only one who received a signature. Carolyn Allen says she got a more unusual item signed after spotting Ali G in his RV during the filming.

She says: “I asked the security guard outside if he would get him to sign a paper party plate I’d just bought for my son’s birthday party! He took it to him and he signed it (hopefully Ali G and not the security guard)!”

Based on a Google image search for Ali G’s signature, it was a convincing forgery from the security guard if it was one. The signature reads ‘Chanan Respek’ and is signed in character as Ali G, which Carolyn still keeps today.

Chloe Holland remembers that Baron Cohen was signing everyone’s caps and visors – “I was only young at the time (14) and my friends at the time let him sign her Gap visor but I didn’t want to get in trouble with my mum for it!”

Lisa Duguid says she understands why Ali G’s association with the town might annoy some older members of the community, but she has nothing but good memories from the filming, and she was lucky enough to get a photo with Sacha Baron Cohen in costume.

“It was amazing, especially when you’re young. When you think back, it’s very good memories really. There’s nothing negative about it. If you watch that film and you’ve got the right sort of sense of humour, you would find it funny.”

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