The film is based on the director's experience of her family run takeaway. She took the telephone orders and worked in the kitchen. Her family often pretended they were contestants on a well known game show in the 90s.
In the original script, the character of Ernie Summers was written as a proper Englishman, but after seeing the acting audition of Robert Firth, writer/director Brenda Lee decided to take the role in a totally different direction, allowing Firth's interpretation to more closely mirror his own life experiences.