Creating The Bubble — An Interview with the Father Figure of the Show, Luke Robinson
The Bubble marks a new dawn for the University of St Andrews. The evolution of this establishment has been gradual, and then all at once. From its strong religious foundation, it was known to be a Scots university for Scots. The “Wills and Kate” era then ushered in an international cohort like no other seat of learning in the country, and it has now become a cosmopolitan hub in the Kingdom of Fife. The fact that the BBC created a show about this town is the cherry on the cake of this gleaming, 21st century St Andrews.
Yet, for all the buzz about The Bubble — a YouTube short form show produced by Studio Something for BBC Scotland — people are questioning its authenticity and whether it is a true depiction of the St Andrews social scene. So, I’ve spoken to Luke Robinson, the fourth-year Divinity student who is the father figure and lynchpin of the programme, to see whether the production of the show was fixed or free reign.
I meet Luke in BrewCo, the favoured public house in St Andrews for its cosy chat and the punchy IPA. Dressed in a nice knit cardigan, corduroys, and some garish socks, he is at ease; his well-kempt red hair and moustache glint in the light, synonymous with the ebullient extrovert.
Luke’s story with the BBC started off with a case of mistaken identity. Having lunch with his Mum in the Scottish town of Inverary earlier this year, he received a call from a friend of his in St Andrews, Teddy, asking him if he wanted to join a BBC series about the university. Naturally accepting with delight, the waitress too joined in with his celebrations for joining the BBC roster. Yet, the waitress being a Doctor Who fan, thought that Robinson himself was to play the new Time Lord. Quickly correcting her, the waitress then responded, “Can I get a selfie with you? Just in case.” Perhaps Robinson’s career might follow David Tennant’s footsteps if The Bubble takes off.
The pilot of The Bubble, filmed between March and July of 2026, was a great success and the BBC took it up instantly. Filmed during the most recent Freshers’ Week in September of this year, the initial episode follows two first years, an American called Raymond and a Scot called Chloe, to see how they get on in their first week at what the BBC dubbed “the UK’s craziest Uni town.” A comment perhaps even more far-fetched than a girl in The Bubble saying that, in St Andrews, “If you don’t have a Longchamp bag, just leave.”
How much of this first episode was scripted then, I ask Robinson? “Of course, there are ideas of what they want to ask us and what they want us to do. But I’m a fourth year, I’ve done all the scandalous partying stuff and they want me to be a more rounded character who has come through the university experience…which is really great for me because then I wouldn’t look like a total dick," he chortles out at the end, the infectious laugh key to his easy-going style. Would you say you’re the father figure character then? “That was the idea, but we also have a lot of creative control.”
Luke chooses to wear his liturgical garb for the majority of the first episode, being a pious individual and a former altar server for the Roman Catholic Church in St Andrews. He has more maturity than he lets on, and The Bubble leans into this side more. He is seen to be the mentor to Chloe, the Scottish Fresher who struggles to find her group in that first week. Sadly, and much to the grievance of the BBC I’m sure, Chloe decides to take a leave of absence from St Andrews at the end of the show. Was this induced by the pressures of the production, I ask Robinson?
“I think the opposite. The production company really wanted her to stay.” St Andrews University has one of the highest first year retention rates at 99.27%. With such a commanding statistic, I question whether if Chloe stuck it out a bit longer, she might have found her niche. I wheel the discussion round to what Luke thinks of the social life in St Andrews. Does everyone find their tribe at university? “In time,” Robinson responds. “Something that wasn’t in the episode that I said was Freshers’ Week is not even week one, it’s week zero. We’ve not actually begun university”
Robinson himself comes from Dunoon, on the west coast of Scotland. “All of my friends went to Glasgow or Edinburgh. I was the only one that wanted to go to St Andrews.” But he threw himself into university life here, as he recommends all Freshers do: to try new things, meet new people. Robinson doesn’t see class distinction, “I’ll talk to anyone, no matter who they are, Americans, English, Scots. We are all trying to make friends at the end of the day.” Mostly, he wants The Bubble to stand against the presentation of St Andrews as a classist establishment, which an article by a former student scathingly made in The National a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, the limelight hasn’t all been a bed of roses, but Robinson takes pride in this too. “In my bedroom at home I have printed out my first hate comments. I find it really funny.” He takes the negative aspects in his stride, still firmly believing, contrary to The National piece, “that this place isn’t uppity, most people aren’t like that at all.”
The beauty of St Andrews, he says, is that you could have “a Scottish guy, from a port in Glasgow, who might have a best friend from Tampa, Florida.” So the Freshers, he recommends, should hold out, for they will find their tribe eventually. The Bubble will continue its five-part series on St Andrews and keep the creative licence on the students’ side. The show has a strong foundation in Robinson as the central character, and we are excited to see where he will go next.
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