Neil Gaiman interview: ‘I didn’t do it for the critics or the audience... I made Good Omens for Terry Pratchett’

Thirty years after publication, the story of an angel and a demon on a mission to stop armageddon is more relevant now than ever. But, the author tells David Barnett, it almost never made it to the screen at all

Michael Sheen and David Tennant in the series, on screens tomorrow (PA)

In the first episode of Good Omens, Aziraphale, an angel, played by Michael Sheen, and Crowley, a demon (a cat-eyed David Tennant), are sitting by the duck pond in St James’s Park discussing the imminent end of, well, everything. The Antichrist has been born into the world and – this might sound familiar if you’re au fait with the whole Antichrist apocalypse movie genre – has been cunningly placed by Satan’s soldiers on the earthly plane with the family of an American diplomat.

The reference to The Omen from 1976 is not lost on Aziraphale, nor is the fact that he’s one of the lead characters in what’s sure to be one of the biggest TV hits of the year. “An American diplomat,” he sighs. “Really? As if armageddon were a cinematographic show you wished to sell in as many countries as possible.”

Were this Fleabag, Michael Sheen would at this point have raised an eyebrow at the camera. The six episodes of the show are unleashed in their entirety on Amazon Prime tomorrow, with a BBC broadcast in weekly parts to come later in the year. By which time, yes, it probably will have been seen in as many countries as possible.