BBC Commission Semi-Improvised Sitcom

Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, creators of Drop the Dead Donkey have been commissioned by BBC One controller Peter Fincham to write a "semi-improvised" sitcom.

Outnumbered, to star Hugh Dennis (pictured, one half of Punt and Dennis and Dr. Piers Crispin in My Hero) and Clare Skinner (Sarah Newcombe in Bedtime, Lucinda in Chef! and Clare in Life Begins) is a post-watershed sitcom about a family in London where the parents are "outnumbered" by their three children, aged five, seven and eleven.

Outnumbered's most notable feature is that it will be "semi-improvised" keeping the adults constantly surprised by what the children have done. Hamilton told MediaGuardian that "It is scripted but there is this element of improvisation. We don't put the children in positions they haven't experienced but this will hopefully make it more real, giving a sense of the stuff small kids do come up with."

Hamilton added, "We feel there hasn't been a show before which really captures life with small children, and where it has happened they have been sitcoms that have felt a bit manufactured and false at times."

Outnumbered will be filmed on location in Wandsworth, South London, in May, and broadcast some time later in the year, in a provisional slot after the 10 O'Clock News. Six episodes are to be made.

The commission appears to reflect Fincham's own plans to increase comedy output on BBC One. Recently he has re-commissioned After You've Gone for a second series of eight episodes and a Christmas special. He has also re-commissioned Jam and Jerusalem and Not Going Out.

Last week also saw My Family return with its seventh series, which was watched by 7 million people – 30% of the share of the audience.