Details revealed about new BBC comedy Ill Behaviour
- Ill Behaviour is a comedy drama about a man kidnapped by his friends when he refuses chemotherapy
- The show stars Tom Riley, Chris Geere, Jessica Regan and Lizzy Caplan
- The 3-part series will be on BBC iPlayer later this year as a box set, followed by a BBC Two repeat run
Details have been revealed about Ill Behaviour, the new BBC comedy drama about a man attempting to recover from cancer. The series has been developed to be shown on BBC iPlayer, with a TV repeat to then follow.
The show focuses on a character called Charlie who has been diagnosed with cancer, but the prognosis is favourable. However, suspicious of drugs and modern medical treatments, Charlie refuses chemotherapy in favour of a more natural, 'alternative' form of healing.
His oldest friends Joel and Tess fear he's "written his own suicide note" so they decide to hold him hostage and administer the chemo themselves with the help of Nadia, an alcoholic oncologist.
Da Vinci's Demons actor Tom Riley will take on the lead role of Charlie, with Chris Geere (Trollied) and Jessica Regan (Call The Midwife) as his friends Joel and Tess. Lizzy Caplan will portray the unstable Nadia, with Christina Chong and John Gordon Sinclair also set to appear in the show.
Ill Behaviour has been written by Peep Show co-creator Sam Bain and has been filmed by Fudge Park, the production company setup by Inbetweeners writers Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. It's produced by Car Share's Gill Isles and directed by Friday Night Dinner's Steve Bendelack.
Bain describes the project as "a wish-fulfillment fantasy for anyone who's ever had to stand back, powerless, as a loved one crashes and burns."
Speaking to Deadline, Beesley and Morris added: "It's not really a comedy about cancer at all. It's more about ethical dilemmas and what lengths friends would go to to stop a friend making a bad choice."
BBC Comedy Commissioner Shane Allen says: "Sam has achieved something very special and gripping in placing a huge moral dilemma at the crossroads of friendship, family and loyalty when faced with a devastating cancer diagnosis. Characters have to make difficult ethical choices and engage in questionable deeds for what they believe to be the right reasons - it challenges our own sense of right and wrong in the face of life and death. The cast and team have pulled off something very ambitious and it's the perfect 'must watch the next episode' box set viewing experience to launch on BBC iPlayer ahead of its broadcast on BBC Two."
The three episodes of Ill Behaviour will launch later this year.
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