Rhys Thomas

Paul Whitehouse on new comedy show 'Bellamy's People'

Comedians Paul Whitehouse and Rhys Thomas discuss their new fake reality TV show, Bellamy's People.

They explain how they adapted it from its original version on Radio 4, a spoof phone-in show called Down The Line.

Meanwhile, anyone who tunes in to Radio 5 Live will recognise the absurdity of many phone-in programmes, and regular listeners to Radio 4 will have heard Down The Line, the phone-in spoof masterminded by Fast Show-ers Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson and Simon Day, which starred Rhys Thomas as host Gary Bellamy. Listeners to both will know how close to reality Down The Line's absurdist take on the phone-in format and its listeners is. And also how funny it was - a Berkshire racist ringing in says after a reference to Ebony & Ivory, "we just call that Ivory in our house". Thankfully - for anyone who's ever had the displeasure of watching Jeremy Kyle et al - Gary is meeting the public face-to-face as he travels around the country to chat to his deranged callers.

A one-off special edition of the spoof phone-in show, an eve of Budget salute to all the things we don't know and can't grasp about what's happened to the economy and why having a balance in the bank is suddenly a bad thing. Presented, as ever, by the utterly witless 'Gary Bellamy' (Rhys Thomas) with the only too believable callers played by Paul Whitehouse, Amelia Bullmore, Felix Dexter and co, with special guest Mark Gatiss. Word is that this show is about to transfer to television. Ah well, that'll be another one gone to where the big money grows.

Radio 4 spoof phone-in to move to BBC2

Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson to star alongside Rhys Thomas as host Gary Bellamy.