Cabin Pressure breaks BBC ticket record
Cabin Pressure, the hit Radio 4 sitcom about a small airline, has set a new BBC record.
It has been revealed that almost 23,000 fans requested tickets to attend the final recording of the show - reportedly the highest number of requests the BBC has ever received for a single radio recording.
The episode is due to be performed at the RADA Studios in London on 23rd February. The venue has a capacity of around 200 seats, meaning the BBC has operated a random lottery to pick which fans will be lucky enough to attend the recording.
Responding via his blog to the question 'Why aren't you doing it in a bigger venue, so more people can come?', writer John Finnemore said: "I know, I wish we could. It's partly budget (the tickets are free, remember), but it's mostly because it would change the way the audience sounds on the radio."
Cabin Pressure launched in 2008 and quickly became one of Radio 4's biggest comedy shows. The series, which is based around the small airline MJN Air, is written by John Finnemore and stars the writer alongside Roger Allam, Stephanie Cole and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Cumberbatch, who is now perhaps best known for his lead role in Sherlock, took on the role when he was a relatively unknown actor. However, he is now one of the world's most highly sought-after stars, with a number of starring Hollywood credits to his name and a legion of fans who dub themselves 'Cumberbitches'.
Four series of Cabin Pressure have been broadcast to date, but John Finnemore is now bringing the show to an end. As first reported in November, the forthcoming final special will signal the end of the programme.
Writing on his blog last year, Finnemore explained: "That has always been the plan - at least since about Molokai [the 2010 Christmas special]. When I was planning series three, I decided that (BBC and cast permitting), I would write two more series, and build towards a cliff-hanger, followed by a special. I knew by then how important it is when writing an episode to have the ending in mind, and I thought the same would probably be true of a series."
He further elaborated: "Well, it has to end somewhere, and six years and twenty six episodes feels like a pretty good score. And this way I get to build towards an ending that I feel is satisfying, rather than it simply stopping one day... or worse, getting tired and repetitive.
"It's also allowed me to let the characters and their relationships change and develop over the last couple of series, knowing that I'm building in a particular direction, in a way that I couldn't have done if I'd had to keep them in sitcom limbo."
Referring to the fact that each episode has been named after a location starting with a different letter, from A to Y, he adds: "Besides, you can't fight the alphabet...". The final special, which will be 45 minutes long, will be titled Zurich.
The many fans unlucky enough not to get tickets will have to wait a while to find out what happens in the final episode. The Radio Times has reported that the episodes has been scheduled for broadcast on Christmas Eve 2014. However, posting on Twitter, Finnemore was unaware of the plans and added: "fingers crossed it'll be sooner than that!"
The writer will continue to work on Radio 4 projects, including writing and recording another series of his award-winning sketch show John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme.
Last month in the Comedy.co.uk Awards, Cabin Pressure was voted by fans as the Best British Radio Sitcom 2013.
Below is an audio clip from the show in which airline boss Carolyn tries to train her dim-witted son Arthur, who acts as the steward aboard their one plane: