Radio 2 unveils full line-up for its 2015 Comedy Showcase
BBC Radio 2 has now confirmed the full line-up for its 2015 Comedy Showcase pilot season.
Recorded in front of a live studio audiences, the half hour episodes will be broadcast across a week in November. The stars involved include Tim Vine, Simon Farnaby, Robert Webb, Elis James and Janice Connolly.
Julia McKenzie, Acting Head of BBC Radio Comedy, says: "Radio 2 continues to nurture and support new comedy, and it is fantastic to be able to bring such a range of comedic talent and Showcases to the network."
Radio 2's Lewis Carnie adds: "I'm delighted to have a new raft of Comedy Showcases which exemplifies Radio 2's commitment to original and distinctive content. Radio 2 has been a valuable launch pad for new comedy in recent years, seeing the sitcom Miranda Hart's Joke Shop go on to become the highly acclaimed Miranda series on BBC One, plus Matt Lucas's And The Winner Is..., commissioned for Radio 2, made into a BBC television series, The Matt Lucas Awards."
BBC comedy commissioner Shane Allen comments: "I'm thrilled to see the pedigree of people attached to this. It's testament to the rich tradition of top name British comedy talent ebbing and flowing between radio and television."
The new episodes will be broadcast between Monday 16th November and Thursday 19th November, with the final of the BBC New Comedy Award broadcasting on the Friday of that week too.
As part of a new corporation initiative dubbed 'online first', the five pilots will be made available on the iPlayer service a week before they are broadcast; thus keen comedy fans will be able to hear the episodes from Monday 9th November.
The five pilots are:
Sitcom set around a golf club, written by Horrible Histories star Simon Farnaby.
Golf club regular Stuart thinks he has a chance of being appointed to the all-powerful Committee, if only he can get his rival Bob out of the way. Meanwhile players Chris and Jane are trying to rekindle their relationship, which has gone into the rough. They just need to find some peace and quiet on the green.
Simon Farnaby says: "The Peterford Golf Club hopes to expose the dark underbelly of middle England. All looks well on the surface but scratch a little and you'll find prejudice, sexism and aspiration so fervent, people are willing to kill to get a better parking space. No one will want to see themselves in The Peterford Golf Club, but we're all there!"
A sitcom set in 1909, written by Arthur Mathews (Father Ted) and Terry Mynott (The Mimic), starring Mynott and Robert Webb.
After discovering what they believed to be a German plot to invade The Isle of Sheppey (their main piece of evidence ultimately turned out to be a child's treasure map), policemen Ernest Ridley and Arthur Smyth are asked to join the new Secret Service in London: an organisation dedicated to uncovering foreign spies and plots in the uncertain and paranoid years before the Great War.
Arthur Mathews says: "I've been a fan of Terry since I first saw The Mimic. I met him doing Toast Of London last year and he asked me to get involved in the project. We both have an interest in history, and the Edwardian era seemed a fruitful period. It was great to work with such a wonderfully talented cast too."
Sitcom starring Elis James and Katy Wix, written by Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge.
Gruff is a new father whose own father, Bob, suddenly comes back into his life after a long absence. Bob is a convicted fraudster, released from prison on licence, who wants to inveigle his way back into his estranged son's life (again through fraud). He's charming, optimistic and warm. People like him. That's why they gave him so much of their life savings. Gruff's wife, Alice, is quite taken with the charming Bob. She would be - he's a fraudster - that's how he works.
Elis James says: "I'm super excited to be playing Gruff in Ankle Tag. Having played a convicted criminal in Crims, to play the law abiding son of a criminal helps redress the balance a bit. I've also loved writing with Ben and Gareth in the past, so to be reunited with them is brilliant. They write great scripts and Gareth has seemingly forgotten that I owe him money."
A sitcom built around the comedy character Barbara Nice, played by Janice Connolly.
Set in Manchester, Barbara is worried she and her husband, Ken (played by John Henshaw), are at risk of adding to the numbers of silver splitters. With Ken recently retired, Barbara is starting to realise they have nothing in common. His idea of retirement involves a marathon session of the daytime television quiz show Pointless, which doesn't fit with Barbara's idea of a well spent golden age. When a homeless Spanish busker needs some help, Barbara sees it as the perfect opportunity to do some good and stir things up at home. A little more than she expected.
Pilot based on the format of Tim Vine's hit live show.
The Tim Vine Chat Show is half an hour of silly exuberance, stand-up comedy and a celebration of ordinary people. It's a chat show with a twist, where the Great British public are the stars. Tim not only interviews members of the audience and hears their entertaining and diverse life stories, but he also sings his much loved (and often ridiculous) songs, as well as showcasing the world famous one-liners that have made him a global comedy star.
Tim Vine says: "I'm jolly excited to be bringing the fascinating stories of the Great British Public to Radio 2 - as well as some jokes about eagles, lumberjacks and acting like a mop. It's the Tim Vine Chat Show and it's this November."