Romesh Ranganathan to record Radio 2 sitcom pilot
- Romesh Ranganathan is to record a Radio 2 comedy pilot
- Romesh is a family sitcom partially based on the comedian's real life
- The trial episode is due to be recorded in front of a live audience this January
Romesh Ranganathan is to record a Radio 2 sitcom pilot.
Romesh, which is partially based on the comedian's real life situation, is described as a "family sitcom". The BBC says the show "charts the struggles of Romesh and his wife Kate as they try to get through life with two kids in Crawley."
The former teacher was raised in the West Sussex town, but in real life has three children with his wife Lisa. Their latest son, Charlie, was born in 2014 in Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival.
In the trial episode of Romesh, which is due to be recorded in front of a live studio audience on Friday 20th January (Tickets), the characters of Romesh and Kate are invited to their school reunion. At the party, Romesh is forced to confront his old bully, Steve Johnson.
Romesh has been created and written by former BBC staff writer Max Davis.
This pilot commission appears to mark Radio 2's return to broadcasting comedy. Last year it moved away from making shows in the genre, with formats such as the BBC New Comedy Awards and To Hull And Back being moved to Radio 4.
Last month, ticket website Ents24 named Romesh Ranganathan as the hardest working [famous] comedian of 2016, based on the number of venues he had played across the year. Speaking at the time, the comic joked: "This honour not only highlights my work ethic this year, but also the level of neglect of my duties as both a husband and father. I look forward to this title being cited in the divorce proceedings."
Ranganathan, who is currently writing his autobiography as part of a book deal, is one of the country's most in-demand comedians. Aside from various TV appearances, including fronting Live At The Apollo, last month he hosted a non-broadcast topical comedy show pilot. BBC Two's That's It For The Week has been described by producers as a "huge" new satirical comedy format.
Romesh is expected to be broadcast on the radio later in 2017.