Radio 1 to move back into scripted comedy
BBC Radio 1 is planning to produce its first major scripted comedy in more than a decade, according to reports.
According to trade magazine Broadcast, Jane Berthoud, the Head of Radio Comedy at the corporation, wants to re-introduce scripted comedy programmes to the predominantly music station after a break of almost 12 years.
It is thought that Berthoud hopes to have a show ready to broadcast at some point in 2012, which will be the first major comedy on the station since Chris Morris's dark sketch show Blue Jam ended in 1999. An entertainment series mixing music and comedy entitled The Milk Run briefly broadcast on the station in 2004, which included some scripted sketches.
Although the station is now derided even by many music fans, the 1990s was a popular and successful decade for Radio 1's comedy output, giving birth to series such as Richard Herring and Stewart Lee's Fist Of Fun, Shuttleworth's Showtime, Alan Parker's 29 Minutes Of Truth, and other early series from Armando Iannucci.