Dawn French joins Radio 4 Cornish sketch show Wosson Cornwall
- Dawn French has joined the cast of Radio 4's Cornish sketch show Wosson Cornwall
- French plays the first Cornish Prime Minister in the series, which also stars Edward Rowe, Joanna Neary, Tamsyn Kelly, Anna Keirle and Ciaran Clarke
- "There's so much more to Kernow than Doc Martin, Escape To The Country and Rick Stein shows" says producer Simon Nicholls. "It's high time we park the clichés and open our eyes to the reality of this wondrous funny and feral land"
Dawn French has joined the cast of Radio 4's Cornish sketch show Wosson Cornwall, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
The long-time Cornish resident plays a number of characters in the four-part series, which begins airing on 25th April, including Belinda Pengelly MP, the UK's first Cornish Prime Minister, a woman in no rush to get things done.
Other characters the Vicar Of Dibley star plays in the series include Tig, an outspoken, unorthodox anti-second home activist, and Kerry Curnow, from St Gorran Oral History Society, who gives school talks about Cornish myths and legends, despite her knowledge and professional manner being somewhat lacking.
French joins a Cornish cast that also includes Edward Rowe, the stand-up best known for his Kernow King character and starring in the BAFTA-winning film Bait, character comic Joanna Neary (So Awkward), stand-ups Tamsyn Kelly and Anna Keirle and writer-actor-director Ciaran Clarke.
The writing team on the four 28-minute episodes, led by James Henry (Smack The Pony, Green Wing), are also all from or live in Cornwall. They include Morwenna Banks (Damned, Funny Woman), Paul Kerensa (Not Going Out, Miranda), Gareth Edwards (Upstart Crow) and Max Davis (The Mash Report), as well as the cast and yet-to-be-announced new writers, as the show seeks to give opportunities to new Cornish writing talent.
Sketches in the series include gritty Cornish TV drama The Tamar... Bridge and the gameshow Cornish Place Name or Sex Position. Further characters include clueless fortune teller Sue Xanadu, two young hotel receptionists LJ and Jess and Wheal Martyn Lewis, the shrapnel saving expert.
"We're focusing on Cornwall - its people and its ways - as a launchpad for a comedy that's universal and mainstream" producer Simon Nicholls told BCG.
"Moreover, this is a comedy that makes a number of timely, serious and relatable points about Cornwall but also the UK as a whole. By featuring recognisable characters and issues that anyone living outside (and indeed inside) the Metropolitan bubble will recognise, we want this show to be funny and sneakily satirical.
"We're using Cornwall as the jumping off point for a comedy that will explore important widespread UK issues like unfair distribution of jobs and wealth, second home-owners, a continued disconnect with Westminster, entitled tourists looking down on locals and the realities of post-Brexit Britain. And - if there's time - which goes first, cream or jam."
Previously known as Wasson Cornwall, the series will record at the Acorn Theatre in Penzance on 23rd and 24th March. However, French pre-recorded her parts last week and Nicholls is keen to stress that the French & Saunders star is very much part of an ensemble.
"I see Dawn's role like Patricia Routledge in Victoria Wood's sketch show" he said. "Like Patricia, Dawn turns up once or twice each episode, playing memorable characters."
Wosson Cornwall is made by Mighty Bunny Productions, the company set up in 2021 by Radio 4 comedy veterans Lyndsay Fenner and Victoria Lloyd - producers of staples like Just A Minute, The News Quiz and The Now Show, as well as the upcoming Jessica Fostekew: Sturdy Girls Club, which airs on 29th March on Radio 4.
Nicholls hopes that the series will challenge stereotypes.
"Everyone loves Cornwall: beaches, pasties, surf, clotted cream" he said.
"But there's so much more to Kernow than Doc Martin, Escape To The Country and Rick Stein shows. It's high time we park the clichés and open our eyes to the reality of this wondrous funny and feral land; a place steeped in myths, witches and planning application notices, as we ask the Radio 4 audience "Wosson Cornwall?".