The Headset Set

The Headset Set, now in its second series, is a sketch show set in a call centre - written mainly by new writers who came up through the BBC's "open door" submission based shows like Newsjack.

The Headset Set is set at a firm called Smile5, which sells just about every object you can think of, as well as lots you probably haven't. The sketches tend to involve bickering amongst the staff of the call centre or customers calling them up making odd complaints or purchases, such as the evil villain complaining that his bookcase doesn't revolve into a secret passageway.

In the first series, the plot was a lot more centralized, just about the staff at the call centre. But while the characters still remain, the plot seems to have more or less disappeared, with the series becoming more sketch like - and it's paid off.

The one problem for me is that I've got some knowledge of call centres, thanks to a course that I had to do earlier in the year about trying to get work in a call centre.

I don't have a job in a call centre, I'm not that fussed about getting a job in a call centre, and given the fact that so many of them in my area are closing down, it looks unlikely that I'll ever get a job in a call centre either. But I had to do the course. And to make things worse, I was doing this in the middle of August, during the Edinburgh Fringe - which for me is the busiest time of the whole year.

It's because of this, though, that I like The Headset Set. Because listening to a show about a call centre sounds infinitely more preferable to working in one.