Sian Gibson joins Mike Bubbins' sitcom Mammoth as it comes to BBC Two
Mike Bubbins' sitcom Mammoth will air UK-wide on BBC Two, with Sian Gibson joining the cast, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal as we share a first image from the series.
Stand-up Bubbins plays a macho 1970s PE teacher brought back from the dead in the high-concept comedy, commissioned for BBC Wales last year but now set to broadcast across the UK network next month, following seven years of development.
With Joel Davison (The First Team) and William Thomas (Gavin & Stacey) also joining the three 30-minute episodes, The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air star Joseph Marcell returns from the 2021 pilot, reprising his role as man-out-of-time Tony Mammoth's best friend, Roger Buck.
In 1979, Mammoth was a carefree bachelor, teaching PE and generally living la vida local. That was until an avalanche on a school ski trip swept him away to what was surely his untimely death ...
Yet in 2024, Mammoth is miraculously found and brought back to life, a perfectly preserved middle-aged man. The world is his oyster, but Mammoth never really liked oysters, he's more of a pint and a packet of crisps sort of bloke.
All that he wants is his old life back; the same job, the same car, the same friends. Things can't have changed that much since the 1970s, surely?
Car Share star Gibson plays Mel Jones, the mother of one of Mammoth's pupils (Davison), who doesn't see eye-to-eye with the throwback teacher, but shares more in common with him than either of them know.
"I tried to make Mammoth a comedy full of heart, positivity and optimism" Bubbins said in 2021 when BCG revealed the pilot).
A former PE teacher, ex-professional rugby player and Elvis impersonator, Bubbins starred in the BBC One Wales sitcom Tourist Trap and has disclosed that Mammoth was inspired by a teacher from his days as a pupil at Barry Comprehensive for boys in the 1970s.
The sitcom, which also features the "retrosexual" comic wearing clothes from his own wardrobe and driving his actual car, was created by Bubbins, who co-writes with Paul Doolan (Bloods, Party's Over).
Mammoth is directed by Simon Hynd (Ghosts, Motherland) and produced by Luke Mason (Queen Of The New Year), with Josh Cole and Steven Canny executive producing.
The commissioners were Jon Petrie, director of BBC Comedy and Nick Andrews, head of commissioning for BBC Wales. The BBC commissioning editors are Seb Barwell and Paul Forde.