BBC Two to make Nigel Farage comedy
- BBC Two is making a mockumentary called Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back
- The show will focus on "the day-to-day reality" of what it is like to be the ex-UKIP leader
- Kevin Bishop will play Farage in the comedy. He says the politician is "a gift to parody"
BBC Two is to make a comedy special called Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back.
The 30 minute fly-on-the-wall documentary spoof will combine pieces to camera with footage following "the day-to-day reality of being Nigel Farage".
The ex-UKIP politician will be played by Kevin Bishop, the comedy actor who is this month taking on the lead role a the new version of Porridge.
The producers explain: "On the 23rd June, Britain voted to leave the European Union. Then, on the 4th July, Nigel Farage, the man who had made it all possible, resigned saying he wanted his life back. But what sort of life has he gone back to, and how does a man forever in the spotlight fill his days now he has nothing to do?
"Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back sees 'public Nigel', the colourful character that the country has come to know and love/hate. Straight-talking, unencumbered by political correctness, a jovial source of seemingly eternal banter, usually delivered through a haze of cigarette smoke over a few cheeky pints of beer.
"The programme also looks at private 'Nigel', the man behind the façade, at home, eating bangers and mash watching Pointless and insisting that he doesn't miss the limelight, that he's much happier out of politics and that he never wanted to be Prime Minister anyway."
Kevin Bishop, who is no stranger to impersonating people through his work in shows such as Star Stories and The Kevin Bishop Show, says: "I'm delighted to be playing a character as colourful as Farage. He's a gift to parody and I'm looking forward to bringing previously unseen aspects of his life to the screen."
The special has been scripted by Alan Connor and Shaun Pye who recently wrote The Rack Pack together, the BBC's snooker comedy that starred Kevin Bishop.
Peter Holmes, the Managing Director of production company Zeppotron and the show's Executive Producer, says: "This project couldn't feel more relevant. Nigel Farage has had a huge part to play in the momentous political events of recent times, and everybody has an opinion of him. We hope we can create a lot of laughter while painting a portrait of such a divisive figure as he fills the empty hours of retirement."
Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back will be shown on BBC Two at a later date. Kevin Bishop can be seen in new version of Porridge this Sunday.