Miriam Margolyes to star in new BBC Four comedy Bucket
- BBC Four has ordered a four-part comedy series called Bucket
- Miriam Margolyes and creator Frog Stone will star in the show as a mother and daughter
- When the mother reveals she is dying, the characters go on a road trip to tick off a "preposterous bucket list"
BBC Four has announced a new comedy series called Bucket.
The show, which has been written by and will star Frog Stone, focuses on a reserved high school history teacher in a rut, and her mother, an eccentric free spirit who believes 70 is the new 40.
Stone - who has previously played guest roles in shows such as I Want My Wife Back, Derek and Peep Show - will play the central role of Fran, with Miriam Margolyes playing her mother Mim.
The BBC, talking about the characters, explains: "Their relationship is not exactly easy.
"When Mim reveals she is dying and wants to go on a road trip to tick items, one by one, off her preposterous bucket list, Fran feels that she has no choice but to come along for the ride. She has to learn to let loose and Mim has to learn to think of someone else for a change. Both of them have to make the most of the time they have left together and find a way to accept the fact that it will soon be at an end. But with Mim and Fran, tragedy always somehow ends up as comedy."
Commissioner Shane Allen says: "Miriam Margolyes gives her comedy masterclass in growing old disgracefully. This is a raucous, ribald and irreverent charting of the mother-daughter dynamic, laced with tenderness and truth throughout. It turns every stock cliché of the sitcom mum on its head and tells it like it really is. Miriam is a force of nature whose eccentric essence buzzes on screen and Frog brings it all to life with a brutal honesty. It's a quintessential BBC Four comedy that is at times hilarious and by turns very moving."
Cassian Harrison from BBC Four adds: "Bucket is another example of BBC Four's terrific narrative in singular and innovative comedy, unpacking worlds we don't normally see on television. In this spiky yet always affectionate journey through the trials and tribulations of old age we look forward to welcoming one of Britain's greatest acting talents back to the small screen."
Four episodes of Bucket have been made, and are to be shown on BBC Four in 2017.