Semi-Detached starring Lee Mack to return for full series
- Following a pilot in January, BBC Two has now ordered a full series of new sitcom Semi-Detached
- The six new episodes by writers David Crow and Oliver Maltman play out in real time
- Stars include Lee Mack, Ellie White, Clive Russell, Neil Fitzmaurice, Samantha Spiro and Patrick Baladi
Semi-Detached, the BBC Two sitcom set in real time, is to return for a full series.
A pilot episode of the comedy starring a cast including Lee Mack was broadcast in January as part of the New On Two strand. Now, the BBC has ordered six more half hour episodes to form a first series.
The BBC explains: "Written by David Crow and Oliver Maltman, each episode of Semi-Detached plays out in real time and is exactly like 24, except instead of following a government agent as he saves the planet, the series follows a perennial loser called Stuart (Lee Mack) as his life goes down the pan in a suburban cul-de-sac. Each episode of Semi-Detached will give viewers an incredibly fast moving, half-hour window into Stuart's world.
"All Stuart wants is a quiet life as a wedding DJ but his family seems to have other ideas. On top of barely coping with a (much younger) partner April (Ellie White) and a new-born baby, Stuart also has to look out for his jailbird brother Charlie (Neil Fitzmaurice) and his promiscuous, drug-taking dad Willie (Clive Russell). Then there's the ex-wife Kate (Samantha Spiro), who lives across the cul-de-sac with their teenage daughter Madonna (Sarah Hoare) and Kate's husband Ted (Patrick Baladi) who thinks he's better than Stuart because he sells fish to sushi restaurants."
Neil Webster, the executive producer at production company Happy Tramp North says: "David Crow and Oliver Maltman have not only written the funniest scripts I have ever read, they've also effortlessly managed to make the whole series play out in real time. And with an incredibly funny cast headed up by Lee Mack, we're confident that Semi-Detached is going to be a genuinely laugh out loud series. Or your money back."
Gregor Sharp, commissioning editor for the BBC, says: "Semi-Detached stands out from the crowd with its combination of intricate plotting and sustained comic action and we're knocked out by the amazing cast that have come on board to bring David and Oliver's sparkling scripts to life."
Broadcast details will be announced in due course.