Mel Giedroyc to host The Really Really Rude Puppet Show
- The Really Really Rude Puppet Show will see celebrities reading out fan fiction from the internet, as puppets act out the scenes
- The six-part series, described as "a passion project four years in the making", is coming to Channel 4 later this year
- Host Mel Giedroyc explains: "This is going to be a celebration of erotic fan fiction. With puppets."
Channel 4 has commissioned a new comedy entertainment series hosted by Mel Giedroyc in which celebrities read steamy fan fiction acted out by a cast of lookalike puppets.
The channel explains: "In each episode of The Really Really Rude Puppet Show, Mel Giedroyc invites a different celebrity to read an erotic piece of creative writing where the celeb is the lead protagonist. Each character in the story is brought to life by a band of puppets voiced entirely by the celebrity and Mel.
"In each fanciful, unique story, the puppet versions of the celebrities will encounter romance, scandal, mystery, intrigue, and farce, with Mel finding out from the real-life celebrity just what they make of their fictionalised exploits."
Mel Giedroyc comments: "This is going to be a celebration of erotic fan fiction. With puppets. Imagine a world where Jackie Collins meets Thunderbirds. I'm so looking forward to a trip to Love Island... via Tracy Island."
The six half-hour episodes will showcase new fan fiction writing "and, with the help of top script editors, bring the best stories to screen."
Executive producer Maia Liddell from production company RDF Television comments: "A passion project four years in the making, we're really excited to be delving into the creative, intriguing and erotic world of fan fiction writing. We couldn't have a more perfect host in Mel to take the guests, and us, on these thrilling adventures"
Talking further about the format, the producers say: "The new series steps into the literary world of adult fan fiction - stories penned by hobbyist writers centred on amorous adventures about celebrities or characters from literature and pop culture. Fan fiction writing has grown up in the age of the World Wide Web, with thousands of works published online every week and some of the most successful writers having gone on to achieve book and film deals, including, most famously, E.L. James's multi-million-pound raunchy romance franchise Fifty Shades Of Grey."
Channel 4 commissioner Vivienne Molokwu comments: "I'm very much looking forward to steamy storytime with Mel, a gang of celeb mates and a bunch of lookalike puppets. This is a very Channel 4 way of encouraging creative writing, where artistic self-expression will be encouraged. We may well unearth the next E.L. James in the process, which has got to be a good thing."
Giedroyc will continue to host Dave panel show Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable. Series 2 is currently being filmed.
The Really Really Rude Puppet Show, a working title, will be broadcast on Channel 4 later this year. The celebrities featured will be announced nearer transmission.