Billy Connolly Does... returning for second and third series on Gold
- Billy Connolly Does... is returning to Gold for a second and third series
- Billy Connolly Does... The Decades is comprised of two three-part specials, set to air early 2023 and 2024
- Interspersing Connolly speaking from his Florida home with some of his classic stand-up clips, the series will focus on the decades between 1970 and 1990
Billy Connolly Does... is returning for a second and third series.
Gold has ordered Billy Connolly Does... The Decades, two three-part specials in which the Scottish comic reflects on how politics, celebrity, sex, TV and football have changed over the last 50 years, to air early 2023 and 2024.
Recorded at Connolly's home in Florida and mixing the Big Yin's memories with archive clips of his stand-up, "I love this series" said the 79-year-old.
"Who knew that the secret to making TV was hanging out at home, eating biscuits, drinking tea and blethering on about the past?"
Billy Connolly Does... The Decades focuses on the years when he was at his most prolific: the 70s, when he made the transition from folk singer to comedian and his breakthrough appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show; the 80s when the release of his stand-up shows on VHS consolidated his appeal as the UK's most celebrated comic and the 90s when he broke America in earnest.
Combining personal recollections with pop culture clips, the hour-long episodes promise a "joyful and entertaining spin from Billy's own anecdotes about his life over the years."
The first series of Billy Connolly Does... aired in March. And the returning director, Mike Reilly, who's made several documentaries and travelogues with Connolly and Micky Flanagan in recent years, said: "UKTV have been brilliant in having the confidence to let this series flourish under its simple ambition to show that regardless of time or age, Billy is still the best company to hang out with.
"He never stops being funny or surprising and there is always a new tale to be told that floors you with its comic brilliance."
Executive produced by Reilly and Michelle Crowther for their company Moonshine Features (Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, Micky Flanagan: Peeping Behind The Curtain), the series was commissioned by Iain Coyle, UKTV's head of comedy and entertainment, and ordered by Gerald Casey, channel director for Gold.
"I'm so proud to be associated with this series" said Coyle. "Billy, and the good people at Moonshine, consistently deliver warm, fascinating and hilarious insights into the mind and memories of this country's greatest living comedian."
Casey added: "It's fantastic to have more Billy Connolly on Gold. These new series are set to be just as entertaining and heart-warming as the first and I'm excited for viewers to have a thoroughly enjoyable history lesson from the Big Yin."
Connolly announced his retirement from performing in 2018 after being hit by Parkinson's. But earlier this month it was revealed that he will be offering lessons in stand-up.
The comic will be presenting video tutorials via BBC Maestro, a commercial service that offers "world-class online courses".
The platform says: "For the first time, and exclusive to BBC Maestro, he'll be sharing his unique approach to a lifetime of making people laugh and how you can make your own stand-up more windswept and interesting. In the words of the great man, 'If you give people a chance, they shine.'"