Sophie Willan steps in for Never Mind The Buzzcocks captaincy
- Sophie Willan and a series of musical guests, including Courtney Love and Beth Ditto, are stepping in for the absent Daisy May Cooper on Never Mind The Buzzcocks when it returns for its fourth series on Sky Max
- However, Cooper, who recently gave birth to her third child, is returning for a Christmas episode of the music panel show
- Four episodes in the latest series will have specific themes, Buzzcocks Does... The Nineties, Noughties, Rock and Girl & Boy Bands
Daisy May Cooper is stepping aside as team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, with comedian Sophie Willan and guest musicians, including Noel Fielding's ex Courtney Love, deputising in her place when the show returns later this year, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
However, the This Country star, who recently gave birth to her third child, is returning for a Christmas episode of the Sky Max music panel show, rejoining returning host Greg Davies, rival captain Fielding and regular panellist Jamali Maddix.
Alma's Not Normal creator Willan is assuming the captaincy for a handful of shows in the fourth series on Sky Max, while four themed episodes - Buzzcocks Does... The Nineties, Noughties, Rock and Girl & Boy Bands - will feature captains drawn directly from the world of music.
Former Hole singer Love, who briefly dated Fielding almost 20 years ago, is joining the show for the rock episode, while Beth Ditto, frontwoman for The Gossip, features in the noughties instalment.
"I am genuinely thrilled to be returning to the mayhem of Buzzcocks but realistically who reads these press quotes and why?" said Davies. "Watch the show please and in-between episodes get out into the air, talk to your partner, read to your children. Live, for God's sake live."
Since Sky revived Buzzcocks in 2021, guest panellists on the show have included Russell Howard, Harry Hill, James Acaster, Katherine Ryan, Tom Davis, Michelle De Swarte, Tom Allen, Judi Love, Nish Kumar, Phil Wang, Richard Ayoade, Joe Wilkinson, Maisie Adam, Asim Chaudhry, Roisin Conaty, Sam Campbell, Amy Gledhill, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Hannah Waddingham, as well as the likes of Suggs, Pete Doherty, Paloma Faith, Ellie Goulding, Jake Shears, Self Esteem and Chesney Hawkes.
Produced by Talkback, Never Mind The Buzzcocks is executive produced by Fremantle's director of programmes Kate Edmunds, Jonno Richards and Jordan Read. The series was commissioned by Zai Bennett, managing director of content at Sky and Phil Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts and Entertainment. Shirley Jones is the commissioning editor.
"It's the starriest line-up you could hope for this year on Buzzcocks with something to satisfy every musical taste from the nineties through the noughties via boy and girl bands right to the present day," said Edgar-Jones. "Throw in a healthy dose of unpredictability and mad comedy and you'd got the perfect fourth album."
Meanwhile Willan, who won a writing BAFTA for the pilot episode of Alma's Not Normal, premiered the upcoming second series of the BBC Two sitcom in Manchester on Tuesday night.
The stand-up, who also stars as titular aspiring actor Alma Nuthall, hosted a screening of the first two new episodes of the Bolton-set comedy at the Everyman Cinema, ahead of its return to television in the autumn.