Gavin & Stacey star Rob Brydon has landed a new comedy series as part of a host of new sitcom announcements.
Rob plays middle-aged divorcee Bill Beam who staves off financial ruin by renting his spare rooms to students. The character sounds a bit like Uncle Bryn from Gavin & Stacey.
Warm-hearted and eager but neurotic and slightly overbearing, Bill is thrilled by the youthful energy his lodgers bring – but baffled by their indifference to his laminated house rules and colour-coded cutlery. He’s torn between wanting to be part of the gang – sharing banter, keeping up with trends – and clinging to his role as responsible adult.
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The show, called Bill’s Included, is written by Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen. Rob Brydon says: “I can't wait to get started with this, to speak the wonderful words written by Alex and Ben who've done such a great job on the script.”
Brydon’s comedy was one of a host announced by the BBC yesterday at their own comedy festival in Belfast which include new projects for Diane Morgan and Lenny Rush. The Office star Mackenzie Crook has also written a new project which will see a return to comedy for Monty Python star Michael Palin.
The line up includes:
- Diane Morgan sitcom Ann Droid about a social humanoid robot designed to keep elderly people company, exploring the hilarious intersection of technology and human connection
- Supernatural family sitcom Reluctant Vampire starring BAFTA winner Lenny Rush
- Small Prophets , created by BAFTA winner Mackenzie Crook, starring Pearce Quigley, BAFTA winner Sir Michael Palin and BAFTA winner Sophie Willan
- Stuffed , starring Guz Khan as an office worker who gets an unexpected Christmas bonus and takes his family to Lapland, only to find that he has to pay the money back
- The return of series Only Child, Funboys, The Young Offenders and Golden Cobra
BBC Director of comedy Jon Petrie said: “The BBC continues to be the biggest single investor in original comedy content in the UK. And for the second year running eight out of the top 10 scripted comedies were on the BBC. Created, written by and starring some of the UK's most brilliant homegrown talent, I’m really proud of the shows we have announced today and can’t wait for BBC viewers to see them.”
He added: “Great comedy always comes back to the fundamentals: brilliant characters, sharp jokes, a unique voice. Those are the elements that endure – not massive sets or casts of thousands.
“Our priority is to keep our shows affordable and distinctive, because comedy doesn't need explosions and continuous shots, it needs punchlines, authentic voices, and that gleeful point of view that no algorithm can touch.”
Six part series Small Prophets is a comic tale of eccentric Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) who, since his darling Clea disappeared seven years ago, has lived a very ordinary life. He eats Shreddies, works in a DIY store, visits dad Brian (Sir Michael Palin) and hopes for Clea to return.
Filmed and set in and around Manchester the series incorporates visually stunning animation elements throughout as we tell a story of friendships and hope, the magical and the mundane, and where secrets and lies lurk in a suburban cul-de-sac.
Mackenzie Crook said: “Like all my best ideas, this one has been percolating for nearly a decade and is finally ready to see the light of day. It’s wonderful to be working again with my friends Gill Isles and Pearce Quigley and to realise a long-term ambition of collaborating with animators Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson.”
