The Stage

BBC’s autumn schedule showcases new shows and top talent

Published Wednesday 19 July 2006 at 11:55

Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams have signed a new three-year exclusive contract with the BBC.

Under the deal, the duo plan two Christmas specials as well as a new spin-off show. The news came as BBC1 controller Peter Fincham unveiled the new autumn schedule, which also features the return of The Royle Family in a one-hour special.

Bleak House director Susanna White will join forces with North and South adapter Sandy Welch for a new adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Suburban Shootout newcomer Ruth Wilson. The season continues with Robin Hood in a version by Dominic Minghella, starring Jonas Armstrong as the eponymous bandit and Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who star David Tennant will play a man whose personality is altered by a traumatic accident in Recovery, written by Tony Marchant, and Jane Horrocks will star in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, the story of a supermarket manager who becomes prime minister, by Sally Wainwright.

Colin Firth, Robert Carlyle, Anne-Marie Duff and David Oyelowo will all feature in London - a new one-off drama about social inequality in Britain from award-winning writer and director Dominic Savage.

Five one-off comedy dramas are planned, showcasing acting and writing talent such as Peter Capaldi, Sarah Parish, David Nicholls, Dave Spikey, Lenny Henry and Alan Davies, while Jennifer Saunders pens Jam and Jerusalem, the story of a newly-widowed woman who finds solace in her local Ladies’ Guild, starring Dawn French and Joanna Lumley.

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller star in new sketch show The Armstrong and Miller Show from Hat Trick productions and Bafta award-winning comedians Lee Mack and Tim Vine star in Not Going Out, a new sitcom by Mack and Sony award-winner Andrew Collins.

Launching the season, Fincham commented: “Last year when I set out my stall for BBC1 I talked about three key things - quality, range and talent. This season’s got all three.

“But above all this is a BBC1 bursting with top talent. Some old, some new, some familiar, some almost unknown. BBC1’s the biggest stage around and it needs the best talent to fill it - I think we’ve got it this autumn.”