BBC3 orders six new ‘youthful’ drama pilots

Published Tuesday 10 July 2007 at 18:05 by Matthew Hemley

Robin Hood producer Tiger Aspect has been commissioned to make a thriller for BBC3 set in a sixth form where all the students have something to hide.

Things I Haven’t Told You has been written by Lisa McGee and is one of six drama pilots ordered by BBC3 controller Danny Cohen.

Cohen has also commissioned Tightrope Productions, the company run by Shameless creator Paul Abbott, to make Mrs Inbetweeny, which tells the story of a man about to have a sex change operation who has been tasked with bringing up his long-lost nieces and nephews.

It has been written by Caleb Ranson and will be executive produced by Abbott.

Also in the line-up of new drama pilots is Being Human, a Touchpaper Television production about three young flatmates who are actually a vampire, a ghost and a werewolf. Penned by Toby Whithouse, the production will be filmed in September.

Life on Mars producer Kudos Film and Television will make W10 LDN, a drama penned by Noel Clarke set on a housing estate in West London. The programme follows the lives and loves of a group of young teenagers living on the estate.

From Gorillaz creator Jamie Hewlett comes Phoo Action, a drama about a Buddhist Kung Fu cop who is trying to save London from the grip of mutant criminals.

It is based on the comic strip Get the Freebies which appeared in The Face magazine and is written by Matthew Enriquez Wakeham, Peter Martin and Jessica Hynes.

Finally, Hotel Babylon writer Howard Overman has written The Six, a drama following a group of teenagers whose lives interconnect in and around the streets of London. It is being produced by Shine Productions.

Cohen said: “I’m very excited by the fresh feel of the drama pilots that we’ve commissioned. They are bold, vibrant pieces that draw together emerging talent with some of the strongest voices in British drama.

“These pilots are the first step in the development of a new generation of youthful drama series for BBC3.”