The Stage

Red developing Wigan comedy drama Big Shop for Beeb

Published Wednesday 3 October 2007 at 11:25 by Matthew Hemley

Clocking Off and Queer as Folk producer Red Production Company is developing a comedy drama series for BBC1 set in a Wigan cash and carry.

The series, called Big Shop, is penned by Matt Greenhalgh, the writer behind the new Joy Division film Control.

Greenhalgh has worked with Red before, having written and directed the Channel 4 drama Legless and the BBC series Burn It. He has also written episodes of the hit drama series Cold Feet.

He said: “I know Wigan quite well and I think it is a really interesting satellite town. The series is basically about a bunch of people who work in a big shop and it is a comedy drama, but with more drama than comedy.

“I always inject as much humour as I can into a script and then tone it down.”

The comedy drama has been pitched as a returnable series and an initial script has been well received by commissioners at the BBC, according to Greenhalgh.

A decision on whether a full series will be commissioned currently rests with controller of BBC Fiction Jane Tranter.

Greenhalgh said he wanted to create Big Shop in response to the lack of good dramas on UK television. “I would love to do something decent on British TV. I don’t watch a lot of it myself. I think you just have to check people’s Sky Plus box to see what’s on it - there isn’t much that’s British,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the BBC confirmed the project was in development.