Mangan to star in theatre agent comedy for C4

Published Friday 4 January 2008 at 17:15 by Matthew Hemley

Exclusive: Green Wing actor Stephen Mangan is set to star in a new Channel 4 sitcom based in the offices of a theatrical agency.

Mangan told The Stage that the show, called Free Agents, would also feature Sharon Horgan and will start filming in the summer.

A pilot episode was broadcast in November last year as part of Channel 4’s Comedy Showcase season, which consisted of six original comedies featuring some of the best UK talent.

The 30-minute episode introduced the characters of Alex and Helen, played by Mangan and Horgan, who are employed by a talent agency, with their boss played by Anthony Head.

The full series is being made by Bwark Productions, the company behind the Five comedy Angelo’s, which was written by and starred Horgan.

Mangan, who is best known for playing Guy Secretan in the Channel 4 comedy series Green Wing, said the series would continue the “will they, won’t they?” element already introduced with regards to his character and Horgan’s.

The actor, who will be next seen in a new BBC2 comedy series called Never Better about a recovering alcoholic, also revealed he would be working on an American series early in 2008, but declined to reveal what the project was.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said plans for a full series of Free Agents were currently in the pipeline but added that nothing had been confirmed.