The Stage

Sky unveils new British comedies

Published Thursday 29 July 2010 at 12:37 by Matthew Hemley

Catherine Tate, Ruth Jones, Dawn French, Stephen Fry and Kathy Burke are among the performers lined up to appear in a batch of new British comedies for Sky, ordered by the broadcaster’s recently appointed head of comedy Lucy Lumsden.

The four comedies announced today have been described by Sky as its “biggest commitment” to original British comedy in its 20-year history.

Lumsden, who joined Sky in November last year from the BBC, said the comedies form part of Sky’s commitment to original scripted programming and added: “We’re providing a home for on and off-screen talent to flex their creative muscles - somewhere for their work to be nurtured.”

One of the new comedies is Stella, from Gavin and Stacey star Jones, which is a ten-part series about a mum juggling the demands of life.

Jones stars in the comedy, which is being made by Tidy Productions.

Meanwhile, Mount Pleasant is a comedy drama starring Sally Lindsay and Daniel Ryan, which is written by Sarah Hooper and is being made by Tiger Aspect Productions, and This is Jinsy is an eight-part series written by newcomers Chris Bran and Justin Chubb.

The comedy focuses on the residents of a fictional island called Jinsy.

Finally, Little Crackers is a season of short autobiographical films, each narrated by a different comedian, who will provide an insight into their past.

Comedians taking part include French, Tate, Burke and Fry.

Speaking about the line-up, Sky director of programmes Stuart Murphy described Lumsden as a “leader in her field”.

“This is just the start of Sky homes getting more comedy in addition to the brilliant Modern Family and The Simpsons. Lucy’s managed to hire a lot of very familiar faces, plus This is Jinsy, which is a clear of example of Sky bringing on new comedy talent,” he said.