BBC orders for comedy and daytime

The BBC has announced a raft of new orders for daytime along with new short comedy series.

BBC Two has commissioned two new short-duration comedy series and a one-off special to be made during lockdown that will air over the next couple of months. Along with that, Sophie Willan’s Alma’s Not Normal (Expectation) has been commissioned for a full series following the pilot that aired as part of the channel’s New on Two series. The full (6×30) series is expected in 2021 and follows Alma as she tries to get her life back on track following a recent break-up.

The new ‘comedy in isolation’ commissions include a one-off, Charlie Brooker’s Antiviral Wipe (working title) (1 x 30′). Brooker will be taking a look at life in lockdown, in a show made during lockdown. As well as coverage of the crisis itself, he’ll also be looking at the things people are watching and doing to keep themselves occupied. The show will also feature Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) alongside Barry Shitpeas (Al Campbell) and other contributors. It’s a Broke & Bones and Endemol Shine UK Co-Production for BBC Two. It is commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Ben Caudell. The Executive producer is Annabel Jones. Series producer is Alison Marlow.

In Comedians Playing With Themselves (6 x 15), comics including Bob Mortimer, Kerry Godliman, Tom Allen, Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar, Tez Ilyas, Russell Kane, Sally Phillips, Mat Horne, and a host of others, will be tasked with shelf shooting their “comedy nuggets helping us all to get through isolation together and having the maximum amount of fun indoors.” The show is being made by Done + Dusted Productions. It is commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Kate Phillips, Controller Entertainment Commissioning. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Katie Taylor, The Executive producer is Lisa Clark

Following last year’s mockumentary, The Road to Brexit, Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) returns to BBC Two with four more episodes (4 x 15) that will take on a ‘bold and eclectic selection of new themes.’ Written by Berry and Arthur Mathews (Father Ted, Toast of London) each new weekly episode of Squeamish About…will shine a light onto a different topic. Presented by Berry in the persona of ‘Michael Squeamish’, every episode will make use of archive footage and voiceover to create a ‘unique, authored and surreally comic take on the subject matter.’ It’s an Objective Fiction Production and will be produced by Hannah Mackay, with Ben Farrell as Executive Producer. It is commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Kate Daughton.

Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Carla-Maria Lawson has ordered a variety of new factual commissions for BBC One Daytime and BBC iPlayer.

Ross Kemp: Britain’s Volunteer Army will celebrate the heroic efforts of some of the country’s 750,000 volunteers during the coronavirus crisis. The programme will be an “uplifting celebration of the nation coming together to help one another, in a time of uncertainty and fear, as Ross gets stuck in and volunteers in his own neighbourhood.” Ross Kemp: Britain’s Volunteer Army is made by Curve Wales and was commissioned for BBC One by Carla-Maria Lawson, the Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime is Julie Shaw. The Executive Producers for Curve Wales are Charlie Bunce and Sarah Swingler.

Saving Our Nurses follows a new revolutionary scheme designed to reverse the trend of nurses leaving the NHS that began before the coronavirus crisis. Cameras follow the scheme’s elite team of experienced nurses in the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in the crucial weeks before coronavirus hit our shores and engulfed the NHS.

Saving Our Nurses is made by Betty/OMG North and was commissioned for BBC One by Carla-Maria Lawson, the Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime is Lindsay Bradbury. The Executive Producers for Betty/OMG are Pam Cavannagh, Dympna Jackson and Alex Menzies. The Series Producer is Steve McConville.

Voiced by Sophie Raworth, Our Finest Hours will take a look at other times in history when the nation has pulled together in a crisis. The programme will combine wartime archive and contemporary news footage from across the UK to illustrate our response to extraordinary times.

Our Finest Hours is made by Tomos TV and was commissioned for BBC One by Carla-Maria Lawson, the Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime is Julie Shaw. The Executive Producer for Tomos TV is Gerard Melling and the Series Producer is David Warren.