There’s something funny going on at Sky1 HD: it’s the scripts. In our quest to turn Sky1 into
the home of original British comedy, we’ve commissioned hours of homegrown entertainment, bringing
some of your favourite funny people to your TV this Autumn.
Recently announced is
Gates, a new ensemble comedy about the delights of dropping off and collecting the kids from
school and the weird and wonderful social world of the school gates.
It stars
Gavin & Stacey’s Joanna Page and
Miranda’s Tom Ellis, as well as Sue Johnston (The Royle Family) and it’s written by a team with credits including
My Family,
Green Wing and
Not Going Out. And then there’s Jennifer Saunders, who has script edited the first
episode.
Starlings follows the lives of a typical working class Derbyshire family. Granddad moves
into an already-packed family home after causing quite the commotion at the old-folks’ home, and we
watch all the action unfold as family members, ex-partners, friends and even reptiles, try simply
to get along.
Spy sees the return of
My Family patriarch Robert Lindsay as a secret service boss with a swagger charged with
training hopeless desk-jockey, accidental recruit and hapless divorcee dad Tim, played by Darren
Boyd (Green Wing,
Dirk Gently).
The shows join a great collection that already includes Jane Horrocks’ sitcom
Trollied as well as comedy-drama
Mount Pleasant, with
The Café, written by
The
Royle Family’s Ralf Little and Olivier Award-winner Michelle Terry, soon to come.
It’s all part of our commitment to increase the amount we invest in original British programming
by 50% over the next three years, so that by 2014, we expect to invest £600 million a year in
British programming across our range of channels.
