C4 seeks Comedy Lab projects

Channel 4 is looking for ideas for its next season of the Comedy Lab.

The strand, which showcases new comic talent, returns in the autumn for its sixth series.

Previous runs have spawned such successes as Trigger Happy TV and Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, pictured.

The brief is for "adventurous, challenging and different" comedy that can be made on a limited budget.

A spokesman said: "Stand-up comedy per se is not something we're actively looking for, whereas an innovative vehicle for an exciting new comic is.

"We're looking for original approaches to traditional genres, as well as truly experimental pieces from writers and performers whose work doesn't easily fit any of the established entertainment strands."

Ideas should be able to sustain a half-hour or quarter-hour slot.

Producers say ideas should ideally be submitted via a production company, although writers and performers without the right contacts can contact the team direct.

Ideas should be sent to: Comedy Lab, c/o Iain Morris & Robert Popper, Entertainment Department, Channel Four, 124 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2TX by Friday March 14.

Published: 26 Jan 2003