C4 sitcom for Oram & Meeten

Edinburgh Fringe stalwarts Steve and Tom will play bickering colleagues who run a Leeds body art studio in the half-hour show, Skin Deep.

It has been created by new writers Mark Oswin and James Griffiths, who have already made a short comedy film about the world of piercing for the Atom Films website. Click here to view.

Steve and Tom have themselves been commissioned by the BBC to write a half-hour pilot, a live-based show called Oram and Meeten Town and Country.

Channel 4’s head of comedy, Caroline Leddy, has commissioned one episodeof Skin Deep from Celador Productions.

Its writershave also landed a half-hour pilot from ITV1 called Facing Up, and set in the world of celebrity lookalikes.

Starring Mark Heap, from Jam, and Cold Feet’s John Thomson, it revolves around frustrated wannabe RSC actor who is forced to rely on his resemblance to a successful but corny sitcom star he despises to make a living.

This show is also being made by Celador, best known as the producers of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and developed by their comedy executive Vanessa Haynes.

She said:  “Mark Oswin and James Griffiths are brilliant writers and in Facing Up and Skin Deep, they’ve written two very different and very sharp and contemporary comedies.

“Oram and Meeten have been playing on the live circuit to great acclaim. I’m delighted to have harnessed not only great new writing talent and but also one of the hottest live comedy acts around.”

Celador chief Danielle Lux, Channel 4’s former entertainment head, added: “Facing Up and Skin Deep are our first narrative pieces for both Channel 4 and ITV1. It is exciting to be working with new writers and performers.”

Published: 9 Jul 2004