Enfield and Whitehouse to be reunited

Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield are to be reunited for the first time in more than eight years, the BBC has confirmed.

The duo are thought to have fallen out after Whitehouse created The Fast Show, while Enfield’s 2000 solo show on Sky One was deemed a flop.

However they will be back together on a new sketch show early next year – with only Enfield’s name in the title. The programme will also star Morwenna Banks and Perrier Award-winner Laura Solon.

BBC One controller Peter Fincham confirmed the news today as he unveiled a winter/spring schedule containing many fruits of his drive to bring more comedy to the flagship channel.

He said: ‘The comedy pilot scheme I launched earlier this year has spawned three new series for 2007: Ronni Ancona & Co, After You've Gone and The Omid Djalili Show.

‘And I'm thrilled Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse are back on the channel with a brand new sketch show, The Harry Enfield Show.

After You've Gone is the latest sitcom from My Family creator Fred Barron, and stars Nicholas Lyndhurst and Celia Imrie as an incompatible weekend dad and mother-in-law forced into living together.

Also in the 2007 schedules, Frank Skinner, Jo Brand and Bill Oddie will be taught how to play musical instruments in a new celebrity reality show, Play It Again. They will learn the banjo, the organ and the electric guitar respectively.

Others taking part will be Diane Abbott MP (classical piano), Aled Jones (rock drums) and Lord Robert Winston (saxophone).

Angus Deayton also returns to BBC One with another comedy panel show, Unbelievable, that tests the contestants’ ability to talk convincing nonsense. Panel show stalwart David Mitchell is one of the team captains.

And Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller are reunited after five years for a new series of their Armstrong & Miller sketch show.

Enfield and Whitehouse last worked together on Harry Enfield & Chums, which ended in 1997 – with a special at the end of 1998.

Published: 7 Dec 2006