Collabortation with Graham Linehan

BBC Two has confirmed that ageing thespian Count Arthur Strong is to star in his own sitcom.

As Chortle reported in May, Father Ted and IT Crowd writer Graham Linehan will work with the character’s creator Steve Delaney on the show – which will run for six half-hour episodes.

Linehan said: I've loved Count Arthur for many years and it's a dream come true to be able to work with him.'

Delaney, adds: 'I've loved Graham Linehan for many years and it's a dream come true to be able to work with him. I'm sure that nothing will go wrong. (That's seven more words than him as well).'

Delaney created the Count Arthur character in the Eighties when he was a drama student at Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and resurrected him fro the 1997 Edinburgh Fringe, where he became a cult favourite. He became a regular guest on Mark Radcliffe's Radio 2, before moving to Radio 4 – where he has now made seven series.

In an interview earlier this year, Linehan revealed that the Count will be partnered with a character called Michael, who gets sucked into the madness after arriving to research a biography of his late father, who was once in a double-act with Strong.

‘He thinks it will take a couple of days. But, Arthur being Arthur, it ends up taking far longer, and he has to move in with him, more or less,’ he said. ‘Because Arthur can’t be embarrassed, we needed someone embarrassed on his behalf… It won’t be like Ted or even The IT Crowd. It’s going to have its feet planted in the real world. Arthur will be the strangest thing about it

The series is currently being written and will go into production later this year.

It will be made by Komedia Entertainment, who have been working with the character for a decade, and Retort, whose credits include The IT Crowd.

Published: 23 Aug 2012