Festive special turns into a full series

BBC One has commissioned a full series based on Lapland – the one-off comedy that aired last Christmas Eve.

The series will star Sue Johnston the recently widowed matriarch of the chaotic Lewis clan from Birkenhead.

Six half-hour episodes will air early next year, following the success of the 90-minute special, which attracted six million viewers.

The festive plot revolved around the close-knit family saving up for a trip to see Father Christmas – but the series will pick up their stories back on Merseyside. The trip changed Eileen's outlook and left her determined to live life to the full – but she finds things at home a little less inspiring than beneath the spectacular vistas and Northern Lights of the Arctic Circle.

The series will again be written by Michael Wynne, who won an Olivier award winner for his 2010 play The Priory.

Executive producer Pete Thornton said: ‘Michael Wynne has penned a beautifully nuanced, warm hearted Northern comedy featuring a highly original comic family.’

And Mark Freeland, controller of UK comedy production for the BBC said the commission ‘shows BBC One backs fresh, new, comic writing’.

Published: 4 Oct 2012