And good news for Chris Ramsey, too

The BBC has ordered a third series of the Sarah Millican Television Programme.

The commission for another seven half-hour episodes comes before the second season has even aired on BBC Two.

But the first was certainly a ratings hit, attracting more than 2million viewers and earning Millican the title Queen Of Comedy at last year’s British Comedy Awards – a title she is in the running for again this year. Her second series will air from Christmas

The new commission was announced at the BBC Nations and Regions Entertainment Commissioning Conference in Glasgow today.

It was also confirmed that comedian Chris Ramsey is to front a pilot show looking at the week’s news through the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

Although only a pilot of Chris Ramsey's Social Network has only been confirmed so far, the BBC says a series is ‘expected to follow’.

The show originally had the working title @ChrisRamsey, when Chortle first reported it was in the pipeline back in April. It is being made by production house Avalon’s Scotland division – which has also won a development deal on a new format from stand-up Steve Williams.

A key writer on Russell Howard's Good News, Williams’s format is described as ‘a comedy entertainment project built around the idea of one-upmanship’.

Other shows announced at the conference include a Saturday night quiz show for BBC One called Break The Safe; a BBC Three series for David Hasselhoff called The Hoff's Best... Film Ever! featuring stars and comedians running through the ingredients needed for various genres of films; and a recommission of BBC Two’s biography show The Many Faces Of, which has previously featured the likes of Les Dawson, June Whitfield and Michael Caine.

Published: 3 Dec 2012