Circuit names set to feature

CBBC has ordered a new topical comedy news series.

Familiar comedy circuit names are set to feature in the 13-part series DNN, which is due to air later this year.

It will be script edited by David Quantick, pictured, whose credits include the notably more adult spoof current affairs show Brass Eye and an online sitcom about heroin junkies... as well as more age-appropriate shows such as Harry Hill’s TV Burp.

The BBC has not yet confirmed a cast, but Gemma Arrowsmith and Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award best newcomer nominee Sam Fletcher are believed to be involved.

The commission follows a successful pilot episode, and it’s not known if all the performers will return for the full series.

According to the BBC, the show will involve a ‘cast of larger-than-life news anchors and correspondents’ who ‘will put their own unique spin on topical stories through irreverent sketches, hilarious archive clips as well as plenty of silly physical comedy’.

CBBC has also commissioned a 13-part comedy-drama called Family By Sea, about a ten-year-old and his parents who relocate to Scarborough. It is written by Brian Lynch, whose children’s TV credits include MY Parents Are Aliens and The Worst Witch. The show goes into production this spring 2013.

Helen Bullough, head of CBBC Productions, said: ‘We're delighted with these new comedy commissions. As a team we're also passionate about creating opportunities for new talent - on and off screen - and both these series will underline our commitment to that.’

Published: 22 Mar 2013