Raft of BBC Three shows announced

Stand-up Nick Helm is to star in his first sitcom – one of a raft of new comedies announced by BBC Three today.

The channel has also commissioned a short series of the mockumentary People Just Do Nothing, eight new comedy online pilots featuring the likes of Cariad Lloyd, Elis James and Chris Corcoran and Totally Tom, and the return of Pramface and People Like Us.

Helm’s show Uncle was originally commissioned as a 4Funnies pilot by Channel 4, and aired in December.

In it, the comic plays an out-of work musician who forges an unlikely alliance with his 11-year-old nephew after being morally blackmailed into looking after him by his chaotic sister Sam (Daisy Haggard). The series is written and directed by Oliver Refson and produced by Baby Cow.

Meanwhile, People Just Do Nothing – set in pirate radio station Kurupt FM – has been picked up for a four-part series.

It started life as a one-off pilot on the web last year as part of the BBC’s Feed My Funny project, and was the most shared programme on iPlayer during the month of July 2012.

The show is written by Steve Stamp and Seapa Mustafa, and will be made by Roughcut Television.

BBC Three is also hoping to find new comedy hits from eight new pilots which have also been commissioned for online broadcast, and via iPlayer.

The news was announced by Shane Allen, the BBC’s controller of comedy commissioning who recently joined the corporation from Channel 4, and BBC Three controller Zai Bennett.

Allen said: ‘This wide range of shows and new talents cements BBC Three’s place as the key channel for emerging comedy stars. Nick Helm is the most exciting writer/performer I’ve seen in years and the Comedy Feeds show serious commitment to finding the next best voices and faces of British comedy.’

The eight pilots are:

Bamboo: Two posh idiots try and set up their own nightclub. Starring Totally Tom. Written by Harry and Jack Williams. Produced by Roughcut.

Kerry: Multi-character sketch show written by and starring Kerry Howard. Produced by Objective.

Fuzzbox: A puppet show featuring the voices of real young people. Produced by My Pockets.

C Bomb: C Bomb is the godfather of the South Yorkshire dubstep scene. Starring Rob Madin and written by Rob, Jason Cook and Daniel Peake. From BBC In-House comedy.

The Cariad Show: A multi-character sketch show from comedian, writer and improviser Cariad Lloyd. From BBC In-House comedy.

Nick Helm’s Heavy Entertainment : Raucous, studio based comedy show. From BBC In-House comedy.

The Committee: starring Welsh comics Elis James and Chris Corcoran. We enter the committee meeting of a Welsh social club. Produced by Tiger Aspect.

Going Native: Mock documentary staring Mona Yusefi who plays three different foreign women - a Russian gold digger, a Japanese internet sensation and a Middle Eastern entrepreneur - who have recently moved to the UK to start a new life. Produced by Hat Trick.

Published: 29 Apr 2013