Corporation confirms the move

Suffragette sitcom Up The Women is to get a second series – and promoted BBC Two.

Six new episodes have been commissioned from creator Jessica Hynes, making it the latest comedy to have been nurtured on BBC Four before moving to the terrestrial channel, following The Thick Of It, Twenty Twelve and Lead Balloon.

Hynes, who also stars in the show, revealed the commission on Twitter, when she sent a message to co-stars Rebecca Front and Ryan Sampson: ‘Have you heard we are going to BBC 2? We did good.’

The BBC officially confirmed the news this morning, with BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow saying: ‘Up the Women is a wonderful addition to comedy on the channel.’

Hynes originally came up with the idea of a small-town suffragette group disguised as a craft group, after reading about a plot to assassinate former Prime Minister Herbert Asquith.

She said: ‘I am very pleased that the Banbury Intricate Craft Circle Politely Request Women’s Suffrage, BICCPRWS, will continue to convene on the British Broadcasting Corporation.

’Our members are thrilled and our passion for social change through militancy burns brighter than ever. We are composing an incendiary pamphlet and designing our very own BICCPRWS egg cosies to celebrate this momentous occasion. Up The Women!’

Made by Baby Cow and the BBC’s in-house comedy team, Up The Women was the last comedy to be recorded in at Television Centre before the West London studios closed or redevelopment.

The show also stars Judy Parfitt, Adrian Scarborough, Georgia Groome, Ryan Sampson and Emma Pierson.

Published: 12 Jun 2013