Cockney role for the Bolton comic

Peter Kay is to play Danny Baker’s father ‘Spud’ in a new 1974-set comedy series, the BBC has confirmed.

The announcement came as Kay was spotted filming on the streets of Manchester this week, wearing period costume. He will also have to disguise his Bolton accent to play the Cockney character.

Cradle To Grave is an eight-part series based on Baker’s autobiography, Going To Sea In A Sieve, and will air on BBC Two later this year. Baker co-wrote the script with Jeff Pope – who previously co-wrote Philomena with Steve Cogan.

Also announced in the cast are Lucy Speed – Natalie Evans in EastEnders – who will play Danny’s mother Bet. Virtual TV newcomer Laurie Kynaston will play the young Danny.

Baker said: ‘Well this is weird and there's no way around that. To see your life played out by actors is always going to be peculiar and also, frankly quite tremendous.

‘I always knew these stories were thunderingly entertaining incidents and that I seemed to be hurtling through a particularly unpredictable, high-velocity life peopled by extraordinary characters. Now here they are.

‘This will be a fantastic, rich voyage back to a boisterous often maligned era, true tales told large - a strong family in a magnificent working class community just getting on with life.”

Pope added: ‘The most exciting part of this series is that it all happened. There is nothing funnier or more dramatic than real life and Danny and his family are a treasure trove of wonderful stories.

‘To see Peter Kay take on a Cockney character in “Spud”, Danny's late father, is terrifically exciting.’

Kay’s next project for the BBC is Car Share, which will be released on iPlayer before its TV debut.

Published: 6 Mar 2015