About a barrister turned rural pub landlord

Romesh Ranganathan is working on a semi-autobiographical sitcom for Sky 1.

The broadcaster has ordered a script of The Landlord, about a disillusioned criminal barrister who takes over a village pub.

Central character Pratheep is keen to get involved in the community – even though it's 'at odds with his natural predilection for being pretty unsociable', and the locals are unwilling to accept him.

Plots would involve Pratheep, who is desperate to please despite having a 'fairly short tolerance for idiocy' trying to convince his new neighbours to accept him and his family as their own by helping out with their problems.

The show – Ranganathan's first foray into sitcom –  is being developed by production house What Larks!, whose credits include Big Splash with Jo Brand, a former co-owner of the company.

Last month Ranganathan cancelled his Edinburgh run to film a six-part travelogue for BBC Three, provisionally called, Romesh's Return Ticket, exploring his Sri Lankan roots.

That show is his first headlining TV gig, after appearance on the likes of Live at the Apollo, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Do Countdown, Mock The Week and Dave's current show Taskmaster.

Published: 10 Sep 2015