BBC Two confirms cast for Ben Elton's Upstart Crow

Harry Enfield is to play William Shakespeare's dad in a new BBC comedy series to mark 400 years since the playwright's death.

The Corporation finally confirmed that Upstart Crow, starring David Mitchell as the Bard and written by Ben Elton, has been picked up for a full series.

Also announced in the cast today are Paula Wilcox as Will's mum; Liza Tarbuck as his wife Anne Hathaway; and Mark Heap as Sir Robert Greene, Will's nemesis.

It also features some familiar names from the comedy circuit including Rob Rouse as Shakespeare's servant Bottom, The Herbert creator Spencer Jones as a thespian, and Gemma Whelan, who also plays Asha Greyly in Game of Thrones, as the writer's friend Kate.

Two weeks ago, Chortle revealed how Upstart Crow had been picked up for a full six-part run following a successful pilot earlier this year.

Now BBC Two has officially announced the commission, which will air next year as part of a season marking 400 years since the death of the Bard.

Upstart Crow is set in 1592, at the beginning of Shakespeare's extraordinary career, and suggests where he might have got his ideas from.

It is Elton's first BBC commission since 2013's poorly received sitcom The Wright Way, and followed his cancelled Australian TV flop Live From Planet Earth.

He said today: 'I have tried very hard to think myself into Shakespeare's creative world, writing only with a small chicken feather and not changing my underpants for a year.'

And Mitchell added: 'I'm delighted to be playing England's greatest bard at this difficult time for bards everywhere. You just try getting work as a bard these days. It's virtually impossible.'

The Peep Show star previously appeared in the BBC's 2005 modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew by Sally Wainwright, and has also played Paroles and the King in productions of All's Well That Ends Well.

Other cast confirmed are Helen Monks, from C4 sitcom Raised by Wolves, who will play Will's daughter Susannah; Steve Speirs from Big School as actor Richard Burbage and Tim Downie, who plays Danny Bear in Toast Of London, as Christopher Marlowe.

Myfanwy Moore, controller of UK comedy production for the BBC said: 'We are so delighted that Ben has risen to the challenge and taken up his quill, to create such a rich, vibrant and ribald world. The BBC Two audience are in for a real treat.'

Upstart Crow follows the release of the Shakespeare-based comedy film Bill, by the Horrible Histories team, earlier this year, which had a similar setting.

The phrase derives from a 1592 pamphlet credited to playwright Robert Greene, which caused a stir for being critical of other playwrights. The comment in Groats-worth of Witte, about an 'upstart crow beautified with our feathers' is generally accepted as a reference to Shakespeare, who is criticised as an actor who has the temerity to write plays.

Also taking part in the BBC's Shakespeare Festival will be Matt Lucas, Javone Prince and Bernard Cribbins, who appear in a new version A Midsummer Night's Dream from Russell T Davies alongside Maxine Peake, Elaine Paige and Richard Wilson.

Published: 7 Dec 2015