Funny Valentines 2016 announced

Harry Hill, Stephen Mangan and Citizen Khan creator Adil Ray are to make new shorts for the BBC iPlayer.

The new raft of ‘Funny Valentines’ shorts will be released on February 7, and follow the success of a similar batch last year.

The new batch are:

Substitute

Written and directed by Brian Pern co-creator Rhys Thomas, Substitute tells the story of Carly (Suranne Jones) and Zach (Stephen Mangan), whose lives are turned upside-down on Valentine’s Day by the arrival of a hapless online grocery delivery man.

Thomas said: ‘BBC iPlayer is a great platform for experimental comedy where the limitations of schedules and durations are out of the window. Suranne was so funny in Brian Pern, I couldn’t wait to make another comedy with her and here it is, at the earliest opportunity. And she’s joined by the brilliant Stephen Mangan, a dream team to work with."

Harry Hill’s Look At Love

With his international team of experts, Harry Hill looks at love, romance, marriage and babies. He said: ‘I’ve always enjoyed Valentines Day, or VD for short. I remember sending over 200 cards in February 1983 - well, before the days of Tinder one had to cast the net wide. So imagine my excitement when the BBC asked me to take a closer look at LOVE. We all seek it, yet it is entirely odourless - except in rare cases - just what is it? I think I’ve nailed it in this 10-minute documentary."

Darling Rafi

Star of Citizen Khan Adil Ray introduces his new character Rafi, a 30-something year-old reluctant carer who endures the loud mouthed curmudgeon Bert (Ted Robbins) and the overbearing interference of his well-meaning mother Mary (Harvey Virdi). It is Valentine’s Day and Rafi is forced to role-play the perfect date scenario with this unlikely pair - and inevitably it doesn’t go to plan.

Ray said: ’I’m really excited about stepping into Rafi’s trainers and having some fun. He’s a dreamer and a big kid and I hope people love him. BBC iPlayer feels like a great space to give everyone a little taste. I’m even more delighted he doesn’t have a beard so I’m spending less time in the make-up chair.’

Shane Allen, controller of BBC comedy commissioning, said: ‘This is an eclectic trio of shorts from some of the biggest names in comedy engaging in pioneering and truly experimental work.

‘BBC iPlayer has fast become the crucial creative playground and this second year of Funny Valentines is a testament to the ambition in finding new forms of content with big names for the audience.’

Last year’s Funny Valentines, featuring comedians including Bill Bailey, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Limmy and Nick Helm, attracted 1.3million requests, with Helm’s Elephant  nominated for the Bafta for best short film.

The new batch launch on February  7 at 9pm.
 

Published: 22 Jan 2016