Four new episodes follow hit pilot

Comedy creation Barbara Nice is to star in her own Radio 2 sitcom.

Four half-hour episodes are to be recorded in front of live audienecs in Birmingham and Salford this summer, to air later this year.

They follow the success of a pilot episode which aired last year, and which will be repeated to kick off the new run.

Nice is the creation of comedian Janice Connolly, whose credits include Holy Mary in Phoenix Nights. She will star opposite  John Henshaw, playing her husband Ken, in the new show.

They play a couple with different ideas on how to spend retirement, which puts their marriage under strain. Ken's idea of retirement is said to involve a marathon session watching quiz show Pointless, while Barbara is more ambitious.

Connolly says: 'The sitcom is about being a certain age, reaching retirement and being in a long-term marriage. Barbara is a big character who is always trying to invent things for her and her husband to do but invariably it always backfires.

'I am absolutely thrilled to be recording two of the episodes in Birmingham. It's a great city and I have been proud to be part of the artistic community of Birmingham for many years. The city is bursting with culture.'

Connolly  started her career on the Birmingham indie music scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was in The Surprises and The Evereadies and had her singles championed by John Peel.

And she is now the artistic director and founder member of the  Women and Theatre Company, which is based in the city.

Published: 3 May 2016