Nick Helm sitcom to end after next season

Nick Helm’s BBC Three comedy Uncle is to end after the next series.

Co-writer Oliver Refson said the aim was always to have just three seasons and quit before the characters ‘overstay their welcome’.

The first of seven episodes in the final run is to be released on iPlayer on January 1. It picks up the story 18 months after the last season when Andy (Helm) found out that he was going to be a father.

Now the baby he’s never met is haunting him, so he tries to work up the nerve to confront the mother about the child. In other storylines the aspiring musician is also made an offer by a record company; while his nerdy nephew Errol (Elliot Speller-Gillot) struggles with new ‘stepdad’ Bruce (Daniel Lawrence Taylor).

Refson told Chortle that ‘from the beginning, I, and co-writer Lilah Vandenburgh, have wanted to tell a contained story with three definitive acts. 

‘For us, each series has been a bit like an act in the story. We see Andy go from someone who can't function without constant romantic validation, to someone who's learning how to accept different types of love and friendship –  with the help of his sister Sam and nephew Errol – to hopefully someone who can strike out on his own without as much dependence on others for his self-worth. 

‘So three series felt like the right length to tell this story in. 

’It's bittersweet for us to see Andy and Errol, go but we'd rather leave while people are still wanting more than overstay our welcome. 

‘You never know what the future holds for these characters, but for now, Andy's story is coming to an end.’

Published: 5 Dec 2016