...playing a divorced children's entertainer

Phil Ellis is to make a Radio 4 sitcom based on his bitter stand-up routines about his divorce.

The comic mined the topic for last year’s Edinburgh Fringe show Alone Together and also makes pointed references to his ex-wife when he hosts his alternative kids’ show Funz And Gamez.

In the radio comedy, Phil Ellis Is Trying, the comic is attempting to make a success of the crumbling children’s parties business he inherited from his missing-presumed-dead father, and to pay his rent and ever increasing debts. 

Ellis – who is currently hosting Radio 4’s daily podcast Funny from the Fringe – is writing the show with Fraser Steele, who has written on shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Live At The Apollo.

The show was one of a number of comedies announced today by Radio 4’s commissioning editor for comedy, Sioned Wiliam, which are expected to air in 2018 or 2019.

Published: 17 Aug 2017