For a primetime Saturday night slot

Lenny Henry is piloting a new sketch comedy show.

It’s Alive is being developed for a possible prime-time slot on a Saturday night.

No broadcaster has been formally named, but it’s thought that ITV is the most likely home, as last month Irish comic Al Porter said: ‘I will be doing a pilot with Lenny Henry for ITV for his new sketch show.’

However, Porter has since been forced out of the limelight amid reports of inappropriate sexual advances to fellow comics, and is no longer involved.  

The pilot of It’s Alive will be filmed in front of a studio audience in January and feature a cast of comic performers and guest names. Producers promise a ‘feast of sketches, songs, monologues, and chat.’

Lenny Henry made his name in the BBC sketch show which bore his name in the 1980s, having previously been an impressionist. However, he has previously concentrated on more serious roles as well as his campaign to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in TV, on both sides the camera.

His next role will be in a new Radio 4 adaptation of Neil Gaiman Anansi Boys due to start on Christmas Day.

Earlier this week, Henry was made an honorary fellow of Goldsmiths, University of London. He said he was ‘incredibly honoured to even be considered for this’.

It's Alive is due to be recorded at Pinewood Studios on Friday  January 26. Apply for free audience tickets here.

Published: 22 Dec 2017