Lead Balloon. Rick Spleen (Jack Dee). Copyright: Open Mike Productions
Lead Balloon

Lead Balloon

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC Two / BBC Four
  • 2006 - 2011
  • 27 episodes (4 series)

Sitcom starring Jack Dee as Rick Spleen, a grumpy misanthropic stand-up comedian whose life is plagued by let downs and embarrassment. Stars Jack Dee, Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Rasmus Hardiker and more.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 2,708

Episode menu

Series 3, Episode 2 - Panda

Rick is invited to feature in a TV series that traces celebrities' family trees.

Preview clips

Further details

Rick is invited to feature in a TV series that traces celebrities' family trees. When Marty asks him if they know that Rick Spleen is a stage name, we finally discover what Rick's real name is - and why it caused him so much misery at school.

But that's nothing compared to the pain that's in store for Rick when the researchers uncover the devastating truth about his ancestors.

Meanwhile, Magda is still waiting for her boiler to be fixed... and Rick is still waiting for her to move out!

Broadcast details

Date
Thursday 20th November 2008
Time
10pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Monday 21st March 2011 10:30pm BBC4
Friday 6th May 2011 2:10am Dave

Cast & crew

Cast
Jack Dee Rick Spleen
Raquel Cassidy Mel
Sean Power Marty
Antonia Campbell-Hughes Sam
Rasmus Hardiker Ben
Tony Gardner Michael
Anna Crilly Magda
Guest cast
Richard Lintern Calvin
Bruce Mackinnon DVD Director
Writing team
Jack Dee Writer
Pete Sinclair Writer
Production team
Alex Hardcastle Director
Alex Hardcastle Producer
Addison Cresswell Executive Producer
Andrew Beint Executive Producer
Simon Reglar Editor
Gordon Whistance Production Designer

Video

Rick's secret - his name revealed

We finally find out what Rick's real name is.

Featuring: Jack Dee (Rick Spleen) & Sean Power (Marty).

Share this page