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: 2,248

Episode menu

Series 3 - Nuts

Rick is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas at home with Mel. However, it soon turns into a Christmas that Rick will never forget - for all the wrong reasons.

Preview clips

Further details

Lead Balloon. Image shows from L to R: Ben (Rasmus Hardiker), Sam (Antonia Campbell-Hughes). Copyright: Open Mike Productions

Rick is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas at home with Mel. It will be a well-earned break from the challenging acting role he is currently immersed in - playing the part of Mr Smee in a panto. Marty is no fan of pantomime, or of Christmas in general, and plans to head off for some winter sun - preferably to a country where carol-singing is punishable by death.

Meanwhile Sam is busy baking some mince pies for Ben. Rick thinks his daughter is being sweetly old fashioned until Marty points out that the pies may contain a certain special ingredient. Michael the deranged local cafe owner has his own reasons for looking forward to Christmas. To everyone's amazement, he has finally found a girlfriend.

Only Magda fails to get into the Christmas spirit. She is officially in mourning, as the President of her country has died. As Rick points out, at least it means he'll avoid the war crimes trial.

As the countdown to Christmas begins, the problems stack up for Rick. The bargain tree that he bought is losing its needles. It looks like Magda is going to be joining them for Christmas dinner. And when Rick accidentally injures an old lady, there's a very unseasonal confrontation with his neighbour Clive. It soon turns into a Christmas that Rick will never forget - for all the wrong reasons.

Broadcast details

Date
Tuesday 23rd December 2008
Time
10:15pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
40 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Monday 18th April 2011 11:45pm BBC4

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
John Biggins Clive Gray (Neighbour)
Alex Lowe Phil Randell (Radio DJ)
Will Poulter (as William Poulter) Sweet Throwing Boy
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
Mark Henson Editor
Gordon Whistance Production Designer

Video

Jack Dee introduces Christmas Special

Jack Dee introduces a clip from the 2008 Christmas Special.

Featuring: Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Sam), Jack Dee (Rick Spleen) & Rasmus Hardiker (Ben).

Share this page