Twenty Twelve. Image shows from L to R: Siobhan Sharpe (Jessica Hynes), Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville). Copyright: BBC
Twenty Twelve

Twenty Twelve

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC Two / BBC Four
  • 2011 - 2012
  • 13 episodes (2 series)

Mockumentary about the team organising the London Olympics. Stars Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman. Also features Amelia Bullmore, Karl Theobald, Vincent Franklin, Morven Christie, Samuel Barnett and more.

Twenty Twelve. Image shows from L to R: Nick Jowett (Vincent Franklin), Siobhan Sharpe (Jessica Hynes), Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville), Sally Owen (Olivia Colman), Kay Hope (Amelia Bullmore), Graham Hitchins (Karl Theobald). Copyright: BBC

Key details

Genre
Sitcom
Broadcast
2011 - 2012
Channels
BBC Two, BBC Four
Episodes
13 (2 series), plus 1 short charity special
Stars
Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes, Amelia Bullmore, Karl Theobald, Vincent Franklin, Olivia Colman, Morven Christie, Samuel Barnett and more
Writer
John Morton
Director
John Morton
Producers
Paul Schlesinger and Jon Plowman
Company

Written and directed by People Like Us writer John Morton and filmed in a similarly documentary style, Twenty Twelve follows the personal and professional challenges faced by those responsible for delivering the biggest show on earth - the 2012 London Olympics.

The Olympic Deliverance team must try to get through to the end of the day, the end of the week and the end of the year without all the wheels falling off at once.

The show deals with such hot topics as how to phase the traffic lights across London to get people from west to east; who to sell the Taekwondo hall to after the event; what to do when protesters leave large quantities of horse dung on the doorstep in protest at the siting of the equestrian events; and how to cope with sportsmen who want to help but are just too dull.

From getting a busload of non-English speaking Brazilians from A to B; who to appoint to run the Cultural Olympiad; and what to do when the much-vaunted wind turbines won't turn because there's no wind, it's all in a day's work for the men and women whose job it is to stage the greatest sporting event in the world.

In the second series (split into two parts), the pressure mounts as the Games get ever closer. The Olympic Deliverance team must try to navigate their way through such delicate issues as how to handle the Algerian team's demand for a mosque in the Olympic village; how to carry out a Legacy Audit on the rival bids for the Stadium when no one knows what a Legacy Audit is; and how to deliver value for money when there isn't any money.

Stream and download

Additional details

Production
Studio
Picture
Colour
Soundtrack
Theme tune is Let's Face the Music and Dance, sung by Nat King Cole.

Website links

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Monday 14th March 2011 at 10pm on BBC Four
Most recent repeats

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