http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/02/down-the-line-bbc2

Spoof BBC Radio 4 phone-in series Down the Line, created by former Fast Show comedians Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson, is to move to BBC2.

The new BBC2 show will feature Down the Line's phone-in host character Gary Bellamy moving out of the radio studio and on to the street in a bid to meet real people and elicit their views on topics ranging from crime and religion to class and culture.

Starring alongside Whitehouse and Higson will be former Fast Show colleague Simon Day, along with Felix Dexter, Lucy Montgomery, Amelia Bullmore, Rosie Cavaliero, and Rhys Thomas as Bellamy.

Loved the radio series, hope the transition to TV works just as well. Big hopes for this.

Ugh.

Quote: Aaron @ April 3 2009, 7:30 PM BST

Ugh.

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How insightful, please share more...

Spoof = ugh. Go away. Likely to be cringe-inducingly tacky.

Quote: Aaron @ April 3 2009, 7:31 PM BST

Spoof = ugh. Go away. Likely to be cringe-inducingly tacky.

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Have you heard the radio show?

It's totally the opposite of cringe-comedy. It goes for the laughs every time, what made the radio show great was that it felt like mates just cracking good gags and trying to make each other laugh and that worked really well.

I'm not sure if they'll be able to carry that over to TV, but with the team behind it I have big hopes.

No I haven't. I just hope to God that these "real people" will be played by the names mentioned, and not ACTUALLY real.

Oh they'll be played by the actors/comedians, just like on the radio show.

It isn't a 'spoof show' in the sense it goes out to fool members of the general public, that would be awful.

Did you ever watch Help? It'll be kind of like that in a way, with lots of different characters, hopefully Paul Whitehouse doing various accents, in different guises.

Help is one of the greatest sitcoms of the decade. With another series, it could easily have been the best.

Yep, Help was bloody fantastic.

Some short clips from Down The Line:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_T7mW3f6Lw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxLgWRVOSG0

Didn't they have some short episodes of this on the red button channel a couple of years ago?

Or was that something else.

Quote: zooo @ April 3 2009, 8:00 PM BST

Didn't they have some short episodes of this on the red button channel a couple of years ago?

Or was that something else.

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No I think those were just behind the scenes of them making the show.

I think that might have been a kind of 'behind the scenes' feature, Zooo, as Martin says - you can find this on YouTube

This should be great! I hope it works on TV

Quote: Aaron @ April 3 2009, 7:52 PM BST

Help is one of the greatest sitcoms of the decade. With another series, it could easily have been the best.

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Could 'Help' really be classed as a sitcom ?

(Fred then runs away clutching a handful of League of Gentlemen DVDs)

Was brill on the radio. I hope the TV does it justice

Quote: Fred Sunshine @ April 3 2009, 8:30 PM BST

Could 'Help' really be classed as a sitcom ?

(Fred then runs away clutching a handful of League of Gentlemen DVDs)

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Stirrer