Channel 4 has commissioned 6 x 30 minute series of Fonejacker – which started life as part of the channel's Comedy Lab project. Fonejacker is a man addicted to prank calls, taking on various guises to satisfy his need to confuse anyone at the end of the phone. Animation stills and filmed footage of the prank accompanies the calls.

The show features such characters as ‘George the African Scamster’, an amiable chap who’ll try all sorts of ludicrous deceptions to obtain your bank account details, and ‘Mr Doovde’, who bewilders many by insisting on talking in strange, phonetic abbreviations. There is also ‘Mr Miggins’, the panicked elderly gentleman, who bemuses unsuspecting strangers with tales of intrusive genies in his front room.

The series was commissioned by Shane Allen, Commissioning Editor for Comedy at Channel 4. “Fonejacker has the rare alchemy of a brilliantly versatile character comedian at heart, a staggering amount of superb concepts and stylish execution to make it a brash and daring brand new comedy,” he says. Written and performed by Kayvan Novak, it is directed by Ed Tracy, produced by Helen Williams and executive produced by Mario Stylianides.