BBC3 announces winter comedy

Thursday 14th December 2006, 8:12am

The new BBC3 controller Julian Bellamy has announced the comedy shows that will be appearing on his station in early 2007. In all BBC3 are launching an impressive six new series, as well as its first ever broadband-only comedy plus welcoming back a number of their existing comedies for new series too.

A complete run down of the comedy is below:

Gavin And Stacey


Gavin And Stacey is a brand-new comedy series about young love, two nations coming together and endless Welsh omelettes, written by and starring Ruth Jones (Little Britain, Nighty Night, Fat Friends) and James Corden (The History Boys, Fat Friends).

Stacey is from Barry, in Cardiff, and Gavin is from Essex. But the difference in backgrounds and culture doesn't hinder their romance, which flourishes when they finally meet for the first time after hitting it off during numerous flirtatious work calls.

Stacey's guardian-uncle, Bryn, has pledged to look out for his niece – when not obsessing over his faulty satellite navigation system – whilst Gavin is doted on by his sometimes emotionally volatile mother, Pam, who only wants the best for her "little prince".

On the occasionally rocky route to Gavin and Stacey's wedding, the two very different sets of families and friends must learn to get along together. The couple's best friends, the forthright Nessa and best man Smithy, get along very, very well but, unfortunately, only when they're drunk.

Gavin is played by Mathew Horne (Catherine Tate, Teachers), Stacey by Joanna Page (Gideon's Daughter, Love Actually), Bryn by Rob Brydon, Pam by Alison Steadman, Nessa by Ruth Jones and Smithy by James Corden.

Rush Hour


Rush Hour is a brand-new comedy sketch show focusing on the all-too-familiar, annoying grind of being stuck in a traffic jam. Set during the daily scrum, where everyone seems to want to get to where no one really wants to go, Rush Hour dips into the lives of the disturbed drivers and peculiar passengers as they argue, flirt and bicker their way through their journeys. The large cast includes Frankie Boyle, Adam Buxton, Miranda Hart and Sanjeev Kholi.

Thieves Like Us


Bex and Ollie are a couple of small-time crooks making their living by lifting and shifting stuff from warehouses, shops and offices – pretty much anywhere they can. They're not big-time bank robbers but, instead, prefer low-risk raids from companies big enough to survive the loss of a few wide-screen TVs. The not-so-dynamic duo are aim-low, live-low crooks with a conscience, and that suits them just fine.

Away from the various schemes, scams and bungled burglaries that constitute their "day jobs", Bex and Ollie seek some form of domestic bliss with their long-suffering girlfriends, Mel and Belinda, two girls who understand the true meaning of Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man.

Bex is played by Tom Brooke, Ollie by Fraser Ayres, Mel by Jessica Harris and Belinda by Chereen Buckley.

Touch Me, I'm Karen Taylor


Bafta award-winning comedienne Karen Taylor writes and stars in a brand-new series featuring a mix of sketches, stand-up, monologues and running jokes.

Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive


Rob Brydon's spoof panel show returns for a second series. Throughout this new series, viewers will see how Rob deals with a new producer; watch as he tries to become "The Face of Wales"; follow his experiments in hair transplantation; meet his bizarre and embarrassing family; share in his health scare; and cringe at his ongoing efforts to woo beautiful celebrity booker Sara (Sharon Horgan from "Pulling") – all against a background of bitching, back-biting and gossiping.

Smalltime


Smalltime opens the door of a low-security prison visiting room for a comedic peek into the lives of a group of banged-up petty crooks and the family, friends and fiends who visit them weekly.

Under the watchful eye of the under-valued, officious prison visiting officers, the prisoners struggle to maintain marriages, rebuild relationships and catch up on the lives on the outside of their loved ones and their loathed ones.
Wannabe hard man Clint likes to refer to himself as "frisbee", because he always returns to prison but, as his somewhat smarter wife points out, it should actually be "boomerang".

Michael, meanwhile, refuses to turn grass to aid his appeal, because he's rather attached to his kneecaps, so whilst incarcerated he endures card games with his cheating Dad.

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