The Mayoress, an online sitcom project which turned to crowdfunding website Kickstarter to raise the capital required to film a pilot episode, has surpassed its £75,000 target

Over 300 backers signed up to the Kickstarter campaign, with a total of £77,616 raised.

The comedy, which will star the likes of Jack Dee, Harry Hill, Romesh Ranganathan and Michelle Collins, was devised by Brenda Gilhooly, who will also play the central character in the show.

The comedy is set around a local council and aims to be a satire on "the insular mentality of middle England, local politics, daft bureaucracy and the deluded nature of small time power."

The cast are reportedly working on the pilot for free "because they believe in the project so much" and thus all the money raised will be used to cover the production costs of a high end pilot, giving the show "the production value it deserves".

The Mayoress was originally conceived as a television project, but the producers turned to the internet when they were turned down by the BBC. They now suggest that the internet may be "the way forward" for comedy shows.

Brenda Gilhooly comments: "By raising funds ourselves to make a pilot, through Kickstarter, we retained control of the show and also we weren't waiting on a decision from a commissioning editor. It feels like a whole new way of doing things, of bringing a project to life.

"Viewing habits are changing anyway and with TV streaming and channels like Netflix or Amazon you don't need to restrict yourself to a terrestrial broadcaster when trying to make your show. Through both Kickstarter and our social media campaign we were able to connect with fans directly. And now we've raised the budget we can make the quality show we want to, funded entirely by the comedy fans who want it."

The Mayoress will go into production later this Autumn. The intention is then to release it online for free, as a standalone comedy short, before selling the format on as a series.

See also: Brenda Gilhooly interview