Bad Move
- TV sitcom
- ITV1
- 2017 - 2018
- 13 episodes (2 series)
Jack Dee and Kerry Godliman star as a married couple who move to the countryside from the city, but it soon all goes horribly wrong. Also features Miles Jupp, Manjinder Virk, Seann Walsh, Philip Jackson, Sue Vincent and more.
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 1 - Dead Zone
Further details
Nicky and Steve have left behind their old life in Leeds and moved to their dream house in the country. But the dream is rapidly turning into a nightmare, especially for Steve, whose business as a website designer faces a slight problem - they can't get their internet connected.
When Nicky finds some gardening work in the village, she hopes it will tide them over - but she's in for a shock. The couple's mood isn't helped by their gloating neighbours Matt and Meena, whose home grown produce is going from strength to strength. On top of all that, they have to contend with Grizzo the locally based rock star who has a hyperactive approach to country living.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Wednesday 20th September 2017
- Time
- 8pm
- Channel
- ITV1
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Jack Dee | Steve |
| Kerry Godliman | Nicky |
| Miles Jupp | Matt |
| Manjinder Virk | Meena |
| Seann Walsh | Grizzo |
| Philip Jackson | Ken |
| Sue Vincent | Shannon |
| Aaryan Basu | Silas |
| Isvari Ghai | Pipps |
| John Biggins | Gareth (Voice) |
| Vahid Gold | Dean |
| Thelma Ruby | Alice |
| Jack Dee | Writer |
| Pete Sinclair | Writer |
| Martin Dennis | Director |
| Debbie Pisani (as Debs Pisani) | Producer |
| Andrew Beint | Executive Producer |
| Jack Dee | Associate Producer |
| Pete Sinclair | Associate Producer |
| Nigel Williams | Editor |
| Mark Williams | Editor |
| Dennis De Groot | Production Designer |
| Catherine Willis | Casting Director |
| Natalie Rogers (as Natalie Rogers-Wenzel) | Costume Designer |
| Martin Hawkins | Director of Photography |
| Vicky Voller | Make-up Designer |
| Damian Coldwell | Composer |
Video
Internet troubles
Steve and as his wife Nicky are finding it hard adapting to life in the country.
Featuring: Jack Dee (Steve), Kerry Godliman (Nicky), Miles Jupp (Matt), Manjinder Virk (Meena) & Seann Walsh (Grizzo).
Press
I wonder what led two rather fine R4 hosts, Jack Dee and Miles Jupp, who steer I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and The News Quiz with panache and, I had thought, a true compass for comedy, to the sub-funny Bad Move? Naked pocket-stuffing greed perhaps? Dee, who co-wrote the thing, downsizes to the country and finds, rather than a rural idyll, recalcitrant locals and dodgy broadband, ho ho. Compared to Rob Beckett's Static last week it's pant-wettingly hilarious. Yet so, comparatively, are rectal polyps.
Euan Ferguson, The Guardian, 24th September 2017Bad Move (ITV) refers to Steve's (Jack Dee) and Nicky's (Kerry Godliman) move from the city to the country. But it might also mean the move of Dee and Pete Sinclair, who you'll remember also co-wrote Lead Balloon, from BBC2 to ITV. Or perhaps even to them doing this at all.
There's nothing really wrong with it, it's just a safe, predictable sitcom that could have gone out in 1987. Except that most of the gags in this opener are about not being able to get broadband, because they're in a dip. Meh.
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian, 21st September 2017Jack Dee returns to sitcom as half of an urban couple who rashly relocate to the country. Dee plays a web designer, tricky because the new house is "in a dip" and can't seem to connect to broadband; his wife (Kerry Godliman) is a gardener who must learn to charm the uniformly irritating villagers. Like Dee's BBC vehicle Lead Balloon, it relies on intricate plotting and heavily so in an opener that, in an effort to appeal to a wider audience, keeps its gags safe and gentle.
Jack Seale, The Guardian, 20th September 2017Bad Move: preview
Bad Move is definitely not The Good Life, since Steve and Nicky can't do anything for themselves (and don't want to grow any veg). But it feels even safer than the 1970s sitcom: a couple of enjoyably wry lines and photogenic scenery barely enough to warrant a return visit.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 20th September 2017Jack Dee on Bad Move & why Brits are losing their irony
He's the comedian who could moan for Britain - but what makes Jack Dee happy?
Richard Godwin, Radio Times, 20th September 2017Bad Move, ITV, review
'Jack Dee sticks in sharp knives beneath the cosy haze'.
Bernadette McNulty, i Newspaper, 20th September 2017I talk to: Kerry Godliman
Eleven years since Lead Balloon began, Jack Dee is back with his second sitcom, Bad Move, this time for ITV.
Scripted comedy on ITV isn't something you see very often, but Jack Dee is hoping to have success on the channel with Bad Move, which he's co-written with Pete Sinclair who also worked with him on Lead Balloon.
Starring alongside Jack are Miles Jupp, Sue Vincent, Seann Walsh and Kerry Godliman who plays his wife Nicky. I caught up with Kerry to find out more about Bad Move, her character Nicky and her latest stand-up tour.
Elliot Gonzalez, I Talk Telly, 19th September 2017Bad Move, ITV1, preview
It's the holy grail of comedy. The mainstream family sitcom. So full marks to ITV1 - not a channel with a great track record in the genre lately - for having a crack. Whether they've totally succeeded is another matter though.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 18th September 2017