Filming has begun on TV comedy series Hospital People.

The show, created by Tom Binns, is to return to BBC One for a full series later this year, following the success of last year's Comedy Playhouse pilot.

Stand-up star Russell Brand, Miranda actor Sally Phillips, Car Share's Sian Gibson, Alex Macqueen (The Inbetweeners), Mark Williams (The Fast Show), and James Fleet (The Vicar Of Dibley) are due to guest star in the series, it has been revealed today.

Their characters have not yet been announced, however Brand will reportedly play a nutrition guru called Tyler Watt in one of the episodes. The comedian was spotted in Hartlepool, where the show is being filmed, last week (local news story).

The guest stars will appear alongside Binns, who plays all the key characters. The BBC explains: "Hospitals are mainly about the medical staff and the patients but what about the other inhabitants? Hospital People follows the lives of Brimlington Hospital's inept DJ Ivan Brackenbury; its ambitious manger, Susan Mitchell; porter and spirit medium Ian D Montfort; and overenthusiastic chaplain Father Kenny Mercer."

Mandeep Dhillon, who played Ivan's trainee producer Shaz, is returning for the full series; joined by Amit Shah as Sunny, who is hospital manager Susan's put-upon assistant; and Janine Duvitski as Mrs Leydon, the Chapel assistant.

Alex Moody from BBC Comedy says: "We could not be more excited about welcoming Tom Binns's extraordinary collection of Hospital People to BBC One."

Ash Atalla from production company Roughcut, says: "We're really happy about our first BBC One series commission.
Roughcut TV is all grown up and delighted to be making a show for Britain's most prestigious channel. Hospital People is a testament to our talented team. And now we go to work to make this series the very best it can be."

The new six-part series, which is being shot at the University Hospital of Hartlepool now, will be shown on BBC One later in the year.