Phoenix Nights writers and actors Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice are writing a sitcom about ballroom dancing.

The duo have been commissioned by the BBC to write a pilot episode of Glitterball, a sitcom based around the colourful characters who take part in an amateur ballroom dancing class.

The comedy, which is planned for primetime BBC One, is set around a dance club that meets weekly at a small hotel in Blackpool. Characters include a 'snooty couple' who think they're dancing experts, and a working class couple who don't take things quite so seriously.

Spikey and Fitzmaurice have spent six months creating Glitterball. However, at present the project is only a pilot script. BBC commissioners are currently deciding whether to order a series or not.

Speaking to British Comedy Guide, Spikey admitted that the pair had concerns they might be seen as 'jumping on the bandwagon' following the popularity of Strictly Come Dancing, but that the comedy is actually more about the group of characters, rather than dancing.

He said: "We thought, if we pitch it right - do it away from the glamour and glitz of real ballroom - it might work. We're getting a rich mix of characters in there, where the dance is almost secondary. It's gone off to the BBC now. It was a script commission so it might not get any further, but we enjoyed writing again together."

Dave Spikey also confirmed to us that he's not aware of any developments in regards to bringing Phoenix Nights back, following Peter Kay's comments last month that he'd been approached to make a film spin-off based on the hit sitcom (Story). Spikey said "I've not heard a dickie bird about it. If Peter came and said 'let's collaborate on a film, a special, whatever', I'd be very interested."

Spikey and Fitzmaurice have previously fallen out with Peter Kay over the sitcom, saying they felt Kay was taking all the credit for Phoenix Nights, when the sitcom was actually written by the three of them together.

Dave Spikey talks more about the fallout, his stand-up tour, and the short film he's directed in this interview