Vahid Gold is to star in a new sitcom pilot for Dave, executive produced by Romesh Ranganathan, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.

The actor, who co-stars in Gold's upcoming comedy Newark, Newark and appeared in Zomboat!, plays closeted, mixed heritage 20-something Navid in The Other Half, written by Kate Reid and Zak Ghazi-Torbati, which is currently filming and set to air this summer.

Described as "half-Welsh, half-Iranian and 100% that bitch", Navid gets the chance to escape his small Welsh town when he lands an internship in Bristol.

But as he runs headlong into his new life, shacking up with his best friend and her painfully privileged family, he's also running away from his old life, living with his overprotective father and hiding his sexuality. And the more he tries to keep the two halves of his life apart, the more they keep crashing into each other.

Co-starring Paul Chahidi (This Country), Samantha Spiro (Grandma's House) and Justin Edwards (The Thick Of It), the half-hour pilot was commissioned as part of UKTV's WriterSlam competition, an initiative with TriForce Creative Network aiming to "shine a spotlight on diverse and emerging talent".

The cast also includes comedian Eve Delaney, Souad Faress, Serena Manteghi, Anthony O'Donnell, Ben Starr, Kate Reid, Polly Kemp, Joe Da Costa and Tori Allen-Martin.

Ranganathan executive produces The Other Half for his Ranga Bee production company (The Reluctant Landlord, Jon & Lucy's Christmas Sleepover), alongside Benjamin Green and Michelle Farr-Scott. The director is Akaash Meeda and the producer is Kenny Tanner (Mandy, Newark, Newark).

Speaking when the pilot was announced, alongside three others - Dead Canny by Anna Costello, Holier Than Thou by Misha Adesanya and Perfect by Laurence Clark - UKTV commissioner Sarah Asante said: "I was delighted to join the UKTV scripted comedy team just as they had launched a search for emerging diverse writers. The added commitment from the Dave team by offering the initiative a transmission target set the bar really high for our search. We have proudly developed shows that organically span the nations and regions, showcasing the breadth of storytelling from across the UK.

"This initiative has demystified the script to screen process in a unique way and has nurtured enormous growth in confidence and vision from the writers, which has been a pleasure to witness. It's been heartening for us at UKTV to see what can happen when we invite new writers to share their dreams and talents with us and the wider industry. I also want to thank our impressive production partners for taking this leap and going on this journey with us."