Fatiha El-Ghorri, Danielle Vitalis, Paul Black pilot BBC Comedy shorts
- The BBC is launching six new comedy shorts as potential pilots for series, broadcasting on Thursday nights on BBC Three
- Fatiha El-Ghorri and fellow stand-up Rajiv Karia are among those to have written the films, alongside Smothered star Danielle Vitalis and sketch comic Paul Black
- The six shorts are: Donkey!, Spinster, Danielle Does Life, Zoners, Govan Fair Queen and Rocket Fuel
Taskmaster star Fatiha El-Ghorri leads a new series of BBC comedy pilots, which also features films from Smothered's Danielle Vitalis and sketch comic Paul Black, backed by the likes of Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee and Tom Davis, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Airing at the same time as Series 19 of Taskmaster tomorrow night, in which she appears with Mathew Baynton, Stevie Martin, Rosie Ramsey and US comedian Jason Mantzoukas, this year's BBC Comedy Short Films begin on BBC Three on Thursday with El-Ghorri's Donkey!.
Written by the stand-up with sketch comedian James Purdy, the 12-minute film stars the comic as Kenza, seen as a donkey by her family. So when her uncle fires her from the family cafe, she makes a plan to show them what she's truly capable of.
Co-starring Youssef Kerkour (Home, Man Like Mobeen), Joe Thorpe and Fatima Khanfour, the short is directed by Boarders' Sarmad Masud and produced by Kate Heggie (Your Christmas Or Mine?).
Airing on 8th May, Spinster is written by Northern Irish-South African filmmaker Eileen Tracey and stars Say Nothing's Amy Molloy as single, penniless poet Ruby, who has recently moved back home to live with her mum Jen (Mary Moulds). When their strict Presbyterian neighbours descend on the home for the engagement party of her spoiled sister Eliza (Austin's Ellie McKay), Ruby's only job is to not shame the family... Directed by Sarah Gordon (Pickle Storm), Spinster's producer is Nick Coupe (Stuck).
Danielle Does Life is a sketch show exploring human exchanges and the funny unspoken rules of modern interaction, starring Vitalis, who also led a writers room that included Rye Lane co-creator Nathan Bryon, Tasha Dhanraj (Horrible Histories), sketch comic Emily Lloyd-Saini, John Macmillan (Famalam), stand-up Gbemi Oladipo and Laurence Spellman. Helmed by stand-up-turned-director Rachel Stubbings (Real Friends), the producer is Lulu Baker, whose credits include script editing Trying.
Starring Karan Gill (Ladhood) and Ikky Kabir (Ludwig), Zoners focuses on brothers, flatmates and polar opposites Samir and Nikhil, who find themselves on an adventure when they accidentally steal a package from their maniac neighbour, Ivan.
Penned by stand-up Rajiv Karia and writer-producer Ishan Ganjoor, adapted from their 2020 webseries of the same name, Zoners co-stars comedian Eshaan Akbar, Ed Kear (Avoidance), Andrea Valls (Spent) and Elina Saleh (Gut Punch). The directors are Rosco 5, aka Behnam Taheri and Gideon Beresford, whose credits include Juice and Late Night Forever! With Jordan Brookes. The producers are Ben Hough, who script edited on Black Ops, and Pete Strauss (Dead Ringers).
Govan Fair Queen is written and directed by online-turned-live performer Black and features Rab C. Nesbitt and Two Doors Down star Elaine C. Smith (pictured as Christine from Two Doors Down) as sharp-tongued Linda, who, in a bid to win a trip to Florida, ropes her granddaughter Abigail (newcomer Harper Hamilton) into the Govan Fair Queen pageant. But when old rivalries resurface, Linda is forced to choose between settling a score and letting Abigail be herself. The producer is Lauren Lamarr (Where Do We Go From Here?).
Finally, Rocket Fuel is written and directed by Jordon Scott Kennedy, who won best picture and best director for his debut feature film, Suicide Kelly, at the Bafta accredited film festival British Urban.
Set in the outskirts of Bradford, Rocket Fuel stars newcomers Elif Riley and Logan Ludbrook, with Coronation Street's Danny Cunningham, as estate kids Lenny and Mullet, bored shitless and searching for adventure. The pair find an abandoned car and use their imaginations to build a ride to the moon. Leah Henry (PRU) produces.
Of the BBC's recent comedy shorts, 2023's Funboys was recently picked up for series on BBC Three while Mobility, starring stand-up Jack Carroll, won a Bafta for best short-form film. Spud and Quiet Life, from Amandaland's Siobhán McSweeney and clown comedian Luke Rollason respectively, have both been nominated for Baftas this year.
The BBC said: "This year we are focusing our Short Film strand so that it serves more as a nursery slope for potential TV series. We want shorts to continue to be a space for talent to experiment and be part of the development journey, just as we do with scripts, tasters, and pilots, but without the pressure of having every aspect of a possible future series fully mapped out.
"Shorts are a place to test out dialogue, tone, character dynamics and chemistry with the aim of developing further for television. As with our inaugural year, we want our shorts to continue being a home for the best and most exciting comedy talent from around the UK."
Donkey! is executive produced by Davis and James De Frond for their production company Mighty Pebble Pictures (Tom Davis: Underdog), with Damian Keogh as part of his banner The Story Collective (Your Christmas Or Mine? 2). Roya Eslami and Seb Barwell commissioned the short for the BBC.
Spinster is executive produced by McGee, Louise Gallagher, Jessica Sharkey and Jimmy Mulville for the latter's Hat Trick Productions (Derry Girls, Have I Got News For You). It was commissioned for the BBC by Eslami and Emma Lawson.
Danielle Does Life is executive produced by Madeline Addy and Josh Cole for BBC Studios (Black Ops, Here We Go). It was commissioned for the BBC by Eslami and Lawson.
Zoners is executive produced by Karia, Ganjoor and Josh Cole, also for BBC Studios. It was commissioned for the BBC by Eslami, Barwell and Navi Lamba.
Govan Fair Queen is executive produced by Margarita Veberaite for Shake Haus (First Footing). It was commissioned for the BBC by Eslami and Gavin Smith.
Rocket Fuel is executive produced by Nicky Bedu for Fully Focused Productions (PRU). The commissioning editor for the BBC is Barwell and it was commissioned for BBC Comedy in association with Slick Films Fund.