BBC ONE Autumn 2006
Comedy
Comedy and drama are two key ingredients to the mix on BBC
ONE and are brought together in this season of stand-alone pieces
combining rich and funny stories with poignant and heart-lifting themes.
Aftersun
Jim (Peter Capaldi) and Sue (Sarah Parish)
married young and, 20 years later, find
themselves on holiday in Spain – an
anniversary present from their children – with
very little to say to each other.
Jim can't bear to be separated from his mobile phone and his business
and, while Sue wants to relax with a chick-lit novel, Jim's idea of fun is
immersing himself in a heavyweight historical biography.
On discovering
that their pool is shared with the adjacent villa, they do all they can to
keep themselves to themselves, but the glamorous young couple next door
soon bring a new perspective to Jim and Sue's relationship.
IJ
Magnolia
Ex-con Paul (Ralph Ineson) is desperately
trying to keep his business,
Ace Decorators, afloat.
His partner, Sheila (Dawn Steele), wants him to give up and take a paid job
with his previous employers, the notorious King brothers, but Paul refuses
to abandon his workmates – sweet and bookish stoner Dino (Chris Bisson)
and volatile Terry (Chris Coghill) – who he met in prison.
Two potential contracts stand between them and oblivion. But one depends
on Paul winning over the obnoxious, racist site manager of a dodgy estate
and the other seems to have been sewn up already by the King brothers.
SA/CD
Angel Cake
Elaine Wilson (Sarah Lancashire) is a gifted
cake-maker, living on a grimy estate. She has
a husband traumatised by a fire-fighting
accident, a son who seems to have fathered
most of the kids on the estate, a mother with
a degree in emotional blackmail, and an
amazing gift for producing beautiful cakes.
One day, a batch of buns emerge from
Elaine's oven bearing a remarkable
resemblance to the image of the Virgin Mary,
and all around Elaine miraculous things start
to happen.
She doesn't have time for such
naïve superstition ... but when it becomes
clear that all is not well with her marriage,
maybe she could do with a miracle of
her own.
-
The Goodhousekeeping Guide
Things are going badly for Raymond Fox (Alan
Davies). His high-powered wife, Jenny, has left
him for a younger man, and looking after his
teenage kids – nerdy Sara and wayward
Robinson – and his gorgeous suburban family
home is his only consolation.
Raymond is desperate to raise enough money to
stop Jenny buying the family home and evicting
him, but there aren't many opportunities for
failed mechanics-turned-house husbands.
So
when he finds out that cheery neighbour Lydia is
working as a prostitute to supplement her and
her daughter's lifestyle, he's initially shocked – but soon realises
that his housekeeping skills are surprisingly transferable.
SA/CD
Berry's Way
Berry Cottrell (Lenny Henry),
in his forties and recently
divorced, has his hands full
with a tearaway son and the
family's ailing dry-cleaning
business.
Frustrated, Berry embarks upon an Open
University course in English Literature to prove to
everyone, including himself, that he still has a
brain.
Berry joins a motley study group, run by
hyperactive lecturer Charles (Ron Cook), the
members of which have one month to prove that
they can make the grade.
A tale of everyday people trying to improve
themselves while dealing with the stuff of life,
Berry's Way was written by Kim Fuller and
Lenny Henry.
IJ
The Green Green Grass
John Challis, as Boycie, and Sue Holderness, as
Marlene, celebrate their first year in the country
and life in Shropshire is beginning to suit them,
as John Sullivan's sitcom returns for a new
series.
Boycie is getting the hang of farming but
he still yearns for the high life, jumping at the
opportunity to run for mayor. Marlene attracts
the lascivious attention of Tyler's (Jack Doolan)
fellow pupils and has discovered the joys of
donning her stilettos to tramp the virtual High
Street.
Meanwhile, farm staff Elgin (David Ross), Bryan
(Ivan Kaye) and Jed (Peter Heppelthwaite)
continue to run rings round their master and
duster-shy Mrs Cakeworthy (Ella Kenion) reveals
her previously hidden fortune-telling skills.
They're all doing fine ... until Marlene's sister
arrives with an unexpected present.
FW
The Armstrong and Miller Show
Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller are
re-united after five years in this brand-new
contemporary sketch show, joined by the comic
talents of TV newcomers Katherine Jakeways
and Karen Hayley.
Ben and Alexander met in the early Nineties – shortly after they both left
Cambridge University – at the Gate Theatre Comedy Club in London.
In the
vanguard of sketch comedy, the pair spent four years touring pubs and
clubs, appeared as regulars on ITV's Saturday Live and, in 1996, were
nominated for the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival.
Their wonderfully
surreal and critically-acclaimed first series was commissioned by the
Paramount Comedy Channel and went on to a further three series on
Channel 4.
They also had a regular show on MTV called So Nineties, two
series for BBC Radio 4 and supporting roles in Plunkett And McLean,
before going off to pursue hugely successful individual careers.
Acting out comic character-based sketches which move seamlessly into
spoofs of TV shows, monologues and more domestic-based material, this
fresh new mainstream show promises to have wide appeal.
AN
Jam and Jerusalem
Set in a small West Country
village, Jam and Jerusalem
stars Sue Johnston as local
practice nurse Sal who, along
with best friend Tip, the
surgery's receptionist with an
intricate knowledge of
everyone's ailments, lives a
busy life at the centre of
their community.
Despite her love for her fellow villagers, Sal cannot bring herself to join the
local church's Ladies' Guild, knitting and cake-baking not being her scene.
But when her husband dies suddenly and her son takes over
the practice, Sal finds herself widowed, out of a job and rattling round
an empty home.
In an attempt to avoid visits from the local Grieving Group, she decides it's
time she started to take her own advice – stop sleeping in the dog basket,
get a haircut and a new top and take stock of her new life. And the Ladies'
Guild seems as good a place to start as any...
Written by Jennifer Saunders and also starring Pauline McLynn (as Tip),
Joanna Lumley, Dawn French, Maggie Steed, David Mitchell, Sally Phillips
and Doreen Mantle, Jam and Jerusalem takes an affectionate look at
village life and the empathy and togetherness found in a local community
where everyone knows everyone else's business.
EP
Not Going Out
Not Going Out is a brand-new sitcom co-written
by Bafta-winning comic Lee Mack and Sony
Award-winning writer and broadcaster Andrew
Collins.
It features two flatmates, Lee (played by
Mack) and Kate (Megan Dodds, Viva Blackpool
and Spooks), who have a problem. Their easy-going,
comfortable friendship is steadily moving
onto uneasy ground – a situation complicated by
the fact that Lee's best mate, Tim (fellow Bafta
winner and stand-up, Tim Vine), is Kate's
ex-boyfriend...
-
The Royle Family
The nation's favourite Royle family returns for an
hour-long programme featuring the much loved
cast – Ricky Tomlinson, Sue Johnston, Caroline
Aherne, Craig Cash, Ralf Little and Liz Smith.
Life goes on in the familiar surroundings of their
sitting room, but six years on baby David has
grown – and what of the rest of the family? Have
they given up smoking?
Have they joined the
local gym and Richard and Judy's book club? Will
they be talking pilates and Sartre – or the same
old shite they did six years ago?
What do you think?!
The Royle Family is written by Caroline Aherne,
Craig Cash and Phil Mealey.
EP
Printable version
