UKTV has commissioned a follow-up to Britain’s Greatest Comedian for its comedy channel Gold.
UKTV Original Britain’s Greatest Comedy Character sees a jury of nine comedians, actors, writers, journalists and critics battle it out under the watchful gaze of judge Sally Phillips, as they attempt to agree on who is the country’s greatest.
Members of the public will be able to vote for their favourites, before the jury whittle them down and rank the final top 30. From Basil Fawlty to Alan Partridge and AbFab’s Patsy to Gavin & Stacey’s Nessa, it’s certainly going to be a heated debate.
Britain’s Greatest Comedy Character is produced by Crook Productions, commissioned by Iain Coyle, head of comedy entertainment, and Gerald Casey, Gold channel director, and ordered by Richard Watsham, director of commissioning, and Steve North, genre general manager of comedy and entertainment. The special is executive produced by Matt Crook and Adam Mclean and series produced by Victoria Thomas.
Iain Coyle said: “I’m preparing myself for the onslaught of online fury and personal lobbying. This one is going to be as hotly debated as Britain’s Greatest Comedian. These shows really make you realise what incredible talent and creativity there is in this country.”
Gerald Casey said: “Comedy characters play such a huge part on Gold, so we’re thrilled to see who the nation and jury crown in this one-off special. We know our viewers have some series favourites, so there’s definitely going to be a lot of debate!”
Matt Crook said: “We are excited to be back working with Gold on a show that is a fresh spin on the archive format, bringing together the Great British public and a jury of recognised comedy talent to create the definitive comedy character countdown. Bring on the Twitter storm.”
Britain’s Greatest Comedy Character will air in 2020, alongside the highly anticipated three-part series Sandylands, starring Natalie Dew, David Walliams, Sophie Thompson, Hugh Bonneville, Simon Bird, Sanjeev Bhaskar and many more.
To vote, please visit https://gold.uktv.co.uk/article/who-is-britains-greatest-comedy-character
