BBC sitcom Mr Winner gets a full series
The Spencer Jones-starring comedy had a successful pilot earlier this year
If the end of Christmas and the looming return to work after New Year have you feeling the need for a good laugh, then we have some good news – because the BBC are bringing a brand-new comedy to your screens in the coming months.
Following a successful pilot earlier this year (broadcast as part of the Comedy Playhouse), Spencer Jones-starring sitcom Mr Winner will return for a new six-part series in 2018, which will follow the misadventures of the ironically-named Leslie Winner as his best intentions land him in numerous “disastrous situations”.
Written by Murder in Successville’s Matt Morgan, the new half-hour episodes will follow on from a pilot that saw Leslie winning the hand of his girlfriend Jemma (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) after an attempt to propose in a shark tank went awry, while also including Jemma’s long-suffering parents Chris and Teresa (Shaun Williamson and Dorothy Atkinson).
"The pilot episode was one of the best times I've ever had on set, so I cannot wait to get stuck in again with such a brilliant, funny, and talented group of actors,” Jones, probably best known for his role as Will Kemp in Shakespearean comedy Upstart Crow, said in a release.
“Thanks very much to the BBC for getting behind us, and championing a show we all hope people will laugh at and love."
“I am very excited to be part of the upcoming series of Mister Winner written by the brilliant Matt Morgan,” Williamson added.
“We had had so much fun filming the pilot with so many talented people and I can’t wait to get stuck in to the series.”
Shane Allen, Comedy Commissioning Controller at the BBC concluded: "We're keen to bring Spencer's terrific talents to a wide audience on BBC One and in writer Matt Morgan there is great ambition to land a broad appeal comedy with heart, physical set pieces and lots of accidents. Audiences seem to really enjoy watching people have accidents!"
Clearly, plenty of chuckles await us in the next 12 months.
Mr Winner returns to BBC1 in 2018
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
