Jason Manford and Ross Noble head up a wealth of UK comedy talent set to star in Sky Comedy Shorts for Halloween
Following two successful seasons of comedy shorts from a selection of rising talent, Sky today announced that a new crop of comedy stars will front a Halloween-themed series of short stories, which will be broadcast this autumn on demand and on Sky Arts.
Airing exclusively on demand from Friday 21 October and on Sky Arts later in the year, the spooky new comedy shorts series will feature eight original stories from some the UK’s best comedians, including Sunday Night at the Palladium and Funny Old Week host Jason Manford and stand up comedian Ross Noble, who also takes on his first film directing role.
Comedic tales of ghosts and ghouls will also be penned by Matt Holness (Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace), Jamie Demetriou (Rovers), Jayde Adams (2016 Edinburgh Comedy Awards nominee), Steen Raskopoulos (Top Coppers), Guz Khan (BBC Asian Network) and Kiri Pritchard-McLean (Elevenish).
Details on each story in the series can be found below:
Jayde Adams’ Horror: Bloody Tracy
Why is it that paranormal phenomena only occur in creepy-looking buildings? Why are ghosts always in conveniently scary places, like at the ends of beds? The top of stairs? If ghosts are real, why don’t they appear in normal places? Like supermarkets. Meet Tracy - or in actual fact ‘Bloody Tracy’ - the supermarket ghost.
Starring: Jayde Adams, Mark Davidson, Joe Davies, Gabby Best, Spencer Jones
Production Company: Guilty Party Pictures.
Jamie Demetriou’s Horror: Oh God
A contemporary, Kaufman-esque take on a classic sci-fi/horror premise – body mutation. Oh God is a surreal, harrowing story set in a mundane blueish-grey world of a normal lad in his mid-to-late 20s who is gradually, but unequivocally, turning into a car.
Starring: Jamie Demetriou, Ben Ashenden, Ellie White, Natasia Demetriou, Arnab Chandra, Liam Williams
Production Company: Guilty Party Pictures.
Matt Holness’ Horror: Smutch
Oswin Thaddeus Tow, an embittered middle-aged writer, is haunted by a 'ghost writer' in this mini-Hammer/Amicus horror film parody.
Starring: Matt Holness, Jim Howick, Clive Merrison
Production Company: Guilty Party Pictures.
Guz Khan’s Horror: Frightbusters
Stoned conspiracy theorists, Bongs (Guz Khan) and Ali (Sunil Patel), appear on a paranormal YouTube show to reveal their encounters with the paranormal and uncover the secret white demonic elite ruling the world.
Starring: Guz Khan, Alex Macqueen, Sunil Patel, Tom Palmer
Production Company: Me & You Productions
Jason Manford’s Horror: That’s the Spirit
The tale of two teenagers who play with a Ouija board to contact the dead. But when their parents catch them, the whole family are in for a shock.
Starring: Jason Manford, Rebecca Callard, Imogen Gurney, Brenock O’Connor
Production Company: Geoff Productions.
Ross Noble’s Horror: The Catchment
A couple move into a house to be in the catchment area of a good school for their unborn children. But… there’s a catch.
Starring: Ross Noble, Shauna Macdonald, Cariad Lloyd, Richard Herring, Suki Webster
Production Company: Geoff Productions.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean’s Horror- I’ve Got Your Number
Everyone has accidentally sent a text messages to the wrong person and everyone has received a message that wasn't meant for them. Not everyone has replied to that message, just for a laugh. Kiri has though. Several times a day she chats to a complete stranger. But slowly what started as a bit of fun takes a very sinister turn.
Starring: Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Jordan Brookes, Paul G Raymond
Production Company Tiger Aspect.
Steen Raskopoulos’s Horror: Scare BnB
Babs (Sara Pascoe) and Elliot (Steen Raskopoulos) rent out a Scare BnB haunted house for horror fans looking for thrills. But when a ghost sceptic (John Kearns) turns up determined not to be spooked, threatening their perfect 5 star rating, it’s time to call in the real resident ghosts (Nish Kumar, Susie Youssef) to scare him.
Starring: Steen Raskopoulos, Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar, Susie Youssef, John Kearns
Production Company: Me & You Productions.
Commenting on the latest series of shorts, Sky’s Head of Comedy Jon Montague said: “Sky Comedy is literally thrilled (and a little bit frightened) to be working with such scarily talented comic voices on our Halloween/Horror season on demand. To attract talent as diverse as Jason Manford to Guz Khan, Ross Noble to Kiri Pritchard-McLean, and the legendary Matt Holness to hotshots Jayde Adams, Jamie Demetriou and Steen Raskopoulos is a ringing endorsement for our Comedy Shorts. They have proved to be such a hit with customers, we’re giving them more. Plenty of treats, and one or two tricks.”
Sky Halloween Comedy Shorts will be available on demand from Friday 21 October.
For further information please contact:
Sky Content PR
Skyentpress@sky.uk
About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 22 million customers across five countries: UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.
Sky has annual revenues of £12 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of £5.2 billion. The group employs 30,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).
