Sky 1 HD announce raft of comedy recommissions

London (22nd June 2012):  Continuing the comedy success story that has seen every new original Sky 1 HD comedy return for second series, Lucy Lumsden has today confirmed new series orders for LITTLE CRACKERS, STARLINGS, A TOUCH OF CLOTH and MOONE BOY. These recommissions are part of Sky’s ongoing commitment to customers to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years.

LITTLE CRACKERS will be back for a third series this Christmas and this time each Little Cracker will run for 30 minutes that will comprise both the story and a 10 minute behind the scenes look at its journey to the screen. The BAFTA® nominated strandwill again feature the UK’s most popular actors, writers and comedians in a series of one-off autobiographical tales.

Those confirmed so far are Katy Brand (The Katy Brand Show), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), who will be both starring and directing her Little Cracker, Jason Manford (8 out of 10 Cats), Paul O’Grady (The Paul O’Grady Show)and Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey), with further names to be announced this Autumn. A variety of production companies will produce the films including Sprout Pictures, Tiger Aspect, Hillbilly and Left Bank Pictures.

Baby Cow Production’s STARLINGS, which has this year found its way into Sky customers hearts and taken pride of place on Sunday evenings on Sky 1 HD, will be returning for a second 8 x 60 series in 2013. A comedy drama written by and starring Matt King (Peep Show) and Steve Edge (Star Stories), STARLINGS is executive produced by Baby Cow Production’s Henry Normal and Steve Coogan and produced by Alison MacPhail (The Mighty Boosh).

STARLINGS follows the lives of the Starlings family, a typical working class brood living in a detached house in Matlock, Derbyshire and stars BAFTA® nominees Brendan Coyle and Lesley Sharp, plus  Alan Williams, Finn Atkins, John Dagleish, Rebecca Night and Ukweli Roach. The second series will air on Sky 1 HD in 2013. 

Viewers can also look forward to a further two more cases for DCI Jack Cloth to solve as Charlie Brooker’s A TOUCH OF CLOTH will return. The first in the trilogy is set to launch this August and the second 2 x 60 series has commenced filming with transmission set for next year and a further 1 x 120 film will follow. John Hannah and Suranne Jones will resume their roles as DCI Jack Cloth and DC Anne Oldman respectively. An all-encompassing parody of every police procedural ever written, A TOUCH OF CLOTH also stars Julian Rhind-Tutt, Adrian Bower, Navin Chowdhry and Daisy Beaumont with further guest stars to be announced.

A TOUCH OF CLOTH is a Zeppotron production, executive produced by Annabel Jones and Charlie Brooker, directed by Jim O’Hanlon (House of Saddam, Emma), and produced by Adam Tandy (The Thick of It, Come Fly With Me).

Chris O’Dowd’s MOONE BOY, the first series of which launches this Autumn, has also been greenlit for a second 6 x 30 run.  Set in a small town in Ireland in 1989 it follows the antics of the youngest member of the Moone family, 11 year old Martin Moone (David Rawle). Martin has a unique perspective on life aided by his imaginary friend, Sean Murphy (Chris O'Dowd). Martin's imagination comes into play both in his childish drawings, which come alive through animation, and in the ridiculous schemes he comes up with, against Sean's better judgement. With Sean's help, Martin negotiates life as the youngest in a chaotic, scatter-brained family. Johnny Vegas, Steve Coogan and Jessica Hynes also all take guest roles.

A joint venture between Baby Cow, Sprout Films, Hot Cod Productions and Grand Pictures, MOONE BOY is co-written by Chris O’Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy. The series is directed by Declan Lowney (Little Britain, Father Ted, Help, Happiness, Cold Feet) and produced by Ted Dowd (Gavin & Stacey, Nighty Night, Saxondale). Executive Producers are Henry Normal, Gina Carter, Paul Donovan and Chris O'Dowd.

Lucy Lumsden said “Sky 1 HD now has a reputation for delivering viewers the very best in original British comedy. Seeing these shows and characters over the past year received so warmly has been very exciting. We are thrilled that our comedies have quickly become established as favourites with our customers and so we’re delighted to announce today the return of more of the shows they love.”

By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.  This commitment follows the success of home-grown content such as entertainment hits GOT TO DANCE, AN IDIOT ABROAD and A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, dramas such as STRIKE BACK and MAD DOGS, comedies such as TROLLIED, STELLA and SPY, for which its star Darren Boyd received both a BAFTA® Award and British Comedy Award, and factual shows such as ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD and the BAFTA-winning documentary FLYING MONSTERS 3D. 

Following the addition of Sky 1 HD to Sky Go, customers will also be able to watch all upcoming homegrown comedies on the move on iPad, selected smartphones and laptops at no extra cost.

Susan Collins - Publicity Manager, Sky 1 HD
T: 020 7032 4243
E: susan.collins@bskyb.com

About Sky

Sky entertains and excites more than 10.4 million homes through the most comprehensive multichannel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Sky continues to break new ground with its own portfolio of channels: Sky 1 combines its commitment to UK production with the best of the US; Sky Living pushes ahead with fresh and innovative entertainment formats; Sky Arts is the UK's only dedicated arts channel brand; Sky Atlantic is the home to HBO and other iconic drama and comedy, Sky Sports is still raising the bar in sports broadcasting; Sky News remains a pioneer in television news; and Sky Movies is leading the way in High Definition and on-demand.

Sky also works with dozens of other broadcasters on the satellite platform, as well as online and on mobile through the ground-breaking Sky Go service.  Sky has also led the UK into the age of high definition television, launched Europe's first 3DTV channel, Sky 3D, and offers customer even more flexibility and choice through Sky Anytime+, its internet-delivered video on demand service.   Since launching Sky Broadband and Sky Talk in 2006, the company has also been the UK's fastest-growing home communications provider.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates, not least by increasing participation in, and access to, the arts, supporting grassroots sports, and taking positive action on the environment.

About Sky 1 HD:

Sky 1 HD is the most watched non-terrestrial channel in Sky homes, attracting more than 20m unique viewers every month and, according to the latest tracker results (October – December, 2011), was the third highest valued channel amongst all Sky subscribers behind only BBC1 and ITV1.

Sky 1 HD distinguishes itself from rival networks with original drama and comedy, talked about entertainment formats, distinctive factual programming and award-winning exclusive US drama.