Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy, has laid out his plans for the future of BBC comedy. Speaking at the BBC Comedy Festival in Newcastle, the current City of Comedy, Petrie confirmed:

The BBC will invest an extra £10 million in high-impact comedy programming over the next two years.

BBC Comedy to double the number of half hour pilots made and will continue to remain the biggest investor in comedy in the UK.

BBC Comedy and BBC Sounds to co-commission up to four audio comedy pilots.

BBC Comedy Short Films will launch in June, consolidating current short form strands to create a space for both new and established talent to experiment and develop new work.

Current writing bursaries are expanding into the ‘BBC Comedy Bursary Collective’, that will also give up and coming comedy directors and producers a place to hone their craft.

Mawaan Rizwan’s comedy pilot Juice has been taken to series.

Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones will return for a Detectorists special.

Jack Whitehall is bringing back Bad Education with a 10-year anniversary special followed by new six-part series written by a team of breakthrough writers.

Comedians Jack Carroll and Tom Gregory bring us new short form comedy Mobility.

Hit series Jerk, The Cleaner and Guilt have all been re-commissioned.

Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy, says:
“BBC Comedy is doing phenomenally well… Last year, iPlayer had 538 million requests for comedy shows… The BBC is by far the biggest fish in the pond when it comes to comedy… There is no other broadcaster that can provide as many services…

"The BBC remains the best place to develop and nurture new comic voices…We want to invest more in our development process…along with scripts, pilots for BBC Sounds and tasters, we’re going to double the number of half hour pilots that we make…

"We will be investing an extra £10 million over the next two years… This will enable more ambitious pieces…

"More than anything else we want shows that connect with our audience – whether they’re big and broad or weird and provocative. Worlds that the audience can see themselves in often connect in the deepest way… shows that feel uniquely British.”

Read the full speech BELOW.

Further information:

BBC Comedy Short Films

BBC Comedy have consolidated our existing published short form strands (Laugh Lessons, Threesomes, Quickies etc) to create one streamlined and targeted approach to the development of our short-form comedy content.

Short Films are designed to give writers, producers, directors an opportunity to bring their comedy ideas to life and be showcased on BBC platforms.

We’re looking for standalone ideas that have a beginning middle and end. They should not be treated as pilots or sketches, but as self-contained, brilliantly funny, and original short films with the premium feel of the films that have inspired us on the festival circuit or Vimeo’s Staff Picks. This new strand will showcase the best and most exciting comedy talent from around the UK.

Submissions will be open to UK based production companies from June 8.

BBC Comedy + BBC Sounds Comedy Pilots

BBC Comedy and BBC Sounds commissioning teams are excited to be working together to co-commission up to four audio comedy pilots.

Our aim is to work with new and emerging performers on crafting comedy characters or personas that have the potential to be developed further for BBC Comedy and/or BBC Sounds.

There is a well-established journey for talent from audio comedy to TV (The Boosh, Goodness Gracious Me, People Like Us). And characters that begin life in an ensemble show can grow into sitcom stalwarts, like Alan Partridge who first featured in Radio 4’s ‘On The Hour’.

Submissions open June 8.

BBC Comedy Bursary Collective

We will be reopening submissions for the existing Writing Bursaries plus launching brand new Producer and Director Bursaries all under a BBC Comedy Bursary Collective later this year.

Juice (BBC Three)

Juice follows Jamma (Mawaan Rizwan) who desperately wants to be the centre of attention, but his family are constantly stealing his thunder. Mum, Farida (Shahnaz Rizwan), always makes everything about her, Dad, Saif (Jeff Mirza), ignores him and brother, Isaac (Nabhaan Rizwan), steals the limelight at work – the one place Jamma feels like he’s doing well. And when he finally does get the validation from boyfriend Guy (Russell Tovey), he can’t handle it. Jamma’s hyperactive imagination goes into overdrive and the world transforms around him in this surreal comedy, written and created by Mawaan Rizwan.

Mawaan Rizwan says: “I feel very blessed to be given the opportunity to make my dream project. It’s about a guy who loves attention and makes everything about himself. It is NOT autobiographical.”

Jonathan Blyth, Director of Comedy for BBC Studios said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the wonderfully talented Mawaan and partnering with Various Artists and BBC Three on this hugely ambitious show, which will be a real treat for audiences around the world.”

Juice (6 x 30) is a VAL production for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer with international distribution from BBC Studios. The director is Rosco Five and the producer is Hannah Moulder. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Tanya Qureshi.

Detectorists

After a five year absence, triple BAFTA winning comedy, Detectorists, is to return later this year for a one-off 75 minute special.

A warm, funny, honey dripped drama Detectorists follows the travails of two metal detecting hobbyists, Lance and Andy, as they negotiate the beautiful gentle rhythms of the English countryside.

Detectorists launched in October 2014 and there have been 19 half hour episodes since, this long form version of the show will bring viewers up to date with the lives of Andy, Lance, Becky and the Danebury Metal Detecting Club.

Director, writer and star of the show Mackenzie Crook is looking forward to this film length version of his creation, he said: “It was 2017 when we were last in Danebury and I miss my old friends in the DMDC. I’ve had a story percolating for a while and I thought it was worth getting Lance, Andy and the rest of the band back together for. The affection expressed for Detectorists over the years has been incredible and I hope fans of the show will enjoy this new, extended episode.”

Producer Gill Isles said: "It’s absolutely thrilling to be spending the summer back in Danebury with Mackenzie and the team. There is so much love for the show that I can't wait for everyone to see what Mackenzie has in store in this next chapter.”

The show is a Treasure Trove Productions, Channel X North and Lola TV production. The Director is Mackenzie Crook is Director, the Producer is Gill Isles. The Executive Producers are Mackenzie Crook and Lisa Thomas for Treasure Trove / Lola TV and Alan Marke and Jim Reid for Channel X North. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Emma Lawson.

Bad Education (BBC Three)

Bad Education to return for a one-off, 10-year anniversary special episode (1x45), followed by the launch of a brand new series (6x30), which will air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.

The special episode of Bad Education, will reunite useless teacher and big kid Alfie Wickers (Jack Whitehall) with his old students one last time as they return to Abbey Grove for a joyfully chaotic careers day. The special marks a fond farewell to Jack Whitehall’s character Alfie and will be written by co-executive producers Whitehall and Freddy Syborn.

Meanwhile, Bad Education the series welcomes a brand-new intake of unruly students to Abbey Grove as two former classmates, world class diva Stephen (Layton Williams) and soon-to-be-family-man-with-responsibilities Mitchell (Charlie Wernham) find themselves at the other side of the desk as newly qualified - or not - teachers.

Written by a team of breakthrough writers led by Nathan Bryon, and including Laura Smyth, Leila Navabi, Priya Hall, Ciaran Bartlett, Rhys Taylor and Layton Williams, the eagerly awaited new series will see Stephen and Mitchell get to grips with their new career and wayward students, all whilst new headteacher and control freak Ms Hoburn looms large. Meanwhile, recently departed head Mr Fraser (Mathew Horne) and his questionable ‘bants’ continues to hang around the school in various lowly roles as HR struggle to fire him. Freddy Syborn will direct the series whilst Jack Whitehall will serve as executive producer.

Jack Whitehall says: “I’m so pumped for a ten-year anniversary special of Bad Education, the show that launched my career. I have such fond memories and it will be great for the fans to check in and find out what class K have been up to since they left and if Alfie Wickers is still as much of a melt as they remember.

“The new rebooted series is so exciting. I’m so old and irrelevant I’ve decided it’s best I take more of a producer role with Bad Education, but we’ve assembled a young, talented group of writers led by the brilliant Nathan Bryon who will be carrying the torch.

“Charlie Wernham is his generation’s Danny Dyer but with less royal heritage. Hopefully being a lead in this will be a springboard to him doing a decade of violent Brit flicks about hooliganism. Layton Williams is a superstar. I honestly think one day he will be an EGOTT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, TV Choice Award winner). Abbey Grove and the new class K couldn’t be in safer hands.”

Richard Ackerman, co-executive producer at Jackpot adds: “We’re so delighted to be bringing this amazing show back for the 10 year anniversary special and catch up with Alfie at Abbey Grove for one final time. If it’s possible we’re even more excited to get the chance to do the rebooted series with the extraordinary Layton & Charlie. For Jackpot Productions to be making this show with Tiger Aspect is the cherry on the icing on the cake."

David Simpson, Head of Comedy at Tiger Aspect says: “It’s so exciting to be returning to Abbey Grove. Jack and Freddy have written a wonderful script for the ten-year anniversary special and I can’t wait for people to see what the gang have been up to. I also can’t wait for people to meet the new cast at the school in the brand-new rebooted series, led by Layton and Charlie. It has been a joy being in the writer’s rooms with a hugely talented team of writers and this new series will follow in the footsteps of the original – packed full of jokes and brilliant set pieces that fans old and new are going to love.”

Bad Education series (6x30) is a co-production between Tiger Aspect (part of Banijay UK) and Jackpot Productions for the BBC. David Simpson will executive produce for Tiger Aspect, with Jack Whitehall and Richard Ackerman executive producing for Jackpot and Freddy Syborn also executive producing. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Tanya Qureshi.

Bad Education special (1x45) is co-written and co-executive produced by Freddy Syborn and Jack Whitehall. Freddy Syborn will direct both commissions. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Tanya Qureshi. Banijay Rights will distribute the series internationally.

Mobility (BBC Three)

Mobility is a comedy short for BBC Three, that follows three Huddersfield teenagers with nothing in common except that they all have to catch the mobility bus to school.

It’s the first day of 6th Form, and Mike (Jack Carroll) is looking forward to a bit of social mobility. He’s way better than the group of loser friends he’s somehow accrued, and aspires to higher things.

But for now Mike is stuck with Sunny, an upbeat and unapologetic geek, and Dan, a lad so acerbic he only communicates in put-downs. Mike thinks he can do better, but he’s going to find it hard to shake them off: Mike, Sunny and Dan all use the mobility bus. Mike has cerebral palsy, Sunny uses a wheelchair, and Dan Syndrome has Down’s Syndrome. So Mike, Sunny and Dan are trapped together, at least for the ride to school.

Jack Carroll says: “It has been a near lifelong ambition of mine to write and perform in a narrative comedy for the BBC. I’m delighted that this has taken the form of Mobility, a funny and irreverent look at the lives of teenagers with disabilities, and their daily mobility bus trip to college. Deep thanks to my token able-bodied colleagues (‘coz you’ve gotta have a couple on every production these days) – our brilliant producer Sam Ward and my excellent co-writer Tom Gregory for all the laughs and insight they’ve brought to the show, although as I keep telling them I can’t ‘just sort them out with a blue badge’.”

Sam Ward, executive producer for Test Mouse Productions: “During Lockdown, Jack and Tom’s Twitter stalking became so relentless that eventually I had no choice but to develop and produce their wonderful script with them, and I’m thrilled that my subsequent stalking of David Simpson lead to a co-production with Tiger Aspect. Mobility brings a unique comic perspective to the universal experience of mucking about at the back of the school bus.”

David Simpson, executive producer for Tiger Aspect says: “Jack Carroll is an outstanding comic performer and the script he has written with Tom Gregory is laugh out loud funny with joyful comic characters. Audiences are going to love Mobility."

Mobility is written by comedian Jack Carroll (Ladhood, Trollied, Eaten By Lions) and Tom Gregory. It is directed by Akaash Meeda (Nova Jones, Almost Never). The producer is Sam Ward (Cunk on Earth, The Cleaner, Mandy). It is a Test Mouse Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions co-production for BBC3. Executive producers are David Simpson and Sam Ward. Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Ben Caudell.

Jerk 3 (BBC Three)

BAFTA nominated Tim Renkow (Live at the Apollo, Bobby and Harriet) to star in a third series of Jerk for BBC Three and iPlayer.

Co-written by Renkow and Shaun Pye (There She Goes, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order), Jerk is a black comedy that revolves around the character of Tim, a man who uses the fact that he has cerebral palsy to try and get away with anything. Tim makes people feel uncomfortable. He knows that because he does it on purpose. But that’s his problem, time spent taking aim at small targets means he constantly misses out on life’s bigger prizes.

Series 3 sees Tim further bulldoze the sensitivities of modern life with a lead role in a movie, a stint as a drug mule, a job advising government on disability and generally attacking anything that takes itself too seriously. Series 3 also charts a touching love story as Tim falls for a disability activist with an agenda. Is that the sound of wedding bells, as Tim finally meets his match…

Tim Renkow says: “They renewed us?! Really?!! Oh shit, I got to get to work.”

Alex Smith, Executive Producer & Head of Scripted at Roughcut TV says: "The great disruptor is back. Not Trump, but Renkow - and just as offensive. Roughcut are thrilled to bring 6 more episodes of Bafta nominated Tim Renkow - still scripted TV’s first and only disabled lead - to the BBC. This series promises to question the licence fee like no other has.”

Mat Steiner, Managing Director of Primal Media says: “It is great that the only person on earth who Elon Musk might actually ban from Twitter will ambush our screens again.”

Jerk has won the Representation of Disability Award at the Mipcom Diversify TV Excellence Awards.

Jerk is a co-production between Roughcut TV and Primal Media for BBC Three and iPlayer. It is co-created by Stu Richards, produced by Khaya Castagnoli and directed by Tom McKay. The executive producers are Tim Renkow, Alex Smith and Ash Atalla for Roughcut TV and Mat Steiner for Primal Media. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Seb Barwell.

The Cleaner 2 (BBC One)

The UK’s favourite crime scene cleaner is back. Series 2 of The Cleaner sees Wicky (Greg Davies) encounter yet another variety of larger than life characters, all in the wrong place at the wrong time. And as his luck will have it, there’s also a pub in desperate need of mopping up.

Greg Davies says: "It was such a pleasure bringing Wicky and his gory career to life and I’m beyond thrilled we get to do it again. So thrilled that I intend not to mention how sweaty that hazmat suit gets under lighting. Put it like this, we had to burn it. Anyway, I’m still excited, thanks BBC.”

Series 2 is written by Greg Davies and one other co-writer per episode made up of a combination of established and emerging comedy talents - Paul Allen, Ronan Blaney, Barry Castagnola, Meg Salter and Mike Wozniak.

Vivien Muller Rommel says: “We’re absolutely delighted to be back for a second series of the Cleaner, and the Christmas Special is going to be bloody marvellous, I promise”.

The Cleaner (6 x 30) is a Studio Hamburg UK production for BBC One written by and starring Greg Davies based on ‘Der Tatortreiniger’ created by Mizzi Meyer. The BBC Commissioner is Ben Caudell. The Exec Producer is Vivien Muller-Rommel and the Producer is Sam Ward. BBC Studios will distribute the series globally, excluding German language markets.

Guilt 3 (BBC Two)

Award-winning drama Guilt will return for a third and final series. Writer and Executive Producer Neil Forsyth will bring brothers Max (Mark Bonnar) and Jake (Jamie Sives) together again for one final adventure full of the trademark twists and turns that the series has become famed for.

The series, which is a co-production between BBC Scotland and BBC Two and produced by Expectation and Happy Tramp North, will also see the return of characters from both series. The second series ended with Max joining Jake in Chicago having left a trail of deception behind him.

As they return to Scotland, it becomes apparent the welcome they receive isn’t as warm or as straightforward as they might have hoped. As they battle threats both old and new, it remains to be seen whether they get the happy ending they crave or whether life conspires against them one more time.

Commenting on the recommission, writer Neil Forsyth said: “We always saw Guilt as a trilogy so I am thrilled to be writing a final act for Max, Jake and some of the others we have met along the way. It is a story that will range from Chicago to Scotland, as our characters seek a final redemption."

The series is commissioned by Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning at BBC Scotland and Jon Petrie, Commissioning Director, BBC Comedy. Gavin Smith and Gregor Sharp are commissioning executives for the BBC. Executive Producers are Nerys Evans for Expectation and Neil Webster for Happy Tramp North.

Commenting on the commission Louise Thornton said: “We are incredibly proud of Guilt. It was the first drama commission for the BBC Scotland channel in 2019 and we have been delighted with how it has been received by our audiences. To be able to bring it back for a third and final time gives us the chance to wrap up the story of Max and Jake which we know will involve some hair raising and edge of the seat moments which the audience have come to expect.”

In a joint comment, Executive Producers Nerys Evans and Neil Webster said: “We couldn’t be happier to be given the opportunity to complete the Guilt trilogy. Neil has crafted an incredible climax to the show that we can’t wait to share with viewers.”

Guilt will begin shooting on location in Scotland later this year. It will premiere on the BBC Scotland channel followed by a network showing on BBC Two, and will be available on BBC iPlayer.