BBC Comedy has a Halloween treat for you with news of the spec-dracula cast to star alongside BAFTA winner Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?) in a trapped between two worlds sitcom, The Reluctant Vampire, produced by Boffola Pictures for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, in co-production with ZDFneo.
The 6×30′ series, based on the books by British comedy legend Eric Morecambe (The Morecambe & Wise Show) and written by Rob and Neil Gibbons (Alan Partridge), will see Tom Davis (Wonka, King Gary), Sian Clifford (Fleabag), Charlie Cooper (This Country), Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing), Joe Wilkinson (After Life), Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts), Esther Smith (Trying), Bill Bailey (Black Books), Ray Fearon (Not Going Out), Ellie May Sheridan (Dodger), Gabriel Nagy (Extra Geography), and multi-award winning stand-up comedian Ross Noble sink their teeth into a world of colourful characters.
Raised in a conventional vampire family, Val (Lenny Rush) isn’t the most natural at the bloodthirsty rites of passage despite his best efforts. Life takes a shocking turn when he discovers — after accidentally coming across his own reflection — that he’s not a vampire after all and his Vampire mum has kept everything secret from him. Until now.
The Reluctant Vampire is set in a typical English village which happens to have a Vampire castle on the hill. The show follows Val, the “Reluctant Vampire”, who by day explores with fascination his newly discovered human side with the help of village girl Gertie (Ellie May Sheridan), but can never let his secret be known to the locals. Yet by night there’s a coffin-load of expectations from his tradition obsessed vampire dad, Victor, (Tom Davis) his suspicious brother, Vernon, (Gabriel Nagy) and his doting mum Valeeta (Sian Clifford) who is the only one in the family who knows his true self. Val must navigate both worlds without letting his cover be staked.
Lenny Rush said “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be surrounded by this bunch of comedy legends. If vampires had a dream team, this would be it.”
Shane Allen, executive producer, Boffola Pictures, says: “This is a world of vampires, invisible ghosts, werewolves & gargoyles following in the dead funny footsteps of GHOSTS to deliver high-spirited hilarity for all the family. The response to Neil and Rob’s scripts has sent shivers up our spines with the cream of British comedy signing up.”
The Reluctant Vampire (6×30’) has been commissioned for BBC iPlayer and BBC One by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning. Written by Rob Gibbons and Neil Gibbons, the executive producer is Shane Allen. The series producer is Ali Marlow and the director is Emily McDonald. Gary Morecambe is the script consultant. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Ben Caudell and Navi Lamba, and Yi Qiao for ZDFneo. BBC Studios, who have a minority investment stake in Boffola Pictures, will handle global sales.
More devilishly delicious details for The Reluctant Vampire will be announced in due course.