Channel 4 hoping to build comedy success from two Cockneys called Lee & Dean
The broadcaster has comissioned a series about two builders from newcomers Miles Chapman and Mark O'Sullivan - a promising pair who have already caught the eye of Armando Iannucci and Kim Cattrall
Channel 4 is making a new comedy series about a pair of funny – and slightly shifty – cockney builders, RadioTimes.com can reveal.
Five-part series Lee & Dean has been written and performed by Mark O'Sullivan (who plays Dean) and Miles Chapman (Lee) and will be available on C4's on-demand service All 4 later this year.
The improvised show is set in Stevenage and the story of “cheap builds, cheap lager, bark rubbing, break ups, and bad poetry” has an unexpected twist – there is unrequited love lurking at the heart of the bromance.
The pair have already showcased the characters on YouTube (warning contains sexually explicit scenes and swearing):
Sam Underwood, Ramon Tikaram (Fortitude, Happy Valley) and Ricky Grover (EastEnders, Getting On, Walliams & Friend) also star in the show from the writing pair who have already sparked lots of cult interest, with Veep’s Armando Iannucci and Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall among their fans.
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They were impressed by Flavours, a short comedy the pair made about an unconventional couple for Channel 4’s Blaps, the online comedy showcase.
Iannucci said of Flavours:
Kim Cattrall was also such a fan she suggested teaming up with the pair:
Lee & Dean is being made by Bingo Productions and sees O’Sullivan serve as series director with Chapman producing.
Rachel Springett, Commissioning Editor for Channel 4, said: “We have been working with the talented writers and performers Mark and Miles from developments to Blaps and we're thrilled to now be making a full series Lee & Dean with them, set in the world of Stevenage builders. It will be a joy to watch the ensemble cast bring these brilliantly well-observed characters to life.”
O’Sullivan and Chapman added in a statement: “We’re cock-a-hoop that we’ve been given the opportunity to bring Lee & Dean to life for the channel that has produced so many of our favourite comedies. And if there’s any chance we can get a City & Guilds in bricklaying out of it, it’s a double win for us."
