Exclusive first trailer for BBC comedy Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back
Kevin Bishop stars as the former (and interim) UKIP leader in a first look at the one-off mockumentary
It might seem like the recent life of former and interim UKIP leader Nigel Farage (including a surprise moustache, union jack shoes and physical altercations within his party) is beyond parody, but comedian Kevin Bishop is having a bash at it anyway.
In new BBC mockumentary Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back, Bishop will play an imagined version of the right-wing politician as “a cross between Basil Fawlty and Enoch Powell”, struggling to deal with his new-found free time after standing down as UKIP leader – and now RadioTimes.com can exclusively reveal the first trailer for the series, which sees “Farage” struggle to advertise his own programme.
"Nigel Farage is the gift that keeps on giving,” Bishop told RadioTimes.com when the programme was first announced. "There is the moustache and now the appearance at the Trump rally, it’s going to be fun.”
"On the 23rd June, Britain voted to leave the European Union," added the BBC. "Then, on the 4th July, Nigel Farage, the man who had made it all possible, resigned saying he wanted his life back. But what sort of life has he gone back to, and how does a man forever in the spotlight fill his days now he has nothing to do?"
Spot the difference...Kevin Bishop and the real Nigel Farage
Of course, since the 30-minute programme (written by Shaun Pye and Alan Connor) was announced Farage’s hopes of taking a back seat to UKIP’s progress have been stalled somewhat, with new leader Diane James quitting after just 18 days in charge and forcing him to stand in while another candidate is elected.
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Still, we’re sure that if this one-off is commissioned for a full series (as we understand is the hope) Bishop and company will find some way to incorporate Farage’s forced return to UKIP leadership. After all, everybody says that the best comedies are about people trapped by their circumstances.
Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back will air on BBC2 on Sunday 30th October at 10:00pm
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.