The BBC has made a number of huge announcements at Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday, as they revealed three exciting new projects.
The broadcaster announced comedy legend Dawn French would be making her return to British sitcoms, fan-favourite show The Traitors was getting a celebrity series and Rose Ayling-Ellis is set to front a new documentary.
The second series of hit BBC series The Traitors reached huge success at the start of the year, with the final making history as the most watched episode ever, with 6.9million people tuning in.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the gripping reality show has also earned a raft of awards including at last year’s British Academy Television Awards and National Television Awards.
It is already set to return for a third season, which has already been filming in the Scottish Highlands, after almost 300,000 people applied.
The BBC has made a number of huge announcements at Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday, as they revealed three exciting new projects, including a sitcom starring Dawn French (pictured)
The broadcaster announced comedy legend Dawn French would be making her return to British sitcoms, fan-favourite show The Traitors was getting a celebrity series and Rose Ayling-Ellis (pictured) is set to front a new documentary
The second series of hit BBC series The Traitors reached huge success at the start of the year, with the final making history as the most watched episode ever, with 6.9million people tuning in
And it was announced at the festival that a fourth series and a nine-part celebrity version have also been commissioned.
Both series will be filmed in 2025, with applications now open to take part in the ultimate game of strategy, suspicion and trust and casting for the celebrity contestants also underway.
Companion show The Traitors: Uncloaked, hosted by Ed Gamble, will also return with 12 new episodes running alongside series three on BBC Sounds, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
Head of Entertainment at the BBC, Kalpna Patel-Knight, said: ‘The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level.
‘It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!”
While Creative Director Unscripted at Studio Lambert and Executive Producer for The Traitors, Mike Cotton, said: ‘We are thrilled to be inviting some celebrities into our castle to come and play the game.
‘Seeing famous faces navigate the round table or don the infamous green cloaks will be unmissable TV, and what a double treat for the fans with Series 4 also confirmed too.
‘There’s a whole lot of exciting treachery and deception yet to come from the Highlands… Claudia’s going to have to pack some extra knitwear.’
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman (pictured), the gripping reality show also won prizes at last year’s British Academy Television Awards and National Television Awards.
It is already set to return for a third season, which began filming in May and after much speculation the BBC confirmed a celebrity version is coming (Harry and Claudia pictured)
Earlier this year, it was reported producers were likely to be eyeing up stars such as Wagatha Christie rivals Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy for a celebrity version.
Others on the potential roster are said to be former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who finished third in 2022’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, and Match of the Day host and former footballer Gary Lineker.
While presenter Claudia previously voiced the big names she’d like to see appear on a celebrity version of the show.
She listed: ‘Victoria Coren, Kirsty Young, Adam Woodyatt, Stephen Fry, Alison Hammond… let’s do that.’
Elsewhere at the Edinburgh TV Festival’s Spotlight on the BBC session, Director of BBC Comedy Jon Petrie revealed Dawn, 66, and Mark Heap will star in a new sitcom together.
Can You Keep a Secret? is a six-part series written and created by Simon Mayhew-Archer about the tough decisions in life and death.
It follows Dawn’s character Debbie Fenton, a widower, granny, lawn bowler, tinpot dictator – who will stop at nothing to make sure her family’s protected. Unfortunately, most of the time the person they really need protecting from is her.
When her hermit-like husband William (Mark) unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before.
Elsewhere at the Edinburgh TV Festival’s Spotlight on the BBC session, Director of BBC Comedy Jon Petrie revealed Dawn, 66, and Mark Heap (pictured) will star in a new sitcom together
It follows Dawn’s character Debbie Fenton, a widower, granny, lawn bowler, tinpot dictator – who will stop at nothing to make sure her family’s protected. Unfortunately, most of the time the person they really need protecting from is her (Dawn pictured last year)
It is revealed Debbie isn’t actually a widower and William didn’t really die – he was just mistakenly declared dead and the two retirees found themselves staring down the barrel of an opportunity too good to pass up.
Just a few months hiding out in the loft waiting for the life insurance to pay out and then they can live out their golden years in peace.
However, this all proves a bit much for their easily frazzled son Harry who – despite his emotional shortcomings – has managed to acquire a family of his own and a potentially life changing insurance payout from his father’s ‘death’.
Reunited with a dad he’s just buried and the reality that his parents have turned into a pensioner version of Bonnie and Clyde, Harry suddenly has a lot more to juggle.
Sandwiched between two generations of toddlers, Harry finds himself navigating a very common stage of life – only this time, it’s criminal.
The sitcom is set in the West Country and was described as ‘the story of an odd little family you haven’t met yet, but that you already know – a sitcom that places comedy icon Dawn French in the middle of some mischief we can all relate to. Can Debbie Fenton and her family keep their secret? Or will one of them spill the beans?’
Dawn famously previously starred in the beloved BBC show The Vicar of Dibley from 1994 to 2007, and Can You Keep A Secret? marks her grand return to sitcoms.
Speaking about her new role, she hilariously quipped: ‘At last…a sitcom where I can keep my top on…mostly.’
Dawn famously previously starred in the beloved BBC show The Vicar of Dibley (pictured in 1996) from 1994 to 2007, and Can You Keep A Secret? marks her grand return to sitcoms
It comes after Dawn previously teased that she was plotting a return to the small screen in a new sitcom, as she said it was harder to make comedy these days without ‘getting cancelled’.
While Jon said: ‘Can You Keep a Secret? hilariously delves into a rarely portrayed stage of the family life cycle, blending classic sitcom elements with an exhilarating farcical crime twist. With Dawn French and Mark Heap leading the cast, this is an irresistible new comedy and I can’t wait for BBC viewers to see it.’
And Executive Producer and CEO Big Talk Studios Kenton Allen gushed: ‘Working with Dawn French has been a career-long ambition and to have her inimitable comedic brilliance join forces with the extraordinary Mark Heap and the Simons – Simon Mayhew-Archer and Simon Hynd – is every producer’s dream.
‘We’re delighted to welcome such talented creative minds into the Big Talk family and can’t wait for viewers to see this highly original family comedy in all its glory.’
It comes after Dawn previously teased that she was plotting a return to the small screen in a new sitcom, as she said it was harder to make comedy these days without ‘getting cancelled’.
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, she told how she hopes the show will air in either late 2024 or early 2025, and vowed she’ll ‘fight for people to be as offensive as they want to be.’
She said: ‘There are plans afoot. I can’t tell you too much about it at the moment. But at the end of next year or beginning of the following year there will be a sitcom and I will be in it.’
Dawn spoke about the state of comedy today and recalled how much difficulty her and her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders had in getting Absolutely Fabulous on screens.
She said: ‘I remember Jennifer [Saunders] telling me how difficult it was to get Absolutely Fabulous off the ground, because her characters were smoking, drinking, and falling over and being complete eejits.
Meanwhile, following the success of her first documentary Signs For Change, Rose, 29, is returning with a new two-part documentary series (pictured in June)
The actress earned a National Television Award nomination for the programme, where she campaigned for free British Sign Language (BSL) for families with deaf children (pictured on the documentary)
‘But you know, it all seems so mild now… Let’s be inappropriate, let’s wear purple, let’s just push the edges a little bit and laugh at ourselves when we get it a bit wrong.’
Asked whether comedy has become a ‘bit too vanilla’ these days, Dawn replied: ‘No, because there’s everything. There’s everything for everyone. I would fight tooth and nail for people to be as offensive as they want to be.
‘Hatred? No. I think we do know when something sneaks into completely unacceptable incitement to hatred. I think we all know when that’s the case.
‘And of course, it’s just not funny. That’s the facts. It is just not funny to anyone except for the one person who thinks it is, who usually has lost their marbles.’
Meanwhile, following the success of her first documentary Signs For Change, Rose, 29, is returning with a new two-part documentary series.
The actress earned a National Television Award nomination for the programme, where she campaigned for free British Sign Language (BSL) for families with deaf children.
It came out in June of last year, and saw Rose challenging the perception of deafness as something that needs to be cured and highlights the beauty of sign language and the deaf experience.
The new series is titled ‘Signs for Living with Rose Ayling-Ellis’ and will see the star take a group of older people on an extraordinary and emotional journey as they take up the challenge of learning BSL.
The new series is titled ‘Signs for Living with Rose Ayling-Ellis’ and will see the star take a group of older people on an extraordinary and emotional journey as they take up the challenge of learning BSL (pictured last year)
Rose intends to turn the spotlight on the issue of hearing loss among the older generation and the impact it can have on an individual’s health and wellbeing.
The BBC described the documentary as ‘profound and heartwarming’ and explained viewers will see Rose explore if BSL has the potential to improve the quality of life in old age and benefit us all as we get older and also expose the lack of provision for people like her in later life.
The description states: ‘Supported by and in consultation with experts and professionals, Rose is doing something that has never been done before and may well change perspectives on the role of BSL in the lives of people who have hearing loss in later life.
‘But, above all, Rose’s experiment will capture the joy of communicating and the power of community.’
Across the series, audiences will experience the joy and the challenge of learning how to communicate with BSL through the ups and downs of a handful of wonderful characters who are smashing through the stereotypes of old age and showing us all what is possible.
Uplifting moments will include students as old as 95, some with arthritis in their hands, signing to each other with the help of Deaf tutors working alongside Rose; deaf children as young as 5 comparing notes with the older people on what scares them as well as their hopes and dreams for the future, a Deaf Rave in which older residents experience the power of music in an entirely new way; and a visit from the much loved Deaf Chefs who are moved to tears by the enthusiastic take-up for signing in this unlikeliest of settings.
Discussing the series, Rose said: ‘I knew filming this show would be a challenge, but what I have experienced teaching the residents sign language has gone beyond my expectations. It is an experience I will cherish for a lifetime, and I just can’t wait for viewers to see the series.’
Director James Rogan gushed: ‘After Signs for Change, we are delighted to be working with Rose again on this ground-breaking series.
‘This experiment addresses a burning issue in society with the sense of love, lightness of touch and deep engagement that we have come to expect from Rose.’
While Series Producer Camilla Arnold said: ‘Witnessing the language of my community, the deaf community, being embraced and used by the wider world has been a truly magical experience.
‘This film not only puts a long-awaited spotlight on British Sign Language (BSL) but also carries a powerful message: BSL is for everyone, and, more importantly, it serves as an invaluable tool against the hearing loss that often accompanies old age.’
This documentary will be part of a wider pan BBC British Sign Language season next year which aims to celebrate BSL and break down the barriers between us, with content across BBC platforms as well as online resources and material to help people learn to sign.