UKTV continues its investment drive in entertainment originations with the recommission of Gold's first scripted sitcom, You, Me & Them. The move forms part of the channel's bold commissioning strategy, which has included securing the rights to broadcast the final ever performance of the Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down Five to Go stage show directly from The O2 on Sunday 20th July 2014.
Gold is part of UKTV's network of award-winning channels and is home to Britain's best loved comedy and sitcoms. You, Me & Them, produced by Hat Trick Productions first aired on the channel in October last year and tells the story of Ed (Anthony Head - Little Britain, Merlin, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Lauren (award-winning Welsh actress Eve Myles - Frankie, Torchwood). The couple are madly in love, but Lauren's family and everyone around them seems to have an opinion on their relationship, and specifically, their 20 plus-year age gap.
The scripted sitcom will again feature an all-star cast, with Hat Trick currently casting new big name talent for cameo roles.
Steve North, General Manager of Gold, commented,
The first series of You, Me & Them was funny, engaging and a perfect fit for Gold's audience, and we're looking forward to even more laughs in this second series. We're thrilled the charming Anthony Head and talented Eve Myles are back, and we're in talks with high profile talent for cameo roles.
Simon Lupton, UKTV's Commissioning Editor, added,
Gold is committed to investing in fresh and quality programming, so we are delighted to be welcoming back the You, Me & Them family in all their eccentric glory and to be working with some of the best on and off screen comic talent.
Jimmy Mulville, Managing Director of Hat Trick Productions added; "It's wonderful to be delivering a second series of this original comedy for UKTV, who couldn't be more supportive."
The new series, scheduled to air in 2015 is being created and written by Steve Turner, whose comedy credits include ITV's Great Night Out. The second series of You, Me & Them has been commissioned by UKTV's Director of Commissioning Richard Watsham, Commissioning Editor, Simon Lupton is Executive Producer for UKTV, and has been ordered by Gold's General Manager, Steve North. The Executive Producer for Hat Trick Productions is Helen Williams and the Producer is Angela Sinden.
You, Me & Them is the latest in a line of original series for Gold. Exclusive commission The Two Ronnies Spectacle, premiered in September 2013, peaking at 373k, which is +213% on slot. Gold has also created brand new series The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go To Rehab, Bring me Morecambe and Wise, Yes, Prime Minister and Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy. Gold's 2014 peak schedule is up 10%, placing the channel ahead of Comedy Central. The brand new commission Porridge: Inside Out, celebrated the 40th anniversary of the hit British sitcom, it performed 124% above slot average reaching two million individuals.
UKTV, which reaches over 42 million viewers per month, devoted a record £110m of investment on screen in 2013. This year UKTV is investing even more, £120m, on new programming.
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Notes to Editors
About Gold (Sky 110, Virgin 126, TalkTalk 408, Top-Up TV 20)
Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's favourite comedy channel. Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Outnumbered sit alongside successful commissions including Porridge: Inside Out, Yes, Prime Minister, The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go To Rehab (starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders) and Bring Me Morecambe and Wise. The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy.
http://gold.uktv.co.uk@goldtvchannel
About UKTV
UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers per month.
UKTV's ten imaginative channel brands - Watch, Dave, Gold, Alibi, Eden, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home and Good Food - include the most watched non-PSB channel, the most watched channel in the Factual genre and the most watched channels in the Lifestyle genre (Pay and Free). The company's most recent financial results showed a record-breaking year-end revenue of £262m, and operating profit at £71m.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC and Channel 4 content, and embracing technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT TV, TalkTalk, YouView, plus direct On Demand digital services. The network distributes its highly valued programmes to 200 territories around the world and supplies Sky with more hours of HD content than anyone else.
Now celebrating its 21st year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.