Treacle
21-07-2005, 15:54
Comedian Harry Hill is to write an ITV1 pilot for a spoof soap featuring Darren Day as a love-rat landlord and Just Good Friends star Jan Francis as his mum.
Xtreem Soap will be set in the fictional town of Waffingham and revolve around the local duck pond.
The show is being billed as a "collision of popular soap themes and characters - imagine a town where EastEnders meets Emmerdale, with a splash of Holby City and just a tiny bit of The Bill thrown in for good measure".
Xtreem Soap will also feature John Thomson as the owner of the local key-cutting booth and Paul Usher - Brookside's Barry Grant - as the local villain. Other cast members include Kate Robbins, Josie D'Arby, Karen Taylor and Carli Norris.
Hill, who is currently working on the fifth series of TV Burp for ITV1, will write Xtreem Soap but will not appear on screen.
"With the nation's soap obsession and plots becoming ever more preposterous, it seems like the right time to have some fun with the genre. In response Xtreem Soap was born," said Richard Allen-Turner, the joint managing director of independent producer Avalon, which is making the show.
Xtreem Soap will also feature contributions from the TV Burp writing team of Dan Maier, David Quantick, Brenda Gilhooly and Paul Hawksbee. Former EastEnders writer Andrew Collins will also be contributing to the script.
The pilot has been commissioned by the ITV controller of comedy, Sioned William, produced by Paul Goodman and directed by David Jackson.
Xtreem Soap will be set in the fictional town of Waffingham and revolve around the local duck pond.
The show is being billed as a "collision of popular soap themes and characters - imagine a town where EastEnders meets Emmerdale, with a splash of Holby City and just a tiny bit of The Bill thrown in for good measure".
Xtreem Soap will also feature John Thomson as the owner of the local key-cutting booth and Paul Usher - Brookside's Barry Grant - as the local villain. Other cast members include Kate Robbins, Josie D'Arby, Karen Taylor and Carli Norris.
Hill, who is currently working on the fifth series of TV Burp for ITV1, will write Xtreem Soap but will not appear on screen.
"With the nation's soap obsession and plots becoming ever more preposterous, it seems like the right time to have some fun with the genre. In response Xtreem Soap was born," said Richard Allen-Turner, the joint managing director of independent producer Avalon, which is making the show.
Xtreem Soap will also feature contributions from the TV Burp writing team of Dan Maier, David Quantick, Brenda Gilhooly and Paul Hawksbee. Former EastEnders writer Andrew Collins will also be contributing to the script.
The pilot has been commissioned by the ITV controller of comedy, Sioned William, produced by Paul Goodman and directed by David Jackson.