A Solihull comedy writer is set to make broadcasting history when a sitcom starring comic Peter Kay becomes the first BBC programme to be made available on the corporation’s on-demand service, iPlayer, before it is broadcast on BBC One.
All six episodes of Car Share, written by Tim Reid and Paul Coleman, will be available on the iPlayer between April 24 and 28.
Car Share features Peter Kay as John Redmond and Sian Gibson as Kayleigh Kitson - two supermarket workers who have been thrown together in a company car share scheme.
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It is Mr Reid and Mr Coleman’s first ever sitcom and came to fruition after they contacted Mr Kay for advice. He liked it so much he signed up to star in and direct it.
Mr Reid, from Solihull, and Mr Coleman discovered a shared passion for comedy after working together as business consultants for innovation company What If.
Explaining how the Peter Kay partnership came about, Mr Reid said: “Paul had worked with Peter before on Britain’s Got the Pop Factor and Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere and we thought let’s show it to him and see what’s working and what is not.
“We were just hoping he would give us some feedback and opinions – whether it was a good idea or not and whether the writing was good enough or not.
“That was our hope – just to get his view on what we had done.
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“So it was a real thrill when he came back and said not only did he really like it but wanted to get involved too.
“He loved the idea and asked us if we wanted him to work with us on it and you don’t say no to that – he is the best there is.”
Car Share is the first time Mr Kay, best known for his stand-up tours and Channel 4 sitcoms like Phoenix Nights, has worked with the BBC. Explaining how Car Share initially came about, Mr Reid, a former pupil of Solihull School, said: “Myself and Paul were both interested in writing comedy and sitcoms, and came up with idea of a car share.
“We loved self-contained character-based situations like Porridge and Rising Damp, which focus on the characters and how they interact.
“We hit on the idea of a car share where two characters would be in a very tight situation and thrown together.
“So we thought let’s write it, let’s have a go. It came together very quickly. We got into the idea of who the characters were and wrote it really quickly. Before we knew where we were we had written six episodes.”
The fact Car Share will be premiered on iPlayer aspect is an added bonus for Mr Reid, who said: “It is something that has never been done before and is really interesting. It really appeals to the innovation consultant in me – being the first time and trying something new. It also means people will be seeking it out rather than stumbling across it. That is quite exciting.
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“I’m also I am thrilled it is going to be on BBC One too, for a first time sitcom writer like me that is incredible.”
Highlighting what had drawn him to the project Mr Kay said: “I really liked the idea of two people communicating in a confined space, the potential of spiraling conversations and the opportunity to find humour in the daily commute that millions of people do everyday.”
Mr Kay said the show ended up being commissioned by the BBC after he contacted the broadcaster’s controller of comedy Shane Allen, adding that he also had to persuade him it would be a good idea to cast his friend Ms Gibson alongside him.
He said: “I thought Car Share was ideal for the BBC so I contacted Shane Allen and pitched the idea. Fortunately he liked it and commissioned the series for which I was extremely grateful and didn’t take for granted. It’s been 11 years since I last made a television series so I was very appreciative of the opportunity.
“There was a huge amount of trust on Shane Allen’s part as I was basically casting one of my best friends in a main role but I’ve always completely believed in Sian.
“We’ve known each other over 20 years and I’ve worked with her on almost everything I’ve ever made, right back to the first pilot I ever filmed at Granada TV in 1995. Fortunately once Shane and others at the BBC saw a rough edit of her performance they were delighted.”
Mr Kay said he was also delighted to see Car Share premiering on the iPlayer.
He added: “I like to binge on series and watch more than one episode at once which I know I lot of people like to do, so I thought it’d be a great to launch the whole series on iPlayer and give viewers a chance to watch them all at once.”