RTÉ’s Bridget & Eamon visits UKTV

Bridget & Eamon will air on Gold

UKTV has picked up Irish series Bridget & Eamon in a deal that is believed to mark the first time a fully funded comedy from RTÉ has travelled to the UK.

The six-parter, which will air on Gold, debuted on RTÉ2 in February after starting life as a sketch on RTÉ2’s satirical TV review and magazine show The Republic of Telly.

RTÉ commissioned a full series late last year from Pure Class Productions, with a second run now in the works.

The show, written by Bernard O’Shea, Jennifer Zamparelli and Jason Butler, is set in the 1980s and stars Zamparelli as aspirational housewife Bridget and O’Shea as her hapless husband Eamon.

RTÉ head of comedy Eddie Doyle said: “This is a real breakthrough for Irish comedy in Britain. Building on the success of Mrs Browns Boys, Bridget & Eamon shows how Irish writers, performers and producers can compete in one of the biggest, most creative comedy marketplaces in the world.”

The deal was brokered by Edel Edwards, head of international programme sales for RTÉ, and Daniel Thomas, acquisitions executive for UKTV.