Kay makes iPlayer debut

The BBC has greenlit its first sitcom from British stand-up comedian Peter Kay and will premiere every episode on its iPlayer catch-up service.

Car Share follows two supermarket workers who take part in a car-share scheme and will be directed by Kay, the co-creator of Channel 4’s Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy’s Road to Nowhere. He is one of the UK’s most successful stand-up comedians and has previously broken world records for the number of tickets sold for his stand-up tour in 2010 and 2011.

BBC1 controller Danny Cohen said: “It is hugely exciting that Peter Kay is coming to BBC1 with his new series – even more so with the innovative plan we have to launch the show online.”

In a first for the Beeb, episodes of Car Share will be made available to view online via the iPlayer before they air on BBC1. This follows the BBC’s commission of its first original dramas on iPlayer last week.

Six original short films made by up-and-coming talent will air on the iPlayer over the next two years, as part of a venture between what used to be termed ‘the catch-up service’, BBC3 and BBC Drama Production.

Victoria Jaye, BBC head of IPTV and TV online content, said: “This ambitious new strand builds on BBC iPlayer as a creative platform to bring original British drama to audiences online, and explores storytelling outside of a scheduled TV slot or duration.”

Youth-skewing BBC3 previously commissioned the comedy series Impractical Jokers on the basis of its reception online through its Feed My Funny web strand.