“He’s the king of the brilliantly worked one-liner…Lee and Lucy’s war of attrition is still present and correct and the punchlines wallop in your face as splendidly as ever”
Sharon Lougher, Metro
“excellent sitcom… Clever, relatable and joke-packed as ever”
Eleanor Relf, The Sun
The BBC’s longest running and multi-award winning primetime sitcom Not Going Out, starring the British Comedy Award and BAFTA-winning comedian Lee Mack, returns to our screens this festive season for a much anticipated Christmas special.
Viewers last saw Lee (Lee Mack) and Lucy (Sally Bretton) showcase their chaotic parenting skills as they tackled the challenges of raising seven year old Charlie, five year old twins Benji and Molly, AND keep the romance alive in their marriage. Now it’s Christmas Eve, and Lee and Lucy face a possible yuletide disaster when they discover the perfect present they have bought for their children has already been gifted to them by their grandparents Geoffrey (Geoffrey Whitehead) and Wendy (Deborah Grant). Lee is forced to rush out at the last minute in search of a suitable substitute. But, with all the local shops closing their doors for the festive period, the race is on for Lee to avoid the ultimate parenting fail on Christmas morning and disappoint his three excited children. With Lee’s lovably feckless father Frank (Bobby Ball) and uptight neighbours Toby (Hugh Dennis) and Anna (Abigail Cruttenden) dropping in to join in the madness and mayhem, it’s guaranteed to be a family Christmas to remember.
ends
“An inspired reboot… The set up/gag rhythms are as slick as ever – a drum machine of good jokes, double entendres and mishearings.”
David Butcher, Radio Times
“The jokes come as thick and fast as ever”
David Chater, The Times
★★★★
Mark Wareham, The Mail on Sunday
“The writing is as sharp as ever, with genuinely laugh-out-loud jokes” ★★★★
Jill Pelton, TV Times
“the eighth series proves he’s up for moving forward… opening up a rich new seam of comic potential”
★★★★
Jason Arnopp, Heat
“plenty of great gags”
Jack Seale, The Guardian
“in a heartbeat, the comedy about layabout Lee and his will-they won’t-they relationship with flatmate Lucy has morphed into a family sitcom… and the result is a delightfully gag-filled return to form.”
Sara Wallis, The Daily Mirror
Not Going Out Christmas Special will be in BBC ONE’s Christmas schedule (exact date TBC)
For more information, please contact: Lucy Plosker or Dan Lloyd on 020 7598 7222 or [email protected] / [email protected]
Notes to editors
An Avalon Television Production, the series is co-written by Lee Mack and Danny Peak, directed by Nick Wood and produced by Jamie Rix. Executive Producers are Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, Lee Mack and Jon Thoday.
About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award winning talent management, live promotion and television production group with offices in the UK and the USA.
Avalon and ARG, the talent management arm has discovered and represents many artists which are household names, both in the UK, the USA, and around the world.
In 2017 Avalon was named the number one true independent television production company in the UK and has produced numerous ground-breaking television shows including: Emmy and Peabody award winner Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), multi-award winning and Emmy-nominated Catastrophe (Channel 4/Amazon Prime), RTS and Rose d’Or winning Not Going Out (the BBC’s longest running sitcom currently on air), multi-BAFTA award winning TV Burp (ITV1), Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC2), Fantasy Football League (BBC/ITV) and Workaholics (Comedy Central USA).
Avalon and Topical Television form the television arm of the company and other shows currently in production include: The Button (BBC One), Taskmaster USA (Comedy Central), The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One), Man Down (C4), Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Goodish (Dave/UKTV), The Chris Ramsey Show (Comedy Central), and Stand Up Central with Chris Ramsey (Comedy Central); whilst the catalogue is sold worldwide by Avalon Distribution.
Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show; Jerry Springer: The Opera, the first West End show to win all four UK ‘Best New Musical’ awards; and has continued to produce live shows globally, as well as promoting more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company.
For Avalon news visit: www.avalon-entertainment.com or @avalonent
