New Sky 1 HD Comedy in the Works

LONDON: Tiger Aspect has started production on Mount Pleasant, an eight-part comedy-drama commissioned by Sky 1 HD.

Mount Pleasant, which comes from Shameless writer Sarah Hooper, follows the day-to-day life of a married woman living in Manchester. On top of work, friends and family life, she has to fight off women making plays for her husband on a daily basis. Sally Lindsay of Coronation Street and Daniel Ryan of Skins take the lead wife and husband roles.

Lucy Lumsden, the head of comedy at Sky 1 HD, commented: “I’m delighted with the wealth of talent that surrounds Mount Pleasant both on- and off-screen. What better way to kick off Sky’s plans for original British comedy. Our customers are in for a treat.”

Mount Pleasant executive producer Sophie Clarke-Jervoise noted: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring Sarah Hooper’s first comedy drama series to life on Sky 1 HD. She is a truly brilliant writer, with enormous energy, creativity and an unerring ability to constantly surprise her audience.“

Producer Siobhan Bachman said: “When Sarah wrote this show, we dreamed of actors like Pauline Collins and Bobby Ball bringing her characters to life and we’re still pinching ourselves now they’re on board. It’s an incredible cast with Sally Lindsay and Daniel Ryan providing the show’s beating heart with remarkable on-screen chemistry. It’s fantastic to see a real, loving marriage and a leading lady who’s strong, funny and likable. That’s rare on TV nowadays.”

Hooper added: “Mount Pleasant is my first own series and it is a huge milestone in my career. Lucy and Stuart at Sky have been brilliantly supportive at every stage, and it’s a total pleasure working with Siobhan and Sophie at Tiger Aspect. It was imperative for me to write something bright and aspirational instead of something too grim up north, and they have all backed this right from the start, which is fantastic.”