Alison Steadman, John Cleese to Star in BBC One Comedy

BBC One has added to its lineup the new six-part comedy series Edith, starring Alison Steadman, John Cleese and Jason Watkins.

Edith centers on a widow whose dreams of moving away with an old boyfriend are put on hold when her adult son returns home. The BBC Studios production is penned by Oscar nominee Charles McKeown and directed by Sandy Johnson. The cast also includes Jessica Hynes, Anne Reid, Rosie Cavaliero, James Cosmo and Peter Egan. Executive producers are Chris Sussman, BBC Studios’ head of comedy, and Moira Williams, with Humphrey Barclay as producer.

Steadman remarked: “I’m thrilled to be in Edith and working with such an amazing cast.”

Cleese noted: “These are the most enjoyable scripts I’ve been sent in the last 100 years. It will also be particularly nice to work with Alison again since we joined forces in Clockwise all that time ago.”

Shane Allen, controller of comedy commissioning, stated: “If you had carte blanche on your fantasy BBC One comedy cast then you’d not be far off the Edith lineup. It’s also a huge pleasure to welcome John Cleese back to the land of BBC sitcom—his last one did alright. This is the cream of British talent giving the BBC One audience the very best comedy on television.”

Sussman added: “It’s a privilege to be able to bring such a wonderful cast to a BBC One comedy, and a great testament to Charles McKeown’s beautifully written scripts that they all signed up to it.”