UKTV Orders Rosie Jones’s Disability Extravaganza

UKTV has commissioned the live comedy showcase Rosie Jones’s Disability Comedy Extravaganza as a UKTV Play and Dave YouTube channel exclusive.

Rosie Jones’s Disability Comedy Extravaganza will be filmed on April 27 at a central London location and will launch on UKTV Play and the Dave YouTube channel in early summer. It will feature Josh Pugh, Bethany Black, Jake Lambert, Don Biswas, Sarah Mills, Sam Serrano, Lara Ricote, Dan Tiernan, William Thompson and Will Robbins.

Richard Watsham, UKTV’s director of commissioning, said: “The showcase will see host Rosie Jones welcome up-and-coming comedy talent to the stage for an in-person audience of producers and commissioners from across the industry, helping to deliver on UKTV’s commitment to provide a platform for diverse and underrepresented talent, alongside other key initiatives such as UKTV’s diverse writers schemes and our UKTV All Voices initiative.”

Jones said: “I am so excited to be hosting another UKTV Disability Comedy Extravaganza, particularly now this one rightfully has my name in the title! As we proved with the last event, it’s so important that TV doesn’t overlook disabled comedians as we are a ridiculously funny bunch. It’s so exciting that this time viewers will get to join in the fun and watch too!”

Iain Coyle, head of comedy entertainment at UKTV, said: “Diversity is rightly a priority for UKTV and Dave, and I’m so proud to be involved with this initiative. There’s a huge amount of disabled talent out there, criminally underused. We want to be at the forefront of introducing the industry, and viewers, to that talent and have a bloody good laugh while doing so.”

Adele Fowler of Phil McIntyre Television said: “We’re really proud to be working with UKTV and Rosie Jones again on another fantastic and diverse night of comedy, and we’re looking forward to seeing all the exciting comics perform.”