She'll star alongside Mark Heap in the new comedy about the tough decisions in life. And death.
At this year's Edinburgh Television Festival, the Director of BBC Comedy, Jon Petrie, announced Can You Keep a Secret?, a brand new sitcom written and created by Simon Mayhew-Archer, and starring Dawn French and Mark Heap.
The new six-part comedy is a show about the tough decisions in life. And death. Set in the West Country, it's the story of an odd little family you haven’t met yet, but that you already know.
Dawn French plays widower Debbie Fenton. She's a granny, lawn bowler and tinpot dictator, who will stop at nothing to make sure her family’s protected. Unfortunately, most of the time the person they really need protecting from is her.
When her hermit-like husband William, played by Mark Heap, unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before.
Because Debbie isn’t actually a widower and William didn’t really die, he was just mistakenly declared dead and the two retirees found themselves staring down the barrel of an opportunity too good to pass up.
Just a few months hiding out in the loft waiting for the life insurance to pay out and then they can live out their golden years in peace.
Can Debbie Fenton and her family keep their secret? Or will one of them spill the beans?
Speaking about starring in Can You Keep a Secret?, Dawn French said "At last...a sitcom where I can keep my top on...mostly."
Writer and Executive Producer, Simon Mayhew-Archer said Having the chance to make this show is the greatest joy of my career, and I'm enormously grateful to Dawn, Jon and Tanya for the opportunity."
Director of BBC Comedy, Jon Petrie said "Can You Keep a Secret? hilariously delves into a rarely portrayed stage of the family life cycle, blending classic sitcom elements with an exhilarating farcical crime twist. With Dawn French and Mark Heap leading the cast, this is an irresistible new comedy and I can’t wait for BBC viewers to see it."
To which Kenton Allen, Executive Producer and CEO Big Talk Studios, added "Working with Dawn French has been a career-long ambition and to have her inimitable comedic brilliance join forces with the extraordinary Mark Heap and the Simons - Simon Mayhew-Archer and Simon Hynd - is every producer’s dream. We’re delighted to welcome such talented creative minds into the Big Talk family and can’t wait for viewers to see this highly original family comedy in all its glory."
Can You Keep a Secret? will be directed by Simon Hynd, produced by Lauriel Martin and Joe Scantlebury, co-produced by Big Talk Studios, Mayhay Studios and CBS Studios and executive produced by Kenton Allen and Simon Mayhew-Archer.
Can You Keep a Secret? will air on BBC One
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