BBC Scotland is releasing a host of comedy pilots called Funny Firsts, which will kick off next week and feature comedians Fern Brady, Ashley Storrie, Larry Dean and Des Clarke and Burnistoun’s Robert Florence.
The four TV pilots, will go out on BBC Two Scotland at 10.00pm on Friday nights, plus four shows made of iPlayer.
First of the TV shows, airing next week is stand-up showcase The Comedy Underground hosted by Ashley Storrie and featuring 2017 Funny Women Awards runner-up Susan Riddell, Stuart McPherson, Christopher KC, Donald Alexander and Ray Bradshaw.
The following week, Robert Florence hosts satirical show The State Of It, a mix of sketches, animation and topical contributions from a range of new Scottish comic talent, The show is produced and directed by the team at The Comedy Unit.
Larry Dean will be on gameshow hosting duties for Whiplashed. Team captains Christopher MacArthur-Boyd and Fern Brady are joined by How Clean Is Your House? presenter Aggie MacKenzie and Still Game’s Scott Reid in a panel show that takes place on the road.
The iPlayer shows will launch at 10.30pm next Friday, immediately after The Comedy Underground has aired.
BBC Scotland commissioning executive Gavin Smith said: “Our Funny Firsts is a chance for audiences to try an array of our comedy in new and exciting ways. Whether that’s the first Scottish satire show to be broadcast on radio and TV on the same day, or the first chance for the audience to see the best emerging stand-up comedians, or the release of BBC Scotland’s first digital shorts sitcom on iPlayer – there’s lots of new ideas, new faces and laughs across all our platforms for all audiences.”
