Bingo sitcom role for cardiac victim

Lily Savage creator Paul O'Grady is being lined up for a new BBC comedy, despite his recent heart attack.

Although the Liverpool-born comic had been reconsidering his heavy workload following the cardiac arrest, producers hope he will be well enough to star in Eyes Down.

O'Grady would play a bingo caller named Ray, who has a ready stream of put-downs for the game's punters.

A BBC spokesman said: "His character is very sarcastic and quite domineering so he is not particularly popular. It is a show that we thought he would be fantastic in.

Of 46-year-old O'Grady's heart attack, he added: "We wish him a healthy recovery but because we are not due to start filming until late in the year, it is not an issue for us."

The six-part series wascommissioned from a script by Angela Clarke, who won a BBC talent competition for new writers.

The programme was one of several the BBC revealed at the Montreux Television Festival.

The corporation also confirmed:

• Harry Enfield and Amanda Holden are to star in Celeb, a spin-off from the Private Eye cartoon.
• Two special editions of Alistair McGowan's Big Impression marking the World Cup and Golden Jubilee.
• Jack Dee will be cast alone in the wilds of Sibera
• Wild West - a sitcom set in a Cornish post office starring Dawn French
• A second series of Bedtime, starring Sheila Hancock and Timothy West.
  
  

Published: 28 Apr 2002