Lee Mack is to star in his own BBC One sitcom.

The channel, which has made no secret of its need to find a mainstream comedy hit, has ordered six episodes of the show No Going Out.

A pilot episode, co-starring Catherine Tate, was made for BBC Two last year – but the show has now been picked up by the main channel.

Mack, who is the new host of BBC One’s sports quiz They Think It's All Over, will write the comedy with author Andrew Collins.

The Perrier-nominated stand-up will play a slacker called Lee who shares a flat with a friend, Kate, who continually nags him to get a proper job.

Tim Vine – who co-starred in ITV1’s The Sketch Show with both Mack and Tate – will play Lee’s best  friend Colin, who is also Kate’s ex.

BBC One controller Peter Fincham, the former head of independent producer Talkback Thames, which has a strong track record in comedy, commissioned the show from Avalon Television.