Could Lizzie and Sarah make a comeback?

Julia Davis drops hints over axed show

Julia Davis is eager to revive her axed comedy Lizzie and Sarah.

She made a pilot of the bleak sitcom with Spaced’s Jessica Hynes two years ago – but the BBC sidelined it, broadcasting it on BBC Two at 11.45pm on a Saturday.

It’s thought that executives baulked at the brutally dark tone of the piece at a tine when it was looking for broader, more mainstream shows.

The decision caused dismay, with Simon Pegg tweeting at the time: ‘Seems amazing that the BBC commission a pilot from two of the funniest women in the UK then air it at 11.45pm. Jeez beeb, GROW A PAIR!!’.

However, Davis now says she wants to revisit the idea. ‘I’d happily explore more,’ she said. ‘We have a lot more ideas and I would love to work with Sarah again.’

And she could have an opportunity through Sky Atlantic. She has just shot the gothic period comedy Hunderby for the broadcaster, which is keen to foster an hands-off atmosphere for comedians, free of interference from executivse.

Sky’s head of comedy Lucy Lumsden has made no secret of their aim to follow the model of upmarket American cable channel HBO and ‘put creative freedoms in the hands of the artists’.

Published: 1 Jun 2012

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