TV pilot for How Do I Get Up There?

Scottish sketch group land BBC show

Scottish sketch group How Do I Get Up There? have landed a BBC television pilot.

James Kirk, Chris Forbes and Kevin Mains have already filmed their show – which combines live sketches with new material – in Glasgow, and and it will air later this year on BBC Scotland.

Misfits and Being Human's Kate Bracken plays all the female roles in the pilot, which was directed by Gary: Tank Commander and Burnistoun's Iain Davidson.

How Do I Get Up There? developed their act in residency at the Stand comedy club and have previously shot online shorts for both BBC Worldwide and Scottish broadcaster STV, and the new show is made by Glasgow-based The Comedy Unit.

Former flatmates who met at Glasgow's Langside College, the trio also appeared in an episode of Radio 4's Sketchorama! with Pappy’s and The Ginge, The Geordie and The Geek, who have also just filmed BBC comedies in Glasgow.

Both Kirk, the 2010 winner of So You Think You're Funny?, and Forbes, star in The Comedy Unit’s forthcoming BBC Scotland spoof cop show, Scot Squad. Kirk also appeared in Chewin' The Fat and Still Game while still in youth theatre.

How Do I Get Up There? is produced and script-edited by stand-up Chris Grady, a writer for Gary: Tank Commander and Anna and Katy, who also produced Kirk's series of online Blaps for Channel 4, The Kronicles of Kirk.

The Comedy Unit's Rab Christie described the group as 'so different but such good performers individually. They really bounce up against each other in scenarios that suit them on their own and as a three.

'Kate has some really good parts in it too. Some sketch shows drag up but How Do I Get Up There? were quite keen to have female characters. And to not play them.'

Christie added that the 30-minute pilot, which will air on BBC One or Two Scotland, was shot post-Edinburgh Fringe 'where they were building their characters and the chemistry they had together, really honing their performances'.

– by Jay Richardson

Here are some of the sketches they previously shot: