With Maureen Lipman and Norman Lovett

Lucy Beaumont has landed her own semi-autobiographical comedy series on Radio 4.

The Hull-born comic, who won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2012 and was nominated for best newcomer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, writes and stars in To Hull And Back.

She plays Sophie, who struggles to make a living from car boot sales with her mother. And like Beaumont, she agonises about moving to London to further her acting career.

Maureen Lipman plays her mother Sheila, while stand-up Norman Lovett is their neighbour in the series, due to air next year.

The commission follows a pilot on Radio 2 last year which also featured Jemma Walker, Kerrie Marsh and Jaimi Barbakoff, featuring the music of Hull bands The Housemartins, The Beautiful South and Fine Young Cannibals .

Beaumont said: 'I've looked up to Maureen from being a child, knowing she was from Hull and was a legend and had incredible comedic timing, I wrote the part of the mother for her knowing she was only person who knew this kind of woman, where she was from and could do that posh East Yorkshire/Hull accent.

'When I sent her the first draft for the pilot she wrote back, “I'll do it on an improved version”. I stayed up for two nights after that. It's really a labour of love, every gag I write I think "I hope Maureen finds this funny". It makes you write better because I know what she can do.'

She also described Lovett as 'brilliant', adding that the veteran comic has 'to be the most underrated alternative comedian we have on the circuit and he offers a really surreal element to the show.'

Producer Carl Cooper said: 'I absolutely loved making the pilot for this and I'm so excited that we're going to get to explore these character more with a series.

'I first come across Lucy when I was listening to entries for the BBC New Comedy Awards. I listened to about 400 of them and Lucy's one sounded like it had been recorded under water. You could only just make out what she was saying. But you could still tell that she was really funny.

'Seeing the journey from her sending that recording in to watching her on stage with Maureen Lipman, getting a massive ovation from the audience almost made me cry.'

Beaumont also produced a one-off Radio 4 showcase of her stand-up last year with the same title, featuring Johnny Vegas. And though casting is still to be completed, Cooper reckons Vegas is also likely to feature in the series.

Last month, Beaumont's engagement to fellow comedian Jon Richardson was revealed in his Channel 4 series Jon Richardson Grows Up.

Casting on another Radio 4 series also emerged this week, with the news that Ardal O'Hanlon will play the idiot savant angel Smallbone in the upcoming Best Laid Plans. Uncle and Cuckoo's Esther Smith co-stars in the sitcom, which sees Smallbone living as an angel on Earth.

- by Jay Richardson

Published: 10 Oct 2014