Second series for time-travelling comedy

ITV2 comedy Timewasters is to return for a second series, Chortle can reveal.

Nominated for best scripted comedy at this year's Baftas, the show about a South London jazz band who travel back in time to 1926, resumes filming in Liverpool next month.

Creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor once again stars alongside Samson Kayo, Adelayo Adedayo and Kadiff Kirwan, and co-writes with Barunka O'Shaughnessy.

The first series ended with Taylor's character Nick deliberating over whether to stay in the past after falling in love with a French woman. 

Massive Dad's Liz Kingsman was a series regular and guest stars included Nigel Planer, Nigel Havers and Kevin Eldon as the inventor of television, John Logie Baird.

Made by Big Talk, the first series achieved only modest ratings. It launched with 431,000 viewers on October 9 last year, according to overnight figures,  but slumped to  162,000  by the end of the six episodes, averaging 290,000.

But it was well received by award panels and critics. The Times felt it was 'a show with a smart premise and a cast who are charmingly odd, provocative, stylish and silly — the kind of multitasking few new sitcoms achieve', while the Guardian said it 'belts along entertainingly, with some fun moments of cultural mismatch along the way.'

- by Jay Richardson

Published: 11 Jul 2018