Tim Key and Daisy-May Cooper to star in Witchfinder comedy | 'One of the best double-acts in British comedy'

Tim Key and Daisy-May Cooper to star in Witchfinder comedy

'One of the best double-acts in British comedy'

Tim Key and This Country star Daisy May Cooper are to star in a new BBC Two comedy about a witchfinder and his suspect.

Set in 1647, The Witchfinder is described as ‘a road-free road trip through an England gripped by civil war, famine and plague’.

Key plays the failing witchfinder stuck with an ‘inquisitive, uncouth woman whose ability to prick his pomposity and ask uncomfortable questions turns a straightforward journey into a life-changing ordeal.

The Witchfinder has been created by Neil and Rob Gibbons, the writers and directors of This Time with Alan Partridge, in which Key starred.

Cooper said: ‘ I've always wanted to be a witch, my mother says I've got the nose and chin hair for it. I dabbled a bit in witchcraft when I was in my teens and ended up accidentally inviting an incubus into my house. He was an absolute prick.’

Key added: ‘I’m delighted to be working with the mercurially talented Gibbons brothers again, particularly on something set in 17th Century England - which they seem to have a fairly loose grasp of - and am excited to do a road trip but on horses (I can’t ride a horse). 

‘I love the idea of Daisy May Cooper being a pissed-off witch anyway so the fact that I’m playing her antagonist is the icing on the cake. Can’t wait to saddle up.’

Six half-hour episodes have been commissioned from Steve Coogan’s production company Baby Cow, with the Partridge star acting as executive producer.

The company’s chief executive Christine Langan, also an executive producer, added: ‘Rob and Neil have put a truly modern twist on this macabre moment in time, as Daisy May Cooper’s "modern-day" everywoman gets dragged to trial by Tim Key’s inept, chauvinist, careerist witchfinder. In Daisy and Tim we have one of the best double-acts in British comedy and we can’t wait for you to see them fight their way across East Anglia.’

Kate Daughton, the BBC’s head of comedy commissioning added: ’In The Witchfinder, the Gibbons brothers have managed to create a timelessly compelling odd couple, forced together on a journey through one of the most baffling moments of English history. Tim Key and Daisy May Cooper are two of the UK’s funniest people and I can’t wait to see them tackle gender politics, male privilege and bees … on horseback.’

Other casting and broadcast details have yet to be announced.

The Witchfinder production credits

Written and directed by: Neil and Rob Gibbons
Producer: Dave Lambert
Made by: Baby Cow for BBC Two.
Ordered for BBC Two by: channel controller Patrick Holland and Shane Allen, controller of comedy commissioning
Editor: Kate Daughton, head of comedy commissioning

Published: 17 Oct 2019

Live comedy picks

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.