Playing a stepdad in Stepping Up

Filming has begun on Josh Pugh’s Channel 4 sitcom. Stepping Up.

The comedian writes and stars in the six-part series, described as an ‘original take on the modern family dynamic’.

He pays a stepdad, also called Josh, bringing ‘well-intentioned chaos’ to his new family – who could well do without his  attempts to help and impress them all the time.

The series is being made by Roughcut Television, who posted an image from the set on social media this morning.

When the series was announced this summer, Channel 4 comedy head Charlie Perkins said: ‘There’s something magic in Josh’s naturalism that I don’t think we’ve seen in a sitcom before - he’s magnetic on screen and his writing under the expert shepherding of Roughcut is the perfect mix of hyper silly and hyper real. 

‘An exciting, new, natural born sitcom star in a simple sitcom world. Channel 4 are really proud that Stepping Up continues our work with Josh across the channel.’

Pugh added: ‘I'm over the moon to be doing something that very few people get to do in their lives and make a sitcom. 

‘I live and grew up in a small town with stepparents on both sides, and I think it's a huge untapped well of comedy. A huge number of people in Britain are navigating the complexities of bringing other people's kids up and I want to capture that in a really funny and authentic sitcom that is also hopefully financially lucrative.’

The commission follows its successful release as part of Channel 4’s Comedy Blaps strand of pilots, which has previously helped launch series such as We Are Lady Parts, Stath Lets Flats and Chewing Gum.

Published: 3 Nov 2025