New sitcom about a crumbling country house

James Nesbitt has joined the cast of Hopley Hall, a new six-part BBC comedy set in a crumbling stately home on the County Antrim coast.

He will star opposite Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, in the show, created and written by Daniel Peak, who previously worked on Not Going Out and Code 404.

The series is set in a Grade A-listed house in a fictional coastal town. The heating rarely works, the history is questionable and the gift shop sells mostly tea towels. The place is held together by damp, optimism and a deep-seated resentment of the tourist attraction down the road.

The story centres on the house’s eccentric volunteers and staff, including a newly appointed community engagement officer who struggles to deal with actual human beings, an over-enthusiastic guide with no sense of irony and a disgruntled gardener.

Nesbitt said: ‘To be going back to the coast of Antrim, where my mother grew up and where I spent much of my childhood is an absolute treat. Hopley Hall is an innovative and funny series that will show off the beauty of Northern Ireland.

‘The scripts have a uniquely Northern Irish sense of humour running through them and I’m looking forward to working alongside some truly great local talent.’

Also in the cast are James Martin, Leela Harris, Tommy Belshaw  and Jeany Spark.

Hopley Hall is being made for BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC Northern Ireland  by Nice One Productions and Birdie Pictures.

The news comes on the day it was revealed that the BBC has axed two long-running Northern Irish comedy shows: Give My Head Peace and The Blame Game.

Co-produced by: Nice One Productions, Birdie Pictures
Commissioned by: Jon Petrie, Eddie Doyle
Written and created by: Daniel Peak
Additional material: Oisin Kearney, Michael McCullagh, Shannon Welby, Susannah McKenna-Strathern, the late Michael Patrick,
Eileen Tracey, Caitlin Magnall-Kearns
Director: Tom Marshall
Producer: Chris Martin
Executive producers:  Chris Jones, Phil Temple
Commissioning editors for the BBC: Emma Lawson, Jason Butler

Published: 6 Oct 2026