91Èȱ¬

Introduction - New comedy headlines 91Èȱ¬ THREE's autumn and winter seasons

Two bizarre and surreal sketch shows – Tittybangbang and Man Stroke Woman – head a raft of new comedies on 91Èȱ¬ THREE this autumn and winter.

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Tittybangbang is an all-female sketch show featuring a roster of brand new comedy talent written by newcomer Jill Parker.

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Commissioned for a series even before the pilot has been shown, Tittybangbang is crammed full of colourful creations – from an exhibitionist Italian maid to semi-naked quilters and twitching darters.

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From Ash Atalla, producer of The Office, comes Man Stroke Woman – "a new sketch show about your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your kids and the girl you fancy in the accounts department," says Atalla.

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It features an ensemble cast of quality comedy actors, including Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead), Nick Burns (Nathan Barley), Daisy Haggard (Green Wing) and Amanda Abbington (Teachers).

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Grown Ups is a brand new comedy from the creators of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps – writer Susan Nickson and producer Stephen McCrum – and starring Sheridan Smith (Two Pints).

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It's about a group of friends living in Manchester hurtling towards their thirties, suddenly beset with life's difficult questions, and all trying – unsuccessfully – to be grown ups.

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Stuart Murphy, Controller of 91Èȱ¬ THREE, says: "91Èȱ¬ THREE is regarded by audiences as the best channel for alternative British comedy – we hope that these new comedies will further enhance that growing reputation.

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"Tittybangbang and Man Stroke Woman – like our other new comedies - are about breaking new talent on and off screen, so that 91Èȱ¬ THREE continues to be a breeding ground for the best original comedy on British television."

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91Èȱ¬ THREE builds further on its ambitions in comedy with the return of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning Nighty Night, back for a second series.

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Written by and starring Julia Davis (who plays Jill Farrell), with Angus Deayton and Rebecca Front (as Don and Cath Cole), it sees TV's most twisted serial killer descend on Cornwall – aided and abetted by her good friend Linda (Ruth Jones) – with one objective in mind: getting Don back.

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Two other hit 91Èȱ¬ THREE comedies return to the channel this autumn and winter: Ideal, in which Johnny Vegas returns to the role of Moz, a small-time dope dealer, and Little Britain.

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The multi-award winning creation of Matt Lucas and David Walliams will this autumn premiere on 91Èȱ¬ ONE, with transmissions on 91Èȱ¬ THREE within the same week.

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Ideal has been the channel's highest-rating original comedy since Little Britain and Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps.

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Following the success of Bodies, Conviction, Outlaws and Casanova, three of which were nominated for Baftas, 91Èȱ¬ THREE has also begun to establish a reputation as a hot-bed for cutting edge British drama.

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A highlight for this autumn is Funland, a disturbingly funny thriller set in Blackpool from the writers of The League of Gentleman (Jeremy Dyson) and EastEnders (Simon Ashdown) and the director of Shameless (Dearbhla Walsh).

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It stars newcomer Daniel Mays as the charismatic Carter Krantz as he tries to track down the killer of his mother, with only a cryptic clue to help him.

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It also stars Kris Marshall, Sarah Smart, Ian Puleston-Davies, Judy Parfitt and Mark Gatiss.

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Jed Mercurio's critically-acclaimed Bodies is back for a second series, starring Max Beesley, Patrick Baladi, Neve McIntosh, Keith Allen and Tamsin Malleson.

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91Èȱ¬ THREE Autumn 2005 & Winter 2006

Honey We're Killing The Kids headlines a season of factual programmes which reflect contemporary issues.

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It's a groundbreaking new series which offers six families a peek into their children's future.

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For many parents it's an unsettling vision that greets them, as the consequences of a couch-potato lifestyle, fry-ups, fast food and fizzy drinks are revealed.

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The children undergo a series of medical tests. With the aid of state of the art graphics based on detailed scientific research, a portrait emerges of what they will look like as middle-aged men and women.

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Child psychology expert Kris Murrin helps the parents as they attempt to stop destiny in its tracks by overhauling their family's lifestyle.

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An exhibition at London's Science Museum will open later in the autumn to coincide with the programme.

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In The Ferocious Mr Fix It, Glaswegian tough guy and management consultant Alasdair Jeffrey is on a mission to sort out Britain's nightmare workers.

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"I go into companies, I work out who the problem is and I encourage them to change," says Jeffrey. "And if they can't, they are normally removed."

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Jeffrey's unconventional approach is to turn up unannounced, confront employees face to face and to use shock tactics.

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Six celebrities go on a voyage of discovery back into their childhoods to try to learn more about themselves in My Childhood.

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These psychologically revealing journeys will shed light on the events and circumstances that helped mould them into the people they are today.

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This autumn sees the return of Dr Tanya Byron in an extended six-week run of nightly visits to hit parenting show The House Of Tiny Tearaways; and out-of-control shopaholics are put under the microscope to unravel the buried meanings behind their spiralling debt in a new series of Spendaholics.

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The debuts of both series proved to be popular hits with viewers when they were shown earlier this year.

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With Honey We're Killing The Kids, The Ferocious Mr Fix It, My Childhood and Spendaholics, 91Èȱ¬ THREE is branching out from the hugely popular parenting genre – which it pioneered – to series with a self-improvement theme.

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"These shows are about transforming yourself, re-inventing yourself as a necessary part of growing up," says Murphy.

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"Where the parenting shows were about changing relationships within the family, these programmes are about changing yourself."

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Complementing them are polemic, authored documentary strands by new film-makers: Mischief, The Trouble With …, I Love … and Gypsy Wars.

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The Trouble With ... series of documentaries follows last year's acclaimed series The Trouble With Black Men, in which David Mathews tackled the issues facing young black men in Britain today.

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Broadcaster and writer Simon Fanshawe decries the superficiality and promiscuity within the gay community in The Trouble With Gay Men; journalist Carole Malone condemns liberal and over-indulgent parenting in The Trouble With Young People; and comedian and writer Robin Ince is disturbed by the emergence of an older generation growing old disgracefully in The Trouble With Old People.

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I Love … looks at people who make extraordinary choices about their lives and behaviour that others might find disturbing or shocking.

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I Love Being Anorexic takes a glimpse into the world of people who actively promote anorexia as a lifestyle choice; another film discovers a growing minority of people who prefer to suffer from serious mental illness rather than being medicated; and I Love Being HIV+ looks at the controversial world of 'bug chasers' – gay men who deliberately set out to infect themselves with HIV.

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Mischief is a major new documentary series that aims to get to the heart of contemporary domestic issues.

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Authored films will use a mix of new and established directors, covering subjects such as circumcision and binge drinking.

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