Derby, Derbyshire Mar 2, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - Press Release – For Immediate Release
FAO - Newsdesk
Barmy Dale Radio Sitcom
Barmy Dale was conceived and created during the first Corona Virus lockdown, in May 2020.
Two writers Martin Skellern and Stuart Wheeldon, who had known each other for more than twenty years, came together over Zoom and started to discuss the idea of creating a short comedy series based on the lives of fictional residents of a fictional town in Northern England. One of the glaring issues that kept coming up in discussions was what about the large part of the population who were stuck inside isolating with nothing to do, how can we help them? Out of the ensuing conversations came the concept of Barmy Dale, and so the characters of Keith and Dan and their long-suffering wives started to form on paper, they were all reaching or had reached retirement and we would follow their lives during and after lockdown.
So the journey began the first pilot series which consisted of 5 x 6-minute episodes which were broadcast on Radio Derby as part of BBC Upload. The content and the humour that came from the series harked back to the classic sitcoms of the ’70s and ’80s, it seemed to appeal to the audience. The writers were asked to return with more material.
Series one of Barmy Dale would consist of 5 x 25minute episodes and again it was broadcast over 5 months on BBC Radio Derby, at the same time the decision was taken to release the series as a podcast, it quickly became apparent that Barmy Dale was gaining a larger audience, people from around the country were downloading the podcast and an audience quickly developed in the United States. An award nomination for Best Comedy Podcast followed (Discoverpods) and an article by Feedspot mentioned Barmy Dale as one of the 15 sitcom podcasts to follow in 2020 and 2021.
The demographic statistics of the podcast clearly showed that our audience was that of the over 50’s, split 50/50 male and female. With the 5th and final episode approaching it was decided that as the comedy sitcom was so entrenched in style and form of that of its predecessors (Hi De Hi, Allo Allo), it was logical to ask actors of these series and from that generation of television to be part of Barmy Dale. The final episode of Series one featured Jeffery Holland (Hi De Hi), Vicki Michelle (Allo Allo), Mike Fenton Stevens (The Legacy of Reginald Perrin), and Karl Howman (Brush Strokes)
The new Series of Barmy Dale is now in pre-production, Jeffery Holland (Rev Wilkins), Vicki Michelle (Angie Edwards), Mike Fenton Stevens (The Police Chief), and Karl Howman (D, S.Linklater) have all agreed to return to the new series. They will be joined by Susan George (Straw Dogs) as the Mayor of Barmy Dale and guest actors which currently include Nicholas Lumley (Peregrine Winstanley) and Louise Michelle (The real-life daughter of Vicki Michelle) who will play Tracy the daughter of Vicki Michelle’s character Angie Edwards. Juliet Howland and Camilla Simson return to their roles of Gracie and Sharon.
Series 2 will firstly be broadcast on a selection of community radio stations from across the UK from April 2021, it will then be released onto the podcast. If any community radio stations would like to broadcast Barmy Dale, please contact us at barmyproducers@gmail.com.
Social Media
Podcast https://aca.st/f90e45
Twitter @Barmydale
Facebook @BarmyDale
Instagram @Barmydale
PR Contact
Email barmyproducers@gmail.com
Tel 07873157255
Media Contact
Barmy Productions barmyproducers@gmail.com http://www.barmyproductions.com
