Blandings

[Rob McCow]

OK, technically speaking this is old news. But I only just heard about it, OK?! Jennifer Saunders was putting pictures of pigs up on her blog.

The celebrated stories of PG Wodehouse will be coming to life on BBC One as Timothy Spall and Jennifer Saunders star in Blandings, a new comedy series written by Guy Andrews and based on Wodehouse's work.

PG Wodehouse is hailed as one of the greatest comic writers in the English Language, and Controller of BBC One, Danny Cohen is very excited about bringing the tales to a new generation of TV viewers.

Describing the series Guy Andrews said: "Blandings Castle is dysfunction junction, the home of a chaotic family struggling to keep itself in order. Clarence Emsworth, ninth earl and master of Blandings Castle, yearns with all his soul to be left in peace; preferably in the company of his beloved pig, The Empress. But he never is. There is always someone who wants him to do something. Presiding over the blitzkrieg on his equilibrium is the baleful figure of his sister Connie, with whom he shares the house; at her shoulder is Clarence's brainless younger son Freddie and a panoply of friends, enemies, servants, spongers, private detectives, bookies and confidence tricksters.

"Only Beach, his loyal and long-suffering butler, provides consolation. Storm-battered Clarence, somehow never vanquished, occasionally makes everything right through an inspired or accidental intervention.

"For any writer, it is the rarest privilege imaginable to have Wodehouse legitimately available as source material. Instead of just stealing from him as we usually do.'

The six self-contained episodes will be set 1929, and will be filmed on location in Northern Ireland with the support of Northern Ireland Screen. Timothy Spall will play the amiable and befuddled Lord Emsworth (Clarence to his friends), with Jennifer Saunders as his indomitable sister Connie.

The series will be produced by Spencer Campbell (Cold Feet, Mad Dogs) and directed by Paul Seed (BAFTA winning Just William). The show is a co-production with Mammoth Screen and the BBC.

I love the Blandings adventures - even more than the Jeeves ones - so I'm going to be really looking forward to this!

[SiHart]

Oh fantastic! I hope they do the stories the justice they deserve.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Sounds like this might inspire to get my Jeeves/Brideshead inspired story ideas written! More material to borrow from

[SiHart]

Directed by The Graff Vynda K I see!