Baby Cow and Black Dog's Zapped to return, Dancing Ledge's Porters greenlit to full series
Thursday 26th April 2018 Award-winning network UKTV has commissioned the return of two of its hugely popular UKTV Original scripted comedies for its leading entertainment channel Dave, with Zapped returning for a third series, and Porters being commissioned for a full series (both 6x40).
Zapped sees James Buckley once again star as Brian Weaver, the simple office worker transported to the fantastical land of Munty. Series two ended in a cliffhanger with Brian in chains and Paul Kayes wizard Howell sent to Earth by mistake - the third series promises to be the most inventive and imaginative yet. Also starring Sharon Rooney, Kenneth Collard and Louis Emerick, Zapped is created by Black Dog Television and written by Dan Gaster, Will Ing and Paul Powell. Its directed by Dave Lambert and produced by Candida Julian-Jones for Baby Cow Productions.
Its amusing in that old-fashioned way where the characters actually say and do funny things - Sunday Times Culture
Delightfully odd comedy - Daily Mail
Porters returns for a full run, after last years three-part pilot series saw daydreaming wannabe doctor Simon (Ed Easton) beset on all sides by the eccentric staff and patients at St Etheldredas hospital. Viewers followed Simon trying to survive his first few months grafting in the subterranean basement world of the porters alongside Susan Wokomas Frankie, Claudia Jessies Nurse Lucy, Rutger Hauers Tillman, Jo Joyners Dr. Kelly and Sanjeev Bhaskars Mr. Pradeep, with the premiere episode also including special appearances from Mat Horne and Kelsey Grammer. Porters is written by Dan Sefton (Trust Me, Delicious, The Good Karma Hospital) and produced by Dancing Ledge Productions.
Macabre and left-field ... darkly funny ... the blackest of comedy - Radio Times
Extraordinary cast ... Sefton has a keen grasp of the mechanics of farce - Daily Telegraph
Zapped and Porters are ordered for Dave by Richard Watsham, UKTVs director of commissioning, and Steve North, genre general manager, entertainment and comedy. Both series are commissioned by UKTV senior commissioning editor Pete Thornton. Full cast details for both returning series will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Pete Thornton said, Zapped has now established itself as one of Daves most popular programmes, and Im absolutely delighted to be returning to Munty for another series of dazzling comic invention, care of the creative heavyweights at Black Dog and Baby Cow, complimented by our incredibly talented cast. At the same time its really exciting to be able to confirm the return of Porters for a full series. The first three episodes set out the shows credentials as a highly original comic creation and were very much looking forward to witnessing the casts further adventures via the fertile imagination of one of the UKs most successful and prolific writers of recent years.
Luke Hales, Dave general manager, said, The characters and worlds of both Zapped and Porters have established themselves as rich, distinct and very funny. Its a pleasure to welcome them back for further adventures and I cannot wait to see what they will be getting up to. Theyre a fantastic addition to the channel as part of Daves continued dedication to commissioning original comic content.
Steve Coogan, Zapped executive producer, said, I cant wait to pull up a chair in The Jug And The Other Jug, pour myself a Ginger Steamer and maybe risk a slice of Hermans legendary fish pie as I rejoin my favourite Muntyites.
Christine Langan, CEO of Baby Cow Productions, said, We love working with UKTV. Their continued commitment to original comedy means fans can enjoy a third series of magic and madness with Zapped.
Laurence Bowen, Dancing Ledge Productions, said, Were delighted that Porters is coming back for a second shift and look forward to sharing another round of stories from the comedy basement of St Etheldredas hospital. Dan Seftons gift for hilarious tales of medical mishap is second to none.
Zapped and Porters join an ever-increasing raft of UKTV Originals on Dave in the coming months, such as series six and seven of the BAFTA-nominated Taskmaster, brand new commissions Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier and Judge Romesh, and special one-offs The Horne Section and Footballs 47 Best Worst Songs.
Zapped series three and Porters series two will air on Dave later in 2018.
#Zapped | #Porters | @davechannel
Notes to editors For more information and interview requests please contact:
Ben Duncan - Publicist, UKTV
Kerry Goode - Head of Network Communications, UKTV
Pictures - pictures.uktv.co.uk
Press Office - pressoffice.uktv.co.uk
About Dave
@davechannel
Sky 111/246, Virgin 127/194, Freesat 157 Freeview, BT & TalkTalk 12/79
On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play
Since bursting onto TV sets in 2007, Dave has been putting in hours at the gym and is now a beefed-up powerhouse of brand new and original commissions from some of the biggest stars and production companies in entertainment. Romesh Ranganthan, Jon Richardson and YouTube sensation Yianni Charalambous are just some of the latest additions to the channels ever-increasing slate.
Whether its innovative comedy entertainment like the BAFTA and Emmy-nominated Taskmaster, Unspun with Matt Forde, and Dara o Briains Go 8 Bit or scripted sitcoms including the worldwide hit Red Dwarf, Zapped, and Porters, Daves guaranteed to work your funny bone like never before.
Daves also committed to bringing live sport back to free-to-air and has an ongoing deal to show fights from David Hayes Hayemaker Ringstar venture. Theres also Red Bull Soapbox, Cop Car Workshop, Sin City Motors and a whole host of much loved programming, all shot with Daves unique personality thats led to the channel reaching 20million adults a month.
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Baby Cow and Black Dog's Zapped to return, Dancing Ledge's Porters greenlit to full series 
