Gold commissions brand-new comedy series Newark, Newark

Starring Morgana Robinson, Mathew Horne and Nina Wadia

Monday 29 November 2021 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold continues to expand its scripted comedy offering, with the brand-new commission Newark, Newark. The 3x40 UKTV Original series is produced by Balloon Entertainment and will air in early 2022.

Morgana Robinson (The Windsors) will take the lead role of Maxine, alongside Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey) as Terry and Nina Wadia (The Sandman) as Heather. The series also stars Jai Hollis (Ruth & Safiya) as Leslie, Saskia Chana (The Bisexual) as Claire, Jessie Mae Alonzo (Little Joe) as Amber, and Vahid Gold (Emerald City) as Rudy.

Creator and writer Nathan Foad said:

Making Newark, Newark is my wildest dream come true. If I could go back in time and tell my teenage self anything, Id look him straight in his chubby little face and Id say Growing up different in this town might not be easy, but one day theyre gonna let you make a TV show about it. Also, learn to breathe through your nose. Id like to thank Balloon Entertainment, UKTV and our phenomenal cast and crew - I think we might be making something a bit special.

Newark, Newark is set in the small working class market town in the East Midlands and follows pugnacious chip shop manager and exhausted matriarch, Maxine, as she tries to ride out her divorce and find someone who actually lights her fire. However, its easier said than done with her big-mouthed, soft-bellied, son, Leslie dramatically coming out as gay to the surprise of no one and her dullard ex-husband, Terry, trying ever more desperately to win her back.

With family and love at its core, Newark, Newark captures the goofy, sticky oddness of long English summers and the joyous, comforting and somewhat ridiculous things that go on in a small town.

Newark, Newark is created and written by Nathan Foad (The Young Offenders). It is commissioned for UKTV by Sarah Asante, commissioning editor, comedy, with Pete Thornton, head of scripted. The series is ordered by Gerald Casey, channel director for Gold. Steve North is genre general manager for comedy and entertainment and Richard Watsham is director of commissioning. Newark, Newark is produced by Kenny Tanner (Mandy) and directed by Amanda Blue (The Windsors, How Brexit Stole My Mum). The executive producers for Balloon Entertainment are Dave Evans, Bryan Elsley and Nathan Foad.

Sarah Asante said: Im thrilled to be working with Balloon Entertainment on my first commission for Gold. Nathan has written three incredibly funny scripts and the fact that its a semi-autobiographical story adds a wonderful warmth, authenticity and distinctive voice to this family sitcom.

Gerald Casey added: We are so excited to add this brilliant new comedy to our slate of UKTV Original scripted shows on Gold. The characters in Newark, Newark are so expertly written, and the cast is excellent. I cant wait to watch!

Dave Evans comments: Making Nathans first series is a pleasure and a privilege with scripts as extraordinary as our cast. We love this show, we love this town, and we cannot wait to share Maxine and Leslies trials and tribulations with the world - and eat a lot of chips.

Newark, Newark follows other successful UKTV Originals on Gold, including Sandylands, starring Sanjeev Bhaskar and Tracy-Ann Oberman, and The Cockfields, written by Joe Wilkinson and David Earl. The special one-off festive episode of The Cockfields airs next month.

Newark, Newark will air on Gold in early 2022.

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For more information, please contact

Kelly Phelps, Senior Publicist

About Gold

Sky 110(HD)/ 810, Virgin 120/124(HD), TalkTalk 310 On demand on Sky, Now TV and TalkTalk

Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nations favourite comedy channel.

Classic British comedy series loved by all the family sit comfortably alongside new UKTV Original scripted comedies crafted by some of the nations finest comedic minds, such as Dads Army: The Lost Episodes, Murder, They Hope, The Cockfields and Sandylands. Meanwhile Golds unscripted series reunite the stars and partnerships of the nations best-loved shows to get to the heart of what makes them so evergreen - from passion projects such as French & Saunders: Funny Women, Billy Connolly Does..., Lenny Henrys Race Through Comedy and Ricky and Ralfs Very Northern Road Trip to the retrospective likes of dinnerladies diaries and The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases.

Gold is the perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day.

Gold.uktv.co.uk / @goldchannel

About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and scripted drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.

UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UKs most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the worlds leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress

About Balloon Entertainment

Balloon Entertainment is an independent television production company writer run by show-runner Bryan Elsley (the creator and writer of Skins, Dates, The Young Persons Guide To Becoming A Rockstar, 40, Nature Boy and The Crow Road).

Productions to date include: Dates (Channel 4); The Story of the 2s (BBC Two); An Evening With Harry and Paul (BBC Two); Clique Series 1 & 2 (BBC Three and POP TV); Kiss Me First (E4 and Netflix); Eden (Stan and Spectrum),

LINK:	https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/gold-new-comedy-newark-newar...
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