Monday 2 November 2020

The nation's favourite comedy channel, Gold, expands the popular murder-mystery scripted comedy franchise written by Jason Cook with a brand-new three-part series Murder, They Hope (3x60"). Produced by Shiny Button and following on from last year's hit feature Dial M for Middlesbrough, Sian Gibson and Johnny Vegas will reprise their roles as Gemma and Terry, in a trilogy of new adventures, with more casting to be announced later this year.

Jason Cook said:

It's going to be amazing to be back with Terry and Gemma and this time for a series! Having multiple episodes has really let us go to town in creating a world of eccentric characters and big adventures for my favourite ex-Coach driving detectives!

After their trip to Middlesbrough turned a little more explosive than they thought, Gemma (Sian Gibson) and Terry (Johnny Vegas) finally decide to pack up the smouldering remains of their coach tour business and set out on a new adventure as fully-fledged private detectives. Given all their experience with solving cases (sort of), that mysteriously fall into their laps the duo are confident that it won't be long before they get the chance to put their skills to the test. Sadly, the cases don't come rolling in and the duo find themselves moving in with Gemma's sister Monica and praying business picks up soon.

Sure enough the first case that hops into their laps comes via a local car boot sale, where a mysterious red eyed rabbit figurine causes a bidding war and attracts the attention of the dreaded, but appropriately named, Bunnyman. Episode two sees Gemma and Terry heroically graduate from bunnies to bakers, when they are tasked with getting to the bottom of poisoned pastry scandal as two rival baking families turn up the heat on a long-standing feud. The final instalment of the trilogy sees the intrepid duo lured back into their old world of coach tours as they help the local police in a county-wide hunt for a bus-based serial killer.

The Agatha Christie-inspired whodunnits have been huge hits for Gold in recent years. Jason Cook's first outing Murder on the Blackpool Express attracted 1.8 million viewers during its first week and the channel has enjoyed success since with Death on the Tyne and Dial M for Middlesbrough.

The series is commissioned for UKTV by Pete Thornton, head of scripted, and 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. The series is written by Jason Cook (Dial M for Middlesbrough, Murder on the Blackpool Express).

Pete Thornton said:

It's a huge pleasure to be bringing fans of this much-loved series not one but three brand new adventures for our fearless (and generally clueless) heroes Terry and Gemma this year. Each story is very different in its own way, but they are all busting with Jason Cook's trademark mixture of a satisfying 'whodunnit' with proper laugh out loud comedy. We're very excited to be bringing Johnny Vegas, Sian Gibson and the brilliant creative team at Shiny Button back together for this new series and we can't wait to see the fruits of their labours."

Gerald Casey said:

We're thrilled to be branching out into this three-parter, as the feature-length episodes have been such a huge hit with Gold's audience. Jason Cook keeps on serving up the goods!

Murder, They Hope is the latest UKTV Original for Gold, following the smash hit success of The Cockfields, Dial M for Middlesbrough and Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes. Murder They Hope will air on Gold in 2021.

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Further information please contact:

Gem Pinkney, Publicity Manager, UKTV
Kelly Phelps, Publicist, UKTV

Notes to Editors

About Gold

Sky 110, Virgin 124, BT and TalkTalk 310 On demand on Sky, Virgin and Now TV

Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's favourite comedy channel.

Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family sit alongside an array of successful UKTV Originals including David Jason: My Life on Screen, The Rebel, The Story of Only Fools and Horses, and Murder on the Blackpool Express, which stars a stunning cast including Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson. The feature length UKTV Original attracted 1.72 million viewers in its first week in 2017, making it Gold's highest ever rating show.

The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy.

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 UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

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

About Shiny Button Productions

Shiny Button Productions is an independent scripted comedy production company founded by Andy Brereton, James De Frond and Tom Davis, the award-winning team behind the hit BBC Three series, Murder in Successville, and King Gary for BBC One. Shiny Button Productions is an independent label within Tiger Aspect Productions and is part of Endemol Shine UK.