BBC Two Announce New Comedy

BBC Two has revealed details regarding its newly-commissioned comedy, Decline And Fall.

The three-part satire is based on an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel of the same name and stars Jack Whitehall, David Suchet, Eva Longoria and Douglas Hodge. The series will be written by James Wood.

Decline And Fall sees Paul Pennyfeather (Whitehall) as an inoffensive divinity student at Oxford University in the 1920s, who is wrongly dismissed for indecent exposure having been made the victim of a prank by The Bollinger Club.

David Suchet takes on the role of Dr Fagan, the headmaster of Llanabba, an obscure public school in Wales where Pennyfeather first finds employment and works with fellow teacher Grimes (Hodge). At the school, he meets a South American woman, the Honourable Mrs Margot Beste-Chetwynde (Longoria), who is the mother of one of the pupils.

It is love at first sight for Pennyfeather, but little does he know the surprises that lie ahead of him when he agrees to tutor Beste-Chetwynde's son over the summer holidays.

Jack Whitehall said: "I am extremely pleased to be a part of this amazing adaptation by James Wood. I've been a fan of this book since I read it as a teenager, and I just hope that I can do it justice."

Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning, added: "One of the greatest comic novels of all time, this satirical masterpiece is long overdue a television debut. Waugh deploys comedy and tragedy to point up prevailing institutional corruption and the dehumanising consequences of elitism, very timely and apposite for today. James has done a terrific job of getting to the core of it, and the writing has attracted a fantastic cast."

Decline And Fall was commissioned by Charlotte Moore and Shane Allen, along with former BBC Comedy commissioning editor Chris Sussman. It will be executive produced by Ben Cavey for Cavebear Productions, Will Gould for Tiger Aspect Drama, and James Wood. The Director is Guillem Morales.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP)