BBC Film & Comedy collaborate to develop feature films

David Thompson, Head of BBC Films, and Kenton Allen, Creative Head of BBC Comedy Talent and Comedy North, have announced that BBC Films and BBC Comedy will work together to develop comedy feature films.
The collaborative effort will be led by Kenton Allen and Head Of Comedy Jon Plowman working with the BBC Comedy team of writers and producers.
Allen, an Oscar-winning producer who produced this year's Academy award winning short film 'Six Shooter', will lead the development initiative for the comedy department that produces an enormous variety of hit comedy programming including shows such as 'Little Britain', 'Extras', 'Ideal' and 'Funland'.
Alongside exploring the potential to develop existing brands into feature films, Allen and the Comedy team will also work with a wide variety of writers and writer/performers to develop feature films.
Allen said: "Many of the comedy talent we work with ultimately want to paint on a bigger canvas, and this relationship with BBC Films means that we can now offer them that opportunity.
"From initial development in Radio and the Internet, through Television and on to Film, BBC Comedy can offer the best comedy talent the best possible development path for their work.
"BBC Comedy has a fine tradition of developing iconic comic voices from Ronnie Barker to Ricky Gervais and I'm confident that this opportunity will lead to some truly original film making."
David Thompson said: "I am very excited about working with Kenton and The BBC Comedy team.
"Comedy is very much a target area for us at the moment, with several interesting projects in development, the recent successful releases of Debbie Isitt's 'Confetti', and, Michael Winterbottom's 'A Cock & Bull Story'."
(GB)