''15 Storeys High'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

, set in a

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...

. It originated as two radio series broadcast in 1998–2000, transferring to television in 2002–2004. The main characters in the television series are Vince Clark, a depressed,

sardonic To be sardonic is to be disdainfully or cynically humorous, or scornfully mocking. A form of wit or humour, being sardonic often involves expressing an uncomfortable truth in a clever and not necessarily malicious way, often with a degree of sk ...

recluse played by

Sean Lock Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Pe ...

, and Errol Spears, Vince's optimistic

whipping boy A whipping boy was a boy educated alongside a prince (or boy monarch) in early modern Europe, who supposedly received corporal punishment for the prince's transgressions in his presence. The prince was not punished himself because his royal sta ...

, played by

Benedict Wong Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Kublai Khan in Netflix's ''Marco Polo'' (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in '' The Martian'' (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since ''Doctor Strange'' (2 ...

Radio series

Both radio series (''Sean Lock's 15 Minutes of Misery'' and ''Sean Lock: 15 Storeys High'') were recorded in front of a studio audience. The

theme tune Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at som ...

used for both series is the 1960s song "

England Swings "England Swings (Like a Pendulum Do)" is a 1965 country music song written and performed by Roger Miller. The single was Miller's eleventh hit on the US country chart where it peaked at number three. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it peaked at numb ...

" by Roger Miller.

''Sean Lock's 15 Minutes of Misery''

The show's original incarnation was a radio series entitled ''Sean Lock's 15 Minutes of Misery''. It was broadcast weekly on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

in the "Late Night on 4" comedy slot at 11.00pm. It ran for six episodes between 30 December 1998 and 3 February 1999. The show was written by Sean Lock and produced by Dan Freedman, and starred Lock,

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...

and

Hattie Hayridge Hattie Hayridge (born 17 December 1959) is a British comedian and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly in '' Red Dwarf'' during the third, fourth and fifth series. She was described as a "cult figure in a beloved sit- ...

''Sean Lock: 15 Storeys High'' (Radio 4)

Lock's second series was entitled ''Sean Lock: 15 Storeys High'', and it was also broadcast on Radio 4's "Late Night on 4" comedy slot and written by Sean Lock and

Martin Trenaman Martin Trenaman (born 1962) is an English comedy writer and actor, who has contributed to many modern comedy series. He played Simon's father, Alan Cooper, in the sitcom ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008-10). He reprised the role of Mr. Cooper for the ...

and produced by

Chris Neill Chris Neill (born 1968) is a British comedian, producer, and writer who features regularly on BBC Radio 4 Felix Dexter Felix Dexter (26 July 1961
Retrieved 22 October 2013

Jenny Eclair Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in ''Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was born ...

, Tim Mitchell,

Tracy-Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie ...

, Chris Pavlo and

Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...

. Series two aired from 24 November 2000 to 22 December 2000, and included roles from Dan Freedman,

Alex Lowe Stewart Alexander Lowe (24 December 1958 – 5 October 1999) was an American mountaineer. He has been described as inspiring "...a whole generation of climbers and explorers with his uncontainable enthusiasm, legendary training routines, and si ...

, Dan Mersh, Paul Putner,

Rob Rouse Rob Rouse (born 1974) is an English comedian. Overview Rouse grew up in Gawsworth, Cheshire. He trained as a geography teacher at the University of Sheffield and got into comedy in his final year at university. Having fully qualified as a teach ...

and Chris Neill. The ''15 Storeys High'' radio series used a different method to present the events going on in other flats in the tower block. It dispensed with the idea of Sean listening in on others using "Bugger King", replacing it with a voiceover simply announcing the flat number of the subsequent scene. The show introduced Sean's flatmate Errol (played by Serafinowicz in series 1, episodes 2–5).

TV programme

In 2002, ''15 Storeys High'' was made into a television show which ran for two series, each series consisting of six half-hour episodes. In the television series, Lock's character was named Vince (he was simply Sean Lock in the radio series). Vince's flatmate Errol Spears was played by

. The TV shows were recorded on location and therefore without a live audience. The pilot originally had a laugh track, although this was removed for the broadcast. The series was written by Lock, Trenaman and Mark Lamarr (credited under his real name, Mark Jones), and directed by Mark Nunneley. In the second TV series Lamarr is also credited as a writer. Digital comedy channel

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

began showing repeats of the first series during September 2014 as part of their ''After Dark'' comedy line-up schedules. In August 2021, following Lock's death, the series became available on BBC iPlayer.

Episodes

Series 1 (2002)

Series 2 (2004)

Filming locations

The flat in which Vince lives was actually filmed in a studio with large pictures of the adjacent tower blocks as a backdrop. All other flats in both series are real, and are located in the

Brandon Estate The Brandon Estate is a social housing estate in London Borough of Southwark, south London. Situated to the south of Kennington Park, it was built in 1958 by the London County Council, to designs by Edward Hollamby and Roger Westman. History ...

, Kennington, London. The British science fiction drama '' Doctor Who'' has also used this location. The location of the swimming pool, in which Vince works as a lifeguard, is

Ladywell Ladywell is a locale in Lewisham in South East London, England, and a ward in the London Borough of Lewisham between Brockley, Crofton Park and Lewisham proper. It has ample green space including Ladywell Fields and Hilly Fields which borders ...

Leisure Centre in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

, South East London, in the first series. In the second series, the swimming pool used is in the basement of the

Shell Centre The Shell Centre in London is the global headquarters of oil major Shell plc. It is located on Belvedere Road in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a prominent feature on the South Bank of the River Thames near County Hall, and now forms ...

next to

Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...

. The

Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground statio ...

is also used as a location in several episodes, notably the Sundial restaurant and the bowling alley. Series one was initially broadcast on

BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...

(the forerunner to

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

) from 7 November 2002 to 12 December 2002. Series two was broadcast from 12 February 2004 to 18 March 2004. The show starred Sean Lock and

. Additional cast members included Dan Mersh, Bill Bailey,

Aml Ameen Aml Eysan Ameen (; born 30 July 1985) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Trevor (Trife) in ''Kidulthood'' (2006), Lewis Hardy in the ITV television series ''The Bill'', Capheus in the first season of the Netflix original se ...

, William Tomlin,

Steven Webb Steven Michael Webb (born 8 November 1984 in Wirral, Merseyside, England) is an English actor in theatre, television and film.

, Mark Lamarr,

Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama '' Orlando'' in 1992. H ...

, Tracey-Ann Oberman,

Felix Dexter Felix Dexter (26 July 1961
Retrieved 22 October 2013

, Paul Putner,

Pearce Quigley Pearce Quigley is an English actor of the stage and screen. He plays Will in the BBC Radio 4 Sitcom ''Alone''. Theatre credits ''The Seagull'' (Royal Court); ''Paul'' (National Theatre); '' Journey's End'' (Comedy Theatre); ''My Night with R ...

Perry Benson Perry Benson (born 9 April 1961) is a British character actor best known for his regular roles in British television sitcoms ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' (1988–1993), '' Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' (1995–1997) and ''Operation Good Guys'' (1997–2000). ...

, Simon Godley, Melanie Gutteridge,

Michael Greene Michael Harris Greene (November 4, 1933 – January 10, 2020) was an American actor who was active from the 1960s through the 1990s. Career Greene was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Gladys () and Harry Greene. Early in his caree ...

and

James Bachman James Hamilton Bachman (born 24 February 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He has written for and acted in many British television and radio programmes, including ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'', ''Saxondale'', ''Bleak Expectati ...

Awards

In 2003, ''15 Storeys High'' was nominated for a BAFTA in the ''Best New Director'' category for its unique style, and innovative shots.

References

External links

* Comedy Guide * * *{{IMDb title, id=0354262, title=15 Storeys High BBC television sitcoms BBC Radio comedy programmes 1999 radio programme debuts 2000 radio programme endings 2002 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British sitcoms English-language television shows Television shows set in London