''Bellamy's People'', also known as ''Bellamy's People of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'', is a British comedy show first broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

as an eight-episode series. The show is a spin-off from the

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 Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

show '' Down the Line''. The show stars Rhys Thomas as the eponymous Gary Bellamy and the supporting cast features

Charlie Higson Charles Murray Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of the ''Enemy'' book series, as well as the first five novels in the '' Young B ...

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows '' Harry & Paul'' and ''Harr ...

Simon Day Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show ''The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...

, Felix Dexter,

Amelia Bullmore Amelia Mary Bullmore (born 31 January 1964) is an English actress, screenwriter and playwright. She is known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' (1990–1992), ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (2002), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2009), '' Twenty Twelve ...

, Lucy Montgomery, Adil Ray,

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is a British actor. Prominent both on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nomin ...

and Robert Popper.

Production

''Down the Line'' is a spoof radio chat show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 2006 and 2013 which satirises populist radio phone in shows. Following its success, writers Higson and Whitehouse looked to transfer the format to television; however, it was apparent that the phone-in format would not work, so they decided instead to satirise the

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

travelogue such as David Dimbleby's '' How We Built Britain'' and Alan Titchmarsh's ''

British Isles – A Natural History ''British Isles – A Natural History'' is an eight-part documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and presented by Alan Titchmarsh. Originally broadcast in the UK on BBC1 from September to November 2004, it took viewers on a ...

''. In the television programme, radio talk show host Gary Bellamy travels around Britain in his

Triumph Stag The Triumph Stag is a 2+2 sports tourer which was sold between 1970 and 1978 by the Triumph Motor Company, styled by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. Design and styling Envisioned as a luxury sports car, the Stag was designed to compet ...

'personality vehicle' meeting the people of Britain and trying to find out what makes them tick. The show's working title was ''Bellamy's Kingdom''. The show was Higson and Whitehouse's first television appearance together since ''

Swiss Toni Swiss Toni is a British television comedy character played by Charlie Higson. He is a 50-something car dealer, usually depicted wearing a grey suit and with his hair styled in a platinum blond bouffant quiff; his accent is reported to be base ...

'' in 2004. Whitehouse's characters included 23-stone Graham Downes who rarely left his bed. On 13 May 2010, the BBC announced that they would not be commissioning a second series of Bellamy's People.

Reception

The first and second episodes gained 1.2 million viewers, a 6% and 5% audience share respectively.

Spin-offs

In April 2010, ahead of the

UK General Election This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Irelan ...

, the self-styled community leader Mr Khan ( Adil Ray) began broadcasting his own comedy videos commenting on the election, the main political parties, and

UK politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the head ...

in general. Khan was subsequently given his own comedy sitcom, ''

Citizen Khan ''Citizen Khan'' is a British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray. Five series have been shown so far. It is set in Sparkhill, South Birmingham, described by its lead character, a British Pakistani man Mr Khan (Ray), as "the cap ...

'', which was broadcast first in August 2012.

References

External links

* * *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, bellamys_people 2010 British television series debuts 2010 British television series endings 2010s British comedy television series BBC high definition shows BBC television comedy Television series about television English-language television shows