''Soft Border Patrol'' is a Northern Irish

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

in the style of a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

programme based around the subject of the

Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British–Irish border, runs for Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, 1999

in a post-

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

world. It shadows the ''Soft Border Patrol'', a fictional border agency backed by governments in London, Dublin and Belfast, and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

in Brussels. The title is a play on the desire at the time of writing for the outcome of the Brexit negotiations for there to be a soft border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Much of the series was unscripted, with broad ideas given to the cast by the writers. It was written by the Glasgow-based

The Comedy Unit The Comedy Unit or known sometimes as just Comedy Unit is a Scottish company that produces sitcoms, comedy sketches, live shows and other comedy productions. It began life as an in-house BBC department in 1983 under the auspices of Producer Colin ...

and the first episode was broadcast on

BBC One Northern Ireland BBC One Northern Ireland is a Northern Irish television channel based on the UK-wide BBC One, owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland. The service is broadcast from Broadcasting House in Belfast. In the rest of the UK, BBC One Northern Irelan ...

on 2 March 2018 at 22:35, with episodes two and three following on the 9 and 16 March.

Cast

Karen Hassan Karen Hassan (born 31 July 1981) is a Northern Irish actress, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. From 2010 until 2013 she played Lynsey Nolan in the main series of ''Hollyoaks''. Her other work includes the series ''Hollyoaks Later'', '' The Fal ...

as Lisa McCoy * Alan Irwin as Sandy Donaldson *

Neil Delamere Neil Delamere ( ; born 1979) is an Irish comedian. He is a regular on the BBC Northern Ireland television show '' The Blame Game'', and the reigning BBC Fighting Talk Champion of Champions. Early life and education Delamere is from Edenderry, ...

as Niall Sweeney *

Diona Doherty Diona Doherty (born 1989) is a Northern Irish actress, writer and comedian from Derry. She starred in BBC Northern Ireland's ''Soft Border Patrol''. She played a Ukrainian student in an episode of Channel 4's ''Derry Girls''. She has been a panel ...

as Tracy Jones * Patrick Buchanan as Connor Lafferty *

Chris Patrick-Simpson Chris Patrick-Simpson is a Northern Irish actor. Patrick-Simpson is best known for his role as Brendan in the film ''The Magdalene Sisters''. He has also appeared in the film ''The Boxer'', the TV Drama '' The Clinic'' and ''Fifty Dead Men Wal ...

as Kris Davis *

Michael Condron Michael Condron is a Canadian born actor from Northern Ireland. Career Michael Condron plays Griff Reynolds in Coronation Street. He is award-winning actor, born in Toronto, Canada but was raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Condron has be ...

as Ben McGregor * Julie Maxwell as Charlene Dunn * Faolan Morgan as Derek O'Hara * Eline Van der Velden as Marianne Van Kesteren * David Ireland as Farmer Campbell * Michael Stranney as Craig Carson * Elaine Malcolmson as Penny * Keith Singleton as Michael Flynn * Lucy McConnell as Heather Campbell * Christian Talbot as Norman Norman *

Shane Todd Shane Todd (born 9 June 1988) is a comedian, television, and radio presenter and actor from Holywood, Northern Ireland. Career Todd began comedy by posting videos on YouTube, as part of the Harlem Gun Club. He also released a teaser for a sit ...

as Laurence Lyle

Writers

* The Ulster Fry * Joe Hullait * Stephen G Large * Ciaran Bartlett * PJ Hart * Susannah McKenna * Marc McElroy * Matthew McDevitt * Bryce Hart * Leesa Harker * Eoin Cleland * Ryan Early Additional material by the cast

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Series 2 (2019)

Series 3 (2020)

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2018 British television series debuts 2010s British satirical television series 2010s British sitcoms 2020s British satirical television series 2020s British sitcoms Alternate history television series BBC satirical television shows BBC television sitcoms British mockumentary television series English-language television shows Television series by Banijay Television shows set in Northern Ireland