''The Abbey'' is a British television
situation comedy produced by
Baby Cow Productions
Baby Cow Productions Ltd is a British comedy television production company based in London and Manchester, founded by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal. Since its establishment it has diversified into radio, animation and film. According to their ...
for
ITV, about dysfunctional celebrities with various
vices
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...
that seek sanctuary at The Abbey to overcome their problems. It is written by
Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
, directed by Johnny Campbell and executive produced by
Henry Normal.
Banks stars as ex-rock star Marianne Hope who opened The Abbey as a retreat offering
new age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
therapies, after her very public nervous breakdown.
Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili ( fa, امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is a British actor, comedian and writer.
Early life and education
Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents. He attended Holland Park ...
plays The Abbey's owner Tony.
Russell Brand is a DJ seemingly nonchalant about his
crack cocaine addiction, who even has to resort to sticking a can a whipped cream up his nose to satisfy his addiction.
Liz Smith plays a perverted pensioner with an
addiction to sex.
Tamsin Egerton
Tamsin Olivia Egerton (born Tamsin Olivia Egerton-Dick; 26 November 1988) is a British actress known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film '' St Trinian's'', Holly Goodfellow in the 2005 film ''Keeping Mum'', and Guinevere in the 2011 ...
plays a model with an
eating disorder, who eats toilet roll in order to avoid hunger pangs.
Miranda Hart
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...
plays the suicidal wife of a disgraced
MP, obsessed with cleaning, cooking and being lovely to everyone in the most obtuse way! The show also stars
Reece Shearsmith
Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith (born 27 August 1969) is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for being a member of '' The League of Gentlemen'', alongside Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. With Pemberton, he l ...
as a 'doctor' and counsellor and
Marti Pellow as Marianne Banks estranged husband.
The show was broadcast on 14 February 2007 on
ITV and served as a pilot, with a view to a series if the one-off was popular enough. The episode gained an estimated 2.3 million viewers and somewhat poor reviews.
ITV commissioned a full series of ''The Abbey'' for broadcast on
ITV2 in 2008. Filming was due to begin in January 2008 but the series was later cancelled.
ITV drops Brand's comedy
/ref>
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, The
2000s British sitcoms
ITV sitcoms