Majority of comedy shows on BBC Three now female-led
April 16, 2021
With the imminent release of Rose Matefeo’s new romcom Starstruck on BBC Three, this coming year marks a watershed moment with most BBC Three comedy either starring, written by or created by women. BBC Three says it will be the first UK channel to achieve this landmark in female representation with 58 per cent of long-form scripted comedy written by women.
Upcoming titles include Lazy Susan, Starstruck and Ellie and Natasia plus the second series of both In My Skin and Back to Life.
In addition to this, the BBC has announced four new BBC Comedy Slices for BBC Three, all of which are written by and/or star female talent: Ladybaby, Amicable, Dinosaur and Britney, which results in the majority of comedy programmes on BBC Three now being female led.
Kate Daughton, the outgoing Head of Comedy at the BBC, commented: “Building on the huge success of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Daisy May Cooper, this marks a monumental achievement and is testament to the fact the most pioneering and exciting new voices in comedy are increasingly female.”
Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer, added: “Kate’s impeccable taste, whip smart comedy brain and beguiling ways with talent have had a transformative impact on the comedy output in her time here. The fact that BBC Three can claim to be the first UK channel with a majority of female led and written scripted comedy is in large part down to her vision and passion for backing genre defining female creatives. She’ll be sorely missed but thankfully leaves behind a terrific legacy of shows ahead.”