Comedy start-ups aim to amplify working class voices

The creatives behind BBC3 comedy Man Like Mobeen and Channel 4’s The Curse have each set up new scripted indies focused on championing working-class voices.

Guz Khan, the creator and star of Man Like Mobeen, has teamed up with the show's producer Gill Isles to establish Dice Roll Productions.

Announcing the Coventry-based company on Twitter, Khan put out a call for working-class talent to get in touch.

“The time has come for me to ensure you can make the show you’ve dreamed of,” Khan said. “We’re here to facilitate a generation of people from working class backgrounds and beyond to create their vision. We are the production company you’ve been waiting for.”

Isles has produced all three series of Man Like Mobeen and is across its upcoming fourth series. Her CV also includes Peter Kay’s Car Share, Detectorists and upcoming BBC1 comedy Undoing Martin Parker.

Mighty Pebble

Meanwhile, James De Frond and Tom Davis have wound up their Banijay UK label Shiny Button after six years and exited the super-indie to set up Mighty Pebble Pictures.

The move was prompted by the Shiny Button’s third co-founder Andy Brereton’s recent move to Channel 4, where he is a senior commissioning comedy editor.

De Frond and Davis co-wrote C4’s The Curse, which recently returned for a second series, and previous comedies Murder in Successville (BBC3) and King Gary (BBC1). Davis has starred in all three, with De Frond directing each series.

The pair will use Mighty Pebble as a vehicle for their own projects as well as acting as a home for new talent and shows, with a focus on working class writers. 

The company is backed by The Story Collective, which also supports UK scripted indies Artis Pictures and Maia Pictures.