Channel 4 has commissioned a second series of The Change, written by comedian Bridget Christie. Here are the details.
Bridget Christie has been on the comedy circuit for almost 20 years and has written Edinburgh Fringe shows in which she performed dressed as King Charles II, as well as making a memorable appearance on Stewart Lee’s Alternative Comedy Experience, in which she performed a stand up set dressed as an ant.
She made her screenwriting debut last year with wonderful comedy drama The Change.The plot followed Christie as Linda, a menopausal woman who decides on a whim to abandon her home and husband to join a commune in the Forest of Dean, where she meets an eclectic variety of eccentric characters, and begins to discover another side of herself.
The show co-starred Monica Dolan, Paul Whitehouse, Liza Tarbuck, Omid Djalili, Jim Howick, Tanya Moodie and Jerome Flynn. There’s good news as well: The Change has been recommissioned for a second series. Christie, in particular, sounds quite excited about the news.
“What???” the comedian and actor said, according to the British Comedy Guide. “I’ve got a SECOND series?! What was the first one about?”
We told you she was excited.
The synopsis reads as follows:
Linda has got some explaining to do. Faced with the repercussions of the lies she’s told the forest community, along with losing the Mother Tree, and the arrival of husband Steve who has come to bring her home, Linda’s future in the forest looks uncertain. But she’s already come a long way since being mother/wife/homemaker Linda Jane Jenkins of Swindon, and her journey is far from over. She may have only been Eel Queen for a day, but something’s changed in Linda which means she’s not done yet – in fact she’s only just started. But little does she realise what a huge impact this decision will have on the town… and Steve.
Christie is nominated for Best Female Performance In A Comedy at the BAFTA TV Awards, which will air on BBC One Sunday.
Executive producer Morwenna Gordon said “From stacking the dishwasher and timing her chores, to taking off on a Triumph, climbing trees and being crowned an Eel Queen, the show puts too-often invisible, middle-aged women squarely in the spotlight – in motorbike leathers and a headdress – and for that we are eternally grateful! So, we are delighted to be bringing it back to Channel 4 for a second series to let Linda continue her journey”.
Casting for series two will be announced soon, we’ll keep you updated as we hear more.