Dawn French to star in new BBC sitcom Can You Keep a Secret?

August 22, 2024 — Dawn French (French & Saunders, Murder Most Horrid, Roger & Val, Jam and Jerusalem, Delicious) and Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner, Green Wing) star in Can You Keep a Secret? a new sitcom, written and created by Simon Mayhew-Archer (This Country, Josh) and directed by Simon Hynd (Ghosts, Motherland).

Co-produced by Big Talk Studios, Mayhay Studios and CBS Studios, the new six-part series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One was announced today by Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy, at the Edinburgh TV Festival’s Spotlight on the BBC session. Can You Keep a Secret? is a show about the tough decisions in life. And death.

Dawn plays widow Debbie Fenton – granny, lawn bowler, tinpot dictator – who will stop at nothing to make sure her family’s protected. Unfortunately, most of the time the person they really need protecting from is her. When her hermit-like husband William (Mark Heap) unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before.

Because Debbie isn’t actually a widower and William didn’t really die – he was just mistakenly declared dead and the two retirees found themselves staring down the barrel of an opportunity too good to pass up. Just a few months hiding out in the loft waiting for the life insurance to pay out and then they can live out their golden years in peace.

This all proves a bit much for their easily frazzled son Harry who – despite his emotional shortcomings – has managed to acquire a family of his own and a potentially life changing insurance payout from his father’s ‘death’. Reunited with a dad he’s just buried and the reality that his parents have turned into a pensioner version of Bonnie and Clyde, Harry suddenly has a lot more to juggle. Sandwiched between two generations of toddlers, Harry finds himself navigating a very common stage of life – only this time, it’s criminal.

Set in the West Country, Can You Keep a Secret? is the story of an odd little family you haven’t met yet, but that you already know – a sitcom that places comedy icon Dawn French in the middle of some mischief we can all relate to.

Can Debbie Fenton and her family keep their secret? Or will one of them spill the beans?

Dawn French says: “At last…a sitcom where I can keep my top on…mostly.”

Kenton Allen, Executive Producer and CEO Big Talk Studios, says: “Working with Dawn French has been a career-long ambition and to have her inimitable comedic brilliance join forces with the extraordinary Mark Heap and the Simons – Simon Mayhew-Archer and Simon Hynd – is every producer’s dream. We’re delighted to welcome such talented creative minds into the Big Talk family and can’t wait for viewers to see this highly original family comedy in all its glory.”

Simon Mayhew-Archer, Writer and Executive Producer, says: “Having the chance to make this show is the greatest joy of my career, and I’m enormously grateful to Dawn, Jon and Tanya for the opportunity.”

Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy, says: “Can You Keep a Secret? hilariously delves into a rarely portrayed stage of the family life cycle, blending classic sitcom elements with an exhilarating farcical crime twist. With Dawn French and Mark Heap leading the cast, this is an irresistible new comedy and I can’t wait for BBC viewers to see it.”

Can You Keep a Secret? (6×30) is a Big Talk Studios, Mayhay Studios and CBS Studios co-production for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The series was commissioned by Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy. The Executive Producers are Kenton Allen and Simon Mayhew-Archer; the Producers are Lauriel Martin and Joe Scantlebury, and the Director is Simon Hynd. The series is written and created by Simon Mayhew-Archer. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Tanya Qureshi. Can You Keep a Secret? is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. Big Talk Studios is part of ITV Studios.

Further details will be announced in due course.