Getting On creators show BBC some Puppy Love

The BBC's controller of comedy commissioning Shane Allen today confirmed RadioTimes.com’s exclusive this morning that he had greenlit the BBC4 comedy to explore the oddities and foibles of people obsessed with man’s best friend.

A story of love, dogs and the love of dogs, according to the BBC it will be set around the Wirral-based dog training classes run by the formidable Nana V (Jo Scanlan) – “For All Your Dogging Needs”.

Puppy Love follows two very different women - Nana V and Naomi Singh (Vicki Pepperdine) as they navigate their headstrong dogs, teenage kids and disappointing husbands, the BBC announced.

Shane Allen said of the 6x30-minute comedy written by and starring Scanlon and Pepperdine: "Puppy Love both celebrates and sends up the deeply held relationship between dogs and their owners. This is a real passion piece from Jo and Vicki who have yet again succeeded in creating a wonderful set of characters."

The news reflects the growing kudos of the comedy writers after US cable network HBO ordered a pilot based on the pair's bittersweet BBC4 comedy Getting On which will be overseen by the creators of drama series Big Love - Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer.

However Getting On, which originated in the UK in 2009 and starred the duo alongside Jo Brand as a trio of put-upon nurses working on a ward at an over-stretched NHS hospital, will not be returning.

The BBC has also announced that Count Arthur Strong, which debuted on BBC2 last night, has been re-commissioned for a second series.