Jaime Winstone and Ardal O'Hanlon to star in new Sky comedy set around an internet radio station

The six-parter, called After Hours, casts Winstone as Lauren, the manager of the station that makes its programmes on a houseboat and becomes a refuge for the main character, 18-year old Willow Hannigan.

Played by James Tarpey (last seen in Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's movie comedy The World's End), Willow has been dumped by his girlfriend and is living at home while most of his friends have gone to university.

Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon plays Willow’s father, Peter, an ex-milkman who finds himself jobless after a big supermarket opens nearby. Peter’s best friend is played by Cold Feet actor John Thompson.

Written by relative newcomers Molly Naylor and John Osborne, and directed by Caroline Aherne’s onetime collaborator Craig Cash, the comedy will air on Sky 1 next year.

Sky’s head of comedy Lucy Lumsden said: “After Hours is a beautifully written series about growing up in a small Northern town which will capture the hearts of our Sky 1 customers."

Cash added: “John and Molly have created a world which is not only very funny but has genuine warmth at its heart. It's a pleasure to be working with such talented new writers and a cast of great comic actors".