Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney to give birth to second series of Catastrophe

The broadcaster is so pleased with the first series that it has taken the unusual step of commissioning a second before its even finished airing. It is expected to be shown next year.

Catastrophe has been garlanded with huge critical praise, and was identified as one of the comedies of 2015 by RadioTimes.com as early as last August.

It follows Irishwoman Sharon Morris (Sharon Horgan) and an American man Rob Norris (Rob Delaney) who embark on a brief affair that results in an initially unwanted pregnancy. He decides to come and live in this country and make a go of being both Sharon's boyfriend and the father of her unborn child.

The supporting cast includes Carrie Fisher as Rob's pushy mother Mia, Ashley Jensen as Sharon's neurotic and selfish friend Fran, and Mark Bonnar as Fran's husband Chris.

The series launched on Channel 4 on Monday January 19th with an average consolidated audience of 1.2 million viewers. The Friday night repeat of the debut episode added a further 400,000 viewers.

Horgan told RadioTimes.com that she was determined to make a second series despite her other commitment – an HBO pilot comedy called Divorce starring Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker.

“It is possible to do both and I really want to bring Catastrophe back,” she said.

Divorce is set in New York and sees Parker play a woman embroiled in a long-running marriage split.

Jay Hunt, Channel 4's chief creative officer, said: “Catastrophe is a real comedy gem. Sharon and Rob have done a magnificent job and we’re already looking forward to series 2”.

Jon Thoday, Joint managing director of Avalon, the production company which makes the comedy, added: “It’s a real pleasure to be working with such a talented team on such a great show and I’m delighted that we’ll be making more episodes with Channel 4.”