Keith Allen jets off to the Canary Islands for BBC1 sitcom Woody

Fonejacker star Kayvan Novak plays the luckless journalist, who flees to Spain – actually Gran Canaria – only to bump into his former colleague Brutus (Bradley Walsh). The latter is now running a bar on a fictional Spanish island, and is the only person Woody can trust not to expose him.

Rather than holing up and hiding out, the pair set about solving crimes and mysteries around town. Kayvan Novak certainly sounds chuffed with his new role:

"So here I am in the sun, solving crimes and pretending to be a pirate, a hypnotist and a lady croupier. I thought life couldn't get any better,” said Novak. “Then I saw Bradley Walsh drive by on a jet ski wearing nothing but a dressing gown. I love this place."

The supporting cast includes Jamie Demetriou (Scrotal Recall), Emma Pierson (Up The Women), and Alan Williams (Starlings) and Keith Allen (The Comic Strip), with cameos from Paul Kaye (Pulling), Jack Dee (Lead Balloon), Clive Swift (Keeping Up Appearances) and Simon Day (The Fast Show).

The scripts have been penned by the very capable Neil Webster (A League of Their Own), Charlie Skelton (Argumental) and Ben Palmer (The Inbetweeners Movie).

Bradley Walsh commented from the set: "My goodness what a blast it is filming Woody. With a very funny script, brilliant cameos from the likes of Keith Allen and Paul Kaye as Señor Big and Frederico Mercury, what's not to like? I'm loving every second of working with the brilliant Kayvan Novak. It's a hoot from dawn to dusk!"

Producer and writer Neil Webster added: "We're delighted to be making this huge, silly, sunny show for BBC1… We're aiming to bring a lot of warmth into viewers' homes week after week."

Woody will air on BBC1 in early 2015

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