Comedy favourite Dawn French is set to star in new ITV drama Glass Houses. The show follows French's character Maggie Connors in the weeks following a tell-all radio broadcast.
Dawn French is to star in a new ITV drama about the nosy resident of a small coastal town, according to reports.
Glass Houses also stars other familiar faces Julie Hesmondhalgh and Patrick Robinson alongside Mark Heap and Vicki Pepperdine.
Six hour-long episodes will go into production on location in South Devon this spring.
French plays a character called Maggie Connors who is interviewed by a local radio station and gives far more detail - and embellishment – about the locals and their personal lives than she should.
In the days and weeks following the broadcast, Maggie sees the effect of how her public gossiping affects locals in the town.
Friday Night Dinner star Heap plays Maggie’s headmaster husband Peter and Coronation Street’s Hesmondhalgh is Maggie’s best friend Jill. Pepperdine is school secretary Karen.
Though billed as drama, the series has been commissioned by ITV’s comedy controller Saskia Schuster. The broadcaster recently cancelled its last remaining comedies.
Schuster said: ‘Glass Houses is a new drama in the tradition of Doc Martin and The Darling Buds Of May, full of warmth and intriguing characters. This new series will embrace its beautiful idyllic South Devon setting as we meet the villagers of Thurlbury and find out how an innocent afternoon spent indiscreetly gossiping has a domino effect on the whole village.’
French added: ‘It’s such a good story with a fantastic funny, touching script by Mark Brotherhood. Let me at it!'
