See Matt LeBlanc audition to play himself for BBC2

By Patrick McLennan
( What's on TV )
published

See Matt LeBlanc audition to play himself for BBC2
See Matt LeBlanc audition to play himself for BBC2 (Image credit: PA Archive/Press Association Ima)

Former Friends star Matt LeBlanc has started filming a seven-part sitcom for BBC2 in which he auditions to play himself. Episodes is written by Friends creator David Crane, plus Jeffrey Klarik, and is the story of a British couple, played by Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig, who are successful producers of a hit UK TV show called Lyman's Boys. They're persuaded to move to LA by a powerful US producer and remake their show for American TV; only, it's a disaster, especially when the producer who turns out to have not even watched the show decides to replace the Lyman's Boys lead (Richard Griffiths) with... Matt LeBlanc. But Matt first has to audition for the producers to play himself. Got the picture? Episodes screens in the US and UK later in 2010, but watch a clip of Matt auditioning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BaZIAlQnAY&hl=en_GB&fs=1

Patrick McLennan
Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.