BBC turns back the clock with arrival of multiple comedy drama box sets from the 1990s and early 00s on the iPlayer.
- Shows returning to screens include Jed Murcurio’s Cardiac Arrest, Hamish MacBeth, early 00s Sunday night drama Monarch of the Glen and Manchester-based comedy drama Making Out.
- A selection of shows will also feature on BBC Four, with back-to-back episodes screening Wednesday nights from 22:00, starting with Cardiac Arrest on 20th September.
Viewers with fond memories of comedy dramas of the 1990s and early 00s will be pleased to hear that a number of the BBC’s best loved shows from that era have been added to iPlayer.
The selection includes Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio’s first ever TV show, 1994 medical drama Cardiac Arrest, written under a pseudonym at a time when he was still working as a junior doctor.
This series and other programmes from the 1990s box sets will air on BBC Four in the coming weeks, with episodes running from 22:00 each Wednesday evening. An exclusive introduction to Cardiac Arrest from Mercurio will air on Wednesday 20th September on BBC Four. It will become available on BBC iPlayer shortly thereafter.
Many of the boxsets feature well-known stars in early TV roles. 1995 police comedy drama Hamish MacBeth, set on Scotland’s west coast, features Robert Carlyle in the title role before his star-making appearances in Trainspotting and The Full Monty. Cardiac Arrest features Helen Baxendale, before she became a star in Cold Feet and US sitcom Friends.
Also new to the iPlayer: 2000’s Scottish highlands-set family drama Monarch of the Glen and 1989 Mancunian factory floor comedy drama Making Out, from 1989.
Coming later…
Warriors, a limited drama documentary mini-series from 1999 about British army peacekeepers during the Bosnian war, will follow at a later date. The series features a cast including Matthew MacFayden, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd.
Dan McGolpin, Director of BBC iPlayer and Channels, says:
“It’s a thrill to bring all of these fantastic drama series back for a new generation; for those of us who remember the first time around we can indulge and enjoy them all over again. The breadth of our offer keeps increas ing, BBC iPlayer truly has something for everyone.”
Marc Thornham