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STUCK INTHE STICKS
A collapsed roof, an infestation of moths, a dodgy septic tank – there’s no respite for Jack Dee in the second series of his hit sitcom Bad Move
He’s al ready the grumpiest man on television, but the new series of Bad Move sees Jack Dee sink to even greater depths of misery. Jack’s character Steve and his wife Nicky have spent their savings on moving from Leeds to a cottage in the Yorkshire countryside and it’s been one calamity after another. In episode one alone they have to deal with a collapsed roof and an infestation of moths. Later in the series, there’s a dodgy septic tank, a Come Dine Me With Me-style dinner that goes horribly wrong, and a village festival with sinister undertones.
‘Steve and Nicky are painfully aware they made a mistake moving from the city but simply cannot afford to reverse it,’ says Jack. ‘They are stuck and have to make the best of it. And they might be even less able to move, later in the series, when there’s a possibility of fracking taking place in the area.’
As the action begins, Steve and Nicky (Kerry Godliman) are trying to repair damage inflicted on their cottage by their rock star neighbour Grizzo, who flew his helicopter too low over the property when turning up late for a party at the end of the first series.
‘He caused tiles to fly off the roof,’ explains Jack. ‘They get a builder in to look at it, but Steve makes a couple of sarcastic remarks, which puts his back up. Steve promises not to make any more such remarks, but then the builder asks him what caused the hole in the roof and when Steve tells him it was as a consequence of a rock star hovering low in his helicopter the builder thinks he’s being sarcastic again and storms off!’
Steve and Nicky seem to have struck lucky when Steve finds a card for a builder called Honest John. But being achingly honest about everything proves less than helpful to our troubled couple – especially when it comes to a protected species of moth living in the chimney.
Pete Sinclair, who co- created Bad Move with Jack, says Steve and Nicky have moved on from series one, even if their cottage continues to look like it’s been in the Blitz rather than appearing in the pages of Country Life. ‘They are in accord with the other villagers when it comes to protesting about the fracking scheme,’ explains Pete. ‘But they don’t get on well with the people around them. Shannon is still running the village shop and is still as unhelpful as ever, and neighbours Matt and Meena continue to annoy them with their “perfect” life.’
Grizzo – played by Seann Walsh, a contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing – could provide help with the
DAILY MAIL WEEKEND couple’s financial woes but is frustratingly unwilling. When they ask him for the name of a builder, he suggests Martin, who’s currently in The Bahamas building a beach house for Simon Cowell. As Nicky says, ‘We did try him but, strangely enough, he never got back to us.’
After pulling in audiences of more than four million last year, Bad Move is a rare comedy hit for ITV, and this
HOT SPOT One Bad Move episode features the Lantern Man Festival, which is based loosely on an annual ceremony called Burning Bartle, in which an effigy is paraded through West Witton in North Yorkshire.
year will see a Christmas special. That might just give Steve the chance to crack a smile but, as Jack says, you wouldn’t put your mortgage on it.
‘Laughs come from bad stuff happening to other people,’ he grins, ‘so don’t imagine things are going to be better for Steve and Nicky just because it’s the season of goodwill!’ Bad Move, Wednesday, 8pm, ITV.