TV extra Johnny Vegas goes straight for laughs in hit return

IT can be tricky making a sequel, especially when the original TV show was a big hit, which is why Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson were excited, but also nervous, about reprising their roles of lovebirds Terry and Gemma for Death on the Tyne.

Following on from Murder on the Blackpool Express last year, the two-hour special sees the couple, who work as tour guides, taking Mildred (Sheila Reid) and a group of friends from her care home on a ferry to Amsterdam.

But it’s not long before things start to go awry and a puzzling murder mystery unravels on the cruise.

“I was kind of going, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’,” admits Vegas, on deciding to do a sequel. “Once we all got together and started shooting, you’ve just got this amazing gang of people in a room and it’s not like work when it’s like that. It’s a lot of fun.”

“We were sad to not have the same cast back,” says Gibson. “But we were very excited to have the new and exciting cast to do the second one.”

Here, the pair explain what to expect from the adventures this time round.

Airing on Gold, Death on the Tyne is an unusual, but welcome, mix of comedy and a thrilling whodunit. At the centre of it are Terry and Gemma, whom Vegas calls the “straight ones” among a selection of mad characters, played by the likes of Georgie Glen, Sue Johnston and James Fleet.

“The idea is that everyone’s being hilarious and we feel as if we’re being really flat,” he explains.

“We’re just doing facial expressions!” says Gibson, who is best known for her collaborations with Peter Kay, including Car Share.

is reopening its phone lines for the festive season, with eight new stars tackling dilemmas large and small, from Christmas quandaries to troublesome affairs of the heart. Taking calls from the great British public this time round will be Street legend Amanda Barrie, Strictly Come Dancing finalist Debbie McGee, Countdown’s Nick Hewer, Goggleboxers Steph and Dom Parker, Coronation Ackley Bridge star Sunetra Sarker, comedian James Acaster and Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney. The all-star agony aunts will staff the helplines providing advice to callers, never knowing what problem they’ll face.