Foyle’s War producer Greenlit Rights has won its first BBC commission: a “relationship-driven” comedy drama about a pair of police detectives.

The 3 x 60-minute BBC2 series, Vexed, is written by Howard Overman (Misfits, Merlin) and directed by Matt Lipsey (Psychoville, Saxondale).

The series, commissioned out of the BBC Comedy department, follows “bright, sexy” detectives Jack and Kate, who share “real chemistry”, but have complicated personal lives.

“They may be cops, but Jack and Kate suffer the same frustrations, pre-occupations and insecurities as the rest of us,” a BBC spokesman said. “Always on the move or in their unofficial office - the local café opposite the police station where the coffee and gossip are better - their cases say something about modern life in an entertaining
way.”

Jack will be played by Toby Stephens (pictured in Robin Hood) and Kate will be played by Lucy Punch, who has appeared in The Omid Djalili Show (pictured) and CBS series The Class and has replaced Nicole Kidman in the next Woody Allen film.

Jill Green, managing director of the Target Entertainment Group-owned indie, said: “Vexed will be a really smart relationship-driven comedy, and there’s definitely a gap for that.”

The series was greenlit by former controller of comedy commissioning Lucy Lumsden and BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow.

Vexed is set to be broadcast in 2010.

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