Dave orders three slices of pizza comedy

Phone Shop creator Phil Bowker has switched his focus to pizza delivery drivers in a sitcom for Dave he is co-writing with Famalam and Timewasters actor Samson Kayo.

The 3 x 30-minute Sliced stars Kayo and Ballot Monkeys actor Theo Barklem-Biggs as drivers at a South London takeaway pizza firm.

The show is being produced by Bowker’s indie Lovely Electricity, which previously made BBC2’s The Javone Prince Show.

Sliced has been commissioned by UKTV head of scripted Pete Thornton and ordered for Dave by Richard Watsham, director of commissioning, and Steve North, genre general manager, entertainment and comedy.

Thornton said that he was delighted that a UKTV channel was now home to Samson’s “passion project”.

“We look forward to welcoming him into the family along with his co-writer the legendary Phil Bowker,” Thornton said. “It’s a beautifully crafted, highly authentic and genuinely diverse project set in a blue-collar world that we can’t wait to introduce to our audiences.”

Bowker, who has also written for Pulling and 15 Storeys High, said the commission signalled that Dave was committed to supporting top young comedy talent.

“Samson is a rare talent and it’s brilliant that we’ve got the opportunity to work together with Dave to realise this series,” he said.

Bowker also said the commission, his first for UKTV, “sends out a really strong message to the comedy world that UKTV is the place to be for the freshest, newest and finest comedy around,” he said.

Sliced is due to air on Dave next year.