Funnywoman Charly Clive and her best friend Ellen Robertson are set to release a hilarious new sitcom – which tells a heartbreaking real life story.
Britney – the new show – is set to air on BBC Three on Tuesday and follows Charly’s discovery that she has a brain tumour, in an echo of the real life health battle Charly survived in 2015, when she was living in New York and missing her periods.
The best friends decided to put their fear aside and name the tumour after the pop icon and have now channelled the health scare into the hilarious new show.
Out: Funnywoman Charly Clive (front) and her best friend Ellen Robertson (back) are set to release a hilarious new sitcom – which tells a heartbreaking real life story
On naming the tumour Britney, Charly said: ‘It’s easier than always referring to it as ‘that enormous tumour resting life threateningly close to your carotid artery’.
Written by and starring Charly and Ellen, Britney is based on their sell-out live show and tells the true story of friendship amidst the reality of living with her diagnosis of the tumour – known to the girls as ‘Britney’.
Charly said: ‘[It’s called Britney] because a bad b***h brain like mine could only house a bad b***h tumour and Britney is the baddest b***h in pop.’
Of the show and storyline, Charly said: ‘Britney is the very true and very funny story of when I was diagnosed with a large pituitary adenoma (a type of brain tumour)…
The star herself: On naming the tumour Britney, Charly said: ‘It’s easier than always referring to it as ‘that enormous tumour resting life threateningly close to your carotid artery’
‘I moved back to my tiny childhood village to deal with it. Luckily, my best friend Ellen was nearby’, with Ellen interjecting: ‘having glamourously not yet left home’, while Chary went on: ‘and that is glamorous. So we were able to face it as a duo’.
The show also stars Omid Djalili as Charly’s doctor, Dr Pellis, Tony Gardner as Charly’s dad, Bobby and Lia Willams as Charly’s mum, Janet.
Speaking about their supporting cast, an overwhelmed Ellen said: ”Oh my God an incredible cast. I can’t believe any of them said yes.’
Charly continued: ‘We really wanted everyone who you watch in the pilot to take the roles so it is a real dream. We’d always hoped Tony Gardner would play my Dad, Bobby, if ever a TV show got made, so it is a mad pipedream that he… did?!’
Tough: Britney – the new show – is set to air on BBC Three on Tuesday and follows Charly’s discovery that she has a brain tumour, in an echo of the rea life health battle Charly survived in 2015, when she was living in New York and missing her periods
They also revealed a near-casting, saying: ‘The only person I was slightly gutted about was we’d offered Daisy Edgar Jones the role of Charly, but she was filming some sort of Irish thing so couldn’t do it. But Charly does a really good go.’
On making a sad story funny, Ellen said: ‘Well, it was never a conscious decision to find the humour in it. But Charly makes me laugh more than anyone else in the world’.
Charly went on: ‘And Ellen makes me laugh more than anyone else in the world’.
In the show, Hanson’s 1997 hit MMMBop played in Charly’s MRI, however she revealed this was not an exact mirror of real life.
Rock on: In the show, Hanson’s 1997 hit MMMBop played in Charly’s MRI, however she revealed this was not an exact mirror of real life
She said: ‘No, it wasn’t playing in the MRI. Insanely the song that was actually playing was ‘Bad Day’ by Daniel Powter which turned out to be a bit too on the nose…
‘Mmmbop was and remains my favourite song because it’s perfect…
‘I don’t think any song would have been able to make me feel calm because other than feeling a bit annoyed that my day was being delayed by a 45 minute MRI, I truly didn’t think anything scary or life altering would come from it.’
On collaborating for comedy, Ellen said: ‘Charly’s brain is so weird – even without the you-know-what – so she had a mad way of explaining stuff…
‘Like how surreal it was to be told there was something in your brain you didn’t know was there that needs an operation to get rid of, she explained that to me as like finding out there was a small Welsh town in your brain, whose inhabitants are really pissed off they’re about to be evicted…
‘And every time that happened I was thinking ‘this should be a show; how else will we monetise the experience?’ ‘
Britney airs on Tuesday 30 November on BBC Three
Britney airs on Tuesday 30 November on BBC Three