Jimmy Nail returns in BBC One sitcom

Geordie actor/singer Jimmy Nail is returning to the BBC as the star of a new sitcom, Parents of the Band.

Jimmy, 54, remains best known for the 1980s series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, but has had an alternative career as a singer/songwriter.

In Parents of the Band he will play Phil Palmer, the father of a 15-year-old boy who starts up a rock band with his mates. The twist in this sitcom is Phil is a former one-hit wonder and instead of opposing the teen band, he wants to be a big part of it.

Jimmy said: "Half-hour comedy is something I've not done before; as such it offers a new challenge. We have a wonderful team - some of them new acquaintances, some old friends - and we'll be working hard to ensure the end product is special."

The sitcom was co-created by Jimmy and Tarquin Gotch, who together brought the hit series Crocodile Shoes to BBC and the movie Still Crazy to the big screen.

Parents of the Band will be 6 x 30minute episodes, and will be written by David Cummings (co-writer of Happiness, Kevin & Perry Go Large) and script edited by legendary writing partnership, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.