Comedy Playhouse - Season 17

Hospitals are mainly about the medical staff and the patients but what about the other inhabitants of these places - the porters, the hospital radio DJs, the chaplains and the managers? This show follows these other people. They could be called 'non-essential' but they would all strongly disagree.

A new manager, Susan Mitchell, has recently taken over the beleaguered Brimlington hospital and is making changes. She comes from a commercial management background and many of her changes are focused on making money. She expands the little newsagents, puts parking prices up and installs a new 'point-of-care' patient entertainment system that costs £10 for 24 hours. This show follows how the big decisions affect the little people, and raises the question - should half of these people even be in a hospital anyway?

Funny, touching and twisted, Broken Biscuits follows five disparate groups of people, friends, partners and parents, and watches their everyday lives as their little stories unfold.

There is Milton and Pearl, an older couple who have an obsession with their son's wife and their smoke alarm. Brenda and Roger take great pride in running their B&B, the Brenroger. Teenager Raz dreams of independence from his mum, who has a rather unsavoury relationship with partner 'Sid the Suitcase'. And Martin cares for his disabled brother, but is also looking for love.

Studio sitcom about three marriages in various states of disrepair. Rob and Cathy have been married for a long time, and it shows. Evan and Fiona's marriage is one big, noisy argument punctuated by even noisier make-up sex. And David and Georgy have just moved in next door to Rob and Cathy - he's in his 60s, she's in her 30s - firmly putting the (younger) cat amongst the (not very welcoming) pigeons. When things get tricky in these relationships the characters are able to stop the action, explain themselves directly to the audience and start it all up again.