Cast Offs: a comedy drama about disability

The creators of a pioneering comedy drama about disability explain themselves

by TheartsdeskFriday, 20 November 2009

Cast Offs: from left, Tom, Gabby, April, Will, Carrie and DanChannel 4

Channel 4 put six disabled people on a desert island for three months to see if they can fend for themselves. That’s the startling premise of Cast Offs - a new drama co-written by Alex Bulmer, Tony Roche and Jack Thorne. Does team writing really work? And can you get laughs out of such sensitive material. theartsdesk invited the three writers to interview one another.

Put six disabled people as the main characters in a telly show and you’re bound to get attention, some of which might not be liked

Explore topics

Share this article

more TV

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Sky Atlantic review - the good, the bad and the unspeakable Shape-shifting Natalie Dormer wreaks havoc in a combustible 1930s Los Angeles

Storyville: Welcome to Chechnya, BBC Four review - trauma, tension and resistance David France's 'guerrilla' documentary charts brave Russian response to extreme anti-LGBTQ campaign

Das Boot, Series 2 Finale, Sky Atlantic review - deeper and darker The casualties mount as the waters keep getting rougher

The Hidden Wilds of the Motorway, BBC Four review - mysteries and marvels of the M25 Naturalist Helen Macdonald takes an imaginative journey around London's orbital motorway

My Brilliant Friend, Season 2: The Story of a New Name, Sky Atlantic review – a troubling friendship deepens Painstakingly vivid serialisation of Elena Ferrante’s masterpiece glows again

The Choir: Singing for Britain, BBC Two review - the pandemic versus the power of song Gareth Malone's music therapy from the frontline

Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, BBC One review - still lives run deep Bennett double-bill gives wounding voice to the lonely and the loveless

Roswell, New Mexico, ITV2 review - they've landed! Schlock meets sci-fi in soapy desert drama

Perry Mason, Sky Atlantic review - low life and hard times in Depression-era LA What Perry did before he became a courtroom superstar

The Luminaries, BBC One review - one of the most visually arresting dramas of the year Based on the Booker Prize-winning novel, this new big budget murder mystery sparkles and shines

Tutankhamun in Colour, BBC Four review - amazing enhanced images bring fabled Pharaoh to life Revelatory treatment of the historic discoveries of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon

The Woods, Netflix review - missing-person mystery reveals a heart of darkness Harlan Coben adaptation isn't profound but it keeps viewers hooked

Follow @theartsdesk