Don't Forget the Driver

British television series

  • Toby Jones
  • Erin Kellyman
  • Jo Eaton-Kent
  • Luwam Teklizgi
  • Danny Kirrane
  • Dino Kelly
  • Marcia Warren
  • Claire Rushbrook
  • Jo Hartley
Country of originUnited KingdomOriginal languageEnglishNo. of series1No. of episodes6ProductionProduction companySister PicturesOriginal releaseNetworkBBC TwoRelease9 April (2019-04-09) –
14 May 2019 (2019-05-14)

Don't Forget the Driver is a 2019 BBC Two comedy series, co-created and co-written by Tim Crouch and Toby Jones, in which Jones also stars alongside Erin Kellyman. A second series was commissioned by the BBC for broadcast in 2020,[1][2] but was delayed and then cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[3] The show is produced by Sister Pictures and distributed by BBC Studios.[4]

Plot

Set in Bognor Regis, Jones plays Pete Green, a depressed single father who works as a coach driver and discovers an asylum seeker after taking a coach party across the channel.[5]

Cast

  • Toby Jones as Pete Green
  • Erin Kellyman as Kayla Green
  • Luwam Teklizgi as Rita
  • Danny Kirrane as Squeaky Dave
  • Jo Eaton-Kent as Bradley
  • Dino Kelly as Lech
  • Marcia Warren as Joy
  • Claire Rushbrook as Fran
  • Jo Hartley as Mel
  • Bharti Patel as Manju

Episodes

No.Title [6]Directed by [6]Written by [6]Original air date [6]UK viewers
(millions) [7][a]
1"Episode 1"Tim KirkbyTim Crouch9 April 2019 (2019-04-09)2.66
2"Episode 2"Tim KirkbyTim Crouch & Toby Jones16 April 2019 (2019-04-16)1.68
3"Episode 3"Tim KirkbyTim Crouch & Toby Jones23 April 2019 (2019-04-23)1.48
4"Episode 4"Tim KirkbyTim Crouch & Toby Jones30 April 2019 (2019-04-30)1.66
5"Episode 5"Tim KirkbyTim Crouch & Toby Jones7 May 2019 (2019-05-07)1.47
6"Episode 6"Tim KirkbyTim Crouch & Toby Jones14 May 2019 (2019-05-14)1.42

Production

For the role, Jones took Coach Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) lessons and failed his test twice, once for driving too fast and once for going too slowly.[5] In January 2020, Don't Forget the Driver was renewed for a second series of six episodes.[8] However this was cancelled by the BBC due to the Covid-19 pandemic a decision Jones described as “heartbreaking”.[9]

Broadcast

The six-part series began airing in the UK on BBC Two at 10pm on 9 April 2019 and continued weekly.[10] The series performed well in the 10pm slot attracting over 2.2 millions viewers.[11] The series was made available in its entirety on iPlayer on 9 April.[12]

Reception

The show won the 2019 Venice TV Award for Best Comedy.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ Viewers across the first 28 days of broadcast on TV, PC/laptop, tablet or smartphone are counted. Pre-transmission figures are included.

References

  1. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Don't Forget The Driver to make a return trip : News 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  2. ^ Dickson, Andrew (21 January 2020). "Toby Jones: 'Actors talking about acting? It makes you scream!'". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  3. ^ "Don't Forget the Driver Series 2 cancelled because of Covid - News". British Comedy Guide. 14 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Don't Forget the Driver". Sister Pictures. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b Lawson, Mark (4 April 2019). "Don't Forget the Driver: the show to help you come to terms with Brexit". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  6. ^ a b c d "BBC Two - Don't Forget the Driver - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Four-screen dashboard BARB". www.barb.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Don't Forget The Driver to make a return trip". Chortle. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. ^ Jones, Ellen E. (6 December 2022). "People told us what a consolation it was' – Toby Jones on the return of Detectorists". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "When is Toby Jones comedy Don't Forget The Driver on TV?". Radio Times.
  11. ^ "Don't Forget The Driver Series 2 cancelled because of Covid". British Comedy Guide. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Don't Forget the Driver - Series 1: Episode 1" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ "Winners 2019".

External links