Music and comedy combine with Alex Horne for UKTV

A one-off UKTV Original special will bring to screens The Horne Section’s spontaneous and free-wheeling combination of live music and comedy.

“I’m pretty sure no-one’s ever tried combining music with comedy before, let alone filming the whole thing and putting it on TV, so we’re pretty excited to see how Twitter will cope with jazz and jokes for two hours. Good luck everyone!” – Alex Horne

The Horne Section are: Alex Horne (band leader), Joe Auckland (trumpet and banjo), Mark Brown (saxophone), Will Collier (bass), Ben Reynolds (drums and percussion) and Ed Sheldrake (keyboards).

The show, which will be recorded live at the London Palladium for broadcast later this year, will be filled with The Horne Section’s distinct brand of fun, outlandish musical talent and several stupid but catchy songs. The unlikely jazz/comedy hybrid will also feature guest performances from some of the biggest names in comedy and music, with the latter also treated to unlikely band leader Alex Horne’s (Taskmaster) inimitable interview style.

The Horne Section has been created, and fronted, by award-winning comedian Alex Horne whose five-piece band has already performed with some of the biggest names in music and comedy. Previous performances have featured comedians Greg Davies, Tim Minchin, John Oliver and Reggie Watts as well as headline musicians such as Felix Buxton (Basement Jaxx), Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and Suggs (Madness).

Alex Horne is the creator and co-host of one of UKTV’s most successful original commissions, Taskmaster. The hit series was most recently nominated for 2017 BAFTA and International Emmy Awards and awarded a 2018 Broadcast Award for Best Entertainment Programme. The hit show, which was the most popular programme on UKTV Play last year, ended 2017 with a ratings-winning two-part special Taskmaster: Champion of Champions which reunited the victors from the previous five series.

The Horne Section is the only band to have hosted an episode of Nevermind the Buzzcocks for BBC Two, regularly appear in dictionary corner on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown on Channel 4, and hosted three series of the successful Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section on BBC Radio 4. The band has also enjoyed numerous sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as at The Lyric Theatre – Shaftesbury Avenue, The Criterion Theatre and The Hackney Empire.

Avalon is to produce this one-off UKTV Original programme.

“The Horne Section special is a great fit for Dave, what with Alex Horne’s involvement and the brilliant combination of music and comedy. It’s certainly going to be entertaining two hours!” – Luke Hales, channel director for Dave