Channel 4 boosts comedy

The IT Crowd will return to Channel 4 screens later this year in a one-off special the broadcaster confirm, after a week of comedy announcements.

The episode, written and directed by Graham Linehan and produced by Richard Boden, will feature all four stars, Chris O’Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry. Filming of the 45minute special episode will take place in June.

Deputy Head of Comedy Nerys Evans said: “Only the power of Graham’s magical writing could bring back together four of the UK’s brightest comedy stars, for an un-missable one off episode special that will screen later in the year on C4. Whether it is the final …. Well we like to say never-say-never.”

It follows a number of comedy announcements by the broadcaster last week including Trojan Donkey a new hidden camera comedy, the move from E4 to the main channel for the second series of Cardinal Burns and the third series of Friday Night Dinner.

The broadcaster is also to air Toast of London starring Matt Berry who play Steven Toast, an eccentric actor with a chequered past who spends more time dealing with problems off stage than performing on it.

The pilot was broadcast in August 2012 as part of Channel 4’s Funny Fortnight season of comedies marking the channel’s 30th birthday. Written by Arthur Mathews (co-creator of Channel 4’s iconic, Father Ted) alongside Matt, it garnered rave reviews and featured in Radio Times’ Top 40 shows of 2012 and Heat Magazine said it was the “flat out funniest half hour of TV” in the week the pilot was broadcast.