BBC One has ordered a full series off the back of its 2011 Christmas comedy Lapland. The one-off, which followed the Lewis family on a festive trip to see the Northern Lights, drew 6.89 million viewers on Christmas Eve, and the corporation has now commissioned a six-part follow-up.
The series carries the new title Being Eileen and runs to six half-hour episodes. Sue Johnston returns as Eileen Lewis, the recently widowed matriarch of a large, close-knit and dysfunctional Northern family. Where the special was set in Lapland, the series picks the family up back home in Birkenhead.
Being Eileen is again written by Michael Wynne and produced by Rosemary McGowan for BBC In-House Comedy. One change from the special sees Stephen Graham’s role recast, with Dean Andrews, of Marchlands and Life on Mars, stepping in.
The comedy is built around three generations of the Lewis clan across three households, with Eileen at its centre alongside her children and grandchildren.