Big Finish Originals – Comedy Playhouse is a collection of six audio sitcom pilots, taking listeners on a journey full of laughs from the Georgian-era House of Commons to an island in the middle of the Atlantic, via a declining seaside town, a wild ride through hell, and much more. 

The six scripts were all chosen from the entrants to a 2023 competition run by Big Finish Productions and Write On Comedy, who united to revive the much-loved BBC anthology series Comedy Playhouse. 

Each of these unique scripts has been perfected with help from Big Finish script editor Jonathan Morris, and produced with fantastic casts including Sacha Dhawan, Forbes Masson, and Judy Flynn. And now, everyone who purchases a copy from the Big Finish website will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite pilot episode to be made into a full series. 

Big Finish Originals – Comedy Playhouse is now available to purchase as a digital download to own for just £19.99, exclusively here. 

The six hilarious new pilots are: 

Sad Sunk Rock by Tom Worsley 

After his girlfriend dumps him and he proves unbearable, Victor is sent to join three other marine biologists on the isolated island of Sad Sunk Rock; they are Elspeth, who has been there for 38 years and talks to the sheep, Deborah, who has had no contact with the outside world, and Ally, a wild-eyed Scotsman who is technically twins, slightly radioactive and who once fought an alligator in the Amazon. Victor’s first thought is to return to the mainland at the first opportunity, but somehow he begins to feel that he might fit in...   

Sad Sunk Rock’s cast includes Forbes Masson and Siobhán Redmond (stars of the cult BBC2 sitcom The High Life), as well as Gwithian Evans, and Rameet Rauli. 

Scribbling by Amy Xander 

Scribbling follows four inhabitants of a rural, West Country town – Madeleine, Edward, Ling and Beth – who reluctantly bond after joining a writers’ group run by brazen new resident Laurie, a former entertainer still desperate for an audience. 

Scribbling stars Suzy Bloom (Emma), Timothy Bentinck (The Archers), and Sagar Radia (Industry), as well as Suni La, Lizzie Worsdell, Jessica Martin, Helen Goldwyn, and Clive Hayward. 

Members by Jack Bradfield & Fergus Macdonald 

The House of Commons during the reign of King George II is a strange and cloistered world of the corrupt and the eccentric, where the main businesses of the day are boozing, whoring, and trying to get pudding served earlier. Due to an administrative mix-up, the young Henry Fthistle finds himself elected to parliament, and finds it is almost impossible to leave. 

Members stars Nicholas Briggs (Doctor Who), Dan Starkey (Doctor Who), and Maddison Bulleyment (Six: The Musical), alongside Dickon Gough, Raj Ghatak, Stephen Riddle, and Matthew Woodyatt. 

Square Peggs by Jenny Devaux & Phil Butcher 

It’s the Peggs first day in their new country home, but all is not well – there’s no mobile signal, no takeaway, the neighbours are... different, and Dawn’s run over the previous owner’s cat. Can anything else go wrong? 

Square Peggs stars Sacha Dhawan – known as the Master from Doctor Who, as well as for his role in The Great – alongside Rachel Fenwick, Annette Holland, Clive Hayward, and Sagar Radia. 

Golden Sands by Toby Walker 

Chortle-by-Sea is a bleak, desolate and decaying seaside town, and few visitors come to purchase the peculiar novelties from Julie’s gift shop or to sample the delights of Sue’s chip shop. And it is not much of a place for the young, awkward Rowan and Sophie to have a blossoming romance. It is, however, the ideal place for a murder. 

Golden Sands stars Judy Flynn (The Brittas Empire) and Melanie Kilburn (The Bill), plus Harry Chalmers-Morris, Holly-Marie Michael, and Duncan Wisbey. 

The Cracks are Showing by Alan Ronald & Cy Henty

When Karloff goes for an interview to be an ‘office scapegoat’, he is found to be too optimistic for the position, and is thrown out of the window. In his death, he is joined by painter and philosopher William Blake on a metaphysical quest through the underworld to find out who is responsible for humankind’s misery. 

The Cracks are Showing is performed by its writers, the comedy duo known as The Electric Head, with additional voices from Barnaby Edwards. 

Producer Lizzie Worsdell said: “Comedy is a brand-new venture for Big Finish, so it feels really exciting to be part of it from the start. The idea came about after we were approached by Robert and Gemma Ross of Write On Comedy. Executive Producer Jason Haigh-Ellery had been looking for new ways to diversify Big Finish, and audio is such a fun medium for comedy. 

“Honestly, it was so tough to choose just six, we had so many entries. The standard was really high and the scripts were all so different. It wasn’t just about which ones made us laugh the most but about spotting potential in the writing. We were looking for originality, strong characters and something that would really come alive on audio as well as potentially be turned into a full series further down the line.” 

Script editor and producer Jonathan Morris added: “The most important thing about these pilots is that we want to do more. The casts are there, the writers are there. So please support this release and show that there is an audience for situation comedy, and we will be able to make one – or some – of these pilots into series.” 

Big Finish Originals – Comedy Playhouse is now available to pre-order as a digital download to own for just £19.99, exclusively here. All listeners who purchase from the website will be contacted via email at a later date and asked to vote for their favourite pilot episode to be made into a full series. 

All the above prices (including pre-order and multibuy bundle discounts) are fixed for a limited time only and guaranteed no later than 31 January 2026.