Fan resurrects sitcom

Monday, May 29, 2006

A fan that set up his own company and bought the rights of his favourite sitcom has today released the DVD.

Craig Robins, 41, was so frustrated that Joking Apart, originally shown on BBC Two in 1993, had not been released that he secured the rights from the BBC and did it himself. As a video technician, he was able to produce the DVD, and has established a label to sell the product.

He is thought to be the first individual to have achieved such a feat.

Joking Apart was written by Steven Moffat, best known for writing Coupling and some episodes of the new Doctor Who. It is based upon the collapse of Moffat’s first marriage.

The show stars Robert Bathurst, who played David in Cold Feet, and Fiona Gillies, who appeared in Peak Practice. The cast members say that people who remember the show often approach them. Bathurst, Gillies, Moffat and co-star Tracie Bennett recorded interviews and a commentary for the disc in central London in January.

The disc, available from today, is being distributed via Robins’ website. He hopes to release further forgotten classics.

Moffat says: "I would be absolutely delighted if this was a success."

Sources

Shane Jarvis. "Farce that rose from the grave" — The Telegraph, May 8, 2006
Graham Kibble-White. "Fool if you think t's over" — Off the Telly.co.uk, May 2006

External links

ReplayDVD Craig Robins' website

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.