Fortunately, the ink isn’t even dry yet on the news of the end of the brilliant duo of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders and we’re getting word that Dawn French and Alfred Molina are set to star in Roger and Val Have Just Got In, a new BBC comedy series about the lives of a middle-aged couple when they return home at the end of the working day. Based on an idea by French, the series will deal with the minutiae from their routine daily lives as a food technology teacher (French) and a botanist (Molina). Unfortunately, there’s no timetable at this point for production or transmission other than the cryptic “2010”.

Sadly, most, if not all of the show, will involve just the two characters. What I have always thought helped set Britcoms apart from their American counterparts has been the supporting cast. It’s the writing ,first and foremost, but I can’t imagine The Vicar of Dibley without the likes of Owen, Hugo, Jim, Frank, David or Alice.

Written by Emma and Beth Kilcoyne (Dogtown), the series will be produced by Pete Thornton, whose credits include Jam And Jerusalem and The Smoking Room and executive produced by Hugo Blick, who worked on Marion And Geoff and Sensitive Skin. One thing all of these shows have in common. They’re quirky with a capital Q and somewhat dark. Couple this with past solo projects from Dawn French like Wild West and Murder Most Horrid and you should have something great to look forward to in the coming year.