Announced today, Bad Sugar follows “a dysfunctional, wealthy mining dynasty, with an ailing patriarch and some greedy siblings”.

Also starring Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen), David Bradley and Peter Serafinowicz, the show is described by Channel 4 as “a peculiarly British take on telenovela style melodramas, played for laughs”.

Nerys Evans, C4 Comedy Commissioning Editor, commented: “We’re so delighted to have three of the country’s funniest comedy actresses come together on this glorious project, it’s beautifully written by Sam and Jesse, who are without a doubt the hottest comedy writers in the UK right now. If that mix of comedy talent wasn’t tantalising enough, it’s also directed by Ben Palmer, fresh from the record-breaking Inbetweeners Movie. To say we’re excited by Bad Sugar is a bit of an understatement.”

Writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong added: “We’ve always wanted to write a show with poisonings, death threats, extreme psychological pain and big hair. With the help of the amazing cast we’re hoping it might be what everyone in UK television has been waiting so long for – Grey Gardens, the sitcom.”

A second series of Bain and Armstrong’s Fresh Meat was commissioned in October.

> Order Fresh Meat on DVD on Amazon.

Are you looking forward to Bad Sugar? Let us know below…