Buy Me Up TV

Buy Me Up TV is a BBC Radio 2 sitcom set behind the scenes of a 24-hour shopping channel. It was written by James Eldred and Justin Edwards. A pilot episode was broadcast in March 2007, with a further four episodes following in March 2008. It starred Justin Edwards, Katherine Jakeways, Alex MacQueen, Greg Proops, Ewen MacIntosh and Colin Hoult.

Cast

 * Justin Edwards as Bob Norton
 * Katherine Jakeways as Angela Bassett
 * Alex MacQueen as Giles
 * Greg Proops as Jacky Tanner
 * Ewen MacIntosh as Ewen
 * Colin Hoult as Various

Plot
Set in the studios of 24-hour shopping channel Buy Me Up TV, the programme covers the lives of the unhinged personalities selling all kinds of products in the badly run television station.

Reception
The show was not well received by the press, but was praised by many listeners to the show.

"'Buy Me Up TV, a new sitcom starring and co-written by Justin Edwards, faces a real comedic hurdle. The world it portrays, in this work-based comedy, is that of the cheaper end of the shopping channels. The problem is, those channels are funny enough: crass and camp, and full of phrases you can't quite believe you just heard. When this sitcom focuses on the selling, it does match the real thing for laughs. There is the ludicrousness of the products - a chicken de-boner which 'uses centrifuge'; a knife reputed to be 'so powerful it can turn into a fine mist', and 'Robert Mugabe beach towels' - and the sales team's banal, empty phrases ('they are quite literally amazing'). Off camera, though, it is a patchier affair, in places somewhat hysterical - as opposed to hysterically funny - and all a bit overexcited. There are nods to Larry Sanders, hints of Alan Partridge and faint echoes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. These are not bad precedents, but what this lively new sitcom needs to sell is an identity all of its own.'"

"'Even with Jonathan Ross as a three-hour warm-up man, Buy Me Up TV failed to coax the glimmer of a smile on to my face. The talents of Doon Mackichan couldn't rescue Justin Edwards' and James Eldred's account of life behind the scenes at a 24-hour shopping channel. Perhaps, judging that this setting has been the subject of numerous satires, the authors settled for a frenzied facsimile of life at the consumerist cutting edge. Everyone sounded barking, indeed on the verge of a nervous breakdown, perhaps because they had to cope with dialogue that could apparently only be delivered at ear-shattering volume. The audience laughter was strangely disturbing, as if they had been force fed E numbers before being manacled to their seats.'"

Broadcast history
Originally broadcast Radio 2, the series has often been repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra.