The series is based on Eric Morecambe’s books and co-stars Joe Wilkinson, Tom Davis and Sian Clifford

Filming begins today, 3 November, on The Reluctant Vampire, starring Lenny Rush and based on the books by Eric Morecambe.

The 6 x 30’ family comedy comes from Boffola Pictures for BBC One, in co-production with ZDFneo. It is written by Rob and Neil Gibbons – best known for several Alan Partridge shows – and has a large, starry cast including Tom Davis, Sian Clifford and Charlie Cooper.

The synopsis reads: Raised in a conventional vampire family, Val (Rush) isn’t the most natural at the bloodthirsty rites of passage despite his best efforts. Life takes a shocking turn when he discovers — after accidentally coming across his own reflection — that he’s not a vampire after all and his Vampire mum (played by Clifford) has kept everything secret from him, until now…

The Reluctant Vampire was commissioned by Jon Petrie, director of comedy commissioning; the executive producer is Shane Allen. The series producer is Ali Marlow and the director is Emily McDonald. Writer Gary Morecambe – son of Eric – is the script consultant.

The commissioning editors for the BBC are Ben Caudell and Navi Lamba, and Yi Qiao for ZDFneo. BBC Studios, that has a minority investment stake in Boffola Pictures, will handle global sales.

Exec producer Allen said: “This is a world of vampires, invisible ghosts, werewolves & gargoyles following in the dead funny footsteps of Ghosts to deliver high-spirited hilarity for all the family. The response to Neil and Rob’s scripts has sent shivers up our spines with the cream of British comedy signing up.”

Boffola Pictures is also currently in production on Ann Droid, a new BBC comedy starring Diane Morgan, and is developing Pigeon, a six-part comedy for C4 from writer Katy Wix.

Photos: Left to right top row, Tom Davis (Image: Matt Crockett), Sian Clifford (Image: Maarten de Boer), Charlie Cooper, Asim Chaudhry (Image: Justin Downing). Second row Joe Wilkinson (Image: Petra Exton), Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Image David Fisher/Shutterstock), Esther Smith, Bill Bailey (Image: Gillian M Robertson). Bottom row Ray Fearon (Image: Manon Ouimet), Ellie May Sheridan, Gabriel Nagy, and Ross Noble. Lenny Rush image: YellowBelly.