Nail, Quentin join new BBC comedies

Comedy favourites Jimmy Nail, Caroline Quentin and Roger Lloyd Pack will return to the BBC in three new series announced today.

Quentin (Jonathan Creek) will play mother Rosie, the head of a large and dysfunctional family, in Life of Riley. The show is from Smack the Pony writer Georgia Pritchett.

Lloyd Pack (Only Fools and Horses), meanwhile, is joining a new sitcom from Peep Show writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The Old Guys will follow "elderly delinquents" Tom (Lloyd Pack) and Roy.

Finally, Nail (Auf Wiedersehen Pet) is joining his own co-creation Parents Of The Band. The actor will play Phil Palmer, an Eighties one-hit-wonder popstar, in the six-part sitcom.

Phil's teenage son Jack has formed a band with two mates and Palmer wants to get involved.

"It's lovely to be returning to BBC One with a brand new show," said Nail. "Half-hour comedy is something I've not done before, as such it offers a new challenge.

"We have a wonderful team – some of them new acquaintances, some old friends - and we'll be working hard to ensure the end product is special."