BBC One has commissioned a one-off drama based on Lenny Henry’s childhood.
The comedian will pen ‘Danny and the Human Zoo’, a fictionalised 90-minute special drawing on his own experiences as a young teenager growing up in 1970s Dudley with a dream of being a comic.
Lenny said in a statement: "I’m so excited about bringing my fictional teen memoir to the nation! I’ve crammed the first two years of a very long career into 90 minutes – it’s gonna rock. I think, although it’s not exactly what happened, that we’ll get a strong sense of what it might have been like for a young black kid from Dudley to be suddenly hurled into the maelstrom of this business we call show. Can’t wait!"
The story follows talented impressionist Danny Fearon, as well as his working class Jamaican family, as he finds his feet in the world of comedy.
Danny must not only juggle his burgeoning comedy career after winning a talent competition, but his home life, including his fiercely traditional mother, and his love life.
Producer Nicola Shindler of RED Production Company added: "I’m extremely excited to be making ‘Danny and the Human Zoo’ with Lenny, whose skill as a writer has been so impressive and assured. This is a funny, moving and important script about growing up as a black, comic talent in a white, crazy world – in the not too distant past."
BBC orders Lenny Henry biographical drama
