Jack Carroll hopes BBC short Mobility will be pilot episode for sitcom
Comedian and actor Carroll, who was runner-up on Britain's Got Talent in 2013, has written and starred in a new comedy short film for BBC iPlayer.
Former Britain's Got Talent star Jack Carroll has written and starred in new BBC comedy short Mobility, which focuses on three students taking the mobility bus to school together on the first day of sixth form.
Carroll, who has cerebral palsy, plays the central character of Mike in the short, which ends in a manner leaving the door open for more from the characters.
The actor and comedian recently spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com about Mobility, and said that he and co-writer Tom Gregory both envisage the short "very much as a pilot episode of a sitcom".
Carroll explained: "I don't know whether that's how the channel sees it necessarily, and I think it's great that they have given people the ability to experiment with this short film strand. I think it's great for new emerging talent, that's how people work things out and get bigger."
Be aware, if you haven't yet seen the short, there are plot spoilers below – so make sure you catch up before reading on.
More like this
Carroll continued: "I think, from our perspective, it is definitely a short pilot for a sitcom series, and with the reveal of Ramona at the end of the episode, the series would be kind of her learning the ropes on how to make the most of your disability through the other lads really. And that's a conversation we've definitely had.
"But you never can tell with these things and if that was not to be the case then we've also got a pretty neat little short film that I'm very, very proud of. So either way is great for me."
Read more:
- David Tennant and Michael Sheen's Staged season 3 finally coming to BBC
- Inside No. 9 stuns fans with fake bus episode reveal
The initial short film takes place entirely on the mobility bus, and when asked whether that would remain the case if the concept were expanded to a full series, he said that he and Gregory have "talked about a couple of different options with it".
He said: "We probably would have to open the action out a little bit but then also, who's to say that it's not the morning trip to sixth form and the bus back as well? So there's a number of ways we could go with that.
"I think the main thing that we've settled is that the Ramona character would become more the focus of a series and the viewer’s way into the kind of secret society of disability."
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Carroll also spoke about the current state of the TV landscape when it comes to disability representation, saying that it's "always a difficult question to answer because I can only speak from my perspective, my experience of disability, and there's thousands of different types of disabilities and experiences that people have with those disabilities".
He continued: "I think it's getting better. But I think that we've got to find that diversity within diversity. Because I think there is a danger that people go, 'Oh we've got one or two shows with disabled people in them and that's enough'. But there's a lot of diversity within disability that I think doesn’t really get the coverage that it should.
"But then again, in my more compassionate moments I go, 'Well, it's very hard to get anything on TV, whether you're able-bodied or whether you have a disability.' So maybe people are working within the parameters that the crowded space of TV offers them."
Mobility is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
