Friends are for fun, declares David Walliams

IT’S a sketch show, and it harnesses his talents for short, sharp bursts of humour.

But David Walliams insists viewers WON’T be in for a re-hash of Little Britain.

Walliams & Friend is the new show that starts on BBC1 this week.

“The big thing for me was to be different from Little Britain,” insists David.

“Little Britain had a very strong idea of its own identity. I didn’t want Walliams & Friend to be like a spin-off of that.

“I wanted it to be very much its own thing.”

The series will have a new ‘Friend’ each week, with comedian Jack Whitehouse joining him for the first episode.

Meera Syal, Sheridan Smith, Miranda Richardson, Harry Enfield and Hugh Bonneville are the others who’ll be appearing over the course of the six-week run which includes a Christmas special.

And David insists there’s still a lot of life left in the sketch show format.

“It’s a great way of doing comedy, as it is constantly reinventing itself.

“If you don’t like a sketch, another will be along in a minute.

“People often write off sketch shows, but they are a perfectly valid way of doing comedy.

“You can also cover a lot of ground doing sketches, everything from spoofs to relationship comedy.”

Britain’s Got Talent judge David has no shortage of demands on his time, including his kids’ books, but he’s hoping Walliams & Friend goes down well.

“I’d love to do more,” he adds. “Hopefully it’ll stand out because there are so few sketch shows these days.

“We’re trying to be funny in a very uncomplicated way.

“You don’t have to think too much – it’s just a fun watch.”

Walliams & Friend, BBC 1, Fri, 9.30pm.

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