BBC One is doubling down on young talent and legacy IP with The Reluctant Vampire, a six-part comedy headlined by BAFTA winner Lenny Rush and adapted by Rob and Neil Gibbons from Eric Morecambe’s 1982 children’s novel.
Rush, coming off breakout roles in Am I Being Unreasonable? and Dodger, will play Val, a teenage Vampire Prince with no taste for blood and a growing appetite for crisps and red wine. When he discovers he isn’t undead after all, Val is forced to pass as human in a quaint English village that happens to border a secret vampire enclave.
The Gibbons brothers—best known for their long-running work on Alan Partridge—are writing and exec producing the series, which joins a growing slate of youth-skewing comedy at the BBC. The project was unveiled during the BBC Comedy Festival, alongside new commissions Stuffed, Small Prophets, Ann Droid, and Bill’s Included, as well as returning titles The Golden Cobra, Funboys, Only Child, and The Young Offenders.
Described internally as a genre-skewering comedy with broad family appeal, The Reluctant Vampire is positioning itself as a crossover swing: accessible to younger viewers but built with enough comic sophistication to punch into primetime. The tone leans gently absurdist, with the Gibbons’ trademark deadpan writing style aimed at reintroducing Morecambe’s legacy to a new generation.
Production details, additional casting, and a premiere date are still under wraps.
