It's no joke – teenage Scots comic Daniel Sloss gets his own TV show

Published on Tuesday 11 May 2010 23:24

HE IS just 19 and still lives with his parents in Fife. But up-and-coming comedian Daniel Sloss has already achieved what many comics can only dream of: his own TV show.

• Daniel Sloss

BBC3 bosses yesterday announced that Sloss is set to star in a pilot comedy show featuring a mix of his own stand-up routines and sketches.

His agent, Marlene Zwickler, said yesterday that Sloss is probably one of the youngest acts ever commissioned for their own pilot by the BBC.

She added: "He's worked very hard, this hasn't just landed in his lap. He's very talented, and fortunate to have a family behind him that loves and supports him."

The Adventures of Daniel will tell the story of the young comedian and a fictional family as he tackles teenage life, producers said yesterday. If the pilot programme fares well with audiences, it could pave the way to a full series.

Sloss launched his career on the professional comedy circuit at the age of 16 after he and his family put money that had been set aside to fund him through college into developing his stage act. After sell-out shows on the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008 and 2009, he became one of the youngest solo comedians to appear in London's West End.

His act is particularly pitched at younger audiences, while reviewers have praised a "precocious talent" with the potential to become a major star.

He made his national television stand-up debut on Channel 4's Paul O'Grady Show last October.

Sloss said: "The (pilot] show is a mix of my stand-up and some of my crazy thoughts and I'm incredibly excited to get the chance to make it with the BBC.

"It's kind of the story of my life so far and the ups and downs of being a teenager, or as my mum calls it, the rollercoaster ride of being a typical half-man, half-Xbox hormone-ridden lodger."

Written by comedy partnership Tim Allsop and Stewart Williams, the writing and directing partnership behind Channel 4 comedy show Plus One, with additional material coming from Sloss, the half-hour pilot will start filming in Scotland from June.

Sloss said: "I'm lucky to be working with Tim and Stewart who are two amazing writers, as well as with a great production team and I totally love the script."

The pilot is a BBC Scotland production, commissioned by Danny Cohen, controller of BBC3 and Cheryl Taylor, controller of comedy commissioning. It will be executive produced by Jemma Rodgers, BBC Scotland's executive editor for comedy.

Sloss's comedy career kicked off writing Mock The Week material for Frankie Boyle. He has done regular performances across the country and run his own comedy night, the LOL Comedy Club in Kirkcaldy.

Sloss studied acting from the age of eight and still lives with his family in Kirkcaldy.