Actor hopes to get Ed Sheeran involved in sitcom

Omid Djalili will be pitching his new Ipswich-based show to TV channels and streaming platforms

A comedian and actor working on a new sitcom says he hopes Ed Sheeran will write the theme tune.

Omid Djalili has finished filming the pilot episode for a TV show that follows a has-been comedian who starts to teach comedy at the University of Suffolk.

The 59-year-old, who lives in Ipswich, will soon pitch the show to TV channels and streaming platforms that could commission the rest of the series.

"We'll hopefully get Ed Sheeran to do the theme tune as well," Djalili told the BBC's East Regional Evening Show. "He's a great actor too."

Ed Sheeran grew up in Suffolk and has a huge love for Ipswich Town Football Club

Details of the pilot are under tight wraps, but Djalili previously shared the concept for the show was loosely based on an invitation he received from university bosses back in April 2023 to helm a comedy course at the site.

The pilot episode has also included local Ipswich actors playing students at the university.

"I did it because I live in Ipswich - I moved to Ipswich in November 2020 and I fell in love with the area," he continued.

"We've not moved back... no signs of leaving right now.

"It's brilliant, the whole area is fantastic and it deserves its own sitcom."

The team behind the show are now working on pitching it to allow more episodes to be made.

However, Djalili said it was key they found "the right place" for it and it was not given "away to just anyone".

"Hopefully we'll shoot the rest of the episodes in the spring and we'll have a sitcom for Ipswich's second season in the Premier League," he said.

"We're really looking forward to it.

"We don't think it's just good, we think it is sensational. We want people to believe in it, I think everyone is behind it.

"Hopefully we'll be making an announcement once it's bought and we'll be making a series.

"Ipswich will have its very first sitcom."