GameFace gets going

Roisin Conaty’s self-penned sitcom GameFace for E4 from Objective Fiction has gone in to production with a stellar cast.

The new 6x30 comedy, due to air on E4 later in the year, sees Conaty play Marcella, an aspiring actress with a distinct world view who despite being ever optimistic can’t quite get her work, family or love life on track.

Alongside Conaty, Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Shameless) plays Marcella's mum with Francis Magee (Witless, Game of Thrones, Rogue One) as her furious dad and Dylan Edwards (Wasted, Pramface) as wayward brother Billy.

Damien Molony (Crashing, Being Human) plays her long-suffering driving instructor Jon, Nina Toussaint-White (Uncle, Emmerdale) and comedian Caroline Ginty play Lucy and Caroline, Marcella's best friends and flat mates, and Dustin Demri Burns (Cardinal Burns, Pyschobitches) is ex-boyfriend Simon.

The series follows Marcella as she tries to make a success of her life and career, and navigate the changing landscape of her 30’s, whilst still recovering from the break-up of a long term relationship. Aided and abetted by her therapist, played by Karl Theobald (Green Wing, Plebs), friends and, unusually, her driving instructor.

Beginning life as a Comedy Blap, the original pilot episode of GameFace aired in April 2014, and garnered rave reviews with The Observer saying it was “a giddy hit" and The Mirror declaring that "GameFace is a sitcom pilot that deserves to become a full series."

The series started filming mid-February and is made by Objective Fiction (Fresh Meat, Peep Show, Witless) and was commissioned by C4 Comedy Commissioning Editor, Rachel Springett. Executive Producer for Objective is Ben Farrell, Producer is Charlotte Lewis and Director is Andrew Chaplin.