All WRAPPED UP

CHRIS MCCAUSLAND and LEE MACK on why their Christmas caper will be a tree-mendous treat

- JUDY EWENS, REBECCA MAHONEY

BAD TIDINGS
SUNDAY 22 DECEMBER, 7.30PM, SKY MAX & SKY SHOWCASE COMEDY

Lee Mack and Chris McCausland are full of Christmas cheer as they greet TV Times on a very-festive film set, decorated with twinkling lights and tinsel-covered trees.

‘We’re just happy to be in a warm studio after two weeks of night shoots!’ laughs Lee, who’s here at Sky Studios Elstree in Hertfordshire for new comedy Bad Tidings, co-written by Chris alongside Ghosts stars and cocreators Martha Howe-Douglas and Laurence Rickard.

The seasonal story follows grumpy home-security expert Neil (played by Lee), whose petty feud with his blind neighbour and nemesis Scott (Chris) triggers a power cut on their Stockport cul-de-sac, forcing the entire street to evacuate.

But as Neil and Scott agree to stay behind on guard, a local crime family helmed by the fearsome Stacey Brennan (Home’s Rebekah Staton) is planning a flurry of home invasions. Gulp!

Here, Not Going Out favourite Lee, 56, and Strictly Come Dancing 2024 star Chris, 47, talk mistletoe and crime…

How did this fab-yule-ous collaboration come about?