UKTV

The series, co-written by Phil Bowker and Samson Kayo (Timewasters), will be extended to six episodes.

Sliced follows the hilarious, unlikely encounters of Joshua (Kayo) and Ricky (Theo Barklem Biggs), two mischievous pizza delivery drivers in south London.

Kayo commented: “We go again! I’m so excited to be back on Dave with series two. Last series was just a taster, now it’s go time!

“I’m looking forward to creating some more explosively funny and authentic stories with this amazingly talented team."

In one way, the career of David Abraham has come full circle. He began his working life in advertising – and, in his latest role, ­running his own company, Wonderhood Studios, he is once again involved in producing TV commercials, as well as making TV programmes. With his trademark heavy-rimmed glasses and carefully judged wardrobe, Abraham still looks like he might have stepped out of the pages of ad bible Campaign at its 1980s’ peak.

Bullmore burst onto screens almost 30 years ago as the gutsy Steph Barnes in Coronation Street and has gone on to star in I’m Alan Partridge, Happy Valley and Scott and Bailey, which she also wrote for.

She finds being both an actress and a writer allows her to always find inspiration for storytelling. 

Created and written by comedian Alex Horne, the series stars Greg Davies as the Taskmaster, with Horne acting as Davies’ assistant and umpire during the tasks.

Each series, five contestants compete each week to score the highest mark on the bizarre tasks set by the Taskmaster.

Taskmaster originally aired on Dave, but will make the move to Channel 4 in 2020 following a new six series deal. 

With over 200 tasks to date so far, here is a roundup of some of our favourites.

Set in nineteenth century London, Miss Scarlet and The Duke chronicles the adventures of the first ever female detective in Victorian London.

Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders) plays the headstrong Eliza Scarlet who is left penniless when her father dies and marriage is her only hope of financial security.

Determined to provide for herself, Scarlet takes over her father’s detective agency, but soon realises she needs a partner if she is to operate in this man’s world.

The ten-part series sees Zuu take his passion for cooking on the road, with each episode following Zuu as he cooks up made-to-order dishes for a famous comedian on tour in the UK.

Comedians making an appearance this series include, Rosie Jones and Desiree Burch.

​Initially a live show at the Edinburgh Fest Fringe, Taskmaster was originally developed with Channel 4 and then later commissioned by UKTV where it aired on Dave for nine series.

The series follows Greg Davies and show creator Alex Horne as they host a series of complex and comedic challenges that test the wit of a line-up of famous contestants.

Following the six series deal, new episodes of Taskmaster will air on Channel 4.

“We need more voices on telly – there’s not enough working-class people in telly and not enough diversity,” said UKTV head of comedy entertainment Iain Coyle.

“All the different voices that make up this country need to be working in television – not just the poshos who’ve been to Cambridge and Oxford,” said Sohail Shah, the MD of new indie King of Sunshine Productions.

He added: “Without new talent you don’t get any kind of progression in TV.”

The three-part series, entitled Comedy Against Living Miserably, aims to raise awareness and money for the mental health charity with comics waiving their fee as a donation to the charity.

The series builds upon Dave’s relationship with CALM since last year’s “Be the Mate You’d Want” campaign, where they encouraged viewers to spend the ad time calling or texting a friend.