David Farnor | On 06, Nov 2018

Stephen Merchant (The Office, Extras) and Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing) will star in Click & Collect, a new Christmas comedy from BBC One.

The duo will play two mismatched neighbours driving across the country to pick up the one toy that will make a little girl’s Christmas dreams come true. But will they get there before the shops shut for the festive season? Can they make it back in time for Christmas? And will they manage to avoid driving each other crazy along the way?

Merchant will play Andrew Bennett (Merchant), who has somehow failed to buy the one present his six-year-old daughter really wants – Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess. Unfortunately, it also happens to be the must-have toy of the season, and he can’t track one down in London for love nor money. Step forward his irritating, over-friendly neighbour Dev D’Cruz (Chaudhry), who reveals he’s managed to track down the last one in the whole of the UK. The only problem? It’s 300 miles away, up in Carlisle. And it’s click and collect on Dev’s credit card.

And so, on Christmas Eve, Andrew has little choice but to set off with his annoying neighbour on a long-haul drive as he desperately tries to save his daughter’s Christmas and redeem himself as a dad. For Andrew, it’s a nerve-fraying nightmare; for Dev, it’s the best road-trip of his life.

The hour-long one-off is written by Joe Tucker and Lloyd Woolf (Witless, Big Bad World, Parents) and directed by Ben Palmer (The Inbetweeners Movie). It’s a co-production between BBC Studios and Mondo Deluxe and will air on BBC One this Christmas.

Merchant says: “Every year, my family watch the big Christmas TV specials and my dad falls asleep halfway through. This year, I’m very excited to be starring in a big Christmas TV special that my dad can fall asleep halfway through.”

Chaudhry adds: “I’ve been a huge fan of Stephen’s work for many years so it’s a dream to be working with him! I’m also over the moon about the fact that my ten year old sister can finally watch something I’m in that’s family friendly and wholesome, lol.’”

Filming for Click & Collect will start this month.

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