Nigel Betts: Last News

Mike McCahill Guest Contributor Centred on a chaotic family coming to terms with an autism diagnosis, the Israeli comedy-drama “Yellow Peppers” never aired on British television, but it’s had a pronounced influence on British TV schedules over the past decade. First, it begat Peter Bowker’s direct adaptation “The A Word,” which over three series relocated several of its predecessor’s storylines to a picturesque Lake District setting, achieving the holy-grail combo of excellent reviews and high ratings for the BBC before finding a transatlantic home on Sundance TV. Now “The A Word” generates its own variation in “Ralph & Katie,” a six-part spin-off charting the further adventures of soccer-mad Ralph (Leon Harrop) and his baker beloved Katie (Sarah Gordy). Noteworthy as characters with Down’s syndrome played by actors with Down’s syndrome, these lovebirds first won hearts during a third-series subplot on “The A Word,” moving in together against the advice of their overprotective, micromanaging guardians. Now they attempt an arguably trickier transition yet: from B-plots to A-plots, from supporting players to leads.

BBC One’s The A Word spin-off Ralph & Katie, which was created by a group of disabled writers overseen by Peter Bowker, has entered production in Manchester and the Lake District.