Frank Skinner's first Radio 4 sitcom to air in October

Don't Start, about a bickering couple, written by and starring the comedian, also features The IT Crowd's Katherine Parkinson

Frank Skinner is to star in a new BBC Radio 4 sitcom about a bickering couple opposite The IT Crowd's Katherine Parkinson.

Don't Start will feature a couple arguing about a different topic each week, beginning with a seemingly trivial disagreement that escalates out of control.

"I've spent an unhealthy percentage of all my relationships in argument mode," said Skinner, who has also written the four-part series, his first for Radio 4.

"Sometimes it's simply destructive but, on other occasions, it can be like an elaborate verbal dance. One of the characters in Don't Start talks about finding 'poetry amidst the bile'.

"Radio loves language and that gives me license to explore a style of comedy that loves language too. I'm a fan of those Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn films when their bickering is finely crafted, funny, and yet somehow still very real. That's what I've tried to achieve with Don't Start."

The series, which begins at 11pm on 5 October, is produced by Avalon. Skinner also presents a Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio and BBC2's Opinionated.

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