Nicola Walker’s ‘gloriously absurd’ new BBC series from Richard Curtis sounds unmissable

Nicola Walker is set to star in Richard Curtis’ upcoming audio comedy, Greatest Living Writer – and it sounds brilliant.

The upcoming ten-part BBC Radio 4 series, which also stars Bill Nighy, Nick Mohammed, Meera Syal, Jim Broadbent and Madelyn Smedley, marks the Love Actually writer’s first sitcom since Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley and Mr Bean.

While little is known about the Unforgotten star’s role, the series centres around Bill Nighy’s character, John Westlake, a hugely successful literary titan with “absolutely no useful social skills.”

Ahead of the comedy’s release on Boxing Day, find out all we know about the series below. 

What is Greatest Living Writer about? 

The audio sitcom centres on John Westlake (Bill Nighy), a huge figure in the literary world whose family are forced to deal with the fallout of his genius. 

© Tim P. Whitby

The official synopsis reads: “John Westlake (Bill Nighy), a literary titan whose towering genius has earned him global reverence, lifelong indulgence, and absolutely no useful social skills. As those around him absorb the blast radius of his genius, the series plays with creativity, legacy, literary celebrity, family, and the uncomfortable truth that being good at writing does not necessarily make you good at being a pleasant person.”

In a statement, Richard said: “I’m loving working in this tight 15-minute format for the BBC – writing for performers I know and love – and writing something that’s about the creative world I have such direct experience of, as it crashes into family dynamics.”

© Getty Images

Meanwhile, Julia McKenzie, Comedy and Entertainment Commissioner at BBC Radio 4, teased the show as “funny” and “spicy,” adding that the episodes will be “eagerly binged the minute the box set lands.”

The series was also described as “gloriously absurd, painfully recognisable and full of heart,” by John Scott Dryden, Director of Goldhawk at a Platform Media Label. 

© Variety via Getty Images

Nicola Walker shows available to stream now

While you await the arrival of Greatest Living Writer, here are some of Nicola’s best series available to stream now. 

• Alice and Steve: Nicola stars alongside Jemaine Clement in this Disney+ comedy-drama, which follows the titular longtime pals whose 30-year friendship turns into an all-out feud when Steve starts dating Alice’s 26-year-old daughter. 

• Annika: In this gripping detective series, Nicola stars as Detective Inspector Annika Strandhed, the sharp leader of Glasgow’s Marine Homicide Unit, as she investigates grisly murders that wash up in the waterways of Scotland.

• River: Created and penned by Abi Morgan (The Split), this compelling show stars Stellan Skarsgård as talented detective John River, whose investigation into the murder of his friend and colleague, DS Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson (Nicola Walker), uncovers her deepest secrets.