Simon Day returns as fictional prog star Brian Pern in a second series of Brian Pern: A Life Of Rock – and he’s brought in The Hobbit and Sherlock star Martin Freeman for a guest appearance.
The three-part comedy production follows The Life Of Rock With Brian Pern, broadcast in February, featuring Peter Gabriel and Rick Wakeman as themselves.
The first episode of the new series will be aired on BBC2 on December 9, and sees Pern reuniting with his former colleagues in prog outfit Thotch to create a jukebox musical. Producers say: “This is not easy as they hate each other. Not only that – on the opening night Brian is unexpectedly arrested for a crime he doesn’t know he’s committed.”
In the second episode Pern plans to celebrate “the tenth anniversary of the twentieth anniversary of the fifth anniversary of the first anniversary of the non-release of his unheard debut solo album, Brian Pern’s Musical Version Of The Day Of The Triffids.” In the third and final instalment he faces a multimillion pound tax claim while trying to make a Christmas record.
Freeman plays a younger version of the main character alongside regulars Michael Kitchen, Paul Whitehouse, Nigel Havers and Lucy Montgomery.
Day, as Pern, recently told TeamRock: “Thotch is not about money. It’s about pride, and going back, and I don’t want to do that. None of us do. Thotch was great while it lasted but I will never tour with them again, sorry. People say ‘never say never’. I never say ‘never say never’ as I never say that ever, never. Ever. Never.”
