Sky1 announces new comedy "Spy"

Sky1 has announced that it has ordered a new comedy called Spy.

The show stars Darren Boyd as a single father called Tim who quits his job in an attempt to impress his 9-year-old son Marcus (Jude Wright). However, Tim's life is shaken up when he is accidentally recruited as a trainee at MI5. He ends up having to balance his family life with his new career and struggles to keep it a secret. Boyd recently starred in Whites and Case Sensitive and has also worked in shows including Dirk Gently and Green Wing.

The six-part series will also star My Family's Robert Lindsay as Tim's boss The Examiner, Dolly Wells as his ex-wife Judith, Tom Goodman-Hill as Judith's boyfriend Philip, and Mathew Baynton as Tim's friend Chris. Elsewhere, Rebekah Staton will play Tim's fellow spy Caitlin, who is a possible love interest, while Rosie Cavaliero will star as an "obsessive" social worker called Paula.

Sky's head of comedy Lucy Lumsden said: "In Spy we have an exciting young cast and a brilliant new writer in Simeon Goulden. It is the first of several new British comedies aimed at a family audience to sit alongside our fantastic US lineup including Modern Family, The Middle and The Simpsons."

Meanwhile, the show's executive producer Jimmy Mulville said that Spy is "one of the funniest and strangest takes on the family comedy", adding: "Dysfunctional doesn't begin to do it justice!"

Spy is expected to air in the autumn on Sky1.