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Lead Balloon is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. The second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two from November 2007; the third series aired from November 2008; and the final series aired from 31 May 2011 until 5 July.
Original Release
10/04/2006 on BBC
US Release
10/04/2006
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Jack Dee | Rick Spleen |
Raquel Cassidy | Mel |
Sean Power | Marty |
Anna Crilly | Magda |
Antonia Campbell-Hughes | Sam |
Rasmus Hardiker | Ben |
Tony Gardner | Michael |
John Biggins | Clive Gray / Clive |
Robbie Coltrane | Donald |
Sophie Winkleman | Donna |
Directors
Elisabeth Riseng, Alex Hardcastle
Writers
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Jack Dee | Rick Spleen |
Raquel Cassidy | Mel |
Sean Power | Marty |
Anna Crilly | Magda |
Antonia Campbell-Hughes | Sam |
Rasmus Hardiker | Ben |
Tony Gardner | Michael |
John Biggins | Clive Gray / Clive |
Robbie Coltrane | Donald |
Sophie Winkleman | Donna |
Alex Lowe | Phil Randell / Radio DJ |
William Hoyland | Ambrose |
Simon Greenall | Adam Greene |
Steven Alvey | Peter Root |
Michael Fenton Stevens | Trevor |
Charlotte Hudson | Siobhan |
Ted Robbins | Bob Fairchild |
Ian Ashpitel | Graham McLean |
Rufus Jones | Brendan Carter / Vince |
Karen Bryson | Ally |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Addison Cresswell | Executive Producer |
Andrew Beint | Executive Producer |
Lucy Lumsden | Executive Producer |
Elisabeth Riseng | Producer |
Jack Dee | Producer |
Pete SInclair | Producer |
Liz Seymour | Producer |
Alex Hardcastle | Producer |
Editors
Russell Beeden, Simon Reglar, Mark Henson, Liana Del Giudice