The BBC has confirmed it has ordered a full series of Juice, a new sitcom starring Mawaan Rizwan.
As British Comedy Guide revealed last year, a 35-minute Comedy Slice pilot was made, based on Two Weeks To Live star Rizwan's 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show of the same name, which derives from his mother's advice to him growing up that if "life gives you mangoes, make mango juice".
Now, the BBC has confirmed it has ordered a six part series for BBC Three, before the pilot has been aired.
They say: "Juice follows Jamma (Mawaan Rizwan) who desperately wants to be the centre of attention, but his family are constantly stealing his thunder.
"Mum, Farida, always makes everything about her; Dad, Saif, ignores him; and brother, Isaac, steals the limelight at work - the one place Jamma feels like he's doing well. And when he finally does get the validation from boyfriend Guy, he can't handle it. Jamma's hyperactive imagination goes into overdrive and the world transforms around him in this surreal comedy, written and created by Mawaan Rizwan."
The star's real-life relatives Shahnaz Rizwan and Nabhaan Rizwan will play his mum and brother, with Jeff Mirza as his dad, and Russell Tovey as his boyfriend.
Mawaan Rizwan says: "I feel very blessed to be given the opportunity to make my dream project. It's about a guy who loves attention and makes everything about himself. It is NOT autobiographical."
Jonathan Blyth, Director of Comedy for BBC Studios, comments: "We're thrilled to be working with the wonderfully talented Mawaan and partnering with Various Artists and BBC Three on this hugely ambitious show, which will be a real treat for audiences around the world."
As recounted in his 2018 storytelling show, Pakistani-born Rizwan's mother became a Bollywood star after he featured her in one of his music videos. The wannabe showbusiness megastar's father is a playwright, while his brother, Nabhaan, who is also an established actor, has shot HBO Max's sci-fi mini-series Station Eleven, about a pandemic that wipes out most of the world's population.
Directed by Gideon Beresford and Behnam Taheri under their pseudonym Rosco 5, who made the 2020 short Mondeo starring Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Sunil Patel.
Appointed as the BBC's first Young People's Comedy Laureate last July, with a remit to champion comedy as an artform, and to engage and inspire new talent to begin writing and performing, Rizwan was head judge for the corporation's New Comedy Awards last year, as well as shaping and informing the BBC's outreach programme in schools.