Back in May, Channel 4 announced the main cast for Queer As Folk creator Russell T Davies’ return to gay-themed television, Cucumber. However it turns out there were a few names missed out, as they’ve now added comedians and actors Rufus Hound and Ardal O’Hanlon, as well as Adjoa Andoh.
Cucumber is about 46-year-old Henry (Vincent Franklin) and his boyfriend Lance (Cyril Nri) whose comfortable and settled existence is shattered after the most disastrous date night in history – involving a threesome, two police cars, and Bony M – and Henry’s new life begins.
Hound joins the eight-part series as Rupert, who’s described as being ‘a man in hot pursuit of Henry – but as their date gets stranger and stranger, the night ends in very unexpected ways.’
O’Hanlon is Brian, who goes out on a date with Cleo, only to find the evening unravelling into old secrets and long-buried truths. Andoh joins as Lance’s sister Marie – a strong, outspoken professional, who thinks her brother’s boyfriend just isn’t good enough for him.
One of the most interesting things about Davies’ project is that it comes in three parts. Cucumber is eight 60-minute instalments that will be shown on Channel 4 in the UK, which then feeds into the eight 30-minute episodes of Banana, about the people orbiting Henry’s world, which will air on E4. If that weren’t enough, there’ll also be the on-demand show Tofu, described a ‘an anarchic and entertaining factual series about sex – from gay to straight, and anything in between – inspired by the dramas each week.’
Banana, which will star the likes of Andrew Hayden-Smith, also has a couple of newcomers – Luke Newberry and Dino Fetscher. Their characters, Josh and Aiden, will first appear in Cucumber before their in-depth stories are detailed in individual episodes of Banana.
The shows are currently shooting in Manchester. No air date has yet been announced.
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Back in April