British mockumentary television comedy series
Come Fly with Me is a British mockumentary television comedy series created by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Narrated by Lindsay Duncan, the series launched on 25 December 2010 on BBC One. A spoof of British documentaries Airport and Airline, the series follows the activity at a major airport and three fictional airlines: low-cost British airline ‘FlyLo’ (a parody of Flybe), low-cost Irish airline ‘Our Lady Air’ (a parody of Ryanair and Aer Lingus), and major British airline ‘Great British Air’ (a parody of British Airways).
Lucas and Walliams portray many of the focal airline and airport staff, as well as some passengers, whose comments and experiences are featured in one or more of the series episodes in the style of a "fly on the wall documentary". Despite announcing a second series, Walliams confirmed in January 2013 that a second series would not air, after Lucas refused to make a second series and the show was cancelled indefinitely.
Production
In June 2010, it was announced that Little Britain stars Lucas and Walliams had reunited to star in a new comedy series set in an airport, a spoof of British documentaries Airport and Airline.[1][2] Filming for Come Fly with Me began in August, with the duo spending two weeks at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield.[3][4] A further three weeks were spent shooting at London Stansted Airport, with scenes also being filmed at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Pinewood Studios.[5] A "making of" documentary titled Come Fly on the Wall aired on BBC One on 8 February 2011.[6] On 28 January 2011, the BBC announced it had commissioned a second series,[7][8] but Walliams confirmed in January 2013 that a second series was not going to air.
Episodes
Series 1 (2010–2011)
Series 1 of Come Fly with Me began airing on Christmas Day 2010 to mixed reviews from critics, and gained over 12.47 million viewers.[11] The second episode, which aired on New Year's Day 2011, gained over 8.80 million viewers,[12] while the remaining four episodes averaged around 7 million viewers throughout the rest of the series.[13][14][15][16] The series began airing in the United States on BBC America on 18 June 2011, edited to fit a 30-minute time slot with commercials.[17]
Come Fly on the Wall (2011)
Come Fly on the Wall discussed the making of Come Fly with Me with Walliams and Lucas. The programme featured clips from filming, outtakes and interviews with the show's creators as they developed the series. It featured pre production discussions and rehearsals, and showed the actors filming at some of the United Kingdom's busiest airports. It also showed Walliams and Lucas transforming into their new characters in the make up chair, and bringing them to life in front of the camera.
The programme was broadcast on BBC One on 8 February 2011.[18][19]
Cancellation
On 28 January 2011, BBC announced that the show had been commissioned for a second series. The new series was set to air during early 2013. In January 2013, Walliams confirmed that a second series would not air, stating that Lucas did not wish to continue the show.[20][21]
Web content
In conjunction with the television episodes, a selection of extra online content was published on the programme website.[26] The extra content, featuring some of the main characters played by Matt Lucas and David Walliams, was presented as spoof versions of real life airline websites, for example an on line check in service for fictional airline FlyLo, with Melody and Keeley.[27] The content was written by Kevin Cecil, who also contributed to the television scripts. Cecil was inspired by his own work on comedy tie in books over the years.[28]
Reception
Come Fly with Me received mixed reviews, with the Daily Express calling it "the worst sketch show, or sitcom to have ever gone out on a Christmas Day" and expressed concern over its screening on the day, considering the perceived lack of quality.[29] The Daily Mirror, however, claimed it was a resounding success and the claims of racism and lack of humour made by the Express were unfounded and hypocritical.[30]
The show was the most watched comedy of 2010, with ten million viewers,[31] but also had thousands of viewer complaints, and criticism for perceived racist content.[32] It was the third most-watched show on Christmas Day in the United Kingdom.[33]
Controversy
In June 2020, Come Fly with Me, alongside Little Britain, was removed from Netflix for its use of blackface, brownface and yellowface; six months prior it had also been removed from BritBox. It had not been available on iPlayer.[34][35] A spokesperson for the BBC said: "There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review". On its decision to remove the shows, BritBox added: "Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox. Come Fly With Me has not been available on the service for six months".[36]
International versions
A Dutch version of the show was created, using an almost exact copy of the script and characters (translated to Dutch). It was broadcast on RTL 4 from August 2011.
