New Bhaskar BBC comedy kicks off on Monday

This Monday will see a brand new comedy drama launch on BBC One specifically written for its star Sanjeev Bhaskar – Chopra Town. Sanjeev (The Kumars at No 42, Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee) plays Vik Chopra, a British Asian private detective working in and around the cultural melting pot that is East London. One thing these people share is a strong sense of pride and a mistrust of the police. Myriad immigrant communities bring their quirky cases to ex-cop Chopra, whose police training and street-wise saviness deliver the goods. His new assistant Annie (Natalie Casey, Two Pints of Lager, Hollyoaks) is young, enthusiastic and smart, and she won’t take his bad temper or attitude lying down. Meanwhile Chopra’s ex-mate and nemesis Nigel Caro (Neil Stuke, Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky) is still in the force and turns up on Vik’s patch as a newly promoted Detective Inspector. Vik handles all of this whilst juggling the twin demands of his estranged wife and baby daughter and his overbearing parents. Producer Anil Gupta comments: “Chopra Town is inspired by shows such as The Rockford Files and Minder, interesting, funny people in an interesting, funny world. “Lots of cop shows nowadays are gritty and moody, about gruesome serial killers, and we wanted to do an antidote to that, something light and vibrant, warm, exotic and exciting. “We have cast people with great comic timing as characters who, like Jim Rockford or Arthur Daley, people can take to their hearts.” Sanjeev Bhaskar says: “In Chopra’s head he is Philip Marlow or Sam Spade, a loner who doesn’t care, a glamorous private eye, but in fact his cases involve bakeries and a kidnapped cow and he has to go round his parents’ house for dinner.” Chopra Town also stars Omid Djalili, Basienka Blake and Morwenna Banks. It is created by Anil Gupta, Richard Pinto and Sharat Sardana (Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars At No 42), written by Richard Pinto and produced by Anil Gupta. It is directed by Sean Grundy and is a Hat Trick Production for BBC One. The first programme is on BBC One on Monday 19th December 2005 at 21:00.