Scarborough's Jason Manford on Steve Edge 'travesty'

Scarborough\'s Jason Manford says it is a "travesty" his co-star Steve Edge hasn\'t landed more TV work in the past.

Jason is delighted to be acting alongside his best pal for the first time during their 20-year friendship in Derren Litten\'s new BBC One sitcom, in which Jason plays Mike, a 40-something who has returned to the titular town to give his relationship with Karen (Catherine Tyldesley) another go.

He said: "Playing my best mate is my actual best mate Steve Edge, who I think is one of the best character actors in the country.

"He just has funny bones and it\'s a travesty that we\'ve not seen more of him before. I can\'t wait for everyone to see just how hilarious he is in this show."

Steve - who has starred in \'Phoenix Nights\' and \'Benidorm\' - added: "Jason and I have been mates for about 20 years but we\'ve never worked together. He\'s got a radio show and I do that with him now and again, I\'ve directed him in something but we\'ve never acted together so it\'s quite nice to have a legitimate excuse to spend time with him."

The show is set in the iconic North Yorkshire seaside town and tells the story of a number of Scarborough residents who are bonded by family, friendship and their love of Karaoke.

While there looks set to be plenty of laughs, there weren\'t so many for Jason and Catherine when they had to play out numerous takes on the fairground rides at the town\'s Luna Park.

Derren added: "Filming at Scarborough\'s fun fair, Luna Park, was particularly funny. Cath and Jason had to be on a fairground ride for many takes.

"I feel bad saying it now but at the time the more the actors said how much they felt sick, the more it made us laugh."