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Lenny Rush leads BBC One sitcom The Reluctant Vampire, from Eric Morecambe's book

BBC One's The Reluctant Vampire, a sitcom adapted from Eric Morecambe's children's books and starring Bafta winner Lenny Rush, starts on Sunday 4 October at 6.40pm.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The Guardian
Image: Radio Times

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2The Reluctant Vampire, a BBC comedy series starring Lenny Rush, begins on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 4 October at 6.40pm. Mixed · 2It is adapted from the children's books by the comedian Eric Morecambe, which the Guardian says he wrote in the 1980s. The adaptation is by Neil and Rob Gibbons, part of the writing team behind Alan Partridge. Mixed · 2Rush plays Val, the youngest member of a vampire family. Val has no vampire skills, his teeth are not pointy and he hates the taste of blood. He starts living a double life after learning he is not a vampire but a human.

Mixed · 2The cast includes Sian Clifford and Tom Davis as Val's parents, Ross Noble and Bill Bailey as gargoyles, Joe Wilkinson as Wilf the Werewolf, Ellie-May Sheridan as Val's friend Gertie and Charlie Cooper as villager John. The Guardian also names Asim Chaudhry as a Lurch-like character and newcomer Gabriel Nagy as Val's evil vampire brother. Mixed · 2Rush, who is 17, won a Bafta at 14 for best male performance in a comedy for Am I Being Unreasonable? and was nominated again this year. He has also appeared in Doctor Who and the current season of Slow Horses, and will play Dobby in HBO's Harry Potter series. Left · 1Rush told the Guardian the scripts were written with him in mind. He said executive producer Shane Allen loved the books when young and had worked on Am I Being Unreasonable?. He compared the show to The Naked Gun and Airplane! and said it is for everyone, not only children.

Left · 1Rush has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a form of dwarfism. The Guardian says the first episode makes much of his stature, with his parents measuring him to see whether he will be tall enough to be a vampire. Rush said he did not go into acting to make his condition a talking point, and that he was surprised to receive messages from parents saying his visibility gave their children confidence. Centre · 1Radio Times published an exclusive clip from the series on 3 October. In it, Val, Gertie and John have a comical misunderstanding.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
A Guardian interview profile of Rush that treats the series as a showcase for his career and comic influences.
Emphasis
Rush's own words: his influences (David Brent, Alan Partridge), his dwarfism and visibility, his wish not to be pigeonholed, and the Dobby role.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the cast members Ross Noble, Bill Bailey or Joe Wilkinson.
Charged language
“hilarious”
For example
“He won a Bafta while only a teen, and now he’s the lead in a creepy sitcom adapted by Alan Partridge’s writers.” — The Guardian

Centre1 outlet

Framing
A short Radio Times promotional piece around an exclusive first-look clip, giving the premiere date and cast.
Emphasis
Premiere details, the plot premise, the full supporting cast and Rush's credits.
Leaves out or plays down
Has no quotes from Rush and does not mention his dwarfism, the writers or the show's comic tone.
Charged language
“mischievous”“swooping in”
For example
“BBC comedy series The Reluctant Vampire will be swooping in this weekend – and Radio Times has an exclusive first look at the series.” — Radio Times

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.