Can You Keep a Secret? writer reveals all (sort of)

The writer behind the BBC sitcom Can You Keep a Secret? has said a "fairly significant chunk" of the series was inspired by his own experiences.

Oxfordshire-based comedy writer Simon Mayhew-Archer penned the new programme, which stars Dawn French and Mark Heap.

It tells the story of a retired couple who are presented with the opportunity to claim life insurance when the husband is mistakenly declared to have died.

Mayhew-Archer told BBC Radio Oxford that his father Paul, who co-wrote the Vicar of Dibley - which also starred French, had been "enormously helpful" in creating the series.

"He was invaluable on a couple of occasions where I just didn't know what I was going to do plot-wise, and he would just come up with an idea, or come up with a bad idea, but it might unlock another good idea," he said.

"It's kind of crazy to be able to have a pet script editor at home - it's very useful."

Simon also called in his dad's help in signing up French for the series. "It's awful really - it's pure nepotism," he joked.

"He's [Dad's] always been a very very harsh critic, so I knew when I sent him the script that I would get very very honest feedback."

"So when he was enthusiastic about it, that gave me a sort of mad amount of confidence to think 'oh, let's send it to Dawn [French] and see what she thinks'."

The role had been written for French, Simon explained because "you always put the most compelling star on your treatment, because you hope that that will get the channels' attention. Then, when they [the star] inevitably say no, you move down the list".

The Mayhew-Archer family has an illustrious history in comedy programming, with Paul co-writing The Vicar of Dibley, whilst Simon produced the Cotswolds-set mockumentary This Country.

"A fairly significant chunk of it [has been inspired by my own experiences] - there's an element of therapy when you're writing something," Simon explained of his latest creation.

In Can You Keep a Secret, the husband has Parkinson's disease – just like Simon's father, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2011.

"I take my lead from my Dad and his approach to Parkinson's. As soon as he got diagnosed, he became more determined to be funny and find the comedy in it."

"Before he got diagnosed, my mum and I would call him the shuffle monster because he wasn't picking his feet up."

"It then transpired that he did actually have a neurological disorder, but it didn't really change it - my mum and I still kind of look at him as the shuffle monster."

Simon lives in Oxfordshire, with a reference to the county's famous shopping outlet making it into one episode of his latest series.

"There was so much back and forth because there's a line about: 'He hasn't seen your mother move like that since there was 50% off Uggs at Bicester Village'."

"We had to get it cleared by Ugg, and they were very precious about the concept that there would ever be 50% off - because they're such a premium product," he joked.

The filming for Can You Keep a Secret? took place in Somerset, which Simon explained was "kind of like a halfway house between here [Oxfordshire] and Cornwall" because "Dawn always tries to film in Cornwall".

Though the writer did say he would "try" and set his next show in Oxfordshire, suggesting: "I need to do something set in Didcot."

But that plan might have to wait following the success of Can You Keep a Secret?, which has left fans already clamouring for a second series after the first ended on a cliffhanger.

When asked if there were more episodes to come, Simon wryly said he "couldn't possibly comment" on the prospect. Read into that what you will.

Every episode of Can You Keep a Secret? is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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