A NEW sitcom starring comedian Johnny Vegas will become the latest silver screen outing for the Lake District this summer.

‘Home from Home’ will see the ‘Benidorm’ star play a man who has long cherished the dream of buying a lodge in the Lakes.

“When he finally achieves his ambition,” the producers say, “the years of scrimping and saving all feel worth it, but that’s until he meets the neighbours. Just be careful what you wish for!”

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The comedy is written by Chris Fewtrell and Simon Crowther and will also star Gavin & Stacey's Joanna Page, Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox and Doctor Foster star Adam James.

It is a BBC In-house production and will be produced by Rebecca Papworth and executive produced by Gregor Sharp.

‘Home from Home’ will be one of five new sitcom pilots airing on BBC Two as part of the broadcasters’ landmark sitcom season.

The season of programming marks 60 years since Galton and Simpson’s Hancock’s Half Hour started on BBC Television.

Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning, says: “The British sitcom is a huge part of our national identity and cultural heritage.

“This season is about celebrating the BBC’s rich legacy at a time when British comedy is as popular as ever.

“Alongside the celebration of key comedies through homage, rediscovery and revivals involving established and new talent, we’ll also be making a raft of new sitcoms to complement them, and boost the BBC’s commitment to nurturing the hits of tomorrow.”

The sitcom will be the latest in a raft of TV appearances for south Cumbria, including Christopher Eccleston drama The A Word, which is due to air this spring.

The Doctor Who star also starred in Coniston-set ITV thriller ‘Safe House’, which has been commissioned for a second series.

In 2013 comedian Chris Addison and Eastenders star Jo Joyner spent several weeks in Kendal filming sitcom ‘Trying Again’, set in the Auld Grey Town.

The Sky Living series received positive reviews but was not renewed for a second series.

And a version of Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn, which is set in Launceston, were filmed in Kirkby Lonsdale in the same year before being aired on the BBC.