The story follows Debbie Fenton (French) and her husband, William (Mark Heap), as they attempt to pull off a life insurance scam after the latter is mistakenly declared dead.
A fellow TV writer, Paul Mayhew-Archer previously worked with French as a writer on The Vicar of Dibley, and has been a strong campaigner for Parkinson's awareness since his diagnosis in 2011 – earning an MBE for his work in that area.
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Heap acknowledged that Paul suffers some "horrible" effects of the disease, but "makes light of it himself, just because he's a nice bloke and finds the humour in things".
This lack of financial support becomes a motivating factor for Debbie and William's scam, with French finding some sympathy in her character's quandary, even if she believes Debbie has a "skewed moral centre".
Their scheme doesn't seem entirely selfish, French argued, "especially when you've been shafted, like people are when they've got Parkinson's disease, which is something that Simon knows a lot about with his dad".
Paul is continuing to work with the condition, recently writing a romcom for the BBC titled But When We Dance, following two people living with Parkinson's who meet at a dance class. Laura Linney (Ozark) and Rhys Ifans (House of the Dragon) will star.
"But though I have reasons to hate Parkinson's, it has also brought me opportunities I wouldn't have missed for the world. The latest of these is the chance to work with the brilliant director John Madden and wonderful actors on bringing this story to life.
Can You Keep a Secret? premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday 7th January 2026.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
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