It must be a burden to be so good at something you hate. The 32-year-old has already won two Bafta Craft Awards for writing Big Boys, Rooke’s tongue-in-cheek riff on his own university days, starring Dylan Llewellyn as the younger “Jack” alongside Jon Pointing as best mate Danny.
“When I was first writing Big Boys, the show had been with previous broadcasters. They turned it down. The show had been cancelled twice!” Rooke recalls. “We got cancelled when we made a pilot and then we took it to someone else, then Covid happened and we were cancelled again.
“I think the 14 nominations we’ve had over three series is pretty good. I could die happy with that.”
“You look at shows like Gavin & Stacey and at writers like Michaela Coel or Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Jesse Armstrong, all of whom stem from scripted comedy. And we just aren’t giving anyone the right setup to launch their career in the same way.”
“International investment means you’ve got bigger budgets, which means bigger names and better marketing,” he says. “It ends up meaning that way more privileged stories get told than stuff that feels very specific to this weird little island.”
“I just don’t think that anything will ever be as funny as the bar fall,” he says. “That and when the Vicar of Dibley drops in the puddle. To me, as a child, that’s comedy. Less of this Big Boys-y male mental health stuff. I’m bored of that. Put some slapstick in. Let’s get some people falling over. Let’s get some people injuring themselves in a permanent way.”
Next up for Rooke is a stint writing on David Nicholls’ Adrian Mole adaptation, and a planned return to stand-up. But could there ever be another return for Big Boys?
But he does also have one final confession. He admits, “Sometimes, I think, ‘If I was doing season four… I actually think I’m a better writer now than I was then.’” Albeit, of course, a reluctant one.
Jack wrote this character for you, Jon — does that give you more leeway to tinker with the script?
You’ve also been in hit comedy Small Prophets recently — how different is a Mackenzie Crook script to a Jack Rooke one?
What’s your favourite classic sitcom quote?
The Bafta Television Awards are on Sunday 11 May at 7.00pm on BBC One.BAFTA Television Awards with P&O CruisesShot at Sea Containers LondonPhotography: Rachel Louise Brown @rachellouisebrownstudioStyling: Natalie Read @natreadstylistSet Design: Propped Up @propped_up_ltdHair by Philipp Haug & Eden Thomson for SchwarzkopfMake-up by Armani BeautyThe latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.
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.
Hence then, the article about big boys creator jack rooke i m bored of mental health shows was published today ( ) and is available on Radio Times ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Big Boys creator Jack Rooke: "I’m bored of mental health shows" )
Also on site :
- A decade after the ‘Godfather of AI’ said radiologists were obsolete, their salaries are up to $571K and demand is growing fast
- MI vs LSG Dream11 Prediction Today Match, Dream11 Team Today, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update- IPL 2026, Match 47
- Quote of the Day: Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant on Rethinking Self-Doubt and Building Confidence