Amy Gledhill launches Opening Up for Bbc One with six-part comedy
Amy Gledhill is bringing Opening Up to one and iPlayer as a six-part comedy. The announced the series on Wednesday, May 13 at the Comedy Festival in Liverpool, putting a new Manchester-set project into its comedy lineup.
Penny and Rhys in Manchester
Opening Up follows Penny and Rhys, a long-term couple trying to repair their faltering sex life by sleeping with other people. The synopsis says entering an open relationship without knowing how one works is not a recipe for success, which gives the series a built-in conflict before the first episode even lands.
Amy Gledhill co-created and wrote the show with Nic Sampson, and she will star as Penny. Sampson is an RTS Award-nominated writer, while Gledhill is already an Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, a combination that gives the project both a proven performer and a writing team with television and live-comedy credentials.
Jon Petrie in Liverpool
Jon Petrie said the series “stood out to us immediately,” adding that the writing is “sharp, quick-witted and properly funny, full of all the chaos, awkwardness and emotional mess of modern relationships.” His comment matters because the is not just buying a new sitcom; it is backing a relationship comedy that is explicitly being sold on tone, not just premise.
Jon Thoday said Avalon was excited to work with the, Gledhill and Sampson on “this brilliant show,” and pointed to the Edinburgh Fringe as “an excellent breeding ground for new comedies.” That links Opening Up to the same development pipeline that keeps supplying British television with fresh scripted material.
Avalon’s regional base
The series is being made by Avalon and is set and filmed in and around Manchester. That regional base gives the production a clear identity inside the ’s comedy slate, especially as the announcement was made alongside Hopley Hall and returning shows at the Liverpool festival.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: Opening Up is now on the ’s scripted comedy schedule, with Gledhill fronting a six-part series built around a couple, a risky idea, and a city that is already part of the production itself. That combination makes this less like a generic commission and more like a properly defined sitcom package from the start.
