David Baddiel is to present a new three-part Channel 4 series celebrating the nation’s love of cats.
The comedian, writer and lifelong cat devotee will embark on a nationwide journey to meet extraordinary cats and their equally passionate owners. Along the way he’ll tackle misconceptions, get to grips with feline philosophy and find answers to the questions he has about cats and their often amusing behaviour.
The three-part David Baddiel: Cat Man is being produced for Channel 4 by Expectation.
Baddiel says he wants the show to challenge TV’s favouring of dogs which he says is out of keeping with the fact that cat videos on YouTube now collectively have more than 20 billion views.
He said: “I’ve been in many meetings over many years with TV commissioners and at the end of them, they often say ‘and do you have any other ideas?’ And I always say: ‘Yes, there should be a TV show about cats.’ And mostly they’ve laughed, thinking I’m joking. I’ve never been joking.
“There’s always been TV about dogs. Which is fine. But meanwhile there are 12.5 million pet cats in the UK. 29% of households have a cat. The internet’s been won by cats, so why not TV?
“Anyway, finally, Channel 4 has realised I’m not joking and commissioned it. Which is great, because I just really love cats, and this will allow me to hang out with them a lot.
“I presently have four of my own, and I’m very, very happy to disprove the myth that someone with that many must be a mad old cat woman, by being on Channel 4 as an out and proud mad old cat man.”
Jayne Stanger, Senior Commissioning Editor for Channel 4, said: “I couldn’t be more excited to have commissioned this series. It’s a complete joy to work with David Baddiel and the team at Expectation who are all as mad about cats as I am.”
Ben Wicks, Creative Director, Entertainment, at Expectation, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working with David Baddiel and Channel 4 on this warm, funny series – a love letter to the best creatures on earth.
“Dogs have dominated our screens for decades and this show redresses the balance. Also, science says watching cats can reduce stress by up to 50%, so technically this show is medicine.”