Don't Forget the Driver

Not to be confused with Don't Forget the Diver.

Don't Forget the Driver is a 2019 BBC Two comedy series, co-created and co-written by Tim Crouch and Toby Jones, in which Jones also stars alongside Erin Kellyman. A second series was commissioned by the BBC for broadcast in 2020,^[1][2] but was delayed and then cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[3] The show is produced by Sister Pictures and distributed by BBC Studios.^[4]

Don't Forget the Driver
Genre	Comedy drama
Directed by	Tim Kirkby
Starring	Toby Jones Erin Kellyman Joni Ayton-Kent Luwam Teklizgi Danny Kirrane Dino Kelly Marcia Warren Claire Rushbrook Jo Hartley
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Production company	Sister Pictures
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	9 April (2019-04-09) – 14 May 2019 (2019-05-14)

Plot

Set in Bognor Regis, Jones plays Pete Green, a depressed single father who works as a coach driver and discovers an asylum seeker after taking a coach party across the channel.^[5]

Cast

• Toby Jones as Pete Green
• Erin Kellyman as Kayla Green
• Luwam Teklizgi as Rita
• Danny Kirrane as Squeaky Dave
• Joni Ayton-Kent as Bradley
• Dino Kelly as Lech
• Marcia Warren as Joy
• Claire Rushbrook as Fran
• Jo Hartley as Mel
• Bharti Patel as Manju

Episodes

No.	Title [6]	Directed by [6]	Written by [6]	Original release date [6]	UK viewers (millions) [7][a]
1	"Episode 1"	Tim Kirkby	Tim Crouch	9 April 2019 (2019-04-09)	2.66
2	"Episode 2"	Tim Kirkby	Tim Crouch & Toby Jones	16 April 2019 (2019-04-16)	1.68
3	"Episode 3"	Tim Kirkby	Tim Crouch & Toby Jones	23 April 2019 (2019-04-23)	1.48
4	"Episode 4"	Tim Kirkby	Tim Crouch & Toby Jones	30 April 2019 (2019-04-30)	1.66
5	"Episode 5"	Tim Kirkby	Tim Crouch & Toby Jones	7 May 2019 (2019-05-07)	1.47
6	"Episode 6"	Tim Kirkby	Tim Crouch & Toby Jones	14 May 2019 (2019-05-14)	1.42

Production

For the role, Jones took Coach Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) lessons and failed his test twice, once for driving too fast and once for going too slowly.^[5] In January 2020, Don't Forget the Driver was renewed for a second series of six episodes.^[8] However this was cancelled by the BBC due to the Covid-19 pandemic a decision Jones described as “heartbreaking”.^[9]

Broadcast

The six-part series began airing in the UK on BBC Two at 10pm on 9 April 2019 and continued weekly.^[10] The series performed well in the 10pm slot attracting over 2.2 millions viewers.^[11] The series was made available in its entirety on iPlayer on 9 April.^[12]

Reception

The show won the 2019 Venice TV Award for Best Comedy.^[13]

Notes

1. Viewers across the first 28 days of broadcast on TV, PC/laptop, tablet or smartphone are counted. Pre-transmission figures are included.