Ash Atalla
Production
Biography
Ash Atalla (born 18 June 1972) is an Egyptian-born British television producer. He has produced several British TV series such as The Office, The IT Crowd, Man Stroke Woman and People Just Do Nothing. He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais's Politics. Atalla was born into a middle-class family in Cairo. He developed polio as a baby and uses a wheelchair. He emigrated to London due to his father's job. He read business and finance at the University of Bath. He briefly worked as a stockbroker and a currency trader before, at 22, he found unpaid work on BBC Watchdog. Atalla made his first appearance on TV in 1999 when he co-presented a Channel 4 series on disability, Freak Out. In 2001, he produced the sitcom The Office. Atalla joined the production company Talkback Thames in 2004 as Head of Comedy and produced both the science spoof Look Around You for BBC2, and the third series of Bo Selecta! In 2005 he devised and began work on Man Stroke Woman, a comedy sketch show about "growing up" which aired from 2005 to 2007. He also produced The IT Crowd (2006-2010). In 2007, Atalla set up Roughcut TV, an independent production company. Atalla and Roughcut produced Trinity for ITV2 in 2008. Roughcut TV has since produced shows for all the UK's major broadcasters, including Trollied (Sky 1), Cuckoo (BBC Three), World's Craziest Fools - starring Mr. T (BBC Three), Anna & Katy (Channel 4), People Just Do Nothing (BBC Three), Mad Mad World (ITV 1) and Top Coppers (BBC Three). He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais' Politics.
Known For
The comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss, and their grifting supervisor Jen, a 'motley crew' of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.
The IT Crowd
Nightmare boss. Tedious colleagues. Pointless tasks. Welcome to Wernham Hogg. Fancy a tea break with David Brent? Classic comedy from the archive.
The Office
Set in Valco, a fictional budget supermarket in the north west of England, Trollied finds the funny in one of our most familiar surroundings and focuses on the types of characters we all recognise: bored checkout staff, ineffectual managers and a range of customers, from the irate to the downright bizarre.
Trollied
Follows incompetent Greek-Cypriot lettings agent Stath, who works for the family business, Michael and Eagle. While Stath wrestles not to be outshone by their top agent, ruthlessly ambitious Carole, the company struggles against the threat of Smethwicks - the slick, high-end estate agents next door.
Stath Lets Flats
Two boys from very different ends of the 'spectrum of masculinity' become best friends at Brent University freshers' week; in their first year of uni, they explore, experiment and try to discover themselves, helping one another along the way.
Big Boys
Jerk follows the life of acclaimed stand up Tim Renkow, who plays a heightened version of himself; an American art school dropout who needs to get a visa to stay in the UK. The only problem is that Tim has cerebral palsy. This means that people judge him… all the time. Although usually they judge him wrongly, because what they don’t realise is that inside that severely disabled, vulnerable body is a bit of an asshole.
Jerk
Get a job! Pay the bills! Clueless Chi is forced to fend for herself when her parents die. To get her inheritance, the ultimate stay-at-home daughter has to step it up.
Things You Should Have Done
When Jess takes her baby to hospital with an unexplained head injury, her close friend, A&E doctor Liz, makes the excruciating decision to call social services, igniting an explosive chain of events.
Little Disasters
A fresh relationship, a family, an intense female friendship. Tetraplegic artist Freya asks her chaotic best friend Jo to be her carer in her new home: her partner Abe’s house.
We Might Regret This
Stressed by financial woes and local thugs, Simon loses control when teen Jordan threatens him and his family. Trapped in a web of lies, deceiving the police, his wife Beth and Jordan’s threatening father, Simon’s life is turned upside down.
Coma
Man Stroke Woman is a British television comedy sketch show directed by Richard Cantor and produced by Ash Atalla and starring Amanda Abbington, Ben Crompton, Daisy Haggard, Meredith MacNeill, Nicholas Burns and Nick Frost. In addition to being broadcast on digital channel BBC Three in the United Kingdom, all the episodes were available for streaming from the BBC website. Series 2 started in January 2007 and is also available for streaming from the BBC website. There is no studio audience or laugh track.
Man Stroke Woman
Sketch-show sensation Catherine Tate tells the story of the decade in which she became a household name. She meets with comedy glitterati Alan Carr, David Walliams, Noel Fielding, Rob Brydon and her Doctor Who co-star, David Tennant, all of whom reflect on the greatest comedy moments in recent history. As well as showcasing all the most entertaining, memorable comedy of the time, the documentary also features newsreel and pop culture archive that contextualises the gags. It reveals not just what was funny, but why it was funny. Catherine's journey provides new insight and revelations and features anecdotes from some of the biggest names in comedy.
Catherine Tate: Laughing at the Noughties
The history of British comedy from the 1970s to today, showing how the work of Reeves and Mortimer provided a link between old-style acts such as Bernard Manning and modern phenomena like Little Britain.
When Comedy Changed Forever
In this nostalgic documentary, restaurant critic Giles Coren challenges Heston Blumenthal to take his restaurant The Fat Duck back to 2001 for a magical feast.
Heston's Marvellous Menu Back to the Noughties
People Just Do Nothing went from online comedy hit to Bafta-winning sitcom and a big-screen feature film. This is the story of how.
Kurupting the Industry: The People Just Do Nothing Story
11-year-old Joanna tries to understand grief through her mother’s reaction to Princess Diana’s death.