Simply Ken: Rotherham College Staff Star in Local Sitcom
Rotherham College staff members Craig Shepherd and David Burgess recently got a taste of the limelight as they starred alongside well-known actor Jeffrey Holland in local sitcom, ‘Simply Ken’.
‘Simply Ken’, which was filmed across various locations in Sheffield and Rotherham, was written by talented Performing Arts lecturer Craig Shepherd, who also plays the main character ‘Ken’, and features Performing Arts Curriculum Team Leader David Burgess as ‘Wilf the Waiter’.
The modern sitcom pilot sees Craig star as ‘Ken Codd’, who puts a comedic spin on the life of a man who has lost everything. The offbeat comedy is centred around Ken’s strained relationship with his daughter, after losing his job, house and wife all in the same day.
The show debuted at its wrap party at the Head of Steam in Sheffield in May, with many Rotherham College students and staff in attendance to show their support. BBC Look North were also in attendance and aired live coverage from the event as they interviewed Craig and Jeffery as they introduced the Pilot show.
Craig, who has worked in the Performing Arts department at Rotherham College for 16 years, said:
“I have been working on Simply Ken for a number of years now, and it’s such a great feeling to finally release it!
“It’s not been an easy ride as we encountered a lot of setbacks, as we lost our original director and had a few Covid-related setbacks throughout 2020-21, but it all came together in the end!
“It was great to get 300 people come and celebrate with us at our wrap party and for them to see some of the incredible local talent in the show. I really hope that it will get commissioned for a full series, as I love playing this character!”
The show also stars comedic veteran Judy Buxton and singer Shaun Doane as narrator from the band The Everly Pregnant Brothers.