The BBC has released the trailer for ‘Ann Droid’, a new comedy starring Diane Morgan (Mandy, Cunk on Earth, Motherland) as a socially inept robot carer, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this July.
Written by Morgan and Sarah Kendall (Frayed, The Other One), the six-part series is set in 2029, in a world where AI is looming ever larger and becoming an increasingly unavoidable part of everyday life. It asks a simple question: what is replaceable, and what is not?
At the centre of the story is Sue, played by Sue Johnston (Truelove, The Royle Family), whose husband David died 18 months earlier. Her only son Michael, played by Paul Ready (Motherland), is moving out again to make another attempt at fixing his marriage.
Naturally, Michael has found a solution to leaving his elderly mother alone. He buys her a second-hand AnnDroid Z58/100 Basic Eldercare Robot named Linda, played by Morgan.
Created to keep older people company, monitor their health and take some pressure off the increasingly stretched NHS, Linda should be the perfect answer. Unfortunately for Sue, she is also an overly attentive, socially inept pain in the arse.
It is Sue’s worst nightmare at first, but she soon realises her new robotic companion does have some advantages. Linda can tackle the jobs Michael never gets around to, help Sue settle a few scores and enable her to do things she might otherwise struggle to manage.
What follows is a buddy comedy between an older woman and a robot who is considerably more advanced technically than she is socially. Given Morgan’s particular talent for playing people who seem to operate several degrees away from normal human behaviour, casting her as an actual robot feels rather inspired.
The trailer gives us our first proper look at the unlikely friendship between Sue and Linda, along with plenty of Morgan’s familiar deadpan delivery as the robot attempts to navigate human behaviour.
‘Ann Droid’ is produced by Boffola Pictures and Morgan’s Witchcraft Industries for the BBC. All six episodes will be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer from launch.
‘Ann Droid’ premieres Friday, 17th July 2026 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
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