A while back, we were turned on to the first episode of Svengali by its co-creator and star Jonathan Owen. With writer Dean Cavanagh (the sharp wit behind Wedding Belles and ITV's Good Arrows) Owen had developed a pilot about a young lad, Dixie, from Wales, who comes down to London with dreams of breaking the band he manages - The Premature Congratulations.
Well, the first episode (all self-financed and produced by their own production company Burn After Reading, and filmed with the help of a big group of talented, generous friends) blew us away: funny, sharp and tinged with gleeful optimism which so easily gets knocked into a cocked hat. We wanted more, and over the following months, we got more. Directed by Phil John (Wire in the Blood, Sugar Rush) so far we've had five episodes (the sixth is imminent - featuring Green Wing and Wedding Belles actress Michelle Gomez, and Ciaran Griffiths from Shameless) which follow Dixie as he bundles his way into the music industry with a mixture of touching naivety, good humour and refreshing honesty. With appearences from Alan McGee (superb as, well, Alan McGee), Carl Barat, Bonehead and many more, and a supporting cast including the excellent Roger Evans, Sally Phillips, Jodie Whitaker and Sean Harris, the series has grown into more than a cult hit on the web.
Word on the street is the BBC are interested in developing something with the chaps, and so they should be. From our end, it's been a treat watching something really good develop and grow. Watch the first five espisodes, and show your support for the Svengali team by joining their Facebook page here
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