Can Stephen Merchant be the next British star to make it big in America? He has already had bit parts in projects as diverse as 24 and the Farrelly Brothers' Hall Pass but he now gets the star-billing treatment for his HBO series Hello Ladies, which airs in America from September 29 and is transmitted in the UK on Sky Atlantic from October 16. As the title suggests, the show is inspired by Merchant's first-ever full solo stand-up show of the same in which the gangly gagsmith bemoaned his lack of success with the opposite sex. In the TV version he plays the archetypal fish out of water trying to find romance. As the catch line says, "Single and desperate to mingle." Presumably with the emphasis on the word "desperate".

Below is a teaser for the series, which suggests that Merchant is going for a Hugh-Grant-meets-Del-Boy-Falling-Through-Bar vibe. Interestingly he has talked about his love of the famous Del Boy scene in the past. Click here and search for "Del Boy"