A previously unseen sitcom pilot made in 2006 and written by Peep Show writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong has been upload onto YouTube. Modern Men has an all-star cast including Reece Shearsmsith, Darren Boyd and Nicholas "Nathan Barley" Burns (pictured). 

The one-off follows the chaotic lives of the three Victorian chums, with lots of humour derived from the comedy of manners and invented terminology for sex. Shearsmith’s character is involved in a snub, Burns’ character is having difficulties mastering the art of touching ladies, while Boyd’s character is concerned about the shape of his head.

Much is made of outmoded 19th century politics and the changing world around the trio: A gag on the lines of “Next thing they will be giving votes to dogs…or women” is cracked twice. Boyd’s Horatio, meanwhile is sex-obsessed, saying to his wife, played by Nicola Walker: “My cream stick needs a yank.” It is not great but it is certainly interesting to watch, particularly considering the achievements of the participants since it was made. A decent-sized budget seems to have been spent on the period sets and lots of whiskers.

The sitcom was made by Talkback Television and directed by James Bobin and produced by Derrin Schlesinger and Ash Atalla. Neil Edmond, Cara Horgan and Anna Madeley also appear. It was not broadcast at the time, but a year later a sitcom pilot from the same team and including some of the same cast (but with Adam Buxton in and Nicholas Burns out) called Ladies and Gentlemen was transmitted as part of C4’s Comedy Playhouse season. Buxton blogged at the time that this project also had the working title of Modern Men, but it had to be changed because there was also an American sitcom of the same name.

Sam Bain & Jesse Armstrong's new series of Babylon starts on C4 on November 13.

Watch Modern Men here.