# The Reluctant Vampire
**The Reluctant Vampire** is a British family sitcom broadcast on [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) from 4 October 2026, adapted from [Eric Morecambe](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-morecambe)'s 1982 children's book of the same name and its 1983 sequel, *The Vampire's Revenge*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc). Written by Neil and Rob Gibbons, the brothers behind recent incarnations of *Alan Partridge*, together with Gary Morecambe, it stars [Lenny Rush](https://www.edgepedia.org/lenny-rush) as Val, a 15-year-old raised in a vampire family who discovers he is human[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/tv-tonight-eric-morecambes-childrens-book-the-reluctant-vampire).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | BBC One and BBC iPlayer family sitcom; 6 episodes of about 30 minutes[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/) • [4](https://presseportal.zdf.de/pressemappe/the-reluctant-vampire) |
| First broadcast | Sunday 4 October 2026 at 6:40pm on BBC One; full series on iPlayer the same day[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/) • [5](https://bbc.com.im/news/articles/c623x3jm2k9do) |
| Source | 1982 children's novel *The Reluctant Vampire* by Eric Morecambe and its 1983 sequel *The Vampire's Revenge*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc) |
| Writers / director | Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, and Gary Morecambe; directed by Emily McDonald[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/) |
| Production | Boffola Pictures, co-produced with ZDFneo; commissioned by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning[6](https://www.boffolapictures.com/boffola/) • [4](https://presseportal.zdf.de/pressemappe/the-reluctant-vampire) |
| Filming | Woodchester Mansion, an unfinished Grade I listed Gothic Revival house in Gloucestershire, in November and December 2025[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37350966) |
| Reception | IMDb 5.9/10 from 157 votes; critics broadly positive, with some dissent[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37350966) • [8](https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/17947/review-reluctant-vampire) |
## Premise and characters
The series is set in a timeless English village where, beneath the picturesque surface, vampires live in the castle on the hill and come out at night for a little drink of the locals[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/). Val (Lenny Rush) has been raised in a traditional vampire household but is hopeless at it: his fangs have not come in, he dislikes the taste of blood, and he cannot fly or turn into a bat[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc). After a surprise encounter with his reflection, his mother Valeeta ([Sian Clifford](https://www.edgepedia.org/sian-clifford)) admits the truth: he is not undead at all, but a human baby she rescued from a fire while his father Victor was away in Carpathia and raised as her own[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc).
Victor ([Tom Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-davis)) is the vampire king, a proud traditionalist whose high expectations Val cannot meet; Vernon (Gabriel Nagy), Val's younger brother, is a genuine vampire who loves the vampire life and grows suspicious[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc). With his initiation ceremony approaching after a series of misunderstandings lead Victor to believe Val is finally ready, Val must hide his secret while exploring the human world, including a developing friendship with a village girl, Gertie (Ellie-May Sheridan), whose father John ([Charlie Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-cooper-actor)) leads the villagers' resistance against the vampire community[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc) • [5](https://bbc.com.im/news/articles/c623x3jm2k9do).
**Supporting cast.** [Asim Chaudhry](https://www.edgepedia.org/asim-chaudhry) plays the family's servant Igon, Joe Wilkinson plays Wilf the werewolf, and [Bill Bailey](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-bailey) and [Ross Noble](https://www.edgepedia.org/ross-noble) voice the castle gargoyles Guy and Gary[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc). Esther Smith plays John's wife Susan, and Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Ray Fearon, and Funmbi Omotayo appear in further roles[5](https://bbc.com.im/news/articles/c623x3jm2k9do) • [6](https://www.boffolapictures.com/boffola/).
## Origins of the adaptation
The source novel was one of only two children's books written by Eric Morecambe, the comedian best known as one half of [Morecambe and Wise](https://www.edgepedia.org/morecambe-and-wise), who wrote it in the 1980s while recovering from heart surgery[9](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/app/bring-me-vampires/) • [10](https://pocketmags.com/sfx-magazine/november-2026/articles/the-reluctant-vampire). The adaptation took decades. Morecambe's son Gary, credited as a co-writer on the series, said it was one of his father's ambitions that somebody would one day make a film or TV series of the book, and the BBC reported that Lenny Rush's involvement was crucial to finally bringing the novel to the screen after 35 years of trying[9](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/app/bring-me-vampires/) • [11](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/press/).
**Written for Rush.** Shane Allen, former Controller of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC and now chief content officer at Boffola Pictures, championed the project, having loved the books as a child[10](https://pocketmags.com/sfx-magazine/november-2026/articles/the-reluctant-vampire). The scripts were written with Rush in mind: Allen, the executive producer, had also worked with him on *[Am I Being Unreasonable?](https://www.edgepedia.org/am-i-being-unreasonable)*, for which Rush won a Bafta at 14[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/02/the-reluctant-vampire-bbc-lenny-rush-eric-morecambe-vampire-comedy). The series was commissioned for BBC One and [BBC iPlayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-iplayer) by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning[6](https://www.boffolapictures.com/boffola/), and filmed at Woodchester Mansion, Saxon Barn, and other West of England locations in late 2025[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/) • [5](https://bbc.com.im/news/articles/c623x3jm2k9do).
## Reception and international broadcast
British critics were broadly positive. Lucy Mangan's review in *The Guardian* called it an "absolute joy" with a stacked cast and gag-packed script[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc); Bruce Dessau in *Beyond The Joke* described a two-tier comedy in the style of *Horrible Histories* or *The Simpsons*, with jokes for little kids and big kids, and singled out Rush's comic acting[8](https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/17947/review-reluctant-vampire). Huw Fullerton in the *Radio Times* gave it 3 out of 5 and framed it as staking a claim to be "the new Ghosts"[13](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/the-reluctant-vampire-review-bbc). Negative views also appeared: an IMDb user review calling it "not funny" reflects the 5.9/10 score from 157 votes[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37350966).
Internationally, the series is a co-production with the German channel ZDFneo, which scheduled all six episodes from 20 November 2026[4](https://presseportal.zdf.de/pressemappe/the-reluctant-vampire). In the United States, Canada, and Australia it had no announced broadcast or streaming outlet at the time of the UK release[14](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/how-to-watch-the-reluctant-vampire).
## References
1. [Lucy Mangan (4 October 2026). The Reluctant Vampire review – Lenny Rush's absolute joy of a comedy is perfectly cast. The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/the-reluctant-vampire-review-lenny-rush-comedy-bbc)
2. [The Reluctant Vampire. British Comedy Guide.](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/)
3. [TV tonight: Eric Morecambe's children's book comes to life. The Guardian, 4 October 2026.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/04/tv-tonight-eric-morecambes-childrens-book-the-reluctant-vampire)
4. [Pressemappe: The Reluctant Vampire. ZDF Presseportal.](https://presseportal.zdf.de/pressemappe/the-reluctant-vampire)
5. [This Country star leads vampire resistance in new show. BBC News, 4 October 2026.](https://bbc.com.im/news/articles/c623x3jm2k9do)
6. [Boffola Pictures – programme information.](https://www.boffolapictures.com/boffola/)
7. [The Reluctant Vampire (TV Series 2026– ). IMDb.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37350966)
8. [Bruce Dessau (5 October 2026). Review: Lenny Rush, Tom Davis, Sian Clifford In The Reluctant Vampire, BBC One. Beyond The Joke.](https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/17947/review-reluctant-vampire)
9. [Bring me vampires: meet the team behind The Reluctant Vampire. Radio Times.](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/app/bring-me-vampires/)
10. [THE RELUCTANT VAMPIRE. SFX, November 2026 issue.](https://pocketmags.com/sfx-magazine/november-2026/articles/the-reluctant-vampire)
11. [The Reluctant Vampire press clippings. British Comedy Guide.](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the-reluctant-vampire/press/)
12. [Zoe Williams (2 October 2026). Fangs a million: Lenny Rush on turning an Eric Morecambe classic into a hilarious vampire comedy. The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/02/the-reluctant-vampire-bbc-lenny-rush-eric-morecambe-vampire-comedy)
13. [Huw Fullerton (4 October 2026). The Reluctant Vampire review: Lenny Rush comedy stakes its claim to be the new Ghosts. Radio Times.](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/the-reluctant-vampire-review-bbc)
14. [How to watch The Reluctant Vampire online for free. TechRadar, 2 October 2026.](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/how-to-watch-the-reluctant-vampire)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Literary and classic serial adaptations › Romance and comedy-drama adaptations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license