The Beeb's first black sitcom

The BBC today unveiled its first black family sitcom almost two decades after the hit American comedy The Cosby Show blazed the trail for comedy dramas set within the black community.

The Crouches is set in Walworth - an area well known for its bustling markets, a garish pink shopping centre and an ethnic mix which includes Ivory Coast Africans, Afro-Caribbeans and South Americans living alongside white working-class families.

The show, part of the autumn schedule and billed as "an intimate yet humorous take on the trials and tribulations of a family living in Walworth", was commissioned by Lorraine Heggessey, controller of BBC1.

She said: "This vibrant comedy will showcase the talent of some Britain's best black actors and introduce new faces to a mainstream audience."

The new TV family is headed by childhood sweethearts Roly Crouch (Robbie Gee) and Natalie (Jo Martin), who have been married for 18 years. Their two demanding teenagers, Aiden (Akemnji Ndifornyen) and Adele (Ony Uhiara), plus live-in parents Sylvie (Mona Hammond) and Langley (Rudolph Walker), add to the pressures of the household. Danny John-Jules, who starred in the cult television hit Red Dwarf, appears as one of Roly's work friends.

The 30-minute show will be broadcast in September at 10.30pm.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "There have been other comedies with predominantly black casts, such as Chef! with Lenny Henry. But this is the first black sitcom family on BBC.

"In the first instance it was a funny show - that is why it was commissioned. The late-night slot reflects the fact it has some adult humour." Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Racial Equality, said: "We can all speculate about whether it should have been here before. The main thing is, I welcome the fact that Lorraine Heggessey has commissioned it.

"If it is good, then fantastic. It will demonstrate there is a strain of humour in the black community which can be universal, just as Woody Allen's humour is universal. Our lives can be interesting and entertaining to an audience that does not actually live them."

Lib-Dem Simon Hughes, whose Southwark constituency includes Walworth, said: "It is not surprising that at last the BBC have gone for a sitcom based on a black family. It is about time."

Star Rudolph Walker - otherwise known as EastEnders' Patrick Trueman - said: "Variety is the spice of life. Doing EastEnders and The Crouches in the same year was an opportunity not to be missed."