Disabled comedy aired by BBC

THE BBC is to stretch the boundaries of comedy with a new sketch show written and performed by the disabled called Yes Sir, I Can Boogie.

The new show, which will also have some able-bodied writers and performers, includes such gags as a limbless odd-job man. It will be broadcast next month on Radio 4 and the BBC hopes it will do for the disabled what the award-winning Goodness Gracious Me did for British Asians, by showing disability in a mainstream and funny way.

The show's comedy comes from a surreal take on the world. The producer Ash Atalla, who is himself in a wheelchair, emphasises that the comedy in the programme comes ahead of tackling disabled issues: "I've never really identified with the disability programmes that have been on in the past, they're all too whingey, too negative. I just think it better to use the slot to make a good show."

Mr Atalla says the show does not make fun of disability, but he expects criticism from some disability campaigners.