AN UP-AND-COMING funnyman, who has worked with Victoria Wood, has filmed a pilot episode of a new series he hopes will launch him into the limelight.

Writer, director and actor Daniel Hutchings, 33, was head of audio-visual on Victoria Wood’s play ‘That Day We Sang’, at the Manchester International Festival, and has thousands of views on YouTube for his 30-second comedy clips.

Now the Ramsbottom dad is branching out and has put all his effort into a half-hour series of skits, and impersonations, called Hutchings’ Half Hour.

The Manchester School of Art graduate, who works full-time as a filmmaker for his own company, Presents Inc, said his biggest motivation was making people laugh.

He said: “I want everyday people to be able to enjoy it and laugh at it, rather than just industry types.

“But if someone from within the filming business sees it, and likes it, and wants to invest in it, or another project with me, that would be great. I’ve been doing stand-up around the North West for about 18 months now and I’m really enjoying that too.”

ABOVE: One of Daniel's 30-second clips

Having finished filming with the Dinnerladies’ star, he shot Hutchings’ Half Hour almost entirely in his attic, at his home in Carr Street, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and 10-month-old daughter Emily.

Daniel said he was inspired by the idea of combining elements of reality television with the sitcom format.

He said: “I thought it would be a fun idea to make a sitcom, but make it about where I’m at in my career.

“I made it quickly, myself, and put it online so I could have contemporary references in the material.

“The dynamics of it are like a sitcom, not a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

“It’s about what I want to be doing, rather than parodying what other people do.”

The episode is available to view through online distributor Film Annex, which has launched the careers of dozens of amateur filmmakers.