New sitcom Henpocalypse sounds like a horror movie

For some people, the very idea of being invited on a hen weekend is enough to send shivers down their spine – especially if they can’t escape at the end of the night when the drinking, matching t-shirts and party games finally gets too much.

So, the concept of the new sitcom Henpocalypse will sound like a horror movie. Or, as Tanya Qureshi, Head of Comedy at the BBC, puts it: “What could be more hilariously nightmarish than a hen do that never ends?”

The idea has been dreamed up by Caroline Moran, whose previous comedy credits include the semi-autobiographical Raised by Wolves (which she co-wrote with her columnist and author sister Caitlin) and Hullraisers.

The plot sees demanding bride-to-be Zara (Lucie Shorthouse) and her bridal party leaving their Birmingham council estate for an isolated cottage in Wales. They are expecting the party to get messy, but it becomes more chaotic than they could have ever imagined when the world ends.

Suddenly, the women – Zara’s formidable mother Bernadette (Elizabeth Berrington), long-suffering chief bridesmaid Shelly (Callie Cooke), conspiracy theorist beautician Veena (Lauren O’Rourke) and one-woman disaster area Jen (Kate O’Flynn) – have to try to survive the Armageddon, armed with little more than some plastic hen-do paraphernalia and a diminishing supply of chocolates in rude shapes.

It may be a nightmare for them, but it’s a dream come true for Moran. She says: “I can’t believe I am getting to make a sitcom for BBC Two! That’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted in life.

“The nation is now officially invited to our never-ending post-apocalyptic hen do. I guarantee high drama, tons of jokes, massive surprises and lots of pound shop tat!”

She adds: “This is a dream cast, the locations are epic – the apocalypse has never been so much fun.”

Her characters may not agree as the first episode sees them dealing with the breakdown of society – not to mention their own internal politics.

Once the reality starts to sink in, the hens are forced to venture outside the cottage and into post-Apocalyptic Snowdonia, where they try to work out exactly what happened to the rest of the society.

After nine weeks of living off owl meet, they are also keen to find a new food source, but instead they encounter a fearsome radicalised Pilates instructor who’s on a top-secret mission.

Meanwhile, the hens are keeping a secret of their own – they aren’t the only residents at the cottage. They’ve also got a prisoner in the form of male stripper-come-entrepreneur Drew, who they believe is the only man to have survived the apocalypse. But while having the last male on Earth is probably a bonus, what exactly are they going to do with him?

And where do a Fray Bentos pie, a carving knife and a spirit animal that seems to have taken the form of Danny Dyer fit in to the women’s experiences?

All should become clear as the Henpocalypse gets under way.