Actress, writer, award-winning playwright, singer and poet Michaela Coel wrote the role of 14-year-old Tracey for her semi-autobiographical monologue Chewing Gum Dreams, playing the part to great acclaim at venues including The Yard and The Shed at the National Theatre. Now, the Londoner is reprising the character, older but hardly wiser, for her new six-part comedy for E4, Chewing Gum.
In Chewing Gum, Coel plays Tracey Gordon, a religious Beyoncé-obsessed 24-year-old who is fast finding out that the more she learns about the world, the less she understands. The programme sees Coel’s characters ten years on from the play, having left the innocence of teenage dreams behind to enter a world of adult confusion. Michaela describes Chewing Gum as ‘literally like a tribute to Craig David.’
The 6 x 30 series will air on E4 in October and is commissioned by Rachel Springett, Commissioning Editor for Comedy at Channel 4. Jon Rolph is Exec Producer and Kelly McGolpin is Producer. Retort is the production company.