In the New Year, armed with a high quality broadcast product, we went around again looking for a deal. It’s funny how we had our minds set on the online strategy, but were persuaded back onto the old-fashioned route of looking for TV deals once people saw the product. We went to all the usual suspects, but while everyone was really impressed with the product they were not happy we had done everything independently of them, as they normally like control and involvement. This process distracted us from our core plan and we spent a few months running around like headless chickens trying to prepare for meetings and pitches. The funny thing is we went to a TV buyers’ trade fair in Africa and the reaction was totally different. Everyone loved the product and that gave us a lot of confidence.

May 2011 was when the penny finally dropped for myself and Debra; it felt good when we finally said ‘sod all of these meetings and let-downs from the mainstream’. They were never going to take this up, and we could have ended up running around endlessly chasing non-existent opportunities. So we went back to Plan A and decided to release the sitcom online to an audience we knew was out there. And so the first episode is now available. We will show 3 episodes in total for free and then release the rest on DVD. This way if the fans like it they can buy the DVD and this will fund Season 2 (fingers crossed). I think our Season 2 will be 10 times better than the first because we now have the blueprint. We know all the mistakes we made and we will aim to fix them! It’s a total gamble, but one I am prepared to take. And now I don’t want a TV deal in the UK. I say to hell with that. And it feels good to be free from all the sucking up and b.s. one has to suffer through to get a foot in the door.