In what will surely be a running gag for series four of The Trip, Rob Brydon has signed up to appear in a new British comedy film. Swimming With Men has just started shooting in the UK, and it has recruited the Welsh comedian and actor in the lead.
Brydon stars a middle-aged man undergoing a midlife crisis, who finds unlikely sanctuary in an amateur all-male synchronised swimming team. Together, they make their attempt at the Unofficial Male Synch-Swimming World Championships, and no doubt a shot at personal redemption along the way. Think Esther Williams meets The Full Monty, then.
Dipping their collective toes in this particular pool alongside Brydon will be a host of British talent, including Adeel Akhtar, Jim Carter, Rupert Graves, Daniel Mays, Charlotte Riley, Thomas Turgoose, Nathaniel Parker and Jane Horrocks.
Oliver Parker (Dad’s Army, Johnny English Reborn) is directing the film, from a script by Aschlin Ditta, inspired by the documentary Men Who Swim. Parker said in a statement: “It’s a real privilege to be working with a British ensemble of such high calibre - and to chuck them in the pool.”
Filming will take place in various swimming pools across the UK this year. Swimming With Men has no fixed release date yet but we’d expect it to make a splash sometime later this year or early next.