Mammoth (TV series)

Mammoth is a British sitcom, created and written by Mike Bubbins. Bubbins gave up his teaching job to pursue a career in comedy^[1] and portrays PE teacher Tony Mammoth.^[2]

The pilot episode was released on 5 November 2021, one of six trial shows commissioned by BBC Wales.^[1] Three further episodes were announced as a joint production by BBC Wales and BBC Studios in 2023.^[3]

The first episode premiered on BBC Two on 17 April 2024, along with the full series on BBC iPlayer. A second series was commissioned in May 2024, with filming taking place across four weeks in June and July 2025.^[4] It launched on 1 December 2025.^[5]

Welsh P.E. teacher Tony Mammoth is leading a school skiing trip on New Year's Eve, 1979, when he is trapped by an avalanche. Perfectly preserved, he is recovered and brought back to life on New Year's Day, 2024. After his initial period of fame ends, Mammoth - technically a man in his nineties, but with a body of a man in his forties - returns to his job at the school.

Bubbins was conscious on the pitfalls of shifting a character into the 2020s. He told Morning Live: "It's a fish out of water and you're treading a tightrope. I said, 'Let's make sure that Mammoth does the wrong things for the right reasons'."^[6]

In 2024, creator Bubbins told comedy website Beyond The Joke that Mammoth was an idea he had "around ten or twelve years ago".^[7] He later elaborated, telling Rob Brydon:^[8]

I had those teachers [like Tony Mammoth] in my life growing up. I loved Buck Rogers. Sci-fi stuff like Blake's 7 and Logan's Run. But Buck Rogers stuck in my mind. He's frozen in his space shuttle and brought back to life in the far future. I wanted a way to portray a decade I love in a modern context. How can I get him [Tony Mammoth] into the present day.

Following the 2021 pilot, three more episodes were ordered as a joint project between BBC Wales and BBC Studios. Paul Forde, commissioning editor for comedy with BBC Wales, said: "It’s a great premise for a show and we know that audiences will love watching Tony Mammoth struggling to come to terms with his predicament."^[9]

Paul Doolan joined Bubbins for the full series, with Bubbins saying Doolan does much of the actual writing.^[10]

I did the pilot on my own but I'm more of a procrastinator. More of an ideas man. Paul came on board, who's written a lot of stuff. He loves the stuff I don't. He’ll go away and write 25 pages. I joke that he's my typist but it's a lovely relationship.

In May 2024, following the broadcast of the first three episodes, it was announced at the BBC Comedy Festival that the show had been recommissioned.^[4] Bubbins said: "They [the BBC] sort of half believed in me. Gave me half of a run. Gave me three eps for the first series. But the reviews were very good and the ratings were very good - so they gave us nine for the second series, with a Christmas special."

The commission was split into two, with three episodes and a Christmas special airing in December 2025.^[11] Those four were filmed in Cardiff between 23 June and 20 July 2025.^[12]

With the concept of Tony Mammoth being a character with 1970s sensibilities living in the 2020s, Bubbins was conscious of potentially negative aspects within the casting.^[13]

Some 70s sitcom characters like Alf Garnett are purportedly laughing at racists and sexists. The thing is, a lot of racists and sexists love that character. The first thing we did was to make Mammoth’s best friend black – although it’s never referenced – to get rid of that horrible bit of the 70s

That led to the casting of Joseph Marcell. Following the pilot, Sian Gibson was added to the cast as Mel Jones, "the mother of one of [Mammoth's] pupils".^[14] She said: "This is a comedy, but its also got plenty of heart with family and friendship at its core. Mike is a joy to work with on set, he is so generous and kind and really pulled the cast together."^[15] Meanwhile, Mali Ann Rees was re-cast as Mammoth's fellow teacher, Lucy Manford, although renamed 'Mansford' following the pilot. She said: "I really enjoy working with Mike, he’s been working on this for many years so seeing his vision come into fruition has been very inspiring."^[16]

A pair of new cast members were announced for series two: Al Roberts as Mel’s new love interest, Michael - and Dylan Malyn as Nathan, Mel’s nephew and new boss.^[11]

Mammoth's opening title song was created by television composing veteran Mike Post, who was responsible for other shows such as The Rockford Files, Law & Order and The A-Team. Bubbins told Chortle: "I interviewed the king of theme tunes, Mike Post, for a BBC Wales radio show, and we hit it off. He told me to get in touch if the TV show I was writing ever got commissioned. So I did."^[17]

Each episode has a different closing song.

With the gap between series, the second run of Mammoth featured a voiceover for the title sequence. This was provided by British radio presenter Tony Blackburn, and completed in a single take.^[18]

In March 2025, BBC chairman, Samir Shah called the show "brilliant", while saying he was "proud of our programmes that are successful because they took a risk [...] It was risky to have your hero voicing views that are unacceptable today. But it works hilariously."^[19]

The first series was well-received, with Chortle reviewer Rhys Jon Edwards writing: "Bubbins carries this show with a performance that is genuinely a joy to watch [...] Bubbins may find he has created one of the great all-time sitcom characters."^[20]

In The Daily Telegraph, Anita Singh wrote: "At a time when every television comedy seems to be exploring issues, from mental illness, menopause or alcoholism, it’s nice to have a show that offers uncomplicated fun.^[21] In The Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson wrote: "Mammoth has plenty of warmth to see it through any potentially choppy waters. Bubbins underplays it in a way that shouldn’t work, but does... there is something about his brashness, delivered in a minor key, that really lifts it."^[22] Ed Power, writing for The Irish Times, said: "...Bubbins makes it work through sheer commitment to the idea that few things are funnier than a middle-aged man cocooned in corduroy swaggering around to groovelicious tunes."^[23] Virgin Media named the show as one of the top-20 programmes to watch on BBC iPlayer.^[24]

With the arrival of series two, the Radio Times wrote: "The success of the show rests on the performance of creator/star Bubbins, and in Tony Mammoth, he has created a brilliant sitcom character".^[25]

In the run-up to the launch of series two on 1 December 2025, BBC Sounds released a playlist containing the soundtrack.^[32] The BBC also placed a large moving banner across Cardiff Central bus station, featuring a dancing Tony Mammoth with a message reading: 'Welcome to Cardiff, capital city of Wales'.^[33]

On the night of broadcast itself, Bubbins performed in-character continuity announcements across the evening for BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales. He introduced The One Show, EastEnders, Only Connect, University Challenge, Civilizations: Rise And Fall - and Mammoth itself.^[34]

Episode one was watched by 430,000 people, a 3.9% audience share, according to industry website, Broadcast Now. It added: "Excluding BBC1 and ITV1’s news bulletins, the sitcom attained the biggest audience share across the main channels in its slot."^[35] That figure was in line with BBC Two's average for the same slot - and excludes catch-up viewings, plus figures from BBC iPlayer, on which all of series one launched on the same day. Episode two had 421,000 viewers, a 4.3% share, and was described by Broadcast as holding "steady on the opener", just shy of the 460,000 (4.4%) slot average.^[36]

A BBC media release said: "The first two episodes of Mammoth have so far seen an average 7-day audience of 1.2M, above the average for BBC Two comedy and with strong performance for Welsh audiences."^[4] It became the fourth highest-performing new comedy series across BBC channels for the whole of 2024.^[11]

The first episode of series two launched on BBC Two with a 2.9% share and 310,000 viewers. This was "shy of the 380,000 (4.1%) benchmark", although ahead of Channel 4's Gogglebox repeat and 5's Inside The Force.^[37] It was the second highest-rated comedy of the week, behind BBC1's Daddy Issues.^[38]

As well as accolades for the show, Bubbins was also nominated as Favourite Actor (Comedy) at the TV Times Awards 2024 for his role as Tony Mammoth.^[43]

In March 2025, Bubbins revealed an American version of the show had been proposed.^[44]

The paperwork is being done. They don’t do a pilot season any more. You do a long script Bible, a long version of the pitch. You attach big names to it, or names that work. They either commission a series, or they don’t.

By February 2026, BBC Studios' production chief, Zai Bennett announced the company was working for Fox Entertainment for a US version of the show.^[45][46]

• Mammoth at BBC Online
• Mammoth at IMDb