Miller: We're perfect as Edwardians

Armstrong and Miller star in Felix And Murdo

Published: 1:42am, 27th December 2011
Updated: 11:47pm, 27th December 2011

Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong think they were born to play their latest comedy roles.

The duo are donning 1900s gear for a "ridiculously silly" one-off comedy called Felix And Murdo, created by Men Behaving Badly writer Simon Nye.

"If ever there were two people born to play Edwardian throwbacks it's me and Alexander Armstrong," said Ben.

The Death In Paradise actor plays Felix, a man-about-town who finally agrees to settle down and marry his fiancee. Or at least he does until his best friend Murdo (Alexander) points out that the wedding clashes with their planned trip to Paris to see the pair's favourite music hall act.

"It's set in that sort of Downton Abbey period, which I think was an inherently funny time," said Alexander.

"The Edwardian British must have been insufferable as they really did think they had it all. And just around the corner was the First World War, when it was all about to come crashing down around their shoulders."

Ben added: "It really was the golden period of England. They had many of the trappings of modern life and devices that we have now - the very first prototypes had just been invented - but they had no idea of the horrors that were just around the corner."

However, as Ben points out, one shouldn't get too carried away looking for striking cultural parallels in their work. "Downton Abbey is a social document - Felix And Murdo is just stupid," he said. "What we loved about it was how much fun it was and how suited we were to it."

:: Felix And Murdo is on Channel 4 on Wednesday, December 28.