No Strings Attached, which will feature puppets and real-life celebrities, starred Stephen Fry in a pilot

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

He won't be playing the music or lighting the lights, but Danny Baker will be writing the words for a new Muppets-style show for BBC1.

The show, which had the working title No Strings Attached, will feature a mixture of puppets and real-life celebrities and starred Stephen Fry in a non-broadcast pilot.

Developed by the BBC with the Jim Henson Company, the US producer responsible for the Muppets, plans for the Saturday teatime family show emerged earlier this year.

Baker, who won a Sony gold award last month for his BBC Radio 5 Live Saturday morning show, tweeted: "I'm writing the new Muppet/Puppet show for BBC/Henson. There I've said it."

Baker, who posted a picture of himself with a toy Kermit, has previously written for Chris Evans, Jonathan Ross and Angus Deayton. He also had his own BBC1 chatshow in the 1990s, Danny Baker After All.

The BBC confirmed on Monday it had commissioned a further pilot of the show for BBC1 featuring a "brand new cast of puppet characters" who will invite "two celebrity guests to enter their world".

"The guests will go head to head in a series of unique games run by the cast of characters and will also take part in a variety of sketches," said the BBC. "The show will be a warm, cheeky family affair fuelled by a healthy dose of off-the-wall, madcap fun."

Baker will be lead writer on the show which will be co-produced by BBC in-house entertainment and the Jim Henson Company.

The BBC1 controller, Danny Cohen, said: "It's wonderful to be working with the Henson Company and a writing team led by Danny Baker."

It is not a bad time to be a puppet after the Oscar-winning success of the latest Muppets film, the first in a decade.

A separate Muppets TV series is being made in the US.

Fry appeared in a non-broadcast version of the BBC1 show but Baker was not involved.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook