Suttie went so far as to perform read-throughs with other actors.
Peep Show star Isy Suttie has revealed that a female-led spin-off of the sitcom was once considered, revolving around her character Dobby.
The actress and comedian said that Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, who created the popular series, had even written some scripts for the potential spin-off – with Suttie going so far as to perform read-throughs with other actors, including comedian Josie Long.
Speaking to The British Comedy Guide, Sutie explained, “I went into Objective who made Peep Show, and we spent a day with me doing chemistry reads with different actresses using a couple of short scenes Sam and Jesse had written.
“Then for whatever reason they didn’t develop it further, as happens with a lot of TV!”
After making her debut in series five, Dobby became a hugely popular character on the series for the remainder of its run, serving as a love interest for David Mitchell’s character Mark Corrigan before leaving for New York in series eight.
Rumours about a female-led spin-off had first circulated in 2008, with reports at the time suggesting that Channel 4 wanted to do a show based on Dobby and her best friend due to demand from young female viewers.
And there could still be a female-led Peep Show series in the future – a remake with two female leads is currently being developed in the US for the channel FX, with a script written by Portlandia scribe Karey Dornetto.
However, there’s no certainty that this project will successfully make it to the small screen – it is the fourth time that a US version of the series has been in development, and so far none of them have received a series order.
Peep Show is available to stream on Netflix, All 4 and BritBox. You can also take a look at our TV Guide for more to watch.