Vegas' BBC drug Deal

He has never shied away from offbeat humour, but Johnny Vegas is courting controversy with his next small-screen role.

The 33-year-old funnyman is to star as a drug dealer in a BBC sitcom called I Deal. He will play Moz, a character who sells marijuana from his Manchester bedsit.

'When they said I was playing a dealer, I thought it was a Lovejoy-type show for the new generation, and that "dope" was hiphop for "lovely Elizabethan table",' he joked. I Deal has been made by Steve Coogan's production company, Baby Cow.

A spokesman said: 'Although Moz's chosen profession is a dubious one he is a man of principles. He deals only in the many varieties of marijuana and sees himself as providing a crucial service to the local community.' I Deal will be broadcast on BBC3, with repeats on BBC2, later this year.