A comedian whose sit-com will be airing on Channel 4 this week teases that the finale is a “bit of a love letter” to Watford.

Jack Rooke, who grew up in Rickmansworth, created Channel 4’s upcoming comedy that is loosely based on his life as a closeted 19-year-old fresher in 2013.

In Big Boys, the show takes inspiration from real-life diary recordings Jack made when he was younger and reflects how he came to terms with losing his father and becoming comfortable with his sexuality.

“I never thought I’d write a sit-com about this one day, but I think if my dad was around today, he would not at all be surprised that I have,” Rooke told the Observer.

Watford Observer: Behind the scenes at a Big Boys shoot. Credit: Channel 4Behind the scenes at a Big Boys shoot. Credit: Channel 4

Coming from a “funny” family, he said: “My mum has one of the best comic timing hit rates out of any comedian I met. If she did stand-up, she would sweep.”

Camille Coduri, who played Jackie Tyler in Doctor Who, was seen as the perfect casting to take on the role as Jack’s mum Peggy in the show.

READ MORE: Watford comedian draws on life and love for rite of passage comedy

Rooke explained: “She is the sort of Watford woman I think a lot of local viewers will identify with.

"She’s a grafter, she doesn’t suffer fools lightly, but yet she’s also an incredibly sweet, loving, maternal character who really wants her child to go to uni and wants her child to figure out who he is.”

Watford Observer: Jon Pointing as Danny, Jack Rooke and Dylan Llewellyn as Jack. Credit: Channel 4Jon Pointing as Danny, Jack Rooke and Dylan Llewellyn as Jack. Credit: Channel 4

In real life Rooke attended the University of Westminster in Harrow to study journalism and have his own independence while also not “abandoning” his mum who was just a 15-minute train ride away.

But in Big Boys, Jack attends the fictional Brent University – which was actually filmed at his former campus.

In fact, most of the production process was like a trip down memory lane, as scenes were shot in Watford, Mill End, Harrow and Stanmore.

Watford Observer: Behind the scenes at Big Boys. Credit: Channel 4Behind the scenes at Big Boys. Credit: Channel 4

“What’s so nice about writing a sit-com is you can fictionalise certain things. In order to have a bit of my own privacy, there’s some things I kept myself,” said the comic. “Other stuff are completely based off the truth, and it’s often the more embarrassing things that are based on real life.”

It was in the middle of his GCSE’s at St Clement Danes that he struggled with the loss of his dad, and he described it as “a magician had pulled the cloth off a table, but rather than everything standing up, everything crashed down around me”.

Watford Observer: Jack Rooke. Credit: Channel 4Jack Rooke. Credit: Channel 4

Growing up Rooke always felt that he was “missing out in London life”, being situated in Hertfordshire and just out of reach to the city. But as years came by, he admits that there is an unreserved love for his hometown.

Characters will be attending places like Oceana – this is set in 2013 after all – but in general there will be references sprinkled around that people from Watford will recognise.

It’s the final episode that might get the most attention from locals, as it’s described as a “bit of a love letter to Watford”.

Without delving into spoiler territory, he said: “Sometimes I think Watford gets a bit of a bad rep, and I really wanted to celebrate Watford for what it does have.”

The first two episodes air on Channel 4 on Thursday (May 26) at 10pm, with the other episodes able to stream on All 4 after.