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Heading Out is a British sitcom created by and starring comedian Sue Perkins. It was first broadcast on BBC Two on 26 February 2013. Heading Out tells the story of Sara, a veterinarian who is given an ultimatum by her friends to tell her parents that she is gay. Perkins had the idea for the sitcom for around ten years, before she developed the confidence to write it. Heading Out was commissioned for a full series in April 2012 and production began in September that year. The show was not commissioned for a second series.
In 2011, Perkins told her agent, Debi Allen, about the idea and a meeting with a BBC comedy commissioner followed shortly after. Perkins was advised to work her idea into a six-part sitcom, which she initially resisted doing as she saw it more as a comedy drama instead. A sitcom required "a 'sit' or precinct" and Perkins eventually decided to locate the show in a veterinary surgery, as it features people from all walks of life. After the first episode was commissioned, a table-read was organised for December 2011. In April 2012, Perkins was filming World's Most Dangerous Roads in Laos, when she was told her sitcom had been commissioned for a full series. From April to July, Perkins wrote the remaining episodes. Perkins later called Heading Out "a midlife crises sitcom", explaining "It's more about how awkward it is to tell your parents anything, as opposed to just the gay issue. Essentially, when you come out to your parents, you have to tell them, 'I'm having sex!'. And no one wants to say that."
On 9 July 2013, it was confirmed by Shane Allen from the BBC that Heading Out would not receive a second series, following low ratings.
Perkins wrote the other roles with specific people in mind and was "slightly confused" when they all agreed to be in the show. Actress Joanna Scanlan plays Toria, a "hopelessly incompetent" lifestyle coach who is hired by Sara's friends to help her. Shelley Conn was cast as Sara's love interest, Eve, who is upfront about liking her. Eve pretends her dog is ill in order to get closer to Sara. Of Eve, Conn stated "My character just comes back episode after episode and won't let go of Sara - that's what's funny."
Steve Oram appears as Daniel, Sara's assistant. When asked what made him want to get involved in the project, Oram revealed that he had loved the script from the moment he read it and really liked his character. Oram called Daniel "slightly misguided and psychopathic", but he has a good heart. Sara's other friends, Jamie and Justine, are portrayed by Dominic Coleman and Nicola Walker. Coleman auditioned for the role of Jamie, but was unsure if he would get the part as he did not have much in common with the character.
On 25 October 2012, it was announced that June Brown and Dawn French had joined the cast of Heading Out, along with Steve Pemberton and Jeff Rawle. Brown plays Toria's "drunken" grandmother, Sozzie, and French plays her mother, Frances. Perkins' comedy writing partner, Mel Giedroyc, plays Ivanka, the wife of a Russian oligarch who owns a prize dog. Steve Pemberton and Mark Heap star as Jonathan, a vet inspector, and Brian, a pet funeral director, respectively.
Boyd Hilton from Heat said of the series, "Sue Perkins has created a sitcom that seems different to everything else out there, but is also quite old-fashioned in the sense that it actually has loads of funny bits all the way through." Of the series, Alison Graham from the Radio Times quipped "It's a cheerful half-hour of amiable nonsense led by Sue Perkins. I know it hasn't set the world on fire, but its heart is in the right place and the gags are often clever." Kevin O'Sullivan from the Daily Mirror called the series "pathetic", adding "Sadly, it's not even mildly amusing. It's a toe-curling car crash. My Family with slightly fewer heterosexuals. But without the laughs."
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