Fans of W1A and Twenty Twelve have got another laugh-fest to look forward to, as W1A star Sarah Parish has claimed the writer behind the two shows is planning to bring Ian Fletcher into the world of football!
Speaking on That Gaby Roslin podcast, Sarah Parish (who played Anna Rampton in W1A) revealed that there are plans to bring Hugh Bonneville's comedy character Ian Fletcher into the world of FIFA, the governing body of association football.
Parish started by heaping praise on the screenwriter behind the two shows, saying: "John Morton, the writer, is so brilliant and so fabulous at picking out the subtleties of the horror of working in an institution that big, but he did it brilliantly. It is a joyful thing to be in.
Parish went on to tease Fletcher's return to the world of sport. "[They are] putting Ian Fletcher now into FIFA", Parish commented.
"It's being written, I think. Maybe I'm talking out of turn, I don't know. So Ian Fletcher will continue. And I thought, 'Oh God, probably Siobhan [Jessica Hynes' character Siobhan Sharpe] could probably go with him, because wherever Ian goes, Siobhan goes as well, and does his PR really badly. So I'm hoping those two characters will have another rebirth into a new series because it'd be great. You can put them anywhere, in the NHS, anywhere really."
The star concluded by speculating that she won't be appearing in this new show, guessing that her character would have disappeared to America or maybe started working for Sky!
Morton's comedy anthology originally began with Twenty Twelve, a mockumentary-style comedy in the vein of The Thick Of It which followed Fletcher and his team at the fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission as they oversaw the organization of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. The show ran for two seasons in 2012.
Several members of the team then returned for W1A, a follow-up that revolved around Fletcher (now Head of Values at the BBC) as he and his new team oversaw management within the BBC's London HQ, Broadcasting House.
That show ran for three seasons from 2014 to 2017, though the crew were reunited earlier this year for a Comic Relief 2024 sketch where they were tasked with finding Sir Lenny Henry's replacement!
If this news has you wanting to revisit the previous show, you can stream both W1A and Twenty Twenty on BBC iPlayer. And if you're looking for more great shows to enjoy, check out our round-up of the best BBC comedies and best BBC dramas we think you should be streaming right now.
