{"id":50948,"date":"2024-05-08T11:36:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T09:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2036926"},"modified":"2024-05-08T12:22:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T10:22:44","slug":"bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC comedy W1A set for revival \u2018with a new sports twist\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> Hugh Bonneville&#8217;s character Ian Fletcher looks to be taking up a new position at FIFA. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Patrick Cremona\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at 09:36 AM<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body> <p>It\u2019s been almost seven years since hit comedy W1A ended its run, but it looks like the show may now be set for a revival \u2013 with a twist.<\/p>\n<p>Hugh Bonneville will reportedly be reprising his role as former Head of Values at the BBC, Ian Fletcher, who will this time be taking up a new role at another major institution \u2013 football\u2019s governing body FIFA.<\/p>\n<p>It is not clear at this stage how many other W1A stars might be returning for the new show, but it is believed there are high hopes Jessica Hynes will be back as inept PR Siobhan Sharpe.<\/p>\n<p>The news was first revealed by another former W1A cast member, Sarah Parish, who explained during an appearance on That Gaby Roslin podcast: \u201cIt\u2019s being written \u2014 maybe I\u2019m talking out of turn, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p> <p>Parish \u2013 who had a key role as Anna Rampton in the comedy \u2013 also praised writer John Morton, who she said was \u201cso brilliant and so fabulous at picking out the subtleties of the horror of working in an institution that big\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And she added of the new series: \u201cSo Ian Fletcher will continue. And I thought probably Siobhan could go with him because wherever Ian goes, Siobhan goes as well and does all his PR, really badly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I\u2019m hoping that those two characters will have another rebirth in another series.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"headline post-header__title post-header__title--headline-layout\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"heading-1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/sci-fi\/doctor-who-diverse-writing-talent-newsupdate\/\">Doctor Who showrunner confirms more diverse writing talent for season 15<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"headline post-header__title post-header__title--headline-layout\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/fantasy\/wednesday-season-2-first-look-billie-piper-newsupdate\/\">Wednesday season 2 officially begins production as Billie Piper joins the cast<\/a><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fletcher was first introduced in the series Twenty Twelve, which poked fun at the organising committee for the London Summer Olympics, before going on to appear in all three seasons of W1A between 2014 and 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The series briefly returned for a short one-off lockdown special in 2020, which saw Fletcher chairing the first virtual meeting of the BBC\u2019s \u2018COVID-19 Bounce Back Group\u2019, while this year, the cast reunited once again for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/comedy\/w1a-reunion-comic-relief-hugh-bonneville-jessica-hynes-newsupdate\/\">Comic Relief skit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Bonneville, Hynes and Parish, other well-known faces to appear in the show\u2019s main cast during its initial run included Jason Watkins, Monica Dolan, Nina Sosanya, Hugh Skinner, Rufus Jones and Jonathan Bailey.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/\">RadioTimes.com<\/a> approached the BBC for comment on this story.<\/p>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.greenvideo.io\/players\/gv.js\" data-license-key=\"f0cf5e3e9068d9a4affa36d5c8962eaf1a0662ba\"\/> <div style=\"width:50%;min-height:100vh;overflow:hidden;aspect-ratio:16\/9;position:relative;\"> <style><![CDATA[ .gvtext1, .gvtext2 { animation-duration: 5s; animation-iteration-count: infinite; animation-direction: alternate; width:100%; } .gvtext1 { animation-name: gvtext1; } .gvtext2 { animation-name: gvtext2; } @keyframes gvtext1 { 0% { opacity: 1 } 47% { opacity: 1 } 50% { opacity: 0 } 100% { opacity: 0 } } @keyframes gvtext2 { 0% { opacity: 0 } 50% { opacity: 0 } 53% { opacity: 1 } 100% { opacity: 1 } } ]]><\/style> <div style=\"font-family:arial;font-size:smaller;position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;background:rgb(208, 208, 208);border-radius:30px;display:flex;text-align:center;align-items:center;\"> <div class=\"gvtext2\" style=\"position:absolute;\"> Green Video Post Element <br\/>Video ID: \"ce2e01d33c757ad8650a894cfbaa3cfe995b609c\" <br\/>Mix ID: \"\" <br\/>Player ID: \"Tw3-XowQ\" <\/div> <div class=\"gvtext1\" style=\"padding: 10px;\"> If the player doesn't appear here within a few seconds, the Player ID or Licence Key (set via IM Green Video settings) might be invalid. <\/div> <\/div> <green-video embed-id=\"Tw3-XowQ\" content-id=\"ce2e01d33c757ad8650a894cfbaa3cfe995b609c\" mix-id=\"\"\/>\n<\/div> <div class=\"post__content\">\n<div class=\"editor-content mb-lg hidden-print js-piano-locked-content\" data-placement=\"Body\">\n<div>\n<p><strong>Check out more of our\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/comedy\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/comedy\/\">Comedy<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\">Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on. <\/strong><strong>For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\">The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Hugh Bonneville&#8217;s character Ian Fletcher looks to be taking up a new position at FIFA. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":50949,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/05\/bbc-comedy-w1a-set-for-revival-with-a-new-sports-twist-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Hugh Bonneville's character Ian Fletcher looks to be taking up a new position at FIFA.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/50948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}