Yes, Prime Minister set for TV return

Satirical comedy show Yes, Prime Minister is to be revived for a new television series after an absence of nearly a quarter of…

Satirical comedy show Yes, Prime Minister is to be revived for a new television series after an absence of nearly a quarter of a century.

The popular programme, about Prime Minister Jim Hacker and his clashes with his civil servants, began as Yes, Minister in 1980 but bowed out in 1988.

Now the original writers Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay are to bring the series - a favourite of Baroness Thatcher - back to life for TV channel Gold.

The six-part series will be based on their hit stage production of the same name and will see Hacker leading a coalition government, tackling economic mayhem and facing a Scottish independence referendum.

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Casting of the Prime Minister - previously played by Paul Eddington, who died in 1995 - has not been announced. He has been played by Richard McCabe and Graham Seed in the stage version.

The commission is part of Gold’s efforts to create new content rather than just much-loved repeats.

Director of commissioning for Gold’s parent company UKTV, Jane Rogerson, said: “The political landscape in Britain today is the perfect setting for Yes, Prime Minister to return.”

PA