BBC One’s hit wartime drama World on Fire returned over the summer – but only after a frustrating series of delays, largely caused by Covid, which led creator Peter Bowker to joke that the series “took longer to film than the war itself”.
Bowker was speaking at an online RTS National Event in July ahead of the transmission of the second series, almost four years after the first aired.
The new six-part series will see the return of Kate (Brenda Blethyn) and Koji, who will now be played by Okorie Chukwu as he takes over the role from Jimmy Akingbola.
Blake Harrison and Barbara Flynn will reprise their roles as ‘Medium’ and Councillor Bone.
Written and created by Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, the comedy tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a working-class woman who owns a café near the seaside and an asylum-seeking African doctor.
Production on the second series was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic but can now move forward.
Sky One original Jack and The Beanstalk: After Ever After was created and written by The Dawson Brother and David Walliams.
Walliams will take on the role of the feared giant, with Sheridan Smith playing The Woman with No Name, who is known as the best giant-slayer in the village, and Blake Harrison stars as Dodgy Dave, a sneaky market stall trader who originally sold Jack the magic beans.
The one-off Christmas special will tell the story of what happens after the ‘happily ever after’, with the original story ending with Jack seeming to have defeated the giant.
