We’ve got bad news, Pleb Fans: Joel Fry, who played Stylax in the first three series of the ITV2 Roman sitcom, has left the Bafta-winning show.
The fan favourite will be replaced by Jonathan Pointing, who joins the show as “happy-go-lucky” builder Jason in the comedy’s upcoming fourth series due to air this April. Although a relative newcomer to screen you might have seen Pointing in BBC YouTuber parody series Pls Like as Charlie.
Apart from Stylax, cast regulars including Tom Rosenthal (Marcus) and Grumio (Ryan Sampson) will return, alongside Doon Mackichan (Flavia), Karl Theobald (Landlord), Tom Basden (Aurelius), Tom Davis (Davus) and Maureen Lipman (Landlady).
However, this series will see the leads thrown into a completely new situation: running a wine bar. After acquiring an abandoned toilet from crooked property developer Crassus (My Family’s Robert Lindsay), the boys will convert the space into The Crown and Toga bar. Grumio acts as head-chef, Jason and waterboy/man Aurelius are on drinks and Marcus takes up the manager position. What could go wrong?
As ITV say, “This status leads to new adventures as they tangle with Rome’s foremost food critic, launch a cabaret night with a scathing satirist, take part in the city’s marathon and host a snail-racing syndicate – before coming up against their biggest challenge so far, an aggressive takeover bid from a local Germanian bar famous for their popular brown-liquid ‘beer’.”
As usual, the show will be joined by a selection of guest stars including Made in Chelsea’s Ollie Locke, 8 Out of 10 Cats captain Aisling Bea, The Mash Report’s Ellie Taylor, Annette Badland (who played Slitheen Margaret Blaine in Doctor Who), Peep Show’s Angus Wright and Black Mirror’s Daniel Rigby (from The Waldo Moment).
ITV have also announced that a US version of the show is in development, headed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s company Point Grey Pictures.
The new series of Plebs starts April on ITV2
