Doctor Who's Bradley Walsh reportedly lands lead role in The Darling Buds of May remake
Reports suggest Walsh has been lined up to star as Pop Larkin - the character played by Sir David Jason in the original version
Bradley Walsh may be set to swap adventures in time and space for something a little closer to home – with reports suggesting he’s been lined up to star in a remake of ‘90s TV series The Darling Buds of May.
According the Mirror, Walsh has landed the role of Pop Larkin – the part that was played by Sir David Jason in the original series.
It was also claimed that Walsh’s decision to take on the role comes as he prepares to step aside from Doctor Who, with rumours persisting he is set to leave his part as Graham on the iconic sci-fi show.
The Darling Buds of May originally aired between 1991 and 1993 and helped launch the career of Catherine Zeta Jones (Entrapment). Adapted from the 1958 H. E. Bates novel of the same name, it followed the life of a family living in rural Kent in the ‘50s.
In addition to Zeta Jones and Jason, the series also starred Pam Ferris and Phillip Franks.
ITV are bringing it back, with The Durrell’s scribe Simon Nye on-board to write.
Walsh has been starring as Graham O’Brien on Doctor Who for the last two series, but reports suggest that he has found the 10-month shoots increasingly difficult to fit into his schedule.
He currently hosts ITV game shows The Chase and Cash Trapped, and is also set to co-host a new show with Holly Willoughby.
Earlier this week, RadioTimes.com reported that although Walsh – and Tosin Cole as well – could be set to leave the Whoniverse after this year’s festive special, we understand that it may be an open-ended departure, allowing them to return to the series in guest roles in the future.
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Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.