Blackadder writer says there's no "appetite" to bring it back
Ben Elton would like to reunite with Richard Curtis – but not for another season of the hit '80s comedy.
Ben Elton has ruled out the possibility of a potential Blackadder reboot, revealing that he doesn't have any "appetite" for further seasons of the hit '80s comedy.
Elton made the comments during an interview with Radio Times magazine to promote the upcoming one-off return of Friday Night Live.
Asked if there was any chance of a reunion with Blackadder writing partner Richard Curtis, he responded: "We were a great team and I’ve talked so many times about doing something else.
“Not Blackadder again," he added. "I don’t think either of us feel any appetite to do that."
Last year, the show's stars Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson – who played Edmund Blackadder and Baldrick across all four seasons – both addressed the possibility of a return.
Atkinson explained that it "certainly" wasn't "impossible" that the show might be revived at some point, but added: "That’s about as optimistic as I can be.
"I’d rather not speculate on when it could be set," he continued. "But Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the '80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn’t be easy."
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Robinson later admitted that he would be keen to step back into his role at some point, although he revealed it might have to be in a different format.
"Well, what Rowan has always said to me is if there was to be another Blackadder it shouldn’t necessarily be another six-part television series," he said."We should find another guise for it, another way of doing it."
"[Atkinson] once said to me wouldn’t it be great if we could take over the Royal Tournament military tattoo one summer, it would be Blackadder’s Royal Tournament," he added.
"I’m not saying that would necessarily be the idea we went with but I think it ought to be possible to come up with something at some time."
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Authors
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.
