The actor's triumphant performance is still celebrated to this day.
Andrew Scott almost lost his legendary Fleabag role as the so-called 'Hot Priest' as executives demanded that somebody else be cast in the role, the show's commissioner has revealed.
The acclaimed actor played an unnamed priest who has a dalliance with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's title character, earning high praise for his performance, including nominations at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.
However, speaking as part of a wider feature on the state of UK sitcoms in this week's Radio Times magazine, former BBC Director of Comedy Shane Allen said that there were calls to remove Scott just days before filming.
Allen explained that Fleabag's first season was BBC-funded "with the creative freedom that provides".
However, after Amazon co-financed the follow-up, he claimed that "a whole raft of US male execs turned up to the read-through and – bear in mind this was a piece exploring self-destructive feminism – proceeded to tear the show apart and demand Andrew Scott was recast with only four days until the shoot started".
Fortunately, Waller-Bridge was able to talk the dissenting voices into her first choice of casting and the rest, as they say, is history
Allen continued: "Anyone less effervescently charming and smart than Phoebe would have buckled."
The feeling towards Scott's heartthrob clergyman remains so strong that the actor issued a wake-up call earlier this year, telling Entertainment Weekly that anyone still watching Fleabag should "get some fresh air" and "do something better with your life".
Scott recently earned further acclaim – and his second Golden Globe nomination – for hard-hitting drama All of Us Strangers, which was quickly followed by Steven Zaillian's celebrated Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley.
For more on the state of British sitcoms, pick up the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, out on Tuesday 2nd July – subscribe here.
Fleabag is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
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