The highly-anticipated Bergerac reboot is finally coming to TV screens, with an all-new cast in roles than many have grown to know and love.
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In this remake, John Nettles does not make an appearance and instead, Brassic star Damien Molony takes on the titular character, with Zoë Wanamaker playing mother-in-law Charlie, rather than the once father-in-law previously played by Terence Alexander.
Elsewhere, Philip Glenister plays Arthur Wakefield, a wealthy business owner whose daughter-in-law has been murdered – but that isn't initially what he had hoped for.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Glenister explained that had he first thought he might be playing Charlie Hungerford before he was briefed the role had been gender-swapped for the reboot.
"My first thought was, when I spoke to my agent, I want to play Charlie Hungerford, basically because obviously I knew I'd be too old for Bergerac," he began. "You get to that stage where you’re too old for these parts now."
Zoë Wanamaker and Damien Molony star in Bergerac. U
Glenister's ambition for playing Hungerford stemmed from the character always playing golf or sipping a cocktail by the pool.
He told RadioTimes.com: "Every time Jim would turn up, Bergerac, he'd say, 'Charlie, a word' – and he'd be like, 'not now, Jim, I'm busy.' That would be it. So I could do that easy, but then they said, 'Well, they're going in a a different direction with that. They're going to cast Zoë, make Charlie Hungerford the mother-in-law as opposed to the father-in-law.
"So it's like, okay, but there is a part they want to know if you'd be interested in doing, which is the guest lead in the first season of this, Arthur Wakefield, so I read it, I think they had the first script, and I said yeah, it could be fun."
Viewers will have to tune in tonight to find out just how Arthur Wakefield finds himself entangled in Bergerac's world.
Bergerac premieres on U&Drama on Thursday 27th February 2025.
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
