Tony Robinson plays down talk of a Blackadder reboot

Tony Robinson has played down talk of a new Blackadder series after it was confirmed he would reprise the role of Baldrick for a Comic Relief special.

The 76-year-old actor will return as Baldrick for the first time in nearly 25 years though Rowan Atkinson will not be playing the title character in the special.

Read more: Blackadder to return after 20 years for Comic Relief special

Talking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Robinson discussed the potential for the special to turn into a new series: “The argument always is that, however good a new series might be, the people who are watching it wouldn’t be in the same state of mind and same state of emotions as they were when they watched the first series, so they wouldn’t feel as warm about it, they wouldn’t feel as good about it.

“Even if it was absolutely great, they’d probably go ‘It’s not like the old series, is it?’"

He added: “So I think that’s one of the main reasons why no-one has ever seriously thought about writing another series, but who knows? It’s not down to me. It’s down to Richard (Curtis) and Ben (Elton).”

Robinson also addressed Atkinson's absence from the special: "This just happens to be a script for Baldrick. Rowan always contributes to Comic Relief. I’m sure he’ll be there in some form or another.”

Blackadder originally aired from 1983 to 1989 with a one-off special following in 1999 that reunited the original cast and crew.

Stephen Fry also reprised his role of Lord Melchett for a sketch featured on The Big Night In during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Various figures related to the show have always played down the idea of doing more episodes. In 2020, Atkinson said: "I don't actually like the process of making anything – with the possible exception of Blackadder.

"Because the responsibility for making that series funny was on many shoulders, not just mine. 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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