Griff Rhys Jones to star in 'Yes, Prime Minister' West End show
- Griff Rhys Jones and Clive Francis will star in a 2026 West End stage version of Yes, Prime Minister
- I'm Sorry, Prime Minister will run at the Apollo Theatre from 29th January to 25th April 2026. Ticketmaster
- Writer Jonathan Lynn says: "I wanted to write the final chapter about Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby, now in their 80s, discarded, ignored, watching today's world with utter bewilderment"
Griff Rhys Jones is to play Jim Hacker in a final stage version of Yes, Prime Minister.
I'm Sorry, Prime Minister, written by the political sitcom's co-creator Jonathan Lynn, will run at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End from 29th January to 25th April 2026.
The script - which sees the characters facing up to life in their retirement - is based on I'm Sorry, Prime Minister, I Can't Quite Remember, the play that ran at Chichester's Barn Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath and Cambridge Arts Theatre from September 2023.
The marketing for I'm Sorry, Prime Minister says: "From the BAFTA Award-winning co-creator of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Jonathan Lynn, comes the long-awaited final chapter of British political satire - and it is as cunning, cutting, and catastrophically funny as ever.
"Jim Hacker (played by national treasure Griff Rhys Jones) is back - older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement at the tranquil Hacker College, Oxford, Jim instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee.
"Enter the delightfully devious Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by the acclaimed Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases, and well-timed obstruction.
"Can Humphrey out manoeuvre the meddling students, the Fellowship, and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say, 'I'm Sorry, Prime Minister...'?
"Brimming with razor-sharp wit, nostalgic brilliance, and more doublespeak than a press briefing, this is political comedy at its most timeless - and timely. Book now for a night of laughter, legacy, and one last glorious round of red tape, I'm Sorry, Prime Minister."
Jonathan Lynn says: "I wanted to write the final chapter about Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby, now in their 80s, discarded, ignored, watching today's world with utter bewilderment. An elegiac play about old age and loss - loss of power, loss of influence, loss of friends, loss of family. The only play I've ever seen on this theme is King Lear. This will be funnier."
Griff Rhys Jones comments: "I am delighted and honoured to be stepping into the shoes of Jim Hacker in this the final, funny and poignant episode of his long career. The great TV series, and latterly the plays, are part of my architecture of British Comedy. They have always been the first and last word on the shenanigans that we call politics. (What Americans have taken to calling the swamp.) Sorry, Prime Minister is as acute and apposite as ever. It will be a hoot. What can the great comedy sparring partners make of what the modern world throws at them? I urge everybody - old fans, young fans and yet-to-be fans to come and join us at the Apollo to find out."
Tickets are available now from sites including Ticketmaster. Bookings made via Ticketmaster by 13th May 2025 will pay no booking fees.