Will Mellor, who plays Gaz Wilkinson in the hit BBC Three comedy Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, has confirmed the show will be returning for an eight season.

Many fans believed the sitcom had finished as the seventh series in March this year appeared to tie up many of the loose ends.

The actor told Metro: "We're doing another series in November. Every series ends with what seems like the very final episode, just in case the cast don't want to do another one."

The new series will be filmed in November to January, and although plans haven't been finalised yet, it is believed all the current cast (Kathryn Drysdale, Natalie Casey, Sheridan Smith, Luke Gell) are all expected to be available to take part.

Mellor went on to talk to Metro about the live episode which opened the previous series. He said: "After the event it was great, but beforehand we were terrified. They made me juggle flaming batons and then eat fire. I burnt the s*** out of my tongue. Then I had to ride a mini motorbike. Susan Nickson, the writer, wanted to us to do as many difficult things as possible during the live show to see what would go wrong."

Meanwhile Mellor will play a knight in Merlin, BBC1's big-budget new drama for the summer. He has also revealed that his wife is due to have their second baby in June.