David Haig: Cameron may squirm at my PM

The star of Yes, Prime Minister fears David Cameron will squirm when he sees the rebooted series.

It's 24 years since Yes, Prime Minister was last on our screens but, along with Fawlty Towers, it's probably the most fondly remembered of all British sitcoms. Doubtless fans will come to this updating by original writers Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay carrying big bags of goodwill. But political satire has changed in those intervening years, everyone's a critic and politicians are routinely savaged on social networking sites. And we've had The Thick of It, which attacked government and opposition with equal comic ferocity.

So all of this makes Yes, Prime Minister seem the most gentle and polite of comedies. There are no hard edges, just knowing winks and gags about Greek bail-outs. Its good manners feel dated, but luckily it is saved by the peerless David Haig and Henry Goodman as hapless PM Jim Hacker and suave cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey.

Twenty-four years on and following an acclaimed stage revival, Yes Prime Minister returns to our screens with the same on-stage pairing heading the cast: David Haig (as hapless PM Jim 'I lost my hair in the service of my country' Hacker) and Henry Goodman (playing Hacker's inscrutable, conspiratorial advisor, Sir Humphrey). In these post-The Thick of It times, its fundamental generosity of spirit and good nature inevitably feels a little dated, in spite of knowing references to Euro crises and coalition politics as the pair negotiate over funding a new pipeline for a post-Soviet state. Yet Hacker and Humphrey are durable archetypes and Haig and Goodman perfect for them, seeing the script through its flabbier passages with the assurance of actors entirely at ease in their roles.

Jim Hacker is back at number ten

In turns, David Haig describes his character Jim Hacker in Yes, Prime Minister as 'likeable', 'warm', 'politically shrewd'and 'bungling with a certain ineptness'.

Much like PM Jim Hacker, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's update of Yes, Prime Minister seems on a hiding to nothing. With the sublime original series and profane progeny The Thick Of It looming large, one might wonder what YPM2.0 can bring to the cabinet table. As it goes, just enough to stand out: it's a trad-sitcom delving into a modern political climate (this first episode revolves around a Eurozone summit). David Haig portrays a less likable Hacker and the performances are too stagey (understandable, given the reboot's theatrical beginnings), but it's different enough by current standards to stick with.

Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's Eighties comedy series Yes, Minister - and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister - set the bar for political comedy very high. Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne were immaculate in their roles as cabinet minister/PM Jim Hacker and his permanent secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby, and provided an almost impossible act to follow. This updated remake, which went to G.O.L.D. when the BBC refused to commit, follows the recent stage production and has a workmanlike David Haig, Henry Goodman and Chris Larkin in the roles of the PM, Sir Humphrey and private secretary Bernard Woolley. The satire is gentle and perceptive as they tackle coalition issues, the Euro crisis and a European summit. But, given that the foul-mouthed The Thick of It has transformed the way we approach political humour, it lacks bite and the studio laughter is very tacky.

Images of the new Yes, Prime Minister cast

David Haig is reprising his stage role as he returns to No10 for a remake of classic TV series Yes, Prime Minister.

First of four comedies starring June Whitfield. In this one, "Spray the Grass Green" by Andy Merriam and Peter Morfoot and set in 1939, she plays fading Hollywood star Lana Garfield who learns her studio boss is about to rip up her contract. Enter George (David Haig), a ghost writer. Revenge is imminent. Not that Miss Whitfield herself would ever have to think of such a thing. From Eth in "The Glums" on Take It from Here in 1953 to Miss Marple on Radio 4, from Radio 2's News Huddlines to BBC TV's Ab Fab, she's queen of the airwaves. Long may she reign.