Miranda to return 'in some form'

Sunday 16th October 2016, 10:38pm

Miranda. Image shows from L to R: Stevie (Sarah Hadland), Miranda (Miranda Hart). Copyright: BBC
  • Hit BBC sitcom sitcom Miranda could be set to return
  • Co-star Sarah Hadland, speaking in an interview, said "I can say there will be something"
  • A film version of the sitcom has previously been suggested but no further details have been announced

Sarah Hadland has suggested that hit BBC sitcom Miranda is set to return.

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, the actress - who plays Miranda's friend Stevie in the show - confirmed that the comedy will be back "in some format".

However, she wouldn't be drawn on specifics, just saying: "I can say there will be something." No other details have been revealed.

There have been rumours of a Miranda film, however this has yet to be confirmed. Speaking a year ago, Miranda Hart said: "It would be interesting to see them [Miranda and Gary] with kids - I'd like to see Penny as a grandmother, see which way she'd go with that."

Miranda Hart's most recent role is in Disney's new live-action adaptation of The Nutcracker, playing Dew Drop, a comedic fairy. She has not recently commented on the idea of returning to the sitcom that made her famous.

Miranda, which launched on BBC Two in 2009 and transferred to BBC One in 2012 after great popularity, is one of the highest rated sitcoms of the decade.

Two final specials - which saw Miranda getting married to long-term crush Gary - concluded on New Year's Day 2015. The characters haven't been seen since the final special, although they have been many rumours that the show might return.

Miranda. Image shows from L to R: Stevie (Sarah Hadland), Miranda (Miranda Hart). Copyright: BBC

Speaking last summer, Tom Ellis, who played love interest Gary, said of the characters: "We would love to revisit them at some point," whether that be "the possibility of doing the movie, or a special, or something like that." He added: "Obviously we bookended the series quite nicely and I think where do we go from here in terms of their story and the idea of them in their married life with children is something we'd like to explore."

Hadland, remembering the early days of the sitcom's development in today's interview, explained: "I remember when Miranda said she wanted to push me off the stool. I was thinking, 'What? Is this going to be funny?'" However, as hindsight reveals, the studio audience went wild for the comedy. Hadland comments: "I thought the audience must be rigged. They were going nuts for it."

The actress was speaking to The Telegraph to promote The Moonstone, a drama that forms part of the BBC's #LovetoRead campaign, and begins on BBC One on Monday 31st October at 2:15pm.

Speaking about appearing in comedies, she said: "In my real life I like to look nice but in comedy I would say actresses have less vanity because your prime goal is to be funny. There is no question, a section of actresses are employed for their looks and I can only imagine that must be absolutely horrendous because that is a commodity that is inevitably going to fade."

Speaking about the success of Miranda - which got over 7 million viewers for its final episode in January 2015 - she said: "I was shocked that teenage girls loved it. Stevie and Miranda are not cool. We're 40-year-old women acting like kids. It turned out that they were desperate to see someone on TV that was as awkward as they felt."

Talking further about her working partnership with Miranda Hart, Hadland said: "We'd never met before the show. I feel really lucky to have done a job where you come away with a really good friend for the rest of your life."

Speaking about the show's promotion of female roles, she added: "In Miranda we had a female director, producer, exec, floor manager. I can't imagine it would have worked as well any other way."

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