‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ is returning as a stage musical.
Writers Jonathan Coe and David Quantick are reviving the classic 1970s BBC comedy, which was based on author David Nobb’s novels and starred Leonard Rossiter.
Composer Mike Batt – who is best known for writing for ‘The Wombles’ – has penned all of the songs for the production, and gushed that he was "chuffed" to have been asked to participate in the show.
He tweeted: "Chuffed to have been asked to write all the songs for @jonathancoe and @quantick ‘s musical of ‘The Fall and Rise Of Reginald Perrin’ which we finished writing recently.
"It’s DEAD funny! I didn’t get where I am today by turning an opportunity like THAT down!"
Writer Jonathan – who has penned novels such as ‘A Touch of Love’ and ‘The Rotter’s Club’ – also said he and his colleague have looked to give the classic story more emotional range and depth so it is more than just a stage comedy.
He added on social media: "Mike has written some incredible songs for this. David and I have gone back to the books (it’s an adaptation of the first two) and tried to capture their full emotional range, not just the comedy."
The classic show featured Leonard as the titular character who goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own death, returning to his new life in disguise to find that nothing has changed.
In 2009, the tale made a comeback when David reunited with ‘Men Behaving Badly’ writer Simon Nye to for a revamped sitcom, with Martin Clunes in the title role.
The show ran for two seasons before it was cancelled and Martin revealed he was so disappointed by the decision he thought maybe he would swear off sitcoms forever.
He previously said: "I did ‘Reggie Perrin’, which I really enjoyed, but it didn’t go down well and the BBC dropped it, so I thought maybe that’s enough."
Reginald Perrie to return as stage musical
