The reboot of ‘Up Pompeii’ has been axed.
The 1969 sitcom was originally supposed to air as part of the BBC’s comedy season, in which the broadcaster aimed to revive old sitcoms to celebrate 60s years of the genre, but the revamp was dropped after Miranda Hart refused to play one of the lead roles in the show.
A spokesperson for the BBC told The Sun newspaper: "Earlier in the year a number of scripts were developed and considered for the BBC One revivals as part of Sitcom Season, including ‘Up Pompeii!’ Unfortunately the desired cast weren’t all available to film in time for the season. We wouldn’t rule out revisiting it in the future."
However, a reboot of ‘Up Pompeii’ is not completely off the cards, as bosses are hoping to revive it at a later date.
The news comes after Miranda announced she’s been forced to pull out of the next series of ‘Call the Midwife’ as well as the Christmas special, in which she was supposed to reprise her role as Camilla ‘Chummy’ Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne, due to her busy work schedule.
A source explained: "It’s strange Miranda has pulled out of another project, especially one in which she’ll take on such an iconic role. It’s a real shame for fans too.
"But Miranda simply can’t take on every part put her way. Other actresses were looked at but she was the number one target. After much consideration, bosses felt it wasn’t right to commission the remake without its preferred cast on board."
Meanwhile, the BBC are still continuing with the other sitcom reboots lined up for their comedy season, which include ‘Porridge’, ‘Keeping Up Appearances’, ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’, and ‘Open All Hours’.
Up Pompeii reboot axed
