Blackadder star Ben Elton: 'It's not coming back'
"We're all still very good friends, all of us, genuinely. And I think one of the reasons for that is that we don't do a Blackadder."
Off the back of his BAFTA TV Award win last night for Channel 4's Friday Night Live, Ben Elton revealed more about the future of Blackadder.
Elton of course penned Blackadder with Richard Curtis and the beloved sitcom went on to win four BAFTAs and an Emmy in its time on screen. Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at the BAFTA TV Awards 2023, Elton spoke more about rumours of a Blackadder reboot.
When asked whether the series will be returning, Elton said: "No, Blackadder's not coming back."
He explained: "We're all still very good friends, all of us, genuinely. And I think one of the reasons for that is that we don't do a Blackadder. There's been a couple of half-arsed bits and pieces... and I think they've been pretty s**t to be honest.
"Basically, you know, we did something surprisingly special, nobody had the slightest idea that it would resonate and land the way that it did. Of course not, you can't plan for any success or failure."
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He added: "I think it's best to leave it where it was, we're all a lot older and doing a lot of other things."
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The comedian and writer picked up a BAFTA at last night's ceremony for Comedy Entertainment Programme with Friday Night Live, which he remarked that coming back and winning a BAFTA is a "wonderful, wonderful thing".
He said: "What I hope it'll do is lead Channel 4 and the other channels to think more about live cabaret and the extraordinary amount of talent out there playing sweaty little clubs and it will just be so great to get them on the telly."
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Elton's statements seem to underline the fact that Blackadder fans won't be looking forward to a reboot any time soon, even though the iconic series made somewhat of a return in this year's Comic Relief fundraiser, where Sir Tony Robinson reprised his role as Baldrick.
The surprise appearance led many fans to believe that a Blackadder special could very well be on the cards in the near future, with BBC's Director of Comedy Jon Petrie stating: "I mean, we would always be happy to talk to Richard [Curtis, co-creator]," he said. "We haven't spoken to him, but yeah, the door will always be open."
Although Rowan Atkinson wasn't involved in the Comic Relief sketch, Curtis said of the special at the time: "For the first time in 20 years, Baldrick is going to be giving some kind of performance. We’re just conspiring about it now, so I think there’s going to be a marvellous, turnip-based thing with Tony Robinson now back in action, so I’m excited about that."
Speaking about reprising his role in an interview with Radio Times magazine, Robinson also stated: “Everyone’s always said if we made another series, however good it was, people wouldn’t be in the same headspace they were when they saw the original. We couldn’t re-create it.”
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