Long-rumoured This is England ’00 follow-up gets update from writer Jack Thorne
It's been 10 years since This Is England '90 - so will we get a new season?
It's been 20 years since we were first introduced to This Is England, Shane Meadows's groundbreaking coming-of-age film which subsequently spawned three sequel series – This Is England '86, '88 and '90.
Back in 2020, Meadows spoke with Milky star Andrew Shim for his YouTube series Shimmy's Corona Diaries, and revealed he was thinking about a follow-up, This Is England '00 - which would be both filmed and set 10 years on from when we last caught up with Shaun and the rest of the characters.
He said at the time: "I don't know when but I've got This Is England '00 in my head, the millennium one, because I sort of thought it would be nice, because when did we shoot the last one? Was it 2015, 2016?
"So, you're obviously five years away and I don't massively want to copy the film ideas, but if I went back I'd love to do a millennium one."
Now, we're in 2026, the proposed release date for that series – and nothing has yet materialised.
Thankfully, it seems the chances of a return to This Is England haven't disappeared as Meadows's co-writer on the three series, Jack Thorne, has revealed the potential for more.
Speaking with us exclusively for our video interview series The Radio Times Writers' Room, in which we get to know what makes screenwriters tick, Thorne said on the potential for This Is England '00: "Listen, if Shane says 'Jump', we all jump, but Shane's got to say jump.
"And yeah, there's been a few times when he's gone, 'Maybe,' but I think it's about when he's ready to tell another story. And that could be 2000, that could be 2004, that could be 2020.
"It's when he goes, 'I'm ready to go back to Shaun'. I mean, Shaun Fields, the lead character in This Is England, is Shane Meadows. You know Shaun Fields, Shane Meadows, you know, this is a personal thing - and so, it's when he's ready to tell more stories."
This Is England '86 was one of Thorne's earliest on-screen projects, but he has gone on to write a whole host of acclaimed series and films, including last year's mega-hit Adolescence.
He also has a four-part adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this week.
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Jack Thorne's interview for The Radio Times Writers' Room will available to watch in full from Friday 6th February.
This Is England '86, '88 and '90 are available to watch now on Channel 4. Lord of the Flies will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Sunday 8th February 2026.
Add Lord of the Flies to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
