'There will be something, yes' says co-star Sarah Hadland

Miranda is set to return, co-star Sarah Hadland says.

The actor, who plays best friend Stevie in Miranda Hart's sitcom, says there's been a change of heart about bringing the hit show back.

'Whereas before it's always been a definite "no", that that was the end of it, I think that now there is definitely a strong possibility of something happening,’ she told BBC Breakfast this morning.

When pushed by presenter Louise Minchin about when an announcement might be made, she added: 'I'm not sure. I can't really say. But there will be something, yes.’

Appearing on the show to promote her role in the play What's In A Name?, Hadland also responded to Kylie Minogue's reported suggestion that she might take over the Stevie part. 'Obviously, I was straight on the phone [to Hart]' she said. 'Yes, she can sing, yes, she's one of the most beautiful women in the world. Can she fall off a stool? I doubt it.'

Miranda finished at the beginning of 2015 after three series on BBC One, with 7.3 million viewers watching the final episode.

Tom Ellis, who played love interest Gary, has previously hinted that the show could return with a slightly different premise. ‘I think there is more story to be told at some point with Miranda and Gary now married and the potential for a family,’ he said last year. Lee Mack’s Not Going Out has just returned with a similar shift in emphasis.

Chortle has approached the BBC for comment on Hadland's comments.

Since the sitcom ended, Hart has moved into films, appearing alongside Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham and Peter Serafinowicz in the 2015 espionage comedy Spy, with upcoming roles in The Canterville Ghost and Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.

She embarked on her first stand-up tour in 2014 with My, What I Call, Live Show and has written three books, the memoir Is It Just Me?, a book about her relationship with her dog, Peggy and Me, as well as a collection of Miranda scripts.

She is currently developing a children's comedy drama about a teenage agony aunt but pulled out of planned BBC revivals of Up Pompeii and The Generation Game, as well as a return to her role in the drama Call The Midwife and hosting the recent Royal Variety Performance, citing work commitments.

Call The Midwife’s creator Heidi Thomas tells today’s Radio Times magazine that she had to write Hart out of the sixth series, which starts later this month, at ‘relatively short notice’. ‘We were hopeful right up to the end that we could make it work, but we couldn’t,’ she told the magazine.

- by Jay Richardson

Published: 17 Jan 2017