Hugh Bonneville on the return of his W1A character in Twenty Twenty Six

In Twenty Twenty Six, a follow-up to Twenty Twelve and W1 , Hugh Bonneville reprises his role as Ian Fletcher, formerly head of deliverance for the 2012 Olympic Games and head of values for the BBC.. Recently, he has been parachuted into an international football organisation – which cannot be named for legal reasons – as director of integrity, overseeing a major tournament – which also  cannot be named for legal reasons –  that is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US this summer. Here the star talks about his role.

Is Ian Fletcher the same Ian Fletcher from Twenty Twelve and W1A?  

Ian has evolved. Although, ‘evolution’ is, of course, an interesting word, conjuring images of change - development from flaccid amoeba, for example, to homo erectus and indeed sapiens. Ian sees himself as crouching somewhere in between.  

If Ian was a lapel pin it would be enamelled with the words, Stay Calm. The seas may be tossed and blown but Ian will be neither tossed and certainly not blown. He manages to maintain a degree of equilibrium when all around him is verging on chaotic. He’s essentially a cat-wrangler, even when there’s no cat food, or possibly even no cats.  

How does Ian Fletcher develop through the course of the show?  

The tragicomedy of life is that we may think we develop and change but actually most of us reset at the end of each day to catastrophically normal and - if we can afford one - a take-away. During this series Ian’s eyes are opened a teeny bit to emotional opportunity. Then again, he’s also recovering from a detached retina.  

What aspects of the character do you enjoy?  

Bewilderment and panic in the face of a ticking clock. We've all been in meetings in which someone says they'll do something by Thursday… but we know instinctively that they absolutely won’t. So, how do you lead a team with people like that around the table? 

That's fun to play, the sense of everything on the agenda speeding towards a brick wall. Ian has to contend with that every day.  [Series creator] John Morton skewers this dynamic in every single line. 

Do you have any favourite storylines from this series?  

There’s a debate over a micro-chip in a football, which of course, is based on real life, but it all gets a bit out of hand. And there’s a slip of the tongue – live on radio - by one of Ian’s colleagues, which spirals and goes viral.

Like W1A and Twenty Twelve, it’s all shot in a chaotic order, nothing makes sense each day so, for that reason, every single tea break was spent running lines, or in my case apologising to my colleagues for not knowing mine.

How does comedic acting differ to playing a more serious script?  

There’s no difference between comedy and drama. Comedic characters don’t know they’re in a comedy. If it shows, you're not doing it right. Life is serious. Even when it’s farcical. Which let’s face it, most of it is.  

Do you play football?  

I was the Under 11 B Team goalie at my junior school. I was fat and I was rubbish at running up and down. So I was put in goal. It was the days where you wore a padded top as a goalie, which was quite a warm garment, actually. So that was nice. I was quite cosy, toddling up and down in my little goal, pretending to stretch, in my green, figure-hugging little duvet. 

I don’t think I ever saved a ball, if indeed one ever came my way. So, that is my footballing skill set: standing still in goal. 

Why should people watch Twenty Twenty Six?  

Well, it’s cheerier than watching the news.  

Finally, what does your 2026 look like?  

I’m washing my hair in June. 

• Twenty Twenty Six will launch on BBC Two and iPlayer at 10pm on Wednesday April 8.

Published: 31 Mar 2026