Popular Channel 4 sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey is set to return with a stage show 24 years after it last appeared on TV screens.
The stage version will have some of its original cast, including actor Stephen Tompkinson, who will reprise his role of sensationalist reporter Damien Day. The political satire programme followed television news company Globe Link and its team of workers such as anchors Henry and Sally, reporter Damien, editor Dave, execs George and Helen, assistant Joy and manager Gus Hedges.
It ran from 1990 till 1998 and made stars out of its cast including Neil Pearson, 64, who played a womanising sub-editor. The stage adaptation will see the same characters trying to take on the ever changing news environment and will battle with artificial intelligence as well as the challenges of 24-hour rolling news.
Read More: TV star Stephen Tompkinson found not guilty of GBH on drunken man outside his Whitley Bay home
Stephen Tompkinson said: “What excites me the most is being back with the cast — we’ve known each other for 30-odd years and this is a whole new adventure.” Co-creator Andy Hamilton added: “They, understandably, are going to find it hard to adapt.”
The script for the stage version will be tweaked at the last minute to keep the jokes as topical as possible. It will tour the UK from January 2024, reports The Mirror.
The news comes just weeks after Stephen Tompkinson was found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a drunk man outside his home in Whitley Bay in May 2021. He was accused of punching a man who suffered a double skull fracture when his head hit the pavement.
The DCI Banks actor was found not guilty of GBH following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
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