A CUNNING plan is afoot to revive one of television’s greatest cads. Edmund Blackadder, played by Rowan Atkinson, went “over the top” to almost certain death in the fourth series of the comedy 16 years ago.

Now, according to senior BBC sources, Blackadder is set to survive the first world war and appear in a new story with a strong anti-war message. The character may make his comeback as early as this autumn.

Senior executives at the corporation — including Jana Bennett, director of television, and Jane Lush, head of entertainment commissioning — are said to have discussed the idea at a meeting last month.

A source said: “Executives have been told to focus on making high-quality comedy. There have been rumours of a return, but this is the first time it has been discussed at high level.”

Tony Robinson, the television presenter and Labour politician who played Baldrick, Blackadder’s foul-smelling skivvy, said that he had heard rumours of a return “bubbling up”. He said that he would gladly take part and believes Atkinson is also more enthusiastic than in the past to revive the series.

“I would be happy to do it and I have heard Rowan would be too,” said Robinson. “It would be lovely, like a reunion of mates. But it’s not really down to me.”

In the planned story, Captain Edmund Blackadder shows his talent for saving his own skin.

In the final episode of the fourth series Blackadder Goes Forth, watched by 14m viewers when it was first shown in 1989, he and his army comrades were presumed to have died after following orders to “climb out of the trenches and walk very slowly towards the enemy”.

The story is expected to continue the anti-war theme of Blackadder Goes Forth, with executives hoping that it will help to educate younger generations about the first world war as well as being entertaining.

Plans for the return have been boosted by the appointment of Peter Fincham, who is thought to be keen to revive the series, as BBC1 controller. Mark Thompson, the BBC director-general, also recently called on his staff to focus on producing good comedy.

There may be obstacles to a remake because of the commitments of the cast and writers. Atkinson is being lined up for other roles this year, including Mr Toad in a television adaptation of A A Milne’s Toad of Toad Hall, a play based on stories by Kenneth Grahame, and also for a sequel to the spy comedy Johnny English.

Robinson, who presents Time Team, the Channel 4 archeology programme, said: “There would need to be some pretty heavy negotiations with Channel 4 to get me in time for autumn.”

Richard Curtis, who wrote all four series, has been in demand since writing hit films including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. Ben Elton, his co-writer, has been busy as a playwright and novelist.

Curtis said he had not yet been approached about the plans, adding: “It sounds like a bit of a nice dream to me.

“We used to say that we would bring it back when we were old men and cross with the world and I would never say never again.”

If the programme is made, the anti-war theme will chime with the moral messages that Curtis is now putting into his writing. He has included references to world poverty in his sitcom The Vicar of Dibley. And The Girl in the Cafe, his new film for BBC1, is a love story set at a G8 conference.

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