W1A, the hit comedy series which satirises live inside the BBC, is returning for a third series later this year.
Once again the series will follow fictional Head of Values Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) and his colleagues as they navigate the absurdity of BBC rules and deal with the renewal of the broadcaster’s Royal Charter.
Challenges facing the team this series also include reacting to a new mission statement of doing More Of Less, which as Head of Output Anna Rampton (Sarah Parish) describes as being about “putting what we do best front and centre and about identifying better ways of doing less of it more”.
Ian Fletcher, Head of Values, says: “We are lucky to have the cameras back at an exciting time for the BBC.
“In a period where we’re looking to identify as many Creative Efficiency Opportunities as possible we’ve been faced with some tough choices, but the good news about that is that in lots of ways tough choices are actually easier than easy choices because there are fewer options to choose from so that’s all good.”
Shane Allen, Controller, Comedy Commissioning, commented: “It’s commendable that the team is able to increase the funniness of this series by 20-25 percent year on year, with just 54 percent of the original budget.
“This beautifully crafted series provides the answer to the age-old phrase: ‘If these walls could speak’ – in our case it turns out they’d talk bollocks.”
W1A stars Hugh Bonneville as Ian Fletcher, Jessica Hynes as Siobhan Sharpe, Sarah Parish as Anna Rampton. Jason Watkins as Simon Harwood, Monica Dolan as Tracey Pritchard and Nina Sosanya as Lucy Freeman.
Filming starts next month and the third series will be broadcast on BBC Two later this year.