Christmas special for Sky Atlantic

Julia Davis’s comedy Hunderby is to return to Sky Atlantic for a Christmas special.

The two-part special comes before Davis moves on to another, still-secret project for the channel, due to air in 2016.

Sky Atlantic’s boss Zai Bennett also confirmed that Steve Coogan would be back on Sky Atlantic as Alan Partridge.

Formerly head of BBC Three, the executive says he is keen to up the comedy content of the channel to sit alongside high-end dramas such as Fortitude and Game Of Thrones.

‘Game of Thrones and Banshee are brilliant but they are quite visceral and hard,’ he said in an interview with Media Guardian today. ‘That’s why landing the comedy is important, it will give us emotional breadth. A lot of our drama can be … heavy going, it can be hard work. People might draw breath before coming to Atlantic; I want them to come a little bit more.’

Hunderby, described as a ‘period sitcom homage to Daphne du Maurier’ ran for eight episodes in 2012. It won two British Comedy Award and Davis a Bafta for best comedy writing. It was also an audience hit on the channel’s terms, peaking at 246,000 viewers.

Sky's head of comedy Lucy Lumsden said: 'We couldn't be happier about the return to Hunderby. Julia Davis is such a rare talent and Sky Atlantic the perfect home for her unique voice and vision.'

Davis added: 'We are very excited about revisiting Hunderby, dressing up in old clothes, getting everyone back together and working with Sky Atlantic again.'

The specials will alos introduce two newcomers to Hunderby: a French sexpot and a homophobic locum pastor with a taste for hanging.

Partridge also appeared on the channel in 2012 in a six-part compilation of his Mid Morning Matters shorts initially made for Foster’s; as well as the faux guide to Norwich, Welcome To The Places of My Life, and Open Books with Martin Bryce, a tie-in with his autobiography.

The Partridge shows and Hunderby were made by Baby Cow, the production company Coogan owns with Henry Normal.

Published: 16 Feb 2015