How executives wanted to axe Fleabag's Andrew Scott

Revelation as TV executives mull the future of sitcom

American executives wanted to axe ‘hot priest’ Andrew Scott from Fleabag, a former BBC comedy chief has revealed.

Amazon bosses demanded the star be recast just days before shooting on the second series began, Shane Allen has told the Radio Times.

The first series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s hit was funded by the BBC, but Amazon came on board for the second season, bringing money – but creative interference.

Allen said: ‘A whole raft of US male execs turned up to the read-through and – bear in mind this was a piece exploring self-destructive feminism – proceeded to tear the show apart and demand Andrew Scott was recast with only four days until the shoot started.

‘Anyone less effervescently charming and smart than Phoebe would have buckled.’

Scott proved a breakout star of the show and recently earned second Golden Globe nomination for the US drama All Of Us.

Allen’s comments came as part a wider-ranging article about the future of sitcom, in which producers and commissioners signalled a desire for a move away from ‘personal journey’ stories and towards broader ensemble comedies – picking up a notion previously voiced by current BBC comedy chief Jon Petrie.

Josh Cole, head of comedy for BBC Studios, said: ‘The problem is authored stories can be told often in two or three series, then the writer moves on’ – whereas a long-running sitcom can be a cash cow.

Allen, now co-running Boffola Pictures, said: ‘Ten years ago, it [comedy] was seen as a high-cost, high-fail genre, while reality shows cost a fraction of the price. But broadcasters now know that comedy becomes incredibly good value and reaches young viewers. Ghosts will be watched for generations to come and has sold to America.’

Nerys Evans of production company Expectation attributed the dearth of broader comedies to a lack of working-class voices in the industry.

She said: ‘There are so few working-class people in telly – and a lot of middle-class writers are horrified to have their comedy described as broad. Tom Basden really resisted writing a family sitcom when he created Here We Go.

‘It started as a mockumentary, and he was coaxed into the sitcom format in development.’

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Published: 2 Jul 2024