Joanna Scanlan ‘is set to take on the role of Ma Larkin in The Darling Buds Of May reboot opposite Bradley Walsh’
Joanna Scanlan has allegedly landed the role of Ma Larkin in The Darling Buds Of May remake, The Mirror claimed on Friday.
The Thick Of It star, 58, will reportedly follow in the footsteps of Pam Ferris to portray the Larkin matriarch, playing opposite Bradley Walsh’s Pop.
A source speaking to the publication said of the show being pushed back amid the coronavirus crisis: ‘It has to be filmed in the summer because it’s when the books are set and we need sunshine.
New role: Joanna Scanlan ‘is set to take on the role of Ma Larkin in The Darling Buds Of May reboot opposite Bradley Walsh’, it was reported on Friday
‘It remains to be seen how you can film a romance from six feet apart, but no one’s giving up on it yet’.
MailOnline have contacted ITV representatives, who declined to comment.
It was reported in November that the show – set in the 1950s – was to be ‘revamped’ to replace The Durrells.
The classic programme, which also starred Catherine Zeta-Jones as daughter Mariette, followed the lives of the Larkin family in rural Kent.
Classic: The show, which starred Sir David Jason and Catherine Zeta-Jones, followed the lives of the Larkin family in rural Kent (L-R: David, Philip Franks, Pam Ferris and Catherine in 1992)
An insider said at the time: ‘A revamped version of The Darling Buds Of May is just the kind of show ITV needs to keep its reputation for making family-friendly dramas.
‘It brought people together around the TV almost three decades ago, and they’re hoping it will provide the same shared experience once again.’
In March it was revealed that Bradley had been tapped to take on Sir David Jason’s role as Pop Larkin, after announcing his departure from Doctor Who after the Christmas special.
Iconic: It was reported in November that the show – set in the 1950s – was to be ‘revamped’ to replace The Durrells (Sir David Jones and Catherine Zeta-Jones pictured in 1991)
New part: In March it was revealed that Bradley had been tapped to take on Sir David Jason’s role as Pop Larkin, after announcing his departure from Doctor Who (pictured 2019)
An insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper in March: ‘The original series, starring David Jason, Pam Ferris and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was an enormous hit, so the casting on the remake has to be just right.
‘Everyone thinks Bradley will do a brilliant job as Pop. He’s perfick.’
And the remake already has the backing of the original star, as David said recently: ‘We need more of that style to balance the shows we’ve got. We’ve got a lot of hard-hitting and rude, vulgar shows.
‘You get an awful lot of that and, like a lot of people, I’m [like], “How can I sit there with my mother-in-law and my daughter?” We switch it over.’
Perfick: An insider said, ‘Casting on the remake has to be just right. Everyone thinks Bradley will do a brilliant job as Pop’