John Cleese’s stellar new sitcom deserves a second season, says the actor

Working with John Cleese has been an ambition of mine ever since seeing Fawlty Towers in the 1970s, and standing behind him in the restaurant queue at the old BBC rehearsal studios in west London. So I naturally leapt at the chance of appearing alongside him in his new show Hold The Sunset, which has just finished on BBC1 – his first TV sitcom since Fawlty all those years ago.

Set in suburbia, it’s about a pair of old friends, Edith (Alison Steadman) and Phil (Cleese), who are intending to get married and find a place in the sun… before her wayward son Roger, played by Line Of Duty’s Jason Watkins, returns home after the breakdown of his marriage and disrupts their plans. I play neighbour Mr Dugdale, who has the occasional brusque word with Phil while out walking my dog.

The ratings for the series were sensational. The first episode attracted around seven million viewers and around five million then tuned in every week – not least because of the huge allure of seeing John on telly again – which is pretty good in today’s multi- channel world. So I very much hope that a second series is commissioned.

Some people were disappointed not to see John playing a Basil Fawlty in his 70s, strutting around the place causing mayhem as he did all those years ago. But John never wanted to make a Fawlty Towers Mk II – how could one ever top such a classic anyway? The great thing about Hold The Sunset for me is that it shows another side to John. The character on display is not the madcap Basil of old. No, what we have this time around is a man in his latter years who is mellow, a little sad and has a degree of gravitas. Indeed, I think it was a rather brave role for John to play because he displayed qualities he doesn’t usually use as an actor.

It’s a very traditional sitcom, with warmth and humour, that pays tribute to the structure of classic high-quality British comedies of the past such as The Good Life (with Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal), Ever Decreasing Circles, in which I appeared, and One Foot In The Grave with Richard Wilson. It’s topical too because ever more people are returning to live with their ageing parents after their marriages break down – a sad comment on today’s society.

I understand that the Beeb are delighted with Hold The Sunset’s success, so I do hope it returns. If I worked on the seventh floor of New Broadcasting House I’d certainly give it the green light! Hold The Sunset is now available on DVD. Peter is an ambassador for AnimalsAsia (animalsasia.org). Twitter @PeterEgan6.