The Fast Show is to return to TV for a one-off special, to be broadcast on UKTV’s Gold.
The classic sketch show series, which originally ran between 1994 and 1997, featured stars including Caroline Aherne, John Thomson, Mark Williams and Paul Whitehouse.
The “retrospective with a twist”, entitled The Fast Show: Just A Load Of Blooming Catchphrases, will see its stars being interviewed about the programme’s history and legacy while in character.
The Fast Show won a devoted audience in the 1990s for sketches including the awkward friendship of groundskeeper Ted and aristocrat Ralph, the “suits you, sir” tailors, sleazy car dealer Swiss Toni and Aherne’s supermarket checkout girl.
It was resurrected by beer company Foster’s for an online series in 2011, with two further BBC specials in 2014.
This will be its first return since the death of Aherne in 2016.
Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson said: “It’s 26 years since the first episode of The Fast Show went out. We didn’t manage to celebrate our 25th anniversary but we are marking it now.”
Iain Coyle, head of comedy entertainment for UKTV, added: “The Fast Show is one of those shows, it’s a defining moment in comedy history. No sketch show has come close to having its impact, in my TV life, and no show has come anywhere near to creating as many unforgettable characters.”
