W1A sequel Twenty Twenty Six reveals huge star to reunite with Hugh Bonneville after decade

BBC Two's upcoming series Twenty Twenty Six - a sequel to W1A - will see Hugh Skinner return as Ian Fletcher's bumbling PA Will Humphries, the Mirror can reveal. The new sitcom will see Hugh Bonneville reprise his role as the BBC's former Head of Values, who is heading to the US to work on an upcoming football tournament.

Ian takes on a new role as Head of Integrity for the Twenty Twenty Six Oversight team, working with a new set of co-workers in Miami. However, he's not the only BBC face to join the team - with Will also nabbing a role on the new project.

Will was introduced as a BBC intern on mockumentary W1A, which ran on BBC Two from 2014 until 2016. In series two, he was promoted to Ian's personal assistant, returning for the one-off webisode in 2020 and the TV special last year.

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The new series, filmed earlier this year in London, will also see Billions' Ari Spyros, Ten Percent's Chelsey Crisp, Designated Survivor's Paulo Costanzo, The Handmaid's Tale star Stephen Kunken and Day of the Jackal's Nick Blood join the cast as new characters.

They'll be joining Patience's Jimena Larraguivel, A Love Story's Alexis Michalik and The Inbetweeners' Belinda Stewart-Wilson on the show.

Hugh Bonneville first took on the role of Ian Fletcher back in 2011 for John Morton's mockumentary Twenty Twelve - following the Olympic Deliverance Commission as they organised the London Olympics. The sitcom aired for two series, with Amelia Bullmore, Olivia Colman, Jessica Hynes and Sara Pascoe taking on roles.

After the end of Twenty Twelve, Ian Fletcher and members of his team returned for three series of W1A as they took on new jobs at the BBC. Jessica Hynes and Hugh Bonneville returned for the show, while Monica Dolan, Jason Watkins, Sarah Parish, Nina Sosanya and Hugh Skinner were among those introduced as new characters.

Twenty Twenty Six will be a six-part series, airing in time for next year's FIFA World Cup tournament that's hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Announcing the project back in June, Hugh Bonneville's Ian Fletcher said: "I’m thrilled at the prospect of joining the Oversight Team in Miami for this unique event. And in terms of the Integrity role, to borrow a soccer analogy, this is a rare opportunity to set out your own goals and then score them on the global stage.”

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