Can You Keep a Secret? returning to BBC One for a second series

Dawn French and Mark Heap are BACK for a second run!

BBC One has confirmed that Can You Keep a Secret?, which launched earlier this year to a 28-day audience of 5.3 million viewers, will be returning for a second series, with filming due to take place later this year in the West Country.

Created and written by Simon Mayhew-Archer, the hit sitcom stars Dawn French as Debbie Fendon, a domineering granny who, in the first series, we met having lost her reclusive husband William, played by Mark Heap.

However, William isn’t dead. Declared deceased by mistake, he’s hiding in the loft while they await the life insurance payout. The scheme shocks their high-strung son, Harold played by Craig Roberts, whose wife, Neha, played by Mandip Gill, is a local police officer.

Just as the family begins to navigate this bizarre charade, Debbie drops another secret, one that could bring the whole family down.

On Can You Keep a Secret? returning, Dawn French said "As chuffed as an actual chuff to hear that we have a second series! More chance for Debbie to get her bossy boots on and create further havoc... hooray."

To which creator and writer Simon-Mayhew Archer, added "Making this series was a joyous experience. Comedy is a team game, and Dawn, Mark, Craig, Mandip and the whole cast and crew are dream collaborators. I love sitcoms and I want more of them on TV, so I am enormously grateful to everyone who has watched this show and taken the Fendons to their hearts. I hope our success will help even more comedy get made across the UK. It’s one of our national superpowers - and we need it!"

Co-produced by Big Talk Studios, Mayhay Studios and CBS Studios, Can You Keep a Secret? is created and written by Simon-Mayhew Archer, and executive produced by Kenton Allen, Simon Mayhew-Archer, Dawn French and Toby Welch.

Ahead of the series returning, Kenton Allen, Executive Producer and CEO at Big Talk Studios, said "At Big Talk, we’re always searching for shows with a truly original comic engine and a distinctive voice and Simon Mayhew-Archer has created exactly that. Can You Keep a Secret? combines a brilliantly mischievous premise with genuine emotional truth, brought to life by Dawn French in one of the great sitcom performances of her career, alongside a world-class cast."

"The huge audience response speaks for itself. We’re enormously proud to be making this with Jon Petrie and the BBC, and with our partners at Mayhay Studios and CBS Studios, and excited to continue building a comedy that we believe has all the hallmarks of an enduring modern classic."

To which the BBC's Director of Comedy Commissioning, Jon Petrie, added "The response to Can You Keep a Secret? has been fantastic. Dawn French and the whole creative team have crafted a warm, mischievous comedy that clearly struck a chord with audiences. We’re delighted to bring it back for a second series and can’t wait to see even more secrets unravel.”

Can You Keep a Secret? will return to BBC One