The BBC isn’t keeping this one under wraps. ‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ has been recommissioned for a second series after its launch episode pulled in a hefty 5.3 million viewers across 28 days, making it one of the biggest comedy starts on BBC iPlayer in recent years.
Starring Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley) as gloriously domineering granny Debbie Fendon, the sitcom quickly found its audience, landing as the third biggest comedy launch on BBC iPlayer since 2024, with 3.3 million streaming viewers alone across 28 days. That places it just behind Ludwig and Amandaland in the modern iPlayer comedy rankings.
The series also stars Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner) as William, Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) as Neha, and Craig Roberts (Submarine) as Harry.
For anyone who missed the first run, series one followed Debbie after she “loses” her reclusive husband William. Except he isn’t dead. Declared deceased by mistake, he’s secretly hiding in the loft while the family waits for a life insurance payout. The already chaotic situation is made worse by the fact that their son’s wife happens to be a local police officer. Naturally, more secrets pile up from there.
The BBC clearly sees long legs in the Fendon family’s increasingly tangled web.
Dawn French says: “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.”
Creator and writer Simon Mayhew-Archer says: “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!”
Kenton Allen, Executive Producer and CEO Big Talk Studios, says: “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.”
Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy Commissioning, says: “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.”
Filming for series two will take place later this year in the West Country, with transmission details to be confirmed.
‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ Season 2 does not yet have a premiere date but will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date. Visit Never Miss.
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