Hugh Bonneville

Boris Johnson wanted a cameo on Twenty Twelve

London mayor Boris Johnson wanted a cameo in Twenty Twelve, says Hugh Bonneville.

Back tonight for a new run is BBC2's sitcom Twenty Twelve (10pm), about the hapless bunch charged with the task of organising this year's Olympics.

Hugh Bonneville resumes his role as the chairman, dealing in this first episode with a threatened boycott by the Algerians, angry that the Olympic Village's so-called Shared Belief Centre doesn't face Mecca.

Other stars include Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes.

Delivering the Olympics is a job so insanely complicated, it should be beyond the remit of any mere mortal.

And the British Olympic Deliverance Committee is back to prove once again just how very fallible and human they can be.

Winner of the Best TV Sitcom in the British Comedy Awards, John Morton's mockumentary has finally been released from the scheduling ghetto of BBC4 and promoted to BBC2 for two new series before the real thing kicks off in July.

This week Algeria is threatening to boycott the Games because the all-purpose prayer centre in the Olympic Village doesn't have any of its walls facing Mecca.

For head of Deliverance Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) it's just one more PR nightmare to add to the towering pile of other PR nightmares in his in-tray that he really doesn't need.

Having just separated from his wife, he's also about to move into a new flat - which is a chance for his quietly superhuman PA Sally (Olivia Colman) to prove just how invaluable she can be.

Sally is secretly in love with Ian, of course. Just check out the look of pure jealously that flickers across her face for the briefest instant as an attractive new girl joins the team as Head Of Legacy.

Head of Sustainability Sally Hope (Amelia Bullmore) is not pleased to learn she'll be sharing an office either.

But she's not bothered about the Algerians.

Her only care is that 2012 will go down as the games that changed the way people dry their hands.

The first series, on BBC4, initially felt like a thin, sub-The Office comedy of embarrassment. But after a couple of repeat runs it emerged as something rather warm, and perky enough to transfer to BBC2.

Everyone on the hapless, chaotic Olympic Deliverance Committee, headed by the well-meaning but inept Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville, who, like the rest of the cast, downplays brilliantly), is still mired in doublespeak. But the Games are looming and the Algerians are threatening a boycott because the "Shared Belief Centre" doesn't face Mecca. Worse, there's a problem with the hand dryers.

And Ian's faithful secretary, "Not a problem" Sally (that comedy marvel Olivia Colman), is still hopelessly, wordlessly, in love with him. But iron enters Sally's soul when she spots a rival.

The characters are instantly recognisable. The dilemmas are just about plausible. And the jargon is grimly familiar. The only trouble with this scrupulously well observed, impeccably cast mock-doc is that truth can be stranger than fiction. Tensions are rising at the Olympic Deliverance Committee, which this week sails into the choppy waters of 'Multi-culturality' when it becomes apparent that the Shared Belief Centre doesn't face Mecca. The Algerian team threatens to pull out, creating a dilemma for Hugh Bonneville's Ian Fletcher, whose mantra of 'it's all good' feels increasingly inappropriate. The satire is still on the soft side, but the Olympics themselves aren't so much the target as the pervasive advance of management-speak and mystifyingly monickered suits across almost any industry you could care to name.

Back on track with Hugh Bonneville

As the BBC's Olympics satire Twenty Twelve returns for a second series, Hugh Bonneville talks to James Rampton about a role far removed from Downton Abbey but just as quintessentially English.

The dry-as-toast mock-doc about the London Olympic planning committee returns. Ian (Hugh Bonneville) faces an escalating crisis when one national team insists that the multifaith worship centre in the Olympic village faces Mecca. The way Siobhan (Jessica Hynes) says "Muslim" is perfect in its ignorance: "Muss-lum" she repeats, over and over. That and her insistence that Muslim and Islam are two different religions. Another perfectly judged script with superb performances, most notably Olivia Colman's PA. Solid gold stuff.

One of last year's biggest comedy success stories, this mockumentary, which won Best Sitcom at the 2011 British Comedy Awards and was given its own Sport Relief special, has been promoted to BBC Two for this second series. We return to the shambolic offices of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Committee, headed by pen-pusher Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville). His signature torturous metaphors, delivered with earnest sincerity, provide much of the comedy - among tonight's gems are "Sustainability is the centre pole that keeps this whole tent up". Jessica Hynes also shines as Head of Brand Siobhan Sharpe, a Sloane Ranger who talks in a baffling text-speak. Tonight, Fletcher faces a publicity nightmare when Algeria threatens to boycott the Games because the Olympics' new multi-faith centre doesn't face Mecca.

John Morton's satire doesn't bite so much as lick playfully at viewers like a friendly labrador. This is largely Bonneville's show, his wonderfully Pooterish Fletcher showing off the actor's talents better than Downton Abbey. With the real Games about to begin, it's fun to imagine a similarly crazed paddling going on just below the surface at Olympics HQ.

Video: Hugh Bonneville returns in Twenty Twelve

Hugh Bonneville joined BBC Breakfast to talk about the second series of the award winning British Comedy Twenty Twelve.

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