Christmas special for Mammoth
Mammoth is getting a Christmas special, Mike Bubbins has revealed.
Nine more episodes of the BBC sitcom about a 1970s PE teacher presumed dead in a skiing trip avalanche but thawed out 45 years later in the present day have been ordered.
British Comedy Guide believes these will be split between a run of four more episodes this year, followed by the festive special, then a further four episodes in 2026.
Bubbins, who plays the titular Tony Mammoth in the comedy, told Rob Brydon on his Brydon & podcast that the BBC "sort of half believed in me at first. Gave me three eps for the first series. And then the reviews are very good and the ratings are very good.
"So they gave us nine for the second series, nine split with a Christmas special."
Co-starring Sian Gibson, Joseph Marcell, Mali Ann Rees, Joel Davison and William Thomas, Mammoth's first series was written by Bubbins with Paul Doolan (Death Valley, Trollied), produced by BBC Studios (Inside No. 9, Mandy) and aired on BBC Two and BBC One Wales.
Currently writing the new episodes, Bubbins anticipates filming in the summer, with Mammoth returning to screens in the autumn.
Meanwhile, Sophie Willan has disclosed her ideas for an Alma's Not Normal Christmas special, bringing the curtain down on her acclaimed, loosely autobiographical BBC Two sitcom.
"I think we've finished this chapter with her," she told Jon Plowman and Peter Fincham on their retrospective Radio 4 Extra series What's Funny About...
Fincham, whose production company Expectation (The Change, Intelligence) make the hit comedy, said he was "very excited" about the prospect of a Christmas special, which has yet to be officially confirmed by the BBC.
Willan elaborated: "For the Christmas special, I'd like her to be in London. She's got where she wants to be with her career, it's Christmas time. And actually, it doesn't matter how successful you are, if you're care-experienced or you come from a broken sort of family background, there's no escaping Christmas is there?
"So it's like how do we deal with that and how does she reclaim it for herself as an adult?"
The BBC and BBC Studios declined to comment on the Christmas specials.