Channel chief also reveals that Julia Davis is to return in a Hunderby Christmas special and another new project

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Sky Atlantic’s The Tunnel is to return for a sequel starring Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy.



The channel is also to air a Hunderby Christmas special starring Julia Davis, who will also launch a new project next year.



The Tunnel, Sky’s adaptation of Scandinavian drama hit The Bridge, is one of Sky Atlantic’s biggest homegrown successes to date.

The second series, The Tunnel 2: Debris, will focus on the crash of an airliner into the English channel which reunites the Anglo-French detective duo played by Dillane and Poésy. It will air early next year.

Zai Bennett: ‘Fortitude is a brilliant statement of ambition’ Read more

Sky Atlantic director Zai Bennett confirmed its return in an interview with MediaGuardian in which he said Davis would also return in a one-off edition of her Bafta-winning comedy, Hunderby.

A gothic farce, described as a “period sitcom homage to Daphne du Maurier”, Hunderby ran for one eight-part series in 2012 and established a cult following.



Hunderby: why this Julia Davis comedy is worth watching Read more

The channel has also announced that Sue Perkins, co-presenter of BBC1’s The Great British Bake Off, will be the new presenter of Game of Thrones fan show, Thronecast.

The spin-off show will be broadcast live, returning on the same night as the fifth series of the Game of Thrones on 13 April. Jamie East will also return on the show.

The Tunnel’s lead writer Ben Richards will return for its sequel, which will again be a Sky Atlantic and Canal+ co-production, made by Kudos and Shine Films France.

The new eight-part series begins with a plane mysteriously crashing into the English Channel killing everyone on board.

Bennett said Sky Atlantic’s big budget Arctic Circle mystery Fortitude, which began last month, was a “brilliant statement of intent and ambition” about where it wanted to go with its drama.