Phoebe Waller-Bridge will reunite with 'Fleabag' co-star Andrew Scott in 'His Dark Materials'

Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge is set to reunite with her “Hot Priest” co-star Andrew Scott when she plays his dæmon in the second series of His Dark Materials.

Scott whipped the internet into a frenzy with his performance as Fleabag’s love interest in the second series of her smart sitcom.

Now the duo will act together again as Waller-Bridge will provide the voice for the osprey companion of Scott’s character, Colonel John Parry, when he returns to the show for its second run.

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Scott announced Waller-Bridge’s casting during the His Dark Materials Comic-Con@Home panel on Thursday.

He said: “I’m really thrilled about [the casting] because it’s all about companionship and friendship and loyalty, and that’s what I feel about Phoebe in real life.”

During the panel, it was also officially confirmed that the second series of the show — adapting Sir Philip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife — will air in the autumn.

A first-look trailer unveiled for the BBC/HBO co-production revealed that it will air on the latter network “this fall”, which will presumably be mirrored on its British TV home.

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Although the production was mostly completed before the coronavirus forced TV and movies to shut up shop, one episode of series two has been axed.

Executive producer Jane Tranter said the idea behind the standalone episode, which focused on James McAvoy's Lord Asriel, may be revisited in the future.

Logan actor Dafne Keen plays the lead role of Lyra Belacqua in the show, joined by a starry ensemble which includes Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Clarke Peters, as well as McAvoy.

The second series mainly focuses on The Subtle Knife, but Tranter previously suggested that elements of third book The Amber Spyglass may be brought into the narrative.

Read more: Keen hired for Logan after punching Hugh Jackman

Keen told Screen earlier this month that fans should expect the second series to be darker than what the show has depicted before.

She said: “The thing that you will really see is that there is more blood, more death. It’s more morbid. More raw.”

His Dark Materials will hope to maintain its strong critical reputation — 80% approval on Rotten Tomatoes — when it returns to screens in the autumn.

The site’s critical consensus praises the “visual splendour and exceptional performances” that made the show a hit.

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Its first episode premiered to an average audience of seven million people in November 2019.

The second series will depict events in the “strange and mysterious abandoned city” of Cittàgaze where Lyra meets Will (Amir Wilson), who is “running from a troubled past”.