‘Fleabag’ producer Lydia Hampson would love Meryl Streep to have a cameo in the show’s second series.
The BAFTA-winning BBC3 comedy – which tells the story of a thirty-something woman living in London, trying to navigate her own life while dealing with the tragedy of her best friend’s death – is set to start production on its second series in the near future, and whilst plot details are yet to be finalised, Lydia has said she would love to incorporate the story of an older female, potentially played by Hollywood star Meryl Streep.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, the producer said: "I’d love there to be an older woman in it. We didn’t really explore a storyline of what happens to women as they get older in society, and too often women are deemed irrelevant as they age.
"So I would absolutely love someone like Meryl Streep to come in and have a cameo as – I mean, I don’t know if she’s even aware of what the show is – but I’d love to find a really brilliant older actress to come in and do something really unexpected."
‘Fleabag’ stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge – who also created the show – as the titular main character, as well as Hugh Skinner as Harry, Olivia Coleman as Godmother, and Hugh Dennis as a bank manager.
And Lydia revealed Olivia’s role as the somewhat evil Godmother came after the star told Phoebe she’d "love" to play "a b***h".
Speaking about Olivia’s casting, Lydia added: "Olivia had said to Phoebe, ‘If you ever write anything please tell me, I’d love to be in it.’
"Phoebe told me that and I was like, ‘Oh my god! What could she be?’ In the original play version the godmother is literally just a presence at the top of the stairs, she doesn’t have any words, she’s not in it at all.
"So Phoebe kind of wrote up this idea of a godmother character that has a much larger role and Olivia, I believe, had said, ‘I’d love to play a real b***h.’ And so Phoebe was like, ‘I’ve got it!’"
‘Fleabag’ series two is set to air in 2019.