Citizen Smith TV revival denied

The opening titles of Citizen Smith featured Wolfie emerging from Tooting Tube Station with a rallying cry of 'Power to the People'

Writer John Sullivan's estate has denied there are plans afoot to resurrect his 70s sitcom Citizen Smith.

The denial came after its star, Robert Lindsay, said he had been "chased" by a TV company with "a fantastic idea" for updating the show.

He told the Independent the new show would see his "urban guerilla" Wolfie Smith running for the Labour Party.

But Jim Sullivan, son of the show's late creator, said a revival was "not something we would want to do."

"Every episode of Citizen Smith was written by my Dad - all the lines, ideas and plots were his. As we have said about Only Fools and Horses, the show only ever had one writer and it is going to stay that way," he added.

'Unfinished business'

John Sullivan wrote four series of Citizen Smith, which ran on the BBC between 1977 and 1980.

Based on someone Sullivan had known, the character of Wolfie Smith was described as a deluded anarchist: Full of good intentions but beset by idleness.

In his interview with the Independent, Lindsay admitted he had unfinished business with the role.

"It was a series I never finished. It was just beginning to become huge. You know what happens, you want to be a serious actor, you don't want to do sitcoms," he said.

He did not tell the newspaper who was behind the proposed revival, but said that the "moves afoot in the industry to bring Citizen Smith back" were by "some respected figures that I very much admire".

The proposed show would have reflected Labour's shift to the left and the popularity of possible new leader Jeremy Corbyn.

On Friday morning, Lindsay clarified his comments in a tweet, saying: "I'm afraid [t]here have been many plans to resurrect Wolfie but he rests with his brilliant creator John Sullivan RIPx."