Darling Buds of May star 'sad' about upcoming Bradley Walsh reboot

\'The Darling Buds of May\' star Philip Franks is "slightly sad" about the upcoming reboot.

The 64-year-old actor - who played tax inspector Cedric \'Charley\' Charlton on the popular 1990s ITV classic - has questioned whether the upcoming new take with Bradley Walsh playing Pop Larkin is "really necessary".

He told The Sun newspaper\'s Bizarre TV column: "To have kind of Version Two spreads that a little thinner.

"You think, \'Was that really necessary?\' But maybe a new generation will experience it differently.

"I hope they don\'t turbo-charge it. I hope it retains its gentleness."

Philip explained how the original was never intended to be a "giant hit", with its success happening as a natural thing.

He added: "It was a little golden thing. None of us knew what it was going to be. We didn\'t think we were making a giant hit.

"We thought we were making something small and modest. Then, when it did take off, it was a huge surprise to us all."

His comments follow recent reports that Bradley is set to leave \'Doctor Who\' and take on the role of Pop, which was famously played by Sir David Jason.

An insider said: "The original series, starring David Jason, Pam Ferris and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was an enormous hit, so the casting on the remake has to be just right.

"Everyone thinks Bradley will do a brilliant job as Pop. He\'s perfick."

And despite Philip\'s reservations, the remake already has the backing of the original star.

David said recently: "We need more of that style to balance the shows we\'ve got.

"We\'ve got a lot of hard-hitting and rude, vulgar shows. You get an awful lot of that and, like a lot of people, I\'m [like], \'How can I sit there with my mother-in-law and my daughter?\' We switch it over."