With Taylor Lautner’s departure from the BBC’s Cuckoo, the show has recruited another big Hollywood star to replace him.
Andie MacDowell – yes, actual Four Weddings star Andie MacDowell – will be joining the next series of the show. She'll be playing Ivy, who's the sister Ken Thompson (Greg Davies) never knew he had.
Her arrival comes as Taylor Lautner’s character Dale departed at the end of series 4, with him and Rachel leaving to travel Sierra Leone.
“I’m so happy I get to pass my Cuckoo baton to someone as talented as Andie,” Lautner said. “She’ll do a great job keeping the Thompson family on their toes! I’ll miss everyone on the show - not least Chief Ken. But not all goodbyes are forever.”
Damian Kavanagh, Controller of BBC Three, added: “We’re delighted that Andie MacDowell will be joining the cast of Cuckoo for Series 5.
“Following Taylor’s hugely popular stint on the show, Andie will bring a different flavour to the show and it’s incredibly exciting to see a talent of Andie’s calibrate joining the brilliant existing cast for what will be another memorable slice of life with the Thompson family in Lichfield.”
Lautner himself replaced original star Andy Samberg, who played the titular character in the first series of the BBC show.
Cuckoo isn’t the only BBC project that MacDowell is involved in, though.
The actress is also due to return for a Comic Relief sequel to Four Weddings and a Funeral alongside Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah and Rowan Atkinson.
Cuckoo will air on BBC Three at 10am on January 4, 2019 as a boxset and on BBC One at 11.35pm on Fridays from January 4.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
