One Foot in the Grave could become a West End musical

'One Foot in the Grave' could become a West End musical.

The classic BBC sitcom - which starred Richard Wilson as cantankerous pensioner Victor Meldrew and Annette Crosbie as his long-suffering wife Margaret - originally aired from 1990 until 2000 and could be making its way to the stage, along with a musical adaptation of ITV mystery drama series 'Jonathan Creek.'

Creator and writer David Renwick said: "A few years ago I was approached by a theatrical production company about a 'One Foot In The Grave' transfer and a 'Jonathan Creek' adaptation."

However, while the 'Jonathan Creek' adaptation initially had interest from the series' original stars Caroline Quentin and Alan Davies, the 'One Foot in the Grave' production would be seeking new names to slot into the roles of Victor and Margaret and David drew upon the 'Only Fools and Horses' musical as a TV adaptation that was a "triumph."

Speaking on 'One Foot in the Podcast', David added: "Alan and Caroline were very up for it, so that was a huge plus compared with 'One Foot In The Grave' where, of course, we’d be looking for new actors to take those roles on. One of the crucial things with 'One Foot in the Grave' is how to cast Victor and Margaret. Margaret wasn't so much of a problem because I thought the ideal person to play Margaret would have been Annette's daughter Selina [Griffiths] She sounds exactly like her and could replicate those mannerisms.

"Victor...we did try a few names out. Paul Whitehouse playing granddad in the 'Only Fools' musical is a tour-de-force and that worked really well. That is an example of a TV- to-stage transfer that was a triumph. Casting can be the life or death of any project. I don't think we tried out many names. People like Harry Enfield who I think was busy."

While there are no concrete plans for the shows as yet, David added that the scripts have been written and he hopes that the show could come to life "one day."

He added: "The scripts sit there – maybe one day, who knows."