BBC drama Monarch of the Glen being rebooted on Channel 5

Monarch of the Glen is a comedy drama that ran for seven series between 2000 and 2005.

The majority of the Scottish show told the story of young restaurateur Archie MacDonald trying to restore his childhood home in the Scottish Highlands.

Now, the show is rumoured that it is being rebooted on Channel 5, but with a big change.

BBC drama Monarch of the Glen being rebooted on Channel 5

The fresh take on the classic show will see Archie replaced with a female lead character, the Sun reports.

Alastair McKenzie played the lead on the original BBC version, starring in 43 episodes.

The series is loosely based on Sir Compton Mackenzie’s Highland Novels, set in the same location but in the 1930s and 1940s.

The BBC show pulled in more than 8 million at the peak in the first series, with millions watching each one after.

Channel 5 has yet to announce who will star in the revival, but sources told the publisher that it will be an entirely new cast.

The new story is reportedly about London lawyer Isla Campbell, back at her family’s crumbling Highland estate for her estranged father’s funeral.

Expecting to be gone in days, she discovers she has inherited a million-pound debt, a bank closing in, and a brother who refuses to let go of their ancestral home. 

Under the same roof for the first time in years, brother and sister will have to find a way to save the struggling estate before time runs out and they lose it for good.

Writer Jeremy Brock has created the reboot, and told the publisher: “When I was offered the chance to re-imagine Monarch of the Glen, I leapt at it.

“I’m hugely excited by the opportunity to tell a story of family life and finding your place in our hectic world – one that celebrates the warmth, humour and eccentricities of a special community, with both optimism and authenticity.

“Hope and joy are a currency in short supply right now, and the Highlands – one of the most magical places on Earth – felt like exactly the right home for them.”

Channel 5 has been contacted for comment.

Other classic UK TV shows that are being brought back

Monarch of the Glen is not the only show that has been reimagined, with fellow Scottish show Balamory having already returned this year.

Also set in Scotland, it first aired 2002, but was cancelled three years later.

The story centres on a fictional small island community off the west coast of Scotland, dealing with community residents and their issues.

The two new series, which will include some of the original characters, will consist of 10 episodes each.

Crime drama series Dalziel and Pascoe, which aired on the BBC from 1996 to 2007, is also being recommissioned for a reboot.

The series starred Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan as Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel and Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe, but was axed in 2008 after 12 series, mainly due to a fall in viewing figures.

ITV announced that the series is now being rebooted in a collaboration with Britbox.

Other classic shows, however, are winding down, with the Up series, which began back in 1964 with 7 Up, coming to an end.

It followed the lives of ten boys and four girls in England when they were seven years old, and has followed up with them every seven years.

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The beloved ITV documentary series is set to conclude in 2026, 62 years after it first started airing.

ITV said that 70 Up will air later this year, but has not given a broadcast date just yet.

What classic TV series would you like to see brought back and rebooted? Let us know in the comments.