Speaking to The Sun, Robinson said ‘I do think a new series of Blackadder is on the cards. “I have spoken to virtually all the cast about this now”, Robinson said.

Laurie, along with Mr Bean’s Rowan Atkinson and Robinson, who now presents archeological shows like Time Team, rose to fame in the sitcom which follows the misadventures of main character Edmund Blackadder and his servant Baldrick.

‘The only problem is Hugh’s fee. Hes a huge star now — or so hed like to think.

But Laurie is believed to have received about $500,000 an episode for the show House (2004-12) when it was at its peak, starring as the unconventional and misanthropic medical genius Dr Gregory House.

The hospital drama, loosely based on Sherlock Holmes, saw him adopt a convincing American accent to play the curmudgeonly but brilliant medic at a hospital in Baltimore.

No matter how high the quality of the new Blackadder series, it will always struggle to meet those grand expectations.

Before that he was a successful comedian, mostly alongside fellow Blackadder star Stephen Fry in programmes including their own sketch show Fry and Laurie and ITV’s Jeeves and Wooster.

Blackadder debuted on the BBC in 1983, with the final series, Blackadder Goes Forth, airing in 1989. It ran for four seasons – each in a different historical setting – along with threee specials, the last of which came in 2000. “It’s a big danger”, he said.

With additional reporting from the Press Association.