Oliver Savell will take the lead in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, portraying the iconic character whose honest and awkward diary entries reveal the tribulations of teenage life.
Mr Savell’s new role follows his first major lead success in Changing Ends, where he played a young version of comedian Alan Carr.
An industry insider told The Sun newspaper: “Thanks to playing a slightly awkward, bespectacled Alan during his schoolboy years on Changing Ends, producers could see he’d fit right into the Mole role.
“And for any teenage actor, it’s one of the most coveted parts on telly, with millions growing up watching the original show and millions more likely to be won over by the charms of his diaries.”
For Changing Ends, Mr Savell received a BAFTA Awards nomination for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2025 and is nominated again at the 2026 awards.
He also won Best Male Comedy Performance at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in 2025.
Casting has been announced for the new Adrian Mole production and a first-look image released as filming begins on the nine-part series.
Based on Sue Townsend’s best-selling book of the same name, the show is being adapted by David Nicholls (One Day, Us) and made by Big Talk Studios.
Filming is underway in Hartlepool and Sunderland, with the show expected to air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year.
The revival of Adrian Mole comes 40 years after the series first aired, when Gian Sammarco starred in the title role alongside Julie Walters as his mother Pauline.
In the 1987 follow-up, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, Lulu took over the role of Pauline.
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