Channel 4 hopes to still make Man Down series 2 despite death of co-star Rik Mayall

Mayall, whose turn as the insane father and chief tormentor of Greg Davies’ character Dan delighted viewers when the first series aired last autumn, died suddenly this week aged 56 but was due to figure prominently in series two.

RadioTimes.com understands that Davies, the show's writer and star, was in the early stages of writing his script for the second run of the series which was due to start broadcasting on the channel around Christmas time this year.

However Channel 4 and Davies are now due to meet to discuss the situation according to a source from the production, with both parties still in shock about Mayall’s death.

It is thought that the plan was for a series to air either leading up to or following on from a Christmas special, although this had not been formally agreed.

A spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics but said: “It is obviously tragic news but I can tell you that we will be working with Greg to see how the series will move forward.”

As he told RadioTimes.com in February, Davies had wanted to give Mayall’s character a much more prominent role in the second series and wanted to investigate why his character engaged in such cruel practical jokes against his son.

Davies said in February: “I am sure we will see a lot more of Mr Mayall. He is one of my comedy heroes.

“Things like my relationship with my Dad – you just saw him attacking me without explanation. We will look into that."