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What a cunning plan! Blackadder comeback 'on the cards' says Sir Tony Robinson... if they can afford to pay Hugh Laurie

Published: 08:00 EST, 23 August 2015 | Updated: 08:35 EST, 23 August 2015

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It's news that will be music to fans' ears.

A new series of top 1980s BBC comedy Blackadder is 'on the cards', star Sir Tony Robinson has said... as long as they can afford Hugh Laurie's wages.

Sir Tony, who played the hapless sidekick to the leading character Baldrick in all four series of the sitcom, joked that they might struggle to pay Laurie, who has gone on to become a major star in the US with hit drama House.

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Blackadder goes fifth? Sir Tony Robinson (front right) - who played Baldrick in the hugely popular Blackadder series - has confessed it might be able to return for another series

Comedian and television presenter Sir Tony, 69, told The Sun: 'I do think a new series of Blackadder is on the cards. I have spoken to virtually all the cast about this now.

'The only problem is Hugh's fee. He's a huge star now - or so he'd like to think.'

Laurie is believed to have been paid as much as £250,000 per episode of House, which ran from 2004 to 2012, at its peak.

The hospital drama saw the 56-year-old British star adopt a convincing American accent to play the curmudgeonly but brilliant medic.

The only flaw in the plan: Sir Tony admitted, though, that they may not be able to bring back Hugh Laurie, thanks to his 'huge fee'

'He's a huge star now - or so he'd like to think': Hugh, 56, became a household name in Blackadder, but has since gone on to have a hugely successful career in American drama series House

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

Blackadder starred Rowan Atkinson in the title role, before he went on to star in Mr Bean. Its historical settings spanned Medieval England to the First World War, via the Tudor and Regency periods.

It finished in 1989, though a special episode, Blackadder Back And Forth, was made for the Millennium Dome in 1989.

It will mean that, if it does make its highly-anticipated return, it will have been almost three decades since it was last officially seen on TV screens, the spin-off aside.

Sir Tony, who went on to host Channel 4's Time Team for 20 years, added that there is a certain type of concern for the stars and the show's creators - including writer Richard Curtis - if they were to revive the programme.

Hopes for the future: Sir Tony is keen for a revival, adding that he has 'spoken to virtually all the cast about this now'

He added to the newspaper: 'Expectations for a new series will be high because people not only remember the original, they remember who they were when it was on. It's a big danger.'

The Baldrick actor's comments come four years after the comedy's leading star Rowan made similar remarks about their being another series of Blackadder.

Back in 2011, the 60-year-old actor said during an interview on defunct morning TV show Daybreak: 'It could be reprised in some form or other. I think there is a possibility of a fifth series.'

'We're all getting a bit old, sadly, to play the characters in the way we did so we'd have to shift it a bit to make it work.

'They've all got slightly different attitudes and experiences to call upon now. It would be nice to get them all back together.'

One of the true stalwarts of British TV, Blackadder was watched by millions worldwide and was voted best sitcom of all time by the British public in a 2004 poll.

Loved by millions: Blackadder - which had four series and starred leading man Richard Atkinson - was previously voted the UK's favourite sitcom of all time