Diane Morgan admits she was "really worried" fans would "hate" Ann Droid while giving return update

Diane Morgan feared audiences wouldn't be receptive to her new BBC sitcom, Ann Droid.

The actor and comedian, best known for her character Philomena Cunk, spoke to the press before the debut of her and Charlie Brooker's latest special, Cunk on Cinema.

"Whenever I’ve got a show coming out," she told Digital Spy and others, "I always think, ‘Oh God, people are going to hate it, I’ll just go into hiding for a while. How can I tell the BBC to pull it?’

Related: Ann Droid star insisted Philomena Cunk kept her Bolton accent for hit series

"I thought, ‘I don’t know how to play a robot’. I was really worried. Then it went really well. It was great. It was such a relief."

Written by Morgan and Sarah Kendall, the series is set in 2029. Sue (played by Sue Johnston) is still grieving her husband, and seeks reassurance in a new android assistant, Linda (Morgan).

Linda is a "pre-loved" and discontinued AnnDroid Z58/100 Basic Eldercare Robot, imperfect but trying her best.

The series premiered in July, becoming the BBC's second-biggest new scripted launch of the year. Ann Droid was officially commissioned for a second season in August - and now, Morgan has provided a further update.

"Series two will be next year," she told Digital Spy and other media. "That’s as specific as I can be at the moment. We are still writing it. It depends [on] how long it’ll take and how long it takes to get all the cast together."

Brooker, meanwhile, discussed the long process of picking what topic the ever-insightful Cunk should tackle next.

Related: Ann Droid star Diane Morgan's hit BBC show finally confirms return date - with exciting new trailer

He said: "We were debating about it. We’d done the history of Britain, the history of Earth and civilisation, the meaning of life. What the f*** have we left?

"What we hadn’t done was a slightly high-minded, pretentious BBC Four documentary. We could have Cunk talking about German expressionism and fail to understand what it is. Hopefully across the series, there is a bit more on the early days of cinema than people might expect. We don’t get to sound until near the end of the first episode."

Cunk on Cinema sees Philomena Cunk explore the invention of the camera, the revolutionary New Wave filmmakers of the 60s, and how CGI and AI have shaped the future of the medium.

Interviewees include director Michael Bay, actor Benedict Cumberbatch, and composer Daniel Pemberton.

When asked how Morgan gets into character, she replied: "There is a switch in my head I kind of flick. It’s lovely. It’s basically me but without any social niceties."

Brooker added: "I like it when Cunk asks a question that’s cosmically stupid to such a degree that it feels almost profound. In this, she asks Michael Bay, ‘What’s the longest film you’ve ever made?’

"He starts talking about something that was three hours. And she goes, ‘Oh no, width, 10 metres? If I want to watch that at home, do I have to have a 10-metre television or did you have to film it all over again with smaller actors and smaller sets?’ It’s clown logic. I always like that."

Ann Droid season one earned an impressive 92% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Digital Spy praising the show for being "sharp, witty and gorgeously funny" in a five-star review.

Cunk on Cinema will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two on 12 November.

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