Hugh Bonneville has revealed that Boris Johnson was set to cameo in Twenty Twelve.
The Downtown Abbey star claimed the London mayor had been "pencilled in" for an appearance on the BBC Olympic Games mockumentary.
"I know Boris wanted to," he told the Radio Times. "But when it came to the day, or the day before, something came up - like London had to be organised.
"So Boris was pencilled in, but couldn't turn up. It would be nice to think that he could come on, he'd be a good sport."
Bonneville added that he couldn't cope with being "judged" by the media like his Twenty Twelve character Ian Fletcher, Head of Deliverance at the Olympic Deliverance Commission.
"Everyone in politics, and the public eye, these days is desperately in that duck-paddling syndrome of giving the sense that everything is calm when, in fact, chaos reigns underneath," he argued.
"In this world of spin and soundbites, you can't even say 'Calm down, dear' without it becoming a sort of 'sexist, fascist pig' headline.
"I wouldn't like to be in my character's shoes - he's in the PR spotlight the whole time and anything he says will be judged not only by Seb Coe and Boris Johnson, but by the nation."
Twenty Twelve returns for a second series tonight (March 30) at 10pm on BBC Two. A third series will air before the Olympics begin in July.
