Fantasy comedy Good Omens is back after a four-year hiatus with a long-awaited second series and a few stark changes – particularly when it comes to Jon Hamm ’s wardrobe (or rather lack thereof).

The Mad Men star puts on a cheeky display in series two when his character Gabriel, the leader of Heaven, turns up on Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and Crowley’s (David Tennant) doorstep with no memory, no power and no clothes.

“Jon is a tremendously good sport,” creator Neil Gaiman says, adding that he emailed the Emmy winner to check he was “OK” with the nude scenes. Luckily, Jon found his season 2 debut “hilarious”.

“It was certainly a striking entrance but it was funny,” Jon says. “Honestly this was such a great place to start for the new story of Gabriel and how he has changed this season. To play Gabriel stripped of all his history and pretence is to play him with the open-eyed wonder of a child.”

Debuted on Prime Video back in 2019, Good Omens’ first series was based on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s standalone 1990 novel. Neil adapted series two from a chat he had with the late Terry over 30 years ago.

“All I knew was that I really, really wanted to tell the rest of the story,” Neil says. “Season two is, in many ways, a way of getting to that plot where, if I ever tell it, I will tell the story that Terry and I came up with so late that night.”

As for what Terry, who died in 2015 aged 66, would think of season two, Neil says: “He would be delighted and would joyously break a bottle of champagne across its bows as we all set sail for Heaven, and indeed, Hell.”

Set four years on, the second series follows angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley as they embrace being fired from the Afterlife, focusing instead on running their bookshop in Soho, London. But when the unlikely pair find their former boss Gabriel at their door, naked with amnesia, they set out to solve the mystery and work a miracle.

Jon wasn’t the only star to tackle tall orders in the costume department for this next chapter. David, who returns as the mischievous Crawley, was forced to “fumble around” on set after his character’s snake-eyed contact lenses and dark sunglasses seriously restricted his vision.

“In the first scene we shot this season, I had to cross the road which we had populated with moving cars and hundreds of supporting artists to recreate busy Soho – and I couldn’t see a thing,” the 52-year-old says. “It’s a miracle I was not hit by a car – maybe the mojo of Crowley just stopped them! It’s a small price to pay for such a delicious character.”

The Doctor Who star reveals that it took him a little while to snap back into character, having rewatched the show to remind him of “who Crowley was”.

“Then I realised he hadn’t gone very far. Once I squeezed into the trousers again – it all came flooding back and that combined with acting with Michael and the great writing – it’s a delight.”

His co-lead Michael, 54, was also cautious about returning to his clean-shaven Aziraphale costume after the COVID break – but for very different, adorable reasons.

“During lockdown I had happily become quite hairy – fully bearded and long hair – so I had to slowly do the change, not to alarm my young daughter,” he says, referring to one-year-old Mabli, his second child with Swedish actor Anna Lundberg.

“I had also forgotten how tall and thin David is. Though we had spent a lot of time together virtually during lockdown – we hadn’t physically seen each other but as soon as we were being the characters again, it was so comfortable,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Miranda Richardson takes on a brand new character for series two after stealing the show as eccentric medium Madame Tracy. This time, she’s embodying sharply-dressed demon Shax. “She is new to earth and really doesn’t blend in very well – despite her best efforts,” she says.

The 65-year-old “loved” Shax’s various looks, but struggled with the Hell employee’s shoes. “The point shoulder pads were like my very own social distancing tool but wearing heels after living in trainers for lockdown was torture,” she admits.

With Nina Sosanya, Derek Jacobi and Doon Mackichan and other British talent coming back for round two, this fantasy follow-up is all about “unravelling the mystery of why Gabriel has come to visit”, according to Neil Gaiman.

“Aziraphale gets to play detective,” the creator teases. Well, he may want to start by solving the case of Jon Hamm’s missing clothes.

Good Omens series two arrives on Amazon Prime Video on 28th July.

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