Will Smith reunites with Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air co-stars

The picture sparked calls for a reboot of the show
Back together: The cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Instagram/ Alfonso Ribeiro
Emma Powell28 March 2017
The Weekender

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Now this is a story all about how Will Smith was reunited with his co-stars from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

Smith, 48, posed for a photograph with the cast as they enjoyed a catch-up more than 20 years after the last episode of the US show aired.

Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton, shared the picture of himself posing alongside Smith, Tatyana Ali (who played Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Daphne Maxwell Reid (Vivian) and Joseph Marcell (butler Geoffrey).

In the Instagram post, Ribeiro wrote: “Always amazing to spend an afternoon with my Fresh Prince family. Wishing that James Avery was still with us to make this complete.”

The picture sparked calls for a reboot of the show, but Ribeiro previously ruled out the possibility, saying the cast wouldn’t reunite on screen following the death of James Avery, who starred as Uncle Phil, in 2013.

Speaking to E! he said: “Since the passing of my favourite dad in the world, ever on TV, James Avery passed, the chances of a Fresh Prince coming back together will not happen.

“I don't think we feel as a cast that we would do even our fans justice. We all felt like he was the centrepiece or the nucleus of that show. Without him, it just doesn't work... we're not looking for that to happen. And that's OK.”

Throwback: Will Smith with Daphne Maxwell Reid as Vivian Banks and the late James Avery as Uncle Phil

Smith also dismissed the possibility of an onscreen reunion, telling E!: “I don't think ever, like pretty close to when hell freezes over... Like we're going to leave that one alone.”

But there could be a mini reunion in the form of Smith and Jazzy Jeff who are rumoured to be playing Glastonbury this year.

Jeff – who enjoyed chart success with Smith – told Bang Showbiz: “The biggest part of us doing this [reuniting] is the clearing of the schedule. I tour about 180 days out of the year but [Will] makes movies so it’s more on his side of having to clear a schedule for us to be able to rehearse and go on the road.

“Sometimes it gets a little hard with him being one of the biggest movie stars in the world to free up his time. He absolutely positively wants to do this.”

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