Ever since Yes Minister was first screened more than a quarter of a century ago, the name of Sir Humphrey Appleby has passed into the language as the epitome of a certain sort of senior civil servant: devious, manipulative, pompous, snobbish and dedicated to the cause of maintaining the status quo, regardless of what his political master has in mind.

Now Yes Minister is to be remade by Dutch television — with Sir Humphrey's permanent secretary role going to a woman, called Helen van Zuylen in the series.

Fans of the original series may wonder why the programme makers have changed one of the great characters of television comedy — the very essence of Establishment values, with his pinstriped suits, club membership and first-class classics degree from Oxford. Could a woman get away with being as condescending as Sir Humphrey?

As the late Paul Eddington's character, Jim Hacker, used to say when confronted with a tricky one: “I'm glad you asked me that question.”

What Sir Humphrey, played by the late Sir Nigel Hawthorne, would no doubt call “a very courageous decision” is thought to be motivated by a desire to bring the comedy up to date. After all, even in Whitehall, women permanent secretaries are no longer a rarity.

S&V Fiction, the production company that will make 11 episodes, has also introduced another new character, an assistant private secretary called Mohammed, whose Moroccan background allows the new show to focus on Dutch multiculturalism.

The Netherlands is the third country, after India and Turkey, to buy the show's format. The Indian version, Ji Mantriji, won two awards at the Hero Honda Indian TV Academy Awards.

Pita de Leeuw, head of drama production at the broadcaster VPRO, which will air the new show, said: “At first glance Yes Minister seems very British, focusing on the situation in Great Britain in the 1980s, which was and is vastly different from the current situation in the Netherlands.

“But the themes that form the basis of the series are still very much relevant: bureaucratic red tape, political deal-making and the closed ranks in the Civil Service.”

Claudia Danser, of BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, said: “Yes Minister is a perfect example of how a classic British comedy can be adapted and updated for contemporary foreign audiences. It's a sign of the enduring quality of great formats that the humour and political jostling and absurd bureaucracy in Yes Minister are as relevant today the world over as they were 25 years ago.”

Jonathan Lynn, who wrote the series with Sir Antony Jay, said he thought that there was nothing wrong with changing Sir Humphrey into a woman. “Why not? It is quite plausible,” he said. “I think there are a number of permanent secretaries in Whitehall who are women.

“It would add further problems, because I think that Jim [Hacker - the minister] would find it even more difficult to deal with a woman because of old-fashioned notions of gallantry. He would be even more reluctant to confront Humphrette.”

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