Green Wing and Free Agents star Stephen Mangan is to play the lead role in BBC4's adaptation of the late Douglas Adams Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.
Mangan will be joined by Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard MacDuff and Cold Feet and Friends actor Helen Baxendale, as MacDuff's girlfriend Susan.
Adapted by the Bafta-winning writer Howard Overman – who is also behind Misfits, Vexed and Merlin – Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency follows the exploits of Adams's chaotic character as he uses his unusual methods to solve crimes.
Mangan said: "I've been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchhiker's radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom. It's such a thrill to now be playing one of his brilliant characters.
"Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world. He is described as 'lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable'. I've absolutely no idea why they thought I'd be right for the role."
The Dirk Gently books have formed the basis of a play and a BBC Radio 4 series but have never before been filmed for TV.
Adams's agent, Ed Victor, said: "For all the years I represented the late, great Douglas Adams, the most substantial frustration for both of us was that we couldn't get films made either of Hitchhiker or Dirk.
"Douglas once said, memorably, that 'getting a film made in Hollywood was like trying to cook a steak by having a bunch of people come into the room and breathe on it'. Well, we did eventually get a film made in Hollywood of Hitchhiker and, tragically, Douglas didn't live to see it. Nor will he see this adaptation of Dirk – but it's worth bearing in mind that Douglas always thought Dirk would make a better film than Hitchhiker and I feel sure that this new TV drama with a terrific script by Howard Overman will prove his point."
Shooting begins this week in Bristol on the 60-minute drama, which is being made by ITV Studios in association with the Welded Tandem Picture Company.
The Dirk Gently production is to be directed by Damon Thomas – who also directed BBC4 drama The First Men in the Moon – and will air early next year.
1950s period drama based on the true story of a housewife and mother whose life is turned upside down by a handsome Polish man at her local dance hall.
弗兰奇（达科塔•布鲁•理查兹 Dakota Blue Richards 饰）自小被一对gay收养，因为特殊的家庭让她有着与周围格格不入的着装风格和不太合群的性格。在之前的学校备受排斥，遭受到同学的欺辱，弗兰奇转校来到一个全新的环境。开学第一天就跟学校的风云人物米妮（弗雷娅•梅弗 Freya Mavor 饰）误打误撞的相识。米妮带着她的跟班丽芙和格蕾丝主动示好弗兰奇，让她以为已经融入了这个新环境，却不想过后再三遭遇恼火的事情。陷入困顿的弗兰奇遇到了神秘男子马缇（塞巴斯蒂安•德•索萨 Sebastian De Souza 饰）的劝解，暗生情愫，意外得知他是米妮男友尼克（肖恩•蒂尔 Sean Teale 饰）的弟弟。而酷爱重金属摇滚的叛逆少年瑞驰（阿历克斯•阿诺 Alex Arnold 饰）也在格蕾丝芭蕾舞般的温柔中陷入恋爱。
