Martin Clunes will play Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a new ITV drama.
The 52-year-old actor will star in the series ‘Arthur & George’, based upon the Julian Barnes’ 2005 novel of the same name, which follows a real-life case solved by the legendary author.
The ‘Men Behaving Badly’ star will portray Conan Doyle as he attempts to clear the name of a wrongly accused Anglo-Indian solicitor, George Edalji, as well as tracing his relationship with his first wife.
The three-part drama will be penned by ‘Silent Witness’ and ‘Waking the Dead’ writer Ed Whitmore and is set to go into production this autumn.
ITV’s director of television Peter Fincham has described the upcoming adaptation as "an extraordinary mystery with racial overtones". Adding that it is "a very modern story" despite its early 20th Century setting.
Martin will also reprise his role as Dr Martin Ellingham in the ITV medical comedy drama ‘Doc Martin’ for a seventh series in 2015.
The BAFTA-winning actor recently discussed how playing a doctor gave him the confidence to intervene with his wife’s medical care when she fell ill.
Doctors were close to removing his wife Philippa’s appendix until Martin advised them "it was the wrong thing to do".
He said: "I do think I’ve absorbed [some knowledge] as my wife frequently tells me, but I am always interested in people’s medication and ask what they’ve been prescribed."
Martin Clunes to play Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
