The cast also includes Alex Kingston (A Discovery of Witches, Doctor Who), Ben Miles (The Crown), Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso) and Simon Russell Beale (Thor: Love and Thunder).

Steven Moffat, who wrote and will executive produce show, said: “I just sat down and wrote this – didn’t even tell anyone what I was doing.

“And now it’s all happening, thanks to the amazing Sue Vertue (renowned TV producer and, in a rare moment of weakness, my wife).

“I can’t quite believe we’ve managed to get the mighty Hugh Bonneville involved as Douglas and that we’ve lured my old friend Karen Gillan back from Hollywood, to play Madeline.”

He added: “And like that’s not enough, we’ve got Ben Miles, Alex Kingston, Nick Mohammed and Simon Russell Beale. It’s the kind of cast that makes you terrified about stepping into the room.”

Gillan, who portrays Douglas’s “sharper and savvier” co-anchor Madeline, said of her role: “To torment a man, let alone a man named Douglas, for four episodes – armed with the writing of Steven Moffat – is a great privilege that I’m going to enjoy every minute of.”

Gillan and Kingston previously worked together on Doctor Who, when Kingston reprised her role as Professor River Song, and appeared alongside Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.