From Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Michael Sheen and David Tennant have been cast in the BBC comedy-fantasy drama Good Omens.

Neil Gaiman will write and act as showrunner on the six-part series, which is based on the novel Good Omen that he penned with Terry Pratchett.

Sheen will star as the somewhat fussy angel and rare-book dealer Aziraphale, and Tennant will play his opposite number, the fast living demon Crowley, both of whom live among Earth's mortals.

The plot is that the world is set to end in a few days, with the armies of Good and Evil amassing – but the Antichrist has gone missing.

Sheen said: ‘I first read Good Omens as a teenager and it’s been one of my favourite stories ever since. To be part of the team entrusted with bringing it alive on screen is a bit of a dream come true to be honest. To work alongside Neil, who I think is one of the greatest storytellers of all time, is incredibly exciting’

Tennant added: ‘It’s a dream team and a dream gig. I am very excited that I’ve been asked to be part of this amazing project. Bring on the Apocalypse

As previously announced, the show is being made by the comedy team at BBC Studios, among others, for broadcast on Amazon and BBC Two in 2019.

 Good Omens will be brought to the screen by the director Douglas Mackinnon, whose credits include Doctor Who and the Victorian episode of Sherlock: The Abominable Bride He said: ‘Ironically, given that it is a timeless novel, the Good Omens story stretches from the beginning of time to quite near the end of time. I am honoured to be working with Neil Gaiman (and Terry Pratchett in absentia) and directing such a wonderfully prestigious project.’

And Gaiman said that he thought Good Omens ‘is one of the funniest novels ever written about the end of the world and how we are all going to die’ – and added that even though he and Pratchett wrote it almost 30 years ago, ’it’s strange that it feels more relevant now than it ever did before’.

Published: 15 Aug 2017