As do Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer

Kenneth Branagh, Lily Cole and Young Ones stars Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer are to appear in the next series of Upstart Crow.

Also guest starring are Edmondson’s daughter Bettie – a member of the Birthday Girls sketch troupe who were today commissioned for a Radio 1 show – and Ben Miller.

Filming has begun this week on the third series of the comedy, written by Ben Elton and starring David Mitchell as William Shakespeare.

Branagh will play a mysterious stranger and Cole will play Ephie in the Christmas special which airs in December. 

Storylines in this series include first ever performance of Julius Caesar; a take on A Midsummer Night's Dream; prejudice in The Merchant of Venice; the world’s first charity fundraising benefit - Inflated Pig’s Bladder Day; a problem with a masked ball and a fake profile; and a Christmas haunting.

Harry Enfield, Paula Wilcox, Liza Tarbuck, Helen Monks, Gemma Whelan, Rob Rouse, Mark Heap  Dominic Coleman, Steve Speirs, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Tim Downie and Spencer Jones all return.

Chris Sussman, BBC Studios’s head of comedy said: ‘It’s a great testament to Ben’s writing that we’ve managed to get such a talented bunch joining the cast for our third series.’

Published: 25 Jan 2018