...in an adaptation of Sue Townsend’s The Queen And I

Samantha Bond is to play the Queen and David Walliams the Prime Minister in a new Sky One comedy described as an 'interesting alternative' to Netflix blockbuster The Crown.

The pair have been cast in a TV adaptation of Sue Townsend's book The Queen and I.

Writer Stephen Russell has adapted the story – which has the Royal Family living on a council estate following after the PM dupes the nation into getting rid of the Monarchy – for the screen.

Sky's head of comedy Jon Mountague told the Radio Times: 'Walliams' Republican Prime Minister in The Queen and I will have a faint shadow of Jeremy Corbyn, but maybe that's my interpretation.'

The show will be a 90-minute one-off, made by Walliams' production company King Bert and is expected to air over Christmas.

Walliams has tweeted an image of himself holding the script:

I am filming 'The Queen & I' for @SkyOne It's an adaptation of the late great Sue Townsend's comic novel about the royal family being sent to live on a council estate. I play the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/eUHJCAn1fx

— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) September 20, 2018

Townsend, who is best known for her Adrian Mole diaries, died in 2014.

Sky confirmed the commission tonight amid a flurry of comedy news, including Mel & Sue's first sitcom, the return of Idris Elba's In The Long Run and a new batch of comedy shorts

Published: 24 Sep 2018