Former Doctor Who star and native Liverpudlian Christopher Eccleston is stepping into Beatle legend John Lennon's shoes for a new BBC4 drama.
Called Lennon Naked, the one-off 90-minute film covers Lennon's life from 1967 to 1971.
It features the effect on Lennon of the death of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, and the impact of re-establishing contact with his long lost father Freddie.
Lennon Naked also covers the break-up of his marriage to Cynthia Lennon and meeting Yoko Ono.
Ono is played by Naoko Mori, of Torchwood and Absolutely Fabulous, and Epstein by Rory Kinnear.
Other cast members includethe Cranford actor Claudie Blakley as Cynthia Lennon and Andrew Scott as Paul McCartney.
The BBC's controller of drama commissioning, Ben Stephenson, said: "Securing Christopher Eccleston to play John Lennon is further testament to the calibre of drama on BBC4."
Richard Klein, controller of BBC4, said: "BBC4 is the place where dramas look to explore that space between artists' public works and private lives, shedding light on the artistic process while offering intelligent entertainment."
Lennon Naked was written by Robert Jones, the co-creator of Party Aninals. It is currently being filmed in London by the independent producer Blast! Films and will air next year.
Mike Neary, Liverpool around 3 months, 2 weeks ago