Stephen Mangan will star as Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle in the ten part drama, alongside Michael Weston, who will play escape artist Harry Houdini.

Houdini & Doyle will explore the friendship between Doyle -an ardent believer in the paranormal- and Houdini, who, as a professional magician, is sceptical about anything that appears to be supernatural.

The series will draw heavily on the rich history of the early 20th century, when the Metropolitan Police were overwhelmed by bizarre and often inexplicable cases. In uncertain times, New Scotland Yard turned to Doyle and Houdini for help.

The series, due to air next year, is a British-Canadian co-production between Big Talk Productions and Shaftesbury. It is Executive Produced by House creator David Shore, and written and created by his long-term collaborator David Hoselton, and Canadian screenwriter David Titcher.