Decline And Fall follows Paul Pennyfeather (played by Jack Whitehall) as an inoffensive student at Oxford University in the 1920s, who has been made a laughing stock by a prank and is subsequently wrongly accused of indecent exposure.

Poirot star David Suchet joins the cast as Dr. Fagan, the headmaster of a public school in Wales where Pennyfeather then goes on to find employment.

There he meets a beautiful South American woman, the Honourable Mrs Margot Beste-Chetwynde (Eva Longoria) who is the mother of one of the pupils. It's love at first sight for Pennyfeather, but he is oblivious to the unexpected surprises that lie ahead of him when he agrees to tutor her son over the summer holidays.

Jack Whitehall said: "I am extremely pleased to be a part of this amazing adaptation by James Wood. I’ve been a fan of this book since I read it as a teenager, and I just hope that I can do it justice."

Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning, said: "One of the greatest comic novels of all time, this satirical masterpiece is long overdue a television debut. James has done a terrific job of getting to the core of it, and the writing has attracted a fantastic cast."

Along with Jack Whitehall, Eva Longoria and David Suchet the series will star Douglas Hodge (The Night Manager), Stephen Graham (This Is England), Vincent Franklin (The Thick Of It), Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones) and Jason Watkins (Taboo).

The series will mark 50 years since Waugh's death.

Decline And Fall will air on BBC One this Spring.