In a new Sky series

David Walliams will play Michael Barrymore in a TV drama based on the comic’s rise and fall, it has been reported.

Details of the project are scant, but it will be a four-part show for Sky TV.

Also involved is Geoff Atkinson, a producer who has worked with Rory Bremner and Mark Thomas and who also ghostwrote the autobiography of Barrymore’s late wife Cheryl.

The Sun – which, like Sky, is owned by News Corp – quoted a source saying: ‘David will be perfect to play him. He's great at improvising but can also portray fragility and the darkness at the heart of the story.’

Walliams has previously played another troubled comic, Frankie Howerd, in a BBC 4 biopic.

Filming of the Barrymore show is due to start later this year.

Published: 10 Mar 2012