The BBC has announced a Christmas special for the comedy detective series Ludwig, with Sir David Suchet joining the cast as a murder suspect.
Suchet, best known for playing Hercule Poirot, stars alongside David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin .
Other guest stars include Jason Flemyng, Joe Wilkinson, Cathy Tyson, Alexandra Roach, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Rebekah Staton, Claire Price, Ariella Glaser and George Rainsford.
The hour-long episode is set in Yorkshire, where John, his sister-in-law Lucy and her sone Henry arrive at a remote, Christmas-themed hotel for what should have been a much-needed break.
A sudden blackout turns the festivities into a locked-room murder mystery, and a blizzard cuts the hotel off from the outside world, trapping the guests overnight with a killer among them.
Mitchell said: ‘I have long been a huge admirer of Sir David Suchet’s work and have watched every episode of Poirot several times, so it was a dream come true for me when he agreed to appear in the Ludwig Christmas special.
‘He was an absolute joy to work and spend time with - funny, interesting and generous - and his performance in the programme is wonderful.’
Suchet said: ‘It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside David Mitchell and the wonderful ensemble cast. It made quite the refreshing change to be playing a suspect rather than the detective, and to sit comfortably in my armchair while David delivered the denouement. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time.’
Ludwig is created and written by Mark Brotherhood and a third series is currently in production.
Ludwig Christmas episode production credits
Made by: Big Talk Studios with That Mitchell And Webb Company, BritBox and ZDF
Written by: Mark Brotherhood
Director: Chris Foggin
Executive producers: Kenton Allen, Toby Welch, Mark Brotherhood, David Mitchell, Kathryn O’Connor, Chris Sussman, Robert Schildhouse, Stephen Nye, Claus Wunn, Frank Seyberth
Producers: Georgie Fallon and Anya Wilson
Commissioned by: Jon Petrie, former BBC director of comedy commissioning
Commissioning editor: Gregor Sharp
