Michael Sheen and David Tennant are to star in a new BBC lockdown comedy.

Michael Sheen and David Tennant

Michael Sheen and David Tennant

The acting duo will lead the cast of 'Staged' across six 15-minute episodes, which follow the cast of a West End production who have been furloughed due to coronavirus, but they continue to rehearse in lockdown.

It was written and directed by Simon Evans, with Michael and David serving as executive producers.

Georgia Tennant, Lucy Eaton and Anna Lundberg, will also appear in the series, as well as special guest Nina Sosanya.

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, said: "It's so important that the BBC provides moments of humour and light relief and this mischievous idea shows what great sports Michael and David are."

The comedy series - which will air in June - follows the latest government guidelines on coronavirus to ensure the cast remain safely apart using a combination of self-shooting and video conferencing technology.

It comes after the 'Good Omens' co-stars recently reunited for a quick telephone conversation as their characters, demon Crowley (David) and angel Aziraphale (Michael), to share their boredom in lockdown.

The audio clip - which was written by series co-creator Neil Gaiman - hears the two friends, who have now accustomed to life on Earth, talk about their current pandemic situations.

When Aziraphale asks why Crowley isn't "out and about", he replies: "I know I ought to be making people's lives worse but everyone's so miserable cooped up right now anyway, I don't have the heart for it."

And Aziraphale is making the most of the lockdown by "catching up on reading" in his bookshop and excessively baking - like most of the UK right now.

He said: "Once I've baked them, I have to eat them all myself"

The three-minute clip marks the 30th anniversary of Terry Pratchett and Neil's book.