They say you can’t keep a good actor locked down. Well, they don’t yet; but by the end of this year, they might, as David Tennant and Michael Sheen are determined to prove the new adage is true.

Best known to the We as the Tenth Doctor and the voice of House in Series 6’s The Doctor’s Wife, the pair are also well known for their roles as the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale in Amazon Prime’s Good Omens. Now they’re getting back together for a new six-part comedy series – Staged — written by Simon Evans.

The series will revolve around the cast of a West End play who are furloughed when Coronavirus halts production. The story will follow them through Lockdown as they try to keep up rehearsals. The series will also feature Georgia Tennant, known to fans for playing the eponymous Doctor’s Daughter in Series 4, and who — conveniently — happens to live with David Tennant. Naturally, it’s being made under Lockdown itself, using a combination of self-shooting and video-conferencing technology. The BBC has announced that the half dozen 15-minute episodes will be broadcast on BBC One in June. As Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content says,

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

It’s not the Doctor Who cast’s first brush with using video conferencing to keep us entertained, either. In May, Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) and David Morrissey (Jackson Lake in The Next Doctor) used Zoom to take part in a reading of a one-act Tom Stoppard play, A Separate Peace, to raise money for charity. Nor is Staged Tennant and Sheen’s only Lockdown collaboration to keep as entertained. As you can see from the video below, Crowley and Aziraphale are social distancing, too.

Thanks to Bar Nash-Williams for this story.