Keeley Hawes to star in a BBC remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes

The 90-minute psychological thriller tells the story of well-to-do socialite 1930s socialite Iris Carr, who befriends a woman who disappears while travelling on a train in Eastern Europe.

The brilliantly-named Tuppence Middleton, who you may have seen playing small roles in New Tricks or Friday Night Dinner, will play Carr in the re-make and head up a cast that includes Stephanie Cole, Spooks’ Gemma Jones, Selina Cadell from Doc Martin and Green Wing's Julian Rhind-Tutt, as well as Hawes.

Australian Film Institute Award-nominated writer Fiona Seres has adapted the script from the original source of Hitchcock’s film, Ethel Lina White’s novel The Wheel Spins, which also acted as the basis for a 1978 big-screen remake of The Lady Vanishes starring Cybill Shepherd.

The BBC’s Head of Serials Kate Harwood said of the new production: "Fiona's adaptation of The Wheel Spins deftly weaves together the intriguing stories of a psychologically complex group of characters played out against the tense backdrop of the Balkans in the 1930s."

The Lady Vanishes will begin shooting in Budapest later this month and is scheduled to air on BBC1 this Christmas.