Andrew Scott cast as the Talented Mr Ripley in new TV adaptation

The 42-year-old, who terrified us as Sherlock's Moriarty and won hearts as the Hot Priest in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, will play Tom Ripley in the series, which would air on American cable network Showtime.

“We are so thrilled to have the supremely talented filmmaker, Steve Zaillian, adapt the singular saga of Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmith’s novels as an ongoing series for Showtime,” said Showtime president of entertainment Gary Levine in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“With Andrew Scott, whose charisma knows no bounds, inhabiting the iconic lead role, we feel confident that this will be a special one.”

Thomas "Tom" Ripley is a career criminal, con artist and serial killer who features in a series of books by American novelist Patricia Highsmith, as well as several previous film adaptations – most famously 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley, which starred Matt Damon as the title character.

Scott first came to mainstream attention after his portrayal of the villainous Jim Moriarty in the BBC’s Sherlock.

The BAFTA Award and British Film Independent Award winner more recently appeared in Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, and is set to appear in the upcoming His Dark Materials.

The news comes after it was announced that Fleabag writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge had signed a major new contract with streaming service Amazon just days after scooping three Emmy Awards for the series.

“I’m insanely excited to be continuing my relationship with Amazon,” said Waller-Bridge (via Variety), referring to the company’s work co-producing Fleabag with the BBC. “Working with the team on Fleabag was the creative partnership dreams are made of. It really feels like home. I can’t wait to get going!”

Sian Clifford, who played Claire in the hit series, has also landed herself a new role as Diana Ingram in the upcoming ITV drama Cheat, telling the story of the infamous 2001 ‘coughing scandal’ on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?