Benedict Cumberbatch to star in Channel 4 Brexit thriller

Benedict Cumberbatch is set to star in as the architect of the Vote Leave campaign in a Channel 4 drama  provisionally called 'Brexit'. 

Cumberbatch, currently appearing in Patrick Melrose, will take on the role of Vote Leave director and strategist Dominic Cummings in the one-off programme about the 2016 referendum. 

The script is by James Graham, writer of The Vote and the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? play Quiz. He said: "I’m so excited – not to mention a little nervous – to have this chance to try and get under the skin of what happened during that historic vote." 

"I hope by going behind the scenes of the campaign, we’re able to interrogate the consequences of what happened during these 8 weeks that have changed the country forever."

The series will be directed by Toby Haynes, who has previously worked with Cumberbatch on the Sherlock episode The Reichenbach Fall.  Shooting will begin later this year.