Ludwig starring David Mitchell arrives on BBC One tonight - how to watch new detective comedy series

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Comedy whodunnit, Ludwig, starring David Mitchell, hits screens tonight and I can’t wait. Here’s who’s in it and how to watch.

I love a mystery and I love a comedy. But, as with so many things, it's nigh-on impossible to come across a programme that can combine the two, well. There have been moments of genius - I absolutely loved Jonathan Creek for instance - but they are few and far between.

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So I must admit to being more than a little excited about news David Mitchell - the legend from series such as Peep Show and Upstart Crow - is to play the lead in a new BBC comedy-drama, entitled Ludwig. Mitchell is set to play John 'Ludwig' Taylor, but I must admit, the plot description makes me a little nervous... Ludwig is a reclusive puzzle setter who has an identical twin brother, James, who has gone missing.

All well and good, we need a mystery for a comedy-mystery show. Next, Ludwig's sister-in-law, Lucy - played by Anna Maxwell Martin - then convinces him to assume his twin's identity in order to find him. But it turns out, James is highly-respected DCI in the police Major Investigations Team based in Cambridge.

Now, it strikes me this could be a challenge for writer Mark Brotherhood to make someone impersonating a highly-trained police officer believable, but if anyone can do it, he can, having been the pen behind the likes of Shameless and, er, Hollyoaks...

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I am keeping the faith though, as speaking before Ludwig hits our screens, Mitchell revealed he was drawn to the project because he is, well, just like me, a big fan of Agatha Christie!

David Mitchell is to play the lead in a new BBC comedy-drama, Ludwig.David Mitchell is to play the lead in a new BBC comedy-drama, Ludwig.
David Mitchell is to play the lead in a new BBC comedy-drama, Ludwig. | BBC / Big Talk Studios / Colin Hutton

"I've always loved murder mysteries," he said. You see, we'd definitely get on. Some of my happiest viewing memories are as a child watching Miss Marple with Joan Hickson - I mean, she was in it, she wasn't in the room – and Inspector Morse, and that sort of thing. I love that kind of program."

He added: "I go with the Agatha Christie route - the person that was murdered, we don't meet them, we're not invested in them, so it's fine."

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Bingo. This is the man for the job of making this believable. And funny. And mysterious in an Agatha Christie-type way. I'm in David and Mark, don't let me down!

Ludwig cast and how to watch

The BBC has revealed the full cast list for Ludwig and it's a belter. Alongside Mitchell as the main character and Anna Maxwell Martin as his sister in law, there are roles for Sophie Willan, Dipo Ola, Gerran Howell and, would you believe it, former Wernham Hogg sales rep Chris Finch, also known as the voice of basically every ad on telly or radio, Ralph Ineson.

Other cast members include:

  • Izuka Hoyle as DS Alice Finch
  • Dylan Hughes as Henry Betts-Taylor
  • Ralph Ineson as Chief Constable Ziegler
  • Dorothy Atkinson as DCS Carol Shaw
  • Jakub Bednarczyk as Young John & James Taylor

And to make this even more exciting - I know, if that's possible - there is also a promised guest star appearance from Ricky Gervais' and Stephen Merchant's podcast sidekick, Karl Pilkington, as well as Derek Jacobi, Allan Mustafa, Felicity Kendal, Hammed Animashaun, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Paul Chahidi.

:: The first of six episodes of Ludwig will air tonight (Wednesday, September 25) at 9pm on BBC One. It will be available to watch on BBC One and Player from the same time.

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