BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH is tipped to star in a new film version of Journey’s End, the classic play about the First World War, after Prince Andrew intervened to persuade a Hollywood studio to lift its veto on the project.

The new version of RC Sherriff’s play, first performed in 1928 with Laurence Olivier in the starring role, was given approval after Andrew wrote to the head of Warner Bros in Britain, explaining its significance to the nation.

Instead of portraying public school officers as the inept dolts parodied in the BBC comedy series, Blackadder Goes Forth, the film’s makers say it will more faithfully reflect the truth about the war. The story, set entirely in a dugout on the western front, shows a group of public