EXCLUSIVE: ITV is remaking Belgian crime drama Professor T, starring Johnny English’s Ben Miller and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’s Frances de la Tour.

The series is produced by Eagle Eye Drama, the production company set up by the founders of foreign language streaming service Walter Presents, and the order marks its first original drama commission.

Based on the hit Belgian series of the same name, Professor T is set against the backdrop of Cambridge University, one of the world’s most prestigious educational institutions.

Miller, who also starred in BBC crime drama Death in Paradise, plays the genius OCD criminologist, Professor Jasper Tempest, while de la Tour, the Tony-winning actress who starred in The History Boys stage show in London and Broadway as well as classic British sitcom Rising Damp, stars as his colourful but overbearing mother, Adelaide.

Emerging star Emma Naomi, who appeared in the BBC period drama The Trial of Christine Keeler and is currently appearing on the London stage in Blithe Spirit, plays Detective Inspector Lisa Donckers, while rising star Barney White, who recently featured in BBC sitcom King Gary, is cast as her police sidekick Dan Winters.

The series will be directed by Belgian director Indra Siera, who directed the original Belgian series, and will be filmed in Belgium and Cambridge during the summer of 2020.

ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned the series, which is supported by Screen Flanders and the Belgian tax shelter. PBS Distribution holds the North American rights and Beta Film will distribute the series worldwide.

Walter Iuzzolino, CEO of Eagle Eye Drama and Executive Producer, said, “Professor T is my all-time favourite detective – a tortured genius wrestling with a mystery childhood trauma. It’s a unique crime series with a core of wonderful warm characters at its heart and I am delighted to be working with our hand-picked European production team to make this for ITV and international audiences.”