Both actors have huge worldwide fanbases but what some Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant devotees might not know is that they once worked together for a Jane Austen adaptation.

The Sherlock and Doctor Who stars were still relative unknowns when they were cast in Radio 4’s 2003 take on Mansfield Park, meaning many TV viewers might not be familiar with it.

Now, the performance is to be unearthed from the archives for another airing in celebration of the classic novel’s 200th anniversary.

Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

The ten-part radio drama will begin at 2pm on Monday 12 May, directed by Sally Avens and also starring Felicity Jones, Tim Piggott-Smith and Julia McKenzie.

Austen’s story follows the life of Fanny Price, one of nine children sent to be raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle when her family comes under financial difficulty.

Shape Created with Sketch. The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Show all 12 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch 1/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch The role that catapulted him to global fame: As a modern-day Sherlock Holmes in BBC drama Sherlock BBC 2/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch stars alongside Keira Knightley in Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game StudioCanal 3/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Cumberbatch bore an uncanny resemblance to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (2013) Frank Connor/DreamWorks 4/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch As Stephen Hawking in the 2004 BBC television film following the physicist's early years at Cambridge University YouTube/BBC 5/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch dresses ominously as Richard III for The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses sherlock-series.livejournal.com 6/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Jonny Lee Miller as the Creature and Cumberbatch as Dr Frankenstein at the National Theatre in 2011 Rex 7/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Cumberbatch took on the role of tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in Alan Yentob's 2011 BBC drama-documentary Van Gogh: Painted With Words YouTube/BBC 8/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch as the idealistic Christopher Tietjens in 2012's Parade's End Rex 9/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Looking sharp as John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Zade Rosenthal 10/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch With Adelaide Clemens in BBC Edwardian period drama Parade's End Nick Briggs/BBC 11/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, which won Best Film at the 2014 Oscars AP 12/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch As confectionery millionaire and rapist Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Sherlock creator Steven Moffat said he wanted Cumberbatch for the detective series after watching the film YouTube/Universal Pictures 1/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch The role that catapulted him to global fame: As a modern-day Sherlock Holmes in BBC drama Sherlock BBC 2/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch stars alongside Keira Knightley in Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game StudioCanal 3/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Cumberbatch bore an uncanny resemblance to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (2013) Frank Connor/DreamWorks 4/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch As Stephen Hawking in the 2004 BBC television film following the physicist's early years at Cambridge University YouTube/BBC 5/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch dresses ominously as Richard III for The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses sherlock-series.livejournal.com 6/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Jonny Lee Miller as the Creature and Cumberbatch as Dr Frankenstein at the National Theatre in 2011 Rex 7/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Cumberbatch took on the role of tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in Alan Yentob's 2011 BBC drama-documentary Van Gogh: Painted With Words YouTube/BBC 8/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch as the idealistic Christopher Tietjens in 2012's Parade's End Rex 9/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Looking sharp as John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Zade Rosenthal 10/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch With Adelaide Clemens in BBC Edwardian period drama Parade's End Nick Briggs/BBC 11/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch Alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, which won Best Film at the 2014 Oscars AP 12/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch As confectionery millionaire and rapist Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Sherlock creator Steven Moffat said he wanted Cumberbatch for the detective series after watching the film YouTube/Universal Pictures

Tennant plays her gambling cousin Tom while Cumberbatch stars as his brother Edmund, with whom Fanny forms a romantic attachment.

Both Cumberbatch and Tennant have featured on British radio shows recently, with the former lending his voice to 2013’s Neverwhere and the latter heard in last year’s The Great Scott among others.

Cumberbatch will soon be seen as Richard III in the BBC’s second series of Shakespeare’s History, with his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman due to tackle the role on the London stage.

Tennant, meanwhile, is busy working on US Broadchurch adaptation Gracepoint, filmed on Vancouver Island and due to air later this year.