The actor is joined by Killing Eve’s Fiona Shaw for the latest run of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s comedy, which is centred on the theme of ‘Fleabag v God’

Kristin Scott Thomas is among the guest stars lined up for the imminent second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s BBC comedy-drama Fleabag.

The Four Weddings and a Funeral star, a Bafta and Olivier award winner, will appear in an as-yet-unannounced role in the series, which is expected to air this spring.

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Adapted from Waller-Bridge’s one-woman play of the same name, Fleabag follows its troubled titular character as she muddles through millennial life in London, negotiating grief, social anxiety and a number of awkward sexual encounters. Its first series, which was shown on BBC Three in 2016, received widespread acclaim for its mix of black comedy and affecting drama, and currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The show’s second series, which Waller-Bridge says she dreamed up while on a bus, is said to be centred on the theme of “Fleabag v God”, as the character wrestles with issues of faith and is brought closer to her estranged sister Claire (Sian Clifford).

As well as Scott Thomas, Fleabag’s second series will reunite Fiona Shaw with Waller-Bridge after the Irish actor appeared as the flinty MI6 operative Carolyn Martens in last year’s popular spy thriller Killing Eve, which was also written by Fleabag’s star and creator.

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The pair join the already announced Andrew Scott, best known for his performance as Moriarty in the BBC’s updating of Sherlock, who will appear as a man of the cloth who prompts Fleabag into a new way of thinking. Olivia Colman, Hugh Skinner and Hugh Dennis are among the returning cast members.

Responding to the casting of Scott Thomas and Shaw, Waller-Bridge said, “they literally begged me to be in it. Begged me. Begged. One of them was crying.”