Benedict Cumberbatch lands his dream literary character, Patrick Melrose

The actor's next TV series has been booked

(Rex Features)

Benedict Cumberbatch has played numerous famous literary characters throughout the years, the most prominent being Sherlock Holmes in the BBC TV series of the same name.

The Doctor Strange actor is now set to executive produce and star in Melrose, a five-part series based on the semi-autobiographical novels by Edward St. Aubyn, one of Cumberbatch’s own fictional heroes.

As expected, the Hollywood star will play the titular character Patrick Melrose, who previously appeared in five novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk, and At Last. Together, they form The Patrick Melrose Novels, first published as a collection in 2012.

Back in 2013, during an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit, Cumberbatch revealed how - if he could play any fictional character - he would love to play Melrose.

According to Mashable, St. Aubyn’s books will be adapted into a screenplay by David Nicholls, best known for his work on Far From the Madding Crowd. Each one-hour episode will be dedicated to one of the aforementioned five novels. Showtime and Sky Atlantic will produce.

Alongside Melrose, Cumberbatch will star in numerous upcoming projects, including playing Doctor Strange in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War, voicing Shere Khan in Andy Serkis’s Jungle Book, voicing the Grinch in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and play Thomas Edison in the biographical historical film The Current War. Phew.