Neighbours star Craig McLachlan lands BBC role as country detective in The Doctor Blake Mysteries

Neighbours star Craig McLachlan is to return to the BBC in The Doctor Blake Mysteries which have already been a hit in his native Australia. (Getty Images)

Former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan is coming back to the BBC playing a country doctor detective.

The actor, who played Henry Ramsay in the long-running soap and had a minor pop career on the back of its success, takes the lead role in The Doctor Blake Mysteries which have already been a hit in his native Australia.

Sue Deeks, head of programme acquisition, said "We are delighted that the unconventional Doctor Blake will be providing traditional Aussie grit and humour as well as intriguing and intelligent mystery to BBC Daytime's successful drama line-up."

The 10-part series is set in 1959 and features McLachlan's character, Lucien Blake, as a crime-fighting medic haunted by his experiences in the Second World War.

McLachlan appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2011 where fellow Australian Jason Gardiner, one of the show's judges, said he looked like he was performing with a "soiled nappy".

PA