TV Gossip

Ian McKellen has signed up for half-hour mockumentary series The Academy, which sees him play the head of a drama school.

Variety reports that the Lord of the Rings actor that the actor will play his fictional brother, Murray McKellen, in the series, who heads a run-down drama school, the Clapham Academy of Creative Arts.

The series, which is being made for screens both here and in the US, follows McKellen's efforts to secure new funding via a documentary on the school.

However, the magazine also reports that network deals will have to come together quickly or McKellen will be tied up on Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit.

Other veteran actors signed up for The Academy include Jonathan Hyde, Frances Barber and Sylvester McCoy.