James Nesbitt (Cold Feet, Run Away) will join Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Derry Girls, Leonard And Hungry Paul) in Hopley Hall, a brand-new six-part comedy created and written by Daniel Peak (Not Going Out, Code 404) for BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC Northern Ireland.

Also joining the cast is James Martin (How To Get To Heaven From Belfast, Funboys), Leela Harris (Youth, The Crow Girl S2), Georgie Glen (Call The Midwife, Elsinore), Tommy Belshaw (Close To Home, My Fault: London) and Jeany Spark (Man Down, Wallander).

At Hopley Hall, the heating rarely works, the history is questionable and the gift shop sells mostly tea towels. The Grade A listed masterpiece, located in a fictional town on the Coast of County Antrim, is held together by damp, optimism, and a deep-seated resentment for the tourist attraction down the road. We follow the team of eccentric, dysfunctional volunteers and staff including a freshly-appointed community engagement officer who struggles dealing with actual human beings, an over-enthusiastic guide with no sense of irony and a disgruntled gardener. Hopley Hall is a workplace comedy about people who have absolutely nothing in common, except the desperate, daily struggle to keep the roof on and the public out of the private toilets.

James Nesbitt says: "To be going back to the coast of Antrim, where my mother grew up and where I spent much of my childhood is an absolute treat. Hopley Hall is an innovative and funny series that will show off the beauty of Northern Ireland. The scripts have a uniquely Northern Irish sense of humour running through them and I’m looking forward to working alongside some truly great local talent."

Filming is taking place in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Hopley Hall was commissioned by Jon Petrie, in his former role of BBC Director of Comedy and Eddie Doyle, BBC Northern Ireland Head of Commissioning. The show is written and created by Daniel Peak with additional material from new Northern Ireland comedy writers including Oisin Kearney, Michael McCullagh, Shannon Welby, Susannah McKenna-Strathern, the late Michael Patrick, Eileen Tracey and Caitlin Magnall-Kearns.

The director is Tom Marshall, the producer is Chris Martin, the executive producer for Nice One is Chris Jones and the executive producer for Birdie Pictures is Phil Temple. The commissioning editors for the BBC are Emma Lawson and Jason Butler.

Picture: James Nesbitt and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Image: Hopley Hall Ltd)