Chiwetel Ejiofor to star in BBC Stephen Poliakoff drama

British actors Matthew Goode (left) and Chiwetel Ejiofor have carved out successful film careers

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew Goode are to star in a new BBC drama, written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Stephen Poliakoff.

Ejiofor was seen in police drama The Shadow Line and won an Olivier award for his portrayal of Othello at the Donmar Warehouse in 2008.

Goode's credits include Watchmen, A Single Man and Cemetery Junction.

The 1930s set Dancing On The Edge will follow a black jazz band in London. It will be broadcast on BBC Two next year.

Anthony Head and Caroline Quentin will also appear in the five-part series.

Filming has begun in London and Birmingham, with co-stars including Jacqueline Bisset and Tom Hughes.

Acclaimed playwright and dramatist Poliakoff has written numerous dramas for the BBC, including Capturing Mary and Joe's Palace.

His most recent feature, Glorious 39, starring David Tennant and Romola Garai, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was shown on British television in 2009. This will be the writer's first series.

Poliakoff began his career aged 24 as a writer at the National Theatre, before moving into television.

Some of his noted earlier works included Stronger Than the Sun, Bloody Kids and Caught on a Train.

In 1983, he branched into film with Runners, which starred James Fox and Jane Asher.