Robert Lindsay signs up for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels musical

Lindsay (l) will appear with Katherine Kingsley and Rufus Hound in the show

Robert Lindsay is to make his musical theatre comeback next year in a West End version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The Spys and My Family actor will play an urbane con-man plying his trade on the French Riviera - a role played in the 1988 film by Sir Michael Caine.

Rufus Hound will play his younger rival in the musical, which begins previews at London's Savoy theatre next March.

Lindsay, 63, was last seen in a musical playing Fagin in Oliver!, a performance that won him an Olivier award in 1997.

"I have been waiting for the right musical to cross my path and feel like I have finally found it," the former Citizen Smith star said.

Hound will play Freddy Benson, the character Steve Martin played in the Frank Oz comedy, opposite Lindsay's Lawrence Jameson.

The 1988 film was itself based on a 1964 release called Bedtime Story, which starred David Niven and Marlon Brando in the leading roles.

Lindsay and Hound will be joined on stage by Katherine Kingsley, who plays the millionaire soap heiress who comes between their characters.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will be directed and produced by Jerry Mitchell, winner of multiple Tonys for musicals including La Cage aux Folles, Legally Blonde and Kinky Boots.

Known for his appearances in TV shows Celebrity Juice and Let's Dance for Sport Relief, Hound was recently seen in One Man, Two Guvnors in the West End and on tour.

The 34-year-old promised his new show would be "faithful enough for fans of the movie" and "anchored in good, old-fashioned comedy".