Kim Cattrall to star in BBC Agatha Christie classic

Cattrall had to pull out of a Royal Court role last year due to chronic insomnia

US actress Kim Cattrall is to star in a BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie's The Witness for the Prosecution.

Filming began last week in Liverpool for the two-part drama, which will also star Toby Jones and Andrea Riseborough.

Cattrall, still best known for her role as Samantha in US series Sex in the City, stars as the murder victim while Billy Howle plays the suspect.

Riseborough appears as the accused's girlfriend, while Jones portrays his solicitor.

Cattrall, who was born in Liverpool, tweeted a picture of herself on Crosby beach

The Witness for the Prosecution is a 23-page short story by Christie, written in 1925.

The TV adaptation will be directed by Julian Jarrold, whose credits include The Girl and Appropriate Adult.

No transmission date has been given yet.

'In a void'

Cattrall spoke out earlier this year about the chronic insomnia that forced her to withdraw from a play at London's Royal Court in November.

The 59-year-old was due to play the title role in Linda but pulled out shortly before it opened.

"I didn't want to let down the audience, the theatre, playwright or the actors," she told the Radio Times.

She said being unable to sleep felt like "a gorilla sitting on [her] chest" and had left her "in a void".