New 'Star Trek' Jean-Luc Picard series heading to Amazon Prime in the UK

Star Trek fans in the UK will be able to stream the new series featuring Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard via Amazon Prime.

The show is set to be available on the streaming service to British and Irish viewers a day after it airs on CBS in the USA.

This separates the programme from Star Trek: Discovery, which is also owned by CBS in the USA, but is available in the UK through Amazon rival Netflix.

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The hotly anticipated series will see the legendary, 78-year-old thesp Stewart reprise the role he first portrayed in 1987 with the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Stewart himself took to the official Star Trek Twitter feed to share a video message announcing the show's Amazon deal.

He said: "I am delighted to announce that Star Trek fans around the world, except in the United States and Canada, will soon be able to enjoy the next thrilling chapter of Picard’s life on Amazon Prime Video."

Alongside Stewart, the cast of the unnamed show is set to include The Newsroom actress Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera, Michelle Hurd and Evan Evagora.

Showrunner Michael Chabon announced last month that the spin-off series has begun filming in Los Angeles.

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Brad Beale, head of content licensing at Amazon, said: "With the incredible Sir Patrick Stewart returning as the beloved Jean-Luc Picard, we’re excited we can give Trek fans both old and new the opportunity to see him back in action.

"It’s a terrific addition to our already robust catalogue of exclusive Amazon Prime Video content."

An airdate for the 10 episode run is yet to be announced.