Richard E Grant joins star-studded cast of The Thursday Murder Club

Richard E Grant and Tom Ellis are among the stars to have joined the glittering cast of the big screen adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club.

It was previously revealed that Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie will play the lead roles in the Netflix movie.

They will be joined by David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes in the hotly anticipated film version of Richard Osman’s debut novel.

Other new additions to the cast, alongside Withnail And I star Grant and Lucifer’s Ellis, include Top Boy actor Geoff Bell, Tokyo Trial star Paul Freeman, Ted Lasso actress Sarah Niles and Doctor Who’s Ingrid Oliver.

The 2020 bestseller follows retirement residents who attempt to investigate murders in their sleepy English village for fun, but find themselves caught in a real case.

More have since been released in the series, which features Elizabeth Best, an ex-spy played by Dame Helen, Joyce Meadowcroft, a former nurse played by Imrie, ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif, played by Sir Ben, and former union activist Ron Ritchie, played by Brosnan.

The film will be written and directed by Home Alone and Harry Potter filmmaker Chris Columbus, who will also produce it alongside Jennifer Todd.

Osman previously said filming will take place from the end of June through to September in England.

The former Pointless presenter published the second book in the series, The Man Who Died Twice, in 2021, the third book, The Bullet That Missed, in 2022, and the latest instalment, The Last Devil To Die, in September 2023.

The film will be produced as part of Netflix’s film partnership with Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin.