E4 has ordered Foreign Bodies, a new comedy drama series about a group of backpackers on a trip around Asia.

E4 explains: "Foreign Bodies is the story of a motley gang of travellers embarking on a three month trip around Asia. British lads Sean and Dylan meet American girls May and Ashley in Beijing and opt to undergo the first leg of their travels together, but soon find that their journey takes them much further than any of them expected.

"Despite wielding Lonely Planet guides, digital cameras and water purification tablets, our gang is not treating this as a holiday, and all have a personal quest that's brought them halfway round the world. May wants to meet her extended family in China and reconnect with her roots, Ashley is hell-bent on cramming in a lifetime of exotic experiences before she starts her high-flying career back home, Dylan wants to track down and win back his ex-girlfriend, Sean wants to shed his innocence and forcibly grow up, and Greg, a 38 year old divorcee who doesn't want to travel alone, hopes to roll back the years and relive the wild hedonism of his youth.

"Will the gang manage to find the nirvana they seek as they camp on the Great Wall, wade through jungles in Malaysia, rub shoulders with ex-pats in Singapore and the crowds that throng the banks of the Ganges? Or will they lose their money, their passports and control of their bowels in a filthy backpacking hostel that doesn't exist on Google Maps? None of them get what they hoped for, but all gain something better, as they learn that no matter how far you go and how hard you try, you can't take a holiday from yourself."

No details have yet been given as to who will play the lead roles. The show has been created by Plebs and The Wrong Mans writer and actor Tom Basden (pictured). The writing team also includes James Wood (Rev), Tony Roche (In The Loop), Charlie Covell (Banana), Tim Key (Alan Partridge) and Jonny Sweet (Together).

Piers Wenger from Channel 4 says: "Tom's script captures perfectly the pleasures and the pain of the gap year backpacker as he follows the experiences of five young travellers on an epic and hilarious quest to find paradise while also trying to find themselves."

Executive Producers Joel Wilson and Jamie Campbell from production company Eleven add: "We're thrilled to be embarking - quite literally - on this adventure with Tom. He's a brilliant, funny and deeply perceptive writer and in Jonathan van Tulleken we have a hugely dynamic and inventive director. E4 is a fantastically audacious, exciting broadcaster and - alongside [distributors] eOne - the perfect partner for this extraordinary show."

Filming will begin on location later this year, with the show set to be broadcast on E4 towards the end of the year.