David Mitchell is to star in Ludwig, a new BBC One comedy drama series about a man assuming his missing twin's identity.

The BBC explains: "When John 'Ludwig' Taylor's (David Mitchell) identical twin, DCI James Taylor, disappears off the face of the earth, John takes over his brother's identity in a quest to discover his whereabouts. John has never married; never had a family and never really ventured further than his own front door. Without a computer, mobile phone or even a television, he lives in quiet solitude, designing puzzles for a living, under the nom-de-plume of 'Ludwig'.

"This genre bending detective series follows full-time luddite, John 'Ludwig' Taylor, as he assumes the identity of his missing twin brother in a bid to track him down and bring him home. However, filling the shoes of your identical twin is one thing - when your twin also happens to be a successful DCI leading Cambridge's busy inner-city major crimes team the stakes are much higher. John may be a master of all things cryptic, but can he crack the biggest puzzle of his life?"

The six hour long episodes, which have been penned by Mount Pleasant writer Mark Brotherhood, are being produced by Big Talk Studios in association with That Mitchell And Webb Company.

The commission was announced by BBC comedy commissioner Jon Petrie at the BBC Comedy Festival in Cardiff, where the BBC called comedy "a public service and needed now more than ever". A total of 10 commissions were announced. Full list of new shows