Dracula cast adds Mark Gatiss and more

Mark Gatiss has joined the cast of \'Dracula\'.

The \'League of Gentlemen\' star - who has also co-written the upcoming series alongside his \'Sherlock\' collaborator Steven Moffat - will step in front of the camera alongside a very talented ensemble for the new BBC One series.

He said: "I\'m running out of childhood dreams to come true. And what a delight to join this fantastic cast. The children of the night!"

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The three-part series - which will be made up of a trio of feature length episodes - is based on Bram Stoker\'s iconic novel, with Claes Bang playing the titular vampire.

Also joining the cast are John Heffernan, Joanna Scanlan, Dolly Wells, Morfydd Clark and Lujza Richter.

Filming is set to start this spring, and Moffat has teased viewers not to get too attached to any of the characters.

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He joked: "So exciting to see an amazing new cast start to assemble, I hope Claes doesn\'t eat them all."

The new adaptation starts in Transylvania in 1897, with the bloodthirsty count drawing up plans against Victorian London.

Claes previously said: "I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the team responsible for \'Sherlock\'. I\'m so excited that I get to dig in to this iconic and super-interesting character.

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"Yes he\'s evil, but there\'s also so much more to him, he\'s charismatic, intelligent, witty and sexy. I realise that there\'s a lot to live up to with all the amazing people that have played him over the years, but I feel so privileged, to be taking on this incredible character."

The mini-series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama.

While the duo of Moffat and Gatiss are credited as creators and writers, they also act as executive producers alongside Sue Vertue (Hartswood Films), Ben Irving (BBC) and Larry Tanz (Netflix).

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While the Beeb will broadcast the show in the UK, it will be available outside the UK on the streaming platform.