Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant's Mansfield Park set for Radio 4 repeat

Both actors have huge worldwide fanbases but what some Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant devotees might not know is that they once worked together for a Jane Austen adaptation.

The Sherlock and Doctor Who stars were still relative unknowns when they were cast in Radio 4’s 2003 take on Mansfield Park, meaning many TV viewers might not be familiar with it.

Now, the performance is to be unearthed from the archives for another airing in celebration of the classic novel’s 200th anniversary.

The ten-part radio drama will begin at 2pm on Monday 12 May, directed by Sally Avens and also starring Felicity Jones, Tim Piggott-Smith and Julia McKenzie.

Austen’s story follows the life of Fanny Price, one of nine children sent to be raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle when her family comes under financial difficulty.

Tennant plays her gambling cousin Tom while Cumberbatch stars as his brother Edmund, with whom Fanny forms a romantic attachment.

Both Cumberbatch and Tennant have featured on British radio shows recently, with the former lending his voice to 2013’s Neverwhere and the latter heard in last year’s The Great Scott among others.

Cumberbatch will soon be seen as Richard III in the BBC’s second series of Shakespeare’s History, with his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman due to tackle the role on the London stage.

Tennant, meanwhile, is busy working on US Broadchurch adaptation Gracepoint, filmed on Vancouver Island and due to air later this year.