Doctor Who’s Matt Smith to play gay writer

Matt Smith, the latest star of Doctor Who, seems keen to avoid being typecast after taking on a new role at the BBC - the gay English novelist Christopher Isherwood.

Isherwood, who died in 1986 aged 83, wrote the novel which inspired designer Tom Ford's directorial debut, A Single Man. The 1964 book, which was semi-autobiographical, detailed the experiences of George Falconer, a gay man in early 1960s California. The role earned Colin Firth a best actor award at the Venice Film Festival as well as an Oscar nomination.

Christopher and his Kind, a new BBC2 drama, is also based on an Isherwood book, his 1976 memoir of the same name. It tells how Isherwood left his dominating mother and, at the age of 25, headed to Berlin where he lived for several years. His time in the capital of the fledgling - and decadent - Weimar Republic later inspired Isherwood to write his 1939 novella Goodbye to Berlin on which the Broadway musical Cabaret was based.

A BBC spokeswoman said filming on Christopher and his Kind starts in May. The 90-minute drama is likely to screen on BBC2 in the autumn.

Meanwhile 27-year-old Smith (pictured with Doctor Who co-star Karen Gillan), who has only appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who as the 11th Time Lord, is also due to star alongside Bond girl Eva Green in a new movie, Womb. Due out later this year, it follows a grieving widow (Green) who seeks to clone her husband. ·