Richard Osman has revealed three out of four of the lead characters for the forthcoming big screen adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club.

Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley will take on the roles of Elizabeth Best, Ron Ritchie and Ibrahim Arif respectively.

The Pointless host shared the names of the key cast members on his bi-weekly podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, which he presents with journalist Marina Hyde.

Chris Columbus – the man behind Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire and two Harry Potter movies – is set to write and direct the film, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.

The movie is based on Osman’s debut novel of the same name which follows a group of friends in a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun, but become entangled in a real murder.

It is set in a retirement home Cooper’s Chase, in the fictitious village of Fairhaven in Kent.

Osman said the production will take place from “the end of June to September” in the UK.

The fourth main character, a retired nurse called Joyce Meadowcroft, has not yet been confirmed.

Osman hinted at the casting, saying: “Joyce, we’re still in negotiations but again the name is the one that people most shout at me in the street”.

He teased: “Lots more casting to come in the following weeks.”

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An adaptation of the novel was first confirmed in 2020 after Amblin Partners secured rights in a competitive auction.

The fastest-selling adult crime debut, Osman has since written three more books in the series, with a fifth due out next year.

Before becoming a well-known face on quiz shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House Of Games, the quiz master and author worked as a TV entertainment executive, producing shows including 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Deal Or No Deal and Whose Line Is It Anyway?

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