Update - this episode was postponed due to the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. An extended version now airs on Monday, April 12 on BBC Two at 10pm. If you are on a tight schedule you can watch the usual 30 minute episode on iPlayer.

Staged star David Tennant is the host of the first episode of the new series of Have I Got News For You.

The 61st series starts on BBC One on Friday 9th April at the slightly later than usual time of 9.30pm. 

The guest panellists will be comedian Jack Dee and The Atlantic journalist Helen Lewis.

And, as usual, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop will be the opposing team captains.

The programme will be recorded in a studio, with a virtual audience.  

David Tennant appeared on the BBC's Comic Relief night last week in a bespoke Shakespearean Staged sketch with Michael Sheen and a guest appearance from Sir Lenny Henry.

He is due to appear in the new Steven Moffat drama Inside Man alongside Dolly Wells (The Pursuit Of Love; Dracula; Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Lydia West (It’s A Sin; Years And Years; Dracula) and Stanley Tucci (Feud; The King’s Man; Spotlight).

Produced by Hartswood Films for BBC One and Netflix, it will be directed by Paul McGuigan (Sherlock; Dracula; Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool).

The captivating four part mini-series follows a prisoner on death row in the US, a Vicar in a quiet English town, and a maths teacher trapped in a cellar, as they cross paths in the most unexpected way…

Husband and wife team Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue, executive producer for Hartswood Films, say: “We’re a bit stunned, and very excited, at the acting talent we’re managing to assemble for this show. Can’t wait to crawl out of our lockdown bunker and get to work.”

The eagerly awaited series will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Netflix outside of the UK and Ireland. Filming will take place later this year.

Have I Got News For You, 9.30pm, Friday, April 9, BBC One (see update above).

David Tennant Picture: Ellis O'Brien