Christopher Eccleston is set to appear in a screenplay by A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess which has never been produced before.

The drama, titled Schreber, was written in 1975 for Hollywood heavyweight Burt Lancaster and has been adapted for BBC Radio 3.

The story follows a 19th century German High Court judge, Daniel Schreber, who suffers a series of nervous breakdowns.

Legend World Premiere – London
Eccleston will play a German judge (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Former Doctor Who star Eccleston said: “I’m chuffed to bits to be playing Schreber in Anthony Burgess’s unproduced screenplay.

“The role was originally meant to be played by a personal acting hero of mine – Burt Lancaster – and deals with male mental health and challenges traditional gender roles and thinking.”

Schreber will be broadcast on March 22.

BBC Radio 3 has announced a string of other dramas featuring actors including Simon Russell Beale, David Suchet and Toby Jones.

British Independent Film Awards 2018 – London
Peake has written Only Mountains, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (Matt Crossick/PA)

Shameless star Maxine Peake has also written a 90-minute drama for the station, titled Only Mountains.

The drama follows a young British woman on her journey to becoming a member of an all-female militia group fighting on the front line in Syria.

Alan Davey, controller of BBC Radio 3, said: “What we do at Radio 3 is nothing less than a National Theatre of the imagination, allowing us to explore personal and political conflict, to roam continents of the Earth and of the spirit, to give our listeners new insights and ways of understanding.

“From the community of Notting Dale, through the internal exile and music of William Byrd, to two men isolated from each other on a sinking boat in inhospitable waters, we tell stories that that shed a light on what it is to be human.”