Do you like this casting as much as I do?

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And when he turned his sights to television, he instantly amassed an avid following when he was cast as Doctor Who. Yet what has so far eluded the Scottish actor is a breakthrough role in a feature film. Now, that is set to change. Tennant, one of the most recognisable actors on the stage and small screen – he was named the most popular actor by the National Television Awards in 2006, 2007 and 2008 – has been cast in his first lead role opposite fellow Scot, Kelly MacDonald, who is a well-established face in Hollywood.

Tennant will play the lead character in a sharp-tongued romantic comedy, Decoy Bride, it was announced at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday. It is hoped that Tennant’s role as a soon-to-be-married writer, David, who is grappling with writer’s block, will lead to the recognition within the film industry that has long evaded him.

The plot begins with MacDonald’s broken-hearted character returning to the sleepy Scottish island on which she grew up, knowing that there were no single men there, only to discover that the world’s most famous couple had descended on the island to marry, bringing the paparazzi with them.

Tennant stars opposite Alice Eve, who plays a superstar actress forced to flee the press, with MacDonald filling in as a decoy bride and finding herself drawn to Tennant’s character.

Matt Delargy, the development producer at Ecosse films which is producing the film, said Tennant was “a natural leading man” and hoped that this role would lead to international film acclaim following his immense success in television and stage.

“The character [he plays] is very smart and self-effacing and makes jokes at himself all of the time, which is something that David Tennant’s very good at. He has spent years on stage and is incredibly well-regarded, and has broken through enormously in television,” he said.

Mr Delargy added that, while a romantic comedy, it lacked sentimentality. Instead, it was a kind of screwball comedy, with a lot of verbal jousting between Tennant and MacDonald.

The film is directed by Sheree Folkson, whose credits include the television series Ugly Betty and Casanova, which starred Tennant. The script has been written by Sally Phillips, who has previously worked on the award-winning television comedy, Smack the Pony, and the writer, Neil Jaworski.

Robert Bernstein from HanWay Films, which is selling the film at Cannes, said: “We’re delighted to have brought such exciting British talent to this wonderful film, based on such a truly funny, smart and insightful script.”

Shooting will begin in June on the Isle of Man and in Scotland.

Tennant’s career has included a number of theatre successes; he most recently gained high critical acclaim for playing Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His Doctor Who was also voted “the coolest character” on British television in 2007.

MacDonald, by contrast, is a well-known face in Hollywood, having appeared in the Coen brothers’ film, No Country For Old Men, for which she received a Bafta nomination, and in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park.

David Tennant and Patrick Stewart star in this critically acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s masterpiece from Britain’s renowned Royal Shakespeare Company. No recent stage production in Britain has attracted the excitement and nearly unanimous critical praise as this Hamlet. Tennant’s interpretation was recognized as defining the role for a generation, and Stewart’s complex Claudius won the Olivier award, Britain’s highest stage honor. In this specially-shot screen version, filmed on location rather than in the theater, Tennant and Stewart reprise their roles. Dynamic, exciting and contemporary, it breathes new life into Shakespeare’s greatest play.

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The letter in The Observer newspaper said the party is “attacking” the BBC to serve commercial rivals’ interests.

A Tory spokesman called the claims “nonsense” and said they had “expressed their support for a strong BBC”.

Labour say Tory plans pose a “grave threat”, while the Lib Dems say licence fee payers should be consulted.

Other signatories to the letter included comedians Eddie Izzard, Harry Enfield and Jo Brand, John Barrowman and Meera Syal.

Disrupted

It stated: “Let’s not take the BBC for granted. It is the most important cultural organisation in Britain and an indispensable part of our society, admired and envied throughout the world.”

But it admitted that it was “right that there is a national debate about the future of the BBC”.

Its specific concerns included “leading opposition politicians’” advocating the selling off of BBC Radio 1 and dismantling the BBC Trust.

Actor Roger Lloyd Pack, another of the signatories to the letter, said: “If we attack the way the BBC is funded, we’ll end up with no channel where viewing isn’t disrupted by commercials every 15 minutes.

“Watching the likes of David Attenborough’s documentaries would never be the same again,” said the Only Fools and Horses star.

The Conservative spokesman added: “The corporation was founded by a Conservative Government in 1922 and we want it to continue to be a valued and trusted public institution.”

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw said: “Thankfully the people, not newspapers, decide elections and everyone who cares about the future of BBC programmes should heed this warning when they vote.”

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