Game of Thrones star Aidan Gillen to play Irish comedian Dave Allen

Mere weeks after his character – one of the most hated in Game of Thrones – was killed off, Aidan Gillen has announced his next role.

Gillen will play the title role in Dave Allen at Peace, a BBC Two one-off that will tell the story of the controversial Irish comedian, and examine how his personal life impacted on his career.

Gillen, who is from Dublin, is joined by fellow Game of Thrones actor Conleth Hill (he plays Varys in the HBO fantasy, who will play Allen's brother. Father Ted's Tommy Tiernan will play Allen's father, while Joanne Crawford, from Line of Duty, will play his mother. 

The film will be structured in a way that reflects Allen's original television act, in which he sat on a bar stool and shared memories and reflections while drinking whisky – which was merely ginger ale with ice. Gillen will play the comic in a similar style, with his reflections on his earlier years and career shown through flashbacks and comedy sketches. 

Dave Allen at Peace will show how the death of Allen's father and brother changed his comedy, as well as looking at the famous loss of his finger. In a statement, BBC Two said the film's narrative would cover "how he survived decades of the Roman Catholic Church’s wrath, death threats from the IRA and a ban by Irish and Australian TV, only to have his television career end in controversy when he used the f-word in an innocuous joke."

The film is written by Peaky Blinders' Stephen Russell and will begin filming in Northern Ireland this month. 

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