A TV production company run by Miranda Hart and David Walliams is filming an adaptation of a book considered to be the first modern English detective novel at a Georgian country house in Wensleydale.

Cold Feet and The Fast Show actor John Thomson and Miranda star Sarah Hadland will lead the cast of BBC One five-part drama The Moonstone, which is being shot at the grade I listed Thornton Watlass Hall, near Masham.

The series, based on the mystery novel by 19th century author Wilkie Collins, will be broadcast on consecutive days as part of the BBC’s #LoveToRead campaign.

The story, which has previously been featured in several TV series and movies, traces the efforts to explain the theft of a large Indian diamond, identify the thief and recover it.

The hall, which has been in the Smith-Dodsworth family since the early 15th century, although the present house was principally built in the 18th century, has featured in several television dramas, including All Creatures Great and Small, Wuthering Heights and Heartbeat, where it featured as Ashfordly Hall and Webster's Hotel.

The property has extensive grounds and a library collected by members of the family for the last 400 years.

It remains a family home, but opens as a guesthouse for six months a year.

Dan McGolpin, Controller of BBC Daytime and Early-Peak, says: “The Moonstone spawned a new genre: the detective novel. Its influence endures to the present day, in books and on television. I’m thrilled that the production has attracted such a strong cast, a mix of well-known and up and coming actors, all incredibly talented.”