p 　　Green Wing and Free Agents star Stephen Mangan is to play the lead role in BBC四 三九 s adaptation of the late Douglas Adams Dirk Gently 三九 s Holistic Detective Agency br 　　Mangan will be joined by Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard MacDuff and Cold Feet and Friends actor Helen Baxendale, as MacDuff 三九 s girlfriend Susan br 　　Adapted by the Bafta-winning writer Howard Overman – who is also behind Misfits, Vexed and Merlin – Dirk Gently 三九 s Holistic Detective Agency follows the exploits of Adams 三九 s chaotic character as he uses his unusual methods to solve crimes br 　　Mangan said: quot I 三九 ve been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchhiker 三九 s radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom It 三九 s such a thrill to now be playing one of his brilliant characters br 　　 quot Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world He is described as 三九 lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable 三九 I 三九 ve absolutely no idea why they thought I 三九 d be right for the role quot br 　　The Dirk Gently books have formed the basis of a play and a BBC Radio 四 series but have never before been filmed for TV br 　　Adams 三九 s agent, Ed Victor, said: quot For all the years I represented the late, great Douglas Adams, the most substantial frustration for both of us was that we couldn 三九 t get films made either of Hitchhiker or Dirk br 　　 quot Douglas once said, memorably, that 三九 getting a film made in Hollywood was like trying to cook a steak by having a bunch of people come into the room and breathe on it 三九 Well, we did eventually get a film made in Hollywood of Hitchhiker and, tragically, Douglas didn 三九 t live to see it Nor will he see this adaptation of Dirk – but it 三九 s worth bearing in mind that Douglas always thought Dirk would make a better film than Hitchhiker and I feel sure that this new TV drama with a terrific script by Howard Overman will prove his point quot br 　　Shooting begins this week in Bristol on the 六0-minute drama, which is being made by ITV Studios in association with the Welded Tandem Picture Company br 　　The Dirk Gently production is to be directed by Damon Thomas – who also directed BBC四 drama The First Men in the Moon – and will air early next year p