Former Doctor Who Peter Davison will take on the role of King Arthur in Spamalot this summer.

He will be joined by former Coronation Street star Bill Ward as Sir Lancelot. Ward, 40, will be making his West End debut when he replaces Tom Goodman Hill at the Palace Theatre on 23 July.

It is Ward's first major role since he left Coronation Street in January when his character, love rat Charlie Stubbs, was killed by on-screen girlfriend Tracy Barlow.

His previous theatre credits include The Beggar's Opera and Antigone at the Bristol Old Vic, as well as numerous shows on the London Fringe, including Ebenezer Scrooge in a Battersea Arts Centre production of A Christmas Carol.

Davison, 56, became the fifth Doctor Who in 1981 and stayed in the role for three years.

He also starred in the long-running BBC series All Creatures Great And Small and ITV's The Last Detective.

Spamalot is "lovingly ripped-off" from Monty Python And The Holy Grail, telling the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table with a chorus line of dancing serfs, flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and a limbless knight.

The Broadway hit made its European debut at the Palace Theatre last September.

A new production opened in Las Vegas earlier this year and the show will also open in Melbourne in November.